[Ammo First]

Greetings, Curious if anyone would care to offer up an opinion concerning these two? (Caliber 9mm) I would really like to know if someone has shot them side by side. All bias aside can any one offer up any real empirical data showing the P-99 to be either A. more reliable or B. more accurate? Thank for any replies.

[David S]

I have owned 2 P99 and no SW99s so my opinion on the SW99 is based solely off just dry handling them.
the SW99 is pretty much identical to the P99 in construction.
the structural differences are only esthetical.
However, there is a difference in the metallurgical makeup of the components. the P99's barrel, for instance is carbon steel that is thoughly heat treated whereas the SW99 is stainless and is heat treated differently in areas of the barrel.
the slide on the P99 is tenifer treated just like glocks, and i BELEIVE, but may be wrong, that the SW99 is not tenifered.......

then there is the real issue; where they are made.
MOST p99s are 100% german made. whereas only the frame of the SW99 is supposidly german......for as long as they have been in production, i have a feeling the whole gun sw99 is US made now......
quality wise? i havent heard anything neccessarily saying on is superior to the other. I am a deputy reserve for my local Sheriff dept, i carry the P99 as my sidearm and a fellow reserve carries a SW99...........when i see it, i just jokingly turn my hose up at it........and say mines prettier.........

my major complaints about the SW99 are JUST esthetics. I dont like the trigger guard much, the grip is ALOT slicker than the p99.......the front slide serrations take away from the looks, and just the roundness of the slide is not appealing to me. oh and i forgot the ugliest thing on the gun: the SW symbol!! hahhaha

in all fairness, if you want that KIND of gun, and are tight on the money, go with the SW99, youll get good service out of it.
but if money is no object and you want the best, Call Earl and Earls repair and order a Euro version P99!!!

[Nathan Alexander]

I have fired both guns extensively...both 9mm models. When I first fired them, I did not have any bias one way or the other. I liked the way the "green" one better that day, as it was much more accurate, and felt better in hand. It was, indeed, the military version of the P99. Althought the SW99 is a fine weapon the superior material, and workmanship of the Walther warrants the extra cost, IMO. I now own a P99, and almost 2,000 rounds later, it is still much tighter than my buddy's SW99 with the same use at the range. He tells me he regrets not spending the extra 100 dollars or so to get the Walther.

[Quack]

the slide on the P99 is tenifer treated just like glocks, and i BELEIVE, but may be wrong, that the SW99 is not tenifered.......

correct, the P99 is Tenifer treated like the GLOCK. since the SW99 is made in the USA, the EPA doesn't allow the Tenifer process here, so the SW99 gets (what i believe it is called) melonite

[panzerfuehrer]

This is a pretty old argument, both here and at TFL. Do a search for some of the excitement.

I own both - the SW99 in .40 and the P99 in 9mm. I like them both equally well. Costs are not that much different.

[Darrin]

Ammo First,

Send a PM to THR member "bowlcut." He's a co-worker of mine who just researched the crap out of these two guns before making his purchase.

He went with the SW99 for the following reasons (that I remember):
1. S&W had a sale that knocked down the price of the SW99
2. The SW99 came with night sites
3. S&W has lifetime warranty, Walther is a 1 year

After those facts, he still complains wishing he got the Walther. :D

[fastbolt]

Okay, some urban myths take on a life of their own after a while ...

Tenifer is supposed to be a registered trademark for a process owned by the Duferrit Division of the HEF Group. It's a type of metal hardening process also trademarked and marketed under other names, including Melonite and Tufftride, by other companies ...

This isn't exactly new technology, either ...

Here's some links for companies discussing these processes in some more detail ...

http://www.keighleylabs.co.uk/keighleylabs/HeatTreatment.asp?HeatTreat_Category_ID=7

http://www.treatallmetals.com/carbon.htm

http://burlingtoneