[JAB]

Hi all, I just signed on as a member of this site, seems to be well run and very informative. I own a taurus pt111 millenium pro 9mm, walther P99 9mm titanium coated, da/sa, and a walther P22. My next gun is goinng to be the compact P99, all black, da/sa. I love Walthers, but dont see to much about them on forums. Any insite as to why? My nexty gun is going to be solely a ccw piece, so any feedback is great. BTW i do love the taurus, and its very compact, but im not a big da trigger fan, i got a great deal on it and it held me over for a while until I got the P99. I am looking for opinions on why people Do, or Do Not like walthers! If you like company xyz better, tell me why, it may affect my next gun decision as i have yet to handle all there is out there.

[Black Majik]

There are many Walther fans out there, but they just dont bring a Cult like the 1911, Glocks, SIGs, and CZs do...

I'm not really sure why, maybe because there aren't that many models to choose from. Personally I've looked into them, but there are so many firearms out in the market that I just can't get em' all! :D

I say give it some time, the cult will probably start to form, but the 1911, glock, SIG and cz guys' cult will be even bigger :evil:

I think Walther screwed up within the past few years however. The P22 was a rotten egg, the G22 doesn't seem to be that popular yet with the space age looking gun, plus Ruger 10/22s rule the semiauto .22 rifle market, and the new P99s just plain look like poop.

We'll see in time however.

[f4t9r]

Black Majik I will have to go +1
on all of the above

[Sactown]

I pickup my P38/P-1 in a coupla days. I've been happy with my G22.

[Shootcraps]

I bought the P22 and love it. I just bought the P99c and ain't too sure about it. The grip is kinda small for my hand.

[pauli]

one p22 owner showing up in the "not a walther fan" category... they really lost me.

[Old Dog]

I guess you could count me in as a closet Walther fan. Got a PPK and a PPK/S. Used to have a P38 ... Spent some time in Germany, shot a few -- liked the P5 and the P88, but could never afford one of those puppies.

Perhaps Walther would have more of a following in this country if (1) more people were acquainted with the better full-size models (they're pretty rare) and (2) its pistols were priced quite a bit lower -- Walther's best semiautos cost almost what a custom 1911 does, and frankly, even though the high-end Walthers are beautifully made, I could never justify buying one when there are so many other good semiautos out there for far less money ...

[modifiedbrowning]

I'm a huge Walther fan, I currently own six but would love to get more if I ever have enough money. My next Walther is going to be a P99C, which I would recommend to you as your CCW if you like your P99.

[XLMiguel]

I recently acquired a P-5C that I really like, sent it off to Robar to be refinished (NP-3 slide & controls, Rogard frame). I'll post pics when the Nills grips arrive & she's dressed proper. I was admiring a P-5 the other day . . . . budget's a little tight, but Xmas is coming:evil:

I also have P-22 for plinking, but I prefer the all metal guns.

[bulbboy]

I have a P22 (a blast to shoot) and a PPK/S ! Love them both! I want a P99 - hopefully soon (don't know what style yet )

[lyricsdad]

I own a p99, and p22, love them both to hell.. a ppk is a 'to buy' pistol on my all time list... i want an engraved one so bad. I have had no problems with my p99, and few with my p22, i have way over 65,000 rounds through my p22.. i stopped estimating after the 65,000. Only major problem encountered with my p22 was the hammer spring broke. after i repaired it, its back to its wicked self.. spitting ammo like crazy. Oh yeah a buddy of mine's girlfriend dropped it in the sand whilst plinking at a river, picked it up dusted it off checked the barrell and proceeded to continue using it. went the rest of the day like that.

[modifiedbrowning]

Mike in Va, nice buy. I would love to find a P5C to complement my P5, but they ain't cheap. There were some good deals on police trade in P5s recently, but I can't remember where right now.

[Onmilo]

A P-1, a P-5, a first year PP .32, a first year back in Germany production PP .32, a Manhurin PP in .22lr.
Yeah I guess I like Walthers,,,,

[nat]

... but can not have one here (local laws)

I like the P38 and PP, esp. the later as a permanent CCW. I know it's weak (7.65mm, .32) but fiable, compact, light and easy to draw and control during fast series

a bunch of cartridges through a P99 let me very impressed, at this point. if I had to pick a combat handgun right now it will be it (QA or maybe AS, I will need to check all options)

on another matter: afaik one's CCW must be his main training weapon because one has to rehearse with the tool used on the field

[Pepe Domingo]

I think when UMAREX bought Walther, much changed, some for the better and some for the worse.

Gone was the attitude that brought us $1,000 P38's and P88's in the late 1980's. They seemed to think that their products were gold. They were good, but I think management was delusional. Finally Walther woke up form their dream and seemed ready to compete. They started off very well with the P99.

Then the whole UMAREX "we are an airgun company at heart" kicked in and we got the P22 and the G22. I will withold comment on the G22 as I have no experience with it, but I had a P22 and it was very far from what I expected in a Walther. It is priced cheap and it is made cheap. They could have subbed it out to HI-POINT and ended up with a better pistol.

Anyway, I now have a P99, P88c and P38. The P99 is the most accurate pistol I own. The P88 has the most beautiful bluing job of any pistol I own. The P38 (post war pre P1) has the hardest DA pull of any pistol I own.

[JAB]

Good to see some positive input to back up my opinions. I am relatively new to the semi-auto world, so although i love my walthers, I dont have the personal knowledge of alot of other guns to compare. I have had no probs with my p99, it has been flawless. I originally wanted the qa version. The local gun shop had to order mine as he didnt have any in stock, he had a heck of a time finding a titanium coated one, but eventually found one in New York. When it got here i was at first upset as I was expecting a 04 model qa, but what came in was a 03 model sa. I took it anyway as i was very anxiious for this gun, he did get them to switch out the 10 rnd mags that this gun orig had with it and included two 15 round mags. It was a great decision after all. I do alot of target shooting and i like the sa trigger the best. I carry in da mode, for safety. However when at home i have carried it unloaded in sa(experimenting, dont actually plan on carrying this way) cocked and locked so to speak, and have never had it decock or anything, still not willing to carry loaded that way however. If i was and LEO I would prefer the qa as it is less to deal with if youre firing, reholstering, running, firing etc, but for my needs the sa is perfect(hopefully will never fire at anything other than a target). I am thinking the p99c will be a nice Christmas present to myself. It will be my main carry piece and i will shoot it ALOT at the range, I know the grips are small but i dont have huge hands and, I need something very small, as i wear dress pants/tucked in shirt every day, usually without jacket while indoors and am still having trouble finding suitable concealed carry method(dont want to sacrifice caliber and ill admit it, i like the looks of the p99s). I run a bussiness and am the first to respond in any scenario, and due to a few recent incidents(past year) I have taken action in being prepared for the worst, and hoping for the best!! Anyway, enough about me, i am just excited to take in all of youre views and opinions.

[lyricsdad]

the p88 is beautiful, i like that pistol too. but for the price that these command, I think I would rather get a HK p7 series pistol.

I think the p22 got a bad wrap, maybe people didnt understand how to take care of it. But, I found very early its a pistol that likes to be "dry" lubed. I ran into issues when I first got mine, safety walking, premature wear, and of course I broke mine in w/ CCI mini mags. after doin all of this, I can shoot just about anything through it, I have been meaning to try out cci birdshot shells through it.

My p99, i love this thing. So easy to clean, nice trigger break, not squishy at all, accurate as heck, finish is outstanding, only gripe i have had is the plastic sights seemed very cheap, but other than that, it seems like the only corner they have cut to produce a very affordable high end pistol. I want to get me some nice Trijicons or Mepros for it at some point. The only problem, I need to find a good smith to install them for me.

The ppk, I have been wanting to get one of these... seem like the perfect carry pistol, I hope I could get one for the wife to carry but I heard that the recoil is pretty snappy and she may not like that.. I dunno. If not i'll get it if she dont like it, it can go on my ankle heh heh... a nice engraved ppk would be cool to own.

[OH25shooter]

Like many P99 owners we swear by the gun. But, the reason Walther is not popular is lack of advertising in America. Yes, the S&W name is mentioned as a producer of Walther firearms. But it just is not mentioned with the makers of Glock, Beretta, SigSauer, Springfield, etc. Maybe someone can address this question with roots in Europe. I'll bet the Walther handgun is more popular overseas. I tried to locate the Walther R99 here in the US of A. It's a 357 revolver with a different hand grip. It's not sold in America.

[sgt127]

I love Walthers. Particularly older German PP's PPk's and PPK/S's. More modern Walthers have several strikes against them. Price. Lack of stainless steel or high durability finishes and support (holsters, magazines etc) Not taking one thing away from ANY Walther. They are finely crafted weapons, reliable, accurate, German and well designed...So is a Sig at half the price. If you want a Walther, great choice. If you need a tool...sadly...a Glock will work as well or better...

[Rezin]

I like Walthers myself. I have a stainless PPK/S (Interarms) now, and my next purchase is most likely a P99 (Maybe the Q/A) in 9mm.

That leads me to believe that I'll just "have to" start collecting Wathers ;) And that way the P5 gets on the "buy me" list, lol.

[monkeyboy]

I carried the P5 for about 6 years, I loved it. Straight shooter, lined up great, all round amazing weapon.

I have never shot a finer 9mm. I kicked myself for getting rid of it and grabbing the Glock 19. I liked the Glock...but I really loved the P5.

Only small compaints, European mag release (less of an issue than you might think) and frame width. (More of an issue than you might think)

I've never fired the P99 but have read good things.There is a P99 in the sales section that is incredibly tempting.

[denfoote]

http://usera.imagecave.com/denfoote/MaunhrinP1.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/denfoote/FrenchPP.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/denfoote/AC-41.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/denfoote/AC-42.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/denfoote/P38commercial.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/denfoote/Walthercollection.jpg


Yeah, you could say I like 'em!!

[Jam]

does anyone know were i can get grips for a walther ppks the german model

thank you

[denfoote]

http://www.carlwalther.com/grips.htm

[Stinger1]

Nothing wrong with Walthers whether new or old. I have a P99, P22 and a S&W99 (.40cal) which I've carried on duty and love them all.

RC

[JAB]

Nice collection Denfoote!! The only thing i dont like about my p22 is putting the slide spring back on the rod, (not sure of exact terminology). On all other guns it stays on the rod during breakdown for cleaning, but on my p22 it doesnt have anything to hold it in place, so you have to compress it and hold it on while putting rod back in place. Is this normal? At first I thought i may have dropped the other end of the rod or something, (my first semiauto at that point) after reading the manual, which is farely brief, I just realized this is how the gun is made. Not a big deal, but took a while to get it back together the first time i stripped it. The only thing ive noticed about my p99 is that if the mag is not completely full, it has a slight clink when moved around, (in or out of gun). I would like my gun to be silent until i pull the trigger so this is slightly annoying. Anyone else noticed this, is it common in all guns with auto mags? Only negatives ive yet to experience with either of these two makes.

[WarMachine]

I have always been fan of the styling on the PPK/S. The extended beavertail should help with the slide bite some people used to experience on them.

http://www.waltheramerica.com/images/VAH38001_lrg.jpg

[XLMiguel]

Arg. I'm really happy with this and got to show it off - I'm still waiting on the Nills grips, but I think Robar did a pretty nice job. It was a decent shooter to start, but after NP-3ing the internals it's really smooooth!

[pauli]

The only thing i dont like about my p22 is putting the slide spring back on the rod, (not sure of exact terminology). On all other guns it stays on the rod during breakdown for cleaning, but on my p22 it doesnt have anything to hold it in place, so you have to compress it and hold it on while putting rod back in place. Is this normal?it's normal. the jerk who designed the p22 chose not to use a captive recoil spring, and then the halfwits who implemented his design shipped the gun (or at least, mine) with a reassembly rod to deal with this... that doesn't fit through its hole on the front of the slide. fortunately, a cleaning rod works fine for aiding reassembly.

[Justin]

I would very much like to have a Walther GSP.

[Jam]

I had a p22 i was so happy to get rid of it in the bag of tools that came with it is a plastic guide rod that you stick in the front of the slide thru the spring and it guides the spring on while you put the slide back

i will never buy another gun that comes with a tool bag

[OH25shooter]

Mike in VA:

Nice little handgun. Just picked up the 2005 Walther catalog and no such animal is advertised. What caliber, etc.

[Penforhire]

I guess we're not as rabid as fans of some other makes. I adore my P99.

[CZ-100]

Im a happy owner of a P22

[StrikeEagle]

I love Walthers... but the Old School stuff. P-38, PP, PPK.

I'm not even sure of what their current line of product is... :confused:

StrikeEagle

[modifiedbrowning]

OH25, the P5 Compact is a single stack 9mm. Unfortunately it is no longer in production.

[denfoote]

Nice collection Denfoote!!

Thanks JAB!!

The two best are the AC41 and AC42, Nazi marked.

They are the second and third pics.

[Kacerdias]

Count me in as a Walther fan. I have a P22 (not a bad plinker), and a P99c as my daily carry piece. The P99c is great for CCW - lightweight, 10+1 rounds, decent caliber, smooth action, durable, accurate... I couldn't bring myself to get a Glock though I did like the size of the baby Glock...

Those chromed P5 compacts are a thing of beauty. I just love the angles. :)

[nat]

> the reason Walther is not popular is lack of advertising in America. Yes, the S&W name is mentioned as a producer of Walther firearms. But it just is not mentioned with the makers of Glock, Beretta, SigSauer, Springfield, etc. Maybe someone can address this question with roots in Europe. I'll bet the Walther handgun is more popular overseas

Glock is a recent brand which coined and implemented some useful concepts, gaining marketshare (therefore mindshare) at a fast pace

Beretta is very old (5 centuries), it benefits from a solid mindshare. even people knowing nothing about weapons are aware of this brandname as a weapons manufacturer

Sig (Swiss) is not from a country defeated during WW2. Sauer was, but their merging (30 years ago) was a SIG-powered move

Walther's factory was destroyed during WW2, then they had to move to West Germany, rebuild one, face various restrictions to build various types of weapons, sublicense others to WW2 winners manufacturers (see the pretty defoote's pictures published in this thread: the PP is a 'Manurhin', which means 'Manufacture de machines du Haut-Rhin', this was a French company. see the 'Made in France' mention engraved on the slide)... well, they pretty lose approx 25 years in this process. compare this to the other companies cited assets and contexts

> the whole UMAREX "we are an airgun company at heart" kicked in

they were driven by their local (European) market place, and maybe by some potentially remote ones (Japan?), where nearly all citizen just _cannot_ buy a real gun

[XLMiguel]

OH25shooter-
The P-5/5C is a 9mm, 8+1. I've heard that they're still in production but only available in Europe. SOG has some nice used P-5s for sale for $459, if yer interested.

[JAB]

Nice pics all that have posted them, wish I had one of each!! Anyone else have any pics? Denfoote, what is it about those two that make them the best? Years of production, exporter? Yeah I guess what all you have said about them maybe being more popular over seas, not here due to advertising and such makes alot of sense. I personally just think there the best looking handgun out there so I would think more people would be after them. Do you think if Walther got a bigger following in the U.S., and internationally, the prices would go up, do to market demand, or down due to greater production, and the economy of doing so? Obviously the older discontinued ones would increase in worth, but i mean current year production. Just a thought.

