Walther PPK/s 22lr.

[BB57]

Yeah, I remember seeing you there. You may recall seeing my posts as well under the name Agent_PPKS, which I had later changed to Austin_Powers.

I lost my taste for that place after Searcher451 locked my Fort Smith PPK(/S) FAQ once I finally started defending myself from the good ol' boys who only posted in the thread to blatantly insult me. Apparently it was okay for them to harass me, but when I called them out by name for it that just went too far.
I had an Admin unlock it a year or so later so that I could update it with new info, but beforehand I had posted a thread on the main TP/PP Forum where I got the usually heckling and negative responses from the usually suspects, and that ultimately proved to be the last straw.

Hopefully one of these days someone will come along and start a forum for actual fans of Walther products rather than a collector's forum for elitist old men who only like the classics.

I still drop in there to see what's going on maybe every 3 or 4 months. I can't recall the last time I posted anything tough.

 

[BB57]

That Walther Forum Bias exists in other areas-
Know a guy who bought a Porsche 928.
And then went to a Porsche Club Meeting.
They treated him a Leper!
They took turns explaining his ignorance and transgressions.

The 928 is a good example. As a front engine, water cooled with a focus on greater luxury than the 911, it was sure to tick off the Porsche pure sports car fan boys.

But the fact remains that it had a great deal of appeal to people who wanted something more comfortable and less quirky than a 911, and it stayed in production for almost 20 years.

 

[nutsforsmiths]

Here's the one 22 PPK/s I own. It was made in 1975. A lot of fun to shoot and like others have said, it shoots great using MiniMags.

 

[DE Pistole]

I'm also at the Walther forum with the same callsign as I have here. The Walther forum is also source of good info, but its tone is shaped by those with long membership and many posts who often deride other members for their choice of Walther or $ paid. (I dropped from the forum for almost three years because it turned me off so much -- I had a different callsign then.) What I like about this S&W forum is its members' objectivity and focus on guns. (It's about the gun, not why you bought it or how much you paid.)

 

[Echo40]

I'm also at the Walther forum with the same callsign as I have here. The Walther forum is also source of good info, but its tone is shaped by those with long membership and many posts who often deride other members for their choice of Walther or $ paid. (I dropped from the forum for almost three years because it turned me off so much -- I had a different callsign then.) What I like about this S&W forum is its members' objectivity and focus on guns. (It's about the gun, not why you bought it or how much you paid.)

Yep, I've been reading/posting on the forum again lately since the new production Walther PPK(/S) appears to finally be coming out, but it's still more or less the same place.

Personally, I had to actually place some of the more obnoxious elitist regulars on my Ignore List just to make it more bearable. I avoided it for as long as I could, but some of the guys there are just broken records whose posts I could no longer tolerate reading.

Honestly, it's one thing to say that you prefer and older model and/or dislike some of the changes made to newer models, but to post it multiple times in the same thread is just ridiculous. I swear it's as though some of those guys feel the need to remind everyone at least once per page of their opinion.

 

[jrm53]

I got one about two years ago at Academy Sports on sale for 250 really like it I can carry it in the front pocket of my overalls it just the right size. Jeff

 

[Wyatt Burp]

My late dad’s friend let me shoot his Walther .22. Forgot if it was PP,PPK/s or what, but I loved it. I decided I must have one in .380 and waited until I found an Interarms PPK/S which is a great gun.

 

[Andyd]

Two. Given that nice magazines sell north of $100, stock piling magazines is another area where the new PPK/S .22 has a solid advantage.


Over priced PP magazines aside, if you look at them side by side, the design improvements in the new magazine are obvious.

The new design presents the round at a higher angle, just like the Ruger MK I - IV pistols. That improves the feeding, but also reduces the chance of rim lock.

The new magazine is slightly wider at the rear, which allows the rounds to splay a bit more, which reduces the curve in the 10 round stack. That does require a slightly wider magazine. The magazine is also longer, which precludes fitting 10 rounds in a flush magazine, so the finger rest is mandatory on the PPK/S .22 LR.

That does not answer my question or validate your point that the original rimfire PP magazines only work reliable with 8 rounds.

 

[BB57]

That does not answer my question or validate your point that the original rimfire PP magazines only work reliable with 8 rounds.

My point is two fold:

1) The pictures are there to highlight the engineering advantages in terms of improved feed angle and reduced potential for rim lock; and

2) Based on my experience shooting this PP in .22 LR and a few others over the last 40 years, and the experience of many other PP owners, the consensus is that many .22 LR PP pistols and magazines just don't feed as reliably with more than 8 rounds in the magazine.

Your mileage may vary and your contention that the above isn't true doesn't change the engineering or the experience that many PP owners have had with more than 8 rounds in the magazine.

