Walther PPS

[george minze]

Any information on Walther PPS 9mm. I just got one it shoots very well for a pocket pistol but I keep hearing about slide problems. Some say it happens about 500 rounds. Very concealable I like it but need a reliable ccw. One member thinks he heard that it was the P22 that had problems. I have only put 100 rounds down range...any information appreciated. George

 

[george minze]

Any information on Walther PPS 9mm. I just got one it shoots very well for a pocket pistol but I keep hearing about slide problems. Some say it happens about 500 rounds. Very concealable I like it but need a reliable ccw. One member thinks he heard that it was the P22 that had problems. I have only put 100 rounds down range...any information appreciated. George

 

[Erich]

You know, there's a PPS-specific forum out there - Google it for good info.

I have a female friend who bought a PPS after researching, handling and trying out a number of similar guns. She likes it just fine. I can tell you that it likes to be kept clean, as its tight tolerances cause failures to start creeping up after 100 rounds. A simple wipedown and relube takes care of everything for another 100 rounds.

 

[george minze]

Thanks....After years of steel pistols and 38 years in LE I want a piece that goes bang the one time you need it. I like it to good rapid fire groups at 15 yards can't ask more for a pocket pistol. I'll try the PPS site...thanks for taking the time....George

 

[RV4driver]

Don't even try to my PPS away from me. Hundreds of rounds downrange. Factory, reloads, whatever. Accurate from CQB to 25 yds. Cursory cleaning every couple of hundred rounds. Blow the carry lint out every few days. Other than that, nothing special. Perfect carry gun. Jury is still out on the .40. Time will tell. Don't be a beta tester. Plenty of people that are willing to get the first ones. I'll wait.

3913 is a close second for top carry gun, maybe not. Still love the 3913. If you don't have one...get one. You're missing out.

My opinion only. Worth every bit you paid for it.

Jeff

 

[RV4driver]

Geez, I hate not being able to edit posts. Previous post should read "don't even try to take my PPS"

Jeff
I can't decide if I'm dyslexic or illiterate. Just glad it doesn't affect my aim.
Zombies, beware.

 

[george minze]

Thanks I'm glad to hear that I too had a 3953 complete action job all corners smoothed out i shoot the only possible qualification score in W/Mo in 97 with it. /sold it a month ago 1300.00 had to take it... glad you find PPS reliable it's shooting 5" at 15 yards,,,,Thanks for info....George

 

[TNDixieGirl]

Geez, I hate not being able to edit posts.

Just click on the icon in the bottom right corner that looks like an eraser (the one in the middle) on the post you need to edit.

 

[PX15]

FWIW:

I had an early (14XX) PPS. After 200 rounds it developed ejector problems. I sent it back to S&W for warranty repair. They sent it back to me. It was not fixed so I sent it back to them a second time (free shipping via ups) and told them to fix it or send me a new one.

Two weeks or so later I got a NIB PPS. I shot it and it was very accurate and reliable, until it wasn't reliable.

Now the round that failed was a cheap Winchester White Box (WalMart) round, and I've found the quality of these value pack rounds to be iffy at best.. Some real good, some not so much, so the problem could well likely have been AMMO related, as opposed to a problem with the PPS. But my 3913 I've had since 1995 has NEVER failed in any way over the 13 years since I bought it new, and for whatever reason I simply have faith in my 3rd gen. Smiths, and I've lost faith in my PPS. Probably my bad, but trust and faith is what it is. You either have it or you don't, and I just didn't have it any longer for the PPS.

I sold it and replaced it with a NIB 3913LS from CDNN and shortly thereafter a NIB CS9. I am well pleased with both the LS and CS9 and consider the trade off from the Walther a good move, FOR ME.

I love Walthers (had a PP/P1/P5, P99c/AS & P99/AS), but after the PPS developed problems and then the replacement burped I simply had no faith in the PPS anymore for personal defense.

I think the 3rd generation Smith & Wesson pistol is about as reliable as any pistol on the market, and being an old fart I'm just partial to both the traditional DA/SA pistol vs the Glocklike trigger/striker of the PPS.

But I'm sure later manufactured PPS pistols are fine, and if you like Glock triggers you will probably be well pleased with the new PPS.

No offense to PPS lovers..

Jesse

 

[RV4driver]

TnDixigirl, I'm feeling a little foolish. Found the edit icon you mentioned.