[Pepe Domingo]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/Rhainan/fa5363ac.jpg

My P88c

I wanted to be a Walther collector for about a year. Then I got distracted and bought about 30 other different guns.

[JG]

I like Walthers.......

http://www.fototime.com/%7BBD51233D-B8C7-4C28-94BC-572B943AEE00%7D/picture.JPG

[SRFL]

I really like the P99, of which I own two: an AS 9mm Military (pre-2004) and QA .40 S&W Titanium (2004).

They are great guns! Accurate, lightweight, with good magazine capacities and great triggers.

[denfoote]

Denfoote, what is it about those two that make them the best?

For me it's the historical significance.

There is no importer/exporter as such. They probably came into the US in the kit bags of the GIs who personally "liberated" them right from the hands of the previous owners!!

[JAB]

Wow Denfoote, that does make them special, I hope to become a collector, and acquire a few guns with that kind of significance. My plan is to try to acquire one gun a year that will be a colection piece. My grandfather was in WW2 and had a gun that was very similar in looks, I shot it a few times when I was a little kid, I dont know if it was a walther or not though, I do know it was one he acquired during the war. When I was about 12 he traded it and got me my first 20 gauge, Rem model 1100 semi auto. He is at piece now so i cant ask him but it makes me wonder what kind of gun it was. I do now that he traded it to a guy that owns a car dealership in a nearby town to were i grew up, I think i will try to get ahold of him and see if he still has it. Maybe I can get it back, or atleast know what it is, as that would add alot of sentimental value to that specific gun for me.

[Fletchette]

Does anyone carry the P99 in the "quick mode"? It is the mode where the firing pin is fully cocked but the trigger is fully forward.

[JAB]

Do you mean quick mode on sa/da? I carry with one in chamber but decocked. I have experimentally carried unloaded around the house with firing pin fully cocked AND trigger clicked back in IWB holster. Has never decocked or accidentally fired. I really dont plan on carrying this way, but it definately has inspired my confidence in the fact that it wont go off accidentally, by accidentally i mean without the trigger being pulled. I think the gun CAN be safely carried this way, however I would never recomend it as I cannot pressume the unintentional actions and/or training of the carrier. The way you are suggesting has less room for error by the carrier than the way I experimented. I personally see manual safety as a negative because it can give someone a false sense of security, I never carry any gun with safety on(my mil pro has a manual safety) because i like to train my mind to rely on my actions as the safety, not a device on the gun to save my butt if i make a mistake. Once again just my opinion, I am still very new to semiauto handguns and carrying.

[backphil]

I have a PP made in West Germany in 1974. Has a mirror blue finish with black plastic grips. Came with two mags, one with extended finger grip, police/military flap holster, and proof target. I bought it in 1986 for $450. I bought a nice IWB holster for it and now consider it my Sunday go to meeting gun.

[GaryP]

Mine's a circa 1998 Interarms manufactured Stainless Steel PPK/s in .32acp. Nice little CCW gun when formal attire is required. :)


:evil:

[Fletchette]

Do you mean quick mode on sa/da?

Yup. I assume that the P-99 was designed to be carried this way (the instruction manual was written by lawyers - don't load until you are at "the range" and ready to shoot). This mode is similar to the Daewoo DP-51 - hammer forward but mainspring cocked. The trigger had a very light, long pull that brought the hammer back so that the pre-cocked mainspring could release.

The P-99 doesn't have a hammer, but the action is similar. It essentially allows the first shot to be single-action after you take up the long (but extremely light) first stage. Second stage is identical to single action.

I have carried the P-99 in this mode with a shoulder rig. When I have occasion to carry a fanny pace I leave it in true double-action mode.