 

[Simson-Suhl]

I am also a member of the Walther Forum and it is not a very friendly place. In no way does it compare to the S&W Forum.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Here's the one 22 PPK/s I own. It was made in 1975. A lot of fun to shoot and like others have said, it shoots great using MiniMags.

this looks just like the .22 I mentioned my dad’s friend let me shoot. This guy used to do covert flights into Vietnam and always carried a Browning Hi-Power. The Walther was acquired later, I think. Like me he was left handed and tolerated for decades those righty thumb rest grips like yours saying he didn’t know where to get regular grips. I went home, got on EBay, and in a few days the grips showed up at his house. That .22 never jammed the one day we plinked the heck out of it.

 

[Andyd]

...

Your mileage may vary and your contention that the above isn't true doesn't change the engineering or the experience that many PP owners have had with more than 8 rounds in the magazine.

Neither is your claim any proof that there isn't a large number of rimfire PP owners that did not experience this problem but, hey, you have over 40 years of shooting experience and so do I.

 

[Andyd]

I am also a member of the Walther Forum and it is not a very friendly place. In no way does it compare to the S&W Forum.

No, it doesn't compare in general friendliness and overall competence, nor is there a lot of traffic there - but then only few other gunforums compare to this one. The Coltforum comes to my mind.

 

[KSDeputy]

I collect Walther pistols. The folks on the Walther forum dislike the new .22 lr pistol because of the metal used. They feel like it is close to pot metal. All of my Walther's are stainless steel, and that is why I have not bought the .22 lr model, plus I already have too many guns that shoot .22 lr. I try and not be very judgemental, if you like a certain firearm buy it. I don't have to.

 

[Ed Fowler]

Been carrying this one since early 70's, 22 cal and shoots like a dream, very accurate and never failed me!

 

[Echo40]

I collect Walther pistols. The folks on the Walther forum dislike the new .22 lr pistol because of the metal used. They feel like it is close to pot metal. All of my Walther's are stainless steel, and that is why I have not bought the .22 lr model, plus I already have too many guns that shoot .22 lr. I try and not be very judgemental, if you like a certain firearm buy it. I don't have to.

That's an understatement. Honestly, most folks on the Walther Forum have a disdainful attitude towards any PP Series pistol that wasn't manufactured by Walther themselves in the early-mid 1900s. Basically, anything that wasn't manufactured in the original Walther factory in Zella-Mehlis (Thuringia) is held in increasingly lesser regard, regardless of the fact that later French-made Manurhin PP Series pistols were of arguably higher quality, (objectively so when compared to the more roughly made wartime models) and that the American-Made Ranger/Interarms were still built to specifications.

Once you hit Smith & Wesson models, all bets are off, and opinions of inferiority abound to the point of gross exaggeration or in certain cases outright fabrication.
I recall an incident a few years ago in which upon repeatedly seeing the moderators direct new users who asked about S&W models to a thread dating back several years regarding the reliability of S&W PPKs, I actually took the time to read through the entire thread, counting individual reports, only to find that positive reports outnumbered the negative 2 to 1, with many of the negative reports being later addressed by S&W in subsequent posts. I then bumped the thread with a post revealing my findings, only to have the moderators promptly lock the thread and discontinued mentioning it to new users because it no longer fit their narrative. (Source: Please note your experience with your S&W-made PPK - WaltherForums)

The metal used in the construction of the modern (2013-presently manufactured) PPK/S .22 merely provided them with a convenient excuse to hate on them. They're equally if not more disdainful of the brand new Walther Arms manufactured PPK(/S) which is constructed from Stainless Steel, and they're only just coming out in limited quantities as we speak.

 

[DE Pistole]

The S&W PPK and PPKS pistols are not as pretty and the ZM and Ulm variants, but they are superior weapons given the S&W feed ramp. The S&W tang helps avoid slide/hammer bites and also, for me, aids in recoil management and follow-up shoots. Assuming recall fixs made, or post recall pistols, the performance of S&W walther pistols is outstanding.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Here's the one 22 PPK/s I own. It was made in 1975.

I don't have that much focus on Walthers and their histories but I recall the Walther PPK/S .22 coming out just a couple of years ago - how did I miss 35 years of its production?

Seriously, I am stunned at learning this!

I bought this one just a couple of years ago and I thought it was WOWEE! I am glad they finally thought of that!

So, por favor, edumacate me.

That little .22 is delightful except (a) it had the second worst trigger I ever experienced in a handgun (I had it tinkered with; it's much better now) and (b) I got a lot of light strikes that needed a second trigger pull. It is in storage presently but after I get it home I'll see if it as I remember.

I actually admit that I prefer to shoot these (I have two - also stored away presently):

Also, I long ago got rid of every round of Remington Thunderbolt ammunition that I had, and it was a lot of bricks. TOO DIRTY ALL THE TIME!