I too have a 3913, the NL, not the LS. Same thing exactly without the "ladysmith" logo. It now has Hogue rubber grip on it, and it's perfect. I'll never sell that one. It's SCREAMING for a nice OWB leather home.

Now, having said all that, my PPS 9mm is flawless. Everyday carry, except when I can't force myself to leave the 3913 home. I LOVE carrying that gun.

Jeff

 

[animalmother]

I'd wait a little longer to see how the PPS turns out. With any new gun, like the PPS or Ruger LCP, I've always taken a wait and see attitude. Let others who are in a rush to buy them, get them, and test them out. I'd rather not have to deal with any issues. As many probably know, Ruger has recalled the LCP.

When it comes to small 9mms, I'd go with a 3913, CS9 or Sig P239.

 

[danslam]

Don't even try to my PPS away from me. Hundreds of rounds downrange. Factory, reloads, whatever. Accurate from CQB to 25 yds. Cursory cleaning every couple of hundred rounds. Blow the carry lint out every few days. Other than that, nothing special. Perfect carry gun. Jury is still out on the .40. Time will tell. Don't be a beta tester. Plenty of people that are willing to get the first ones. I'll wait.

3913 is a close second for top carry gun, maybe not. Still love the 3913. If you don't have one...get one. You're missing out.

My opinion only. Worth every bit you paid for it.

Jeff

Wish I would have read you post before I bought this pistol. My PPS 40
smith is out for wauranty repairs after 30 rounds. (Failure to eject)
Smith and Wesson wauranty repair is a joke as far as supporting PPS 40 smith. I beleive they are up to their eyeballs in wauranty repairs.
It's the most expensive paper weight I have ever purchased.

Did you lose much money selling your PPS?

Danslam

 

[ericlw]

my pps 9mm works great and very accurate.

 

[windypoint]

PPS 40

My Walther PPS 40 was the worst gun I ever purchased. After three trips back to S&W it still failed to eject more than I could accept for a carry gun. It is very susceptable to poor grip and I just could not justify keeping it. S&W repair told me ovver the phone that the 9mm is way better.

 

[Stu454]

My best friend has a recent production PPS 9mm. It hasn't been thoroughly wrung out but over 300 rounds are downrange with no issues. It was a mix of Federal and WW ball and Federal 9BP. They are demanding pistols and lubing them in key spots seems critical.

It is dead accurate in our hands and neither of us is that good. I'd thought about trading a 3953 and a 442 and filling both rolls with a PPS. It's not sufficiently smaller than the 3953 to justify that, so I'll have to wait until I can buy one outright.

 

[safearm]

I have a 9mm PPS that I carry daily. The only thing I've done to it is install a Hogue Handall Jr. It has close to 750 rounds (FMJ, PowrBall, GD, and WWB JHP) through it without a hiccup.

 

[Erich]

Wow! Zombie thread!

I posted up-thread about how a female friend got a 9mm PPS after we wrung-out a number of choices. She was so happy with hers and I enjoyed shooting it so much that I picked one up (used) myself a while back.

PPS with seven round mag

I've put about 500 rounds through the thing and like it a whole lot. I keep it loaded with Speer 124-gr +P Short Barrel Gold Dots, which do around 1200 fps from this gun at this altitude. Until November, I'd never had a single problem with it, but then while doing movement drills out in the desert, I started having the slide lock while there were still rounds in the mag. Took a second to check it out and found that the slide lock spring had broken in half - I called Smith & Walther and they sent me a new one (and a couple of spares), which I installed using the detailed disassembly instructions at the Walther Forum.

Representative group at 10 yards

Anyhow, I'm quite pleased with the gun and carry it (in a Remora, which works perfectly for me) possibly more than any other gun I have.

Note six round mag

In the Remora IWB/pocket holster - the PPS is too large for me to carry in the front pocket of my jeans, but it works well in cargo-type pants

Eight round mag

 

[nosreme]

I got rid of my PPS/9 at about the 250-300 round point. It's concealable and mine was flawlessly reliable. But it's so thin that it cut uncomfortably into my hand after about the 3rd mag of proficiency shooting. I was also turned off by the near-impossibility of finding a backup recoil spring and when I did at the cost of the strange contraption. If you want a good concealed carry gun but don't mind not practicing with it extensively, I can't imagine a better gun. But if you have large hands and a lack of tolerance for outrageously-priced accessories, look elsewhere.

 

[Erich]

Good point on the cost of the recoil spring. RAMI has the same issue.

 

[davek610]

I have about 1200 rounds through my 9mm PPS, flawless so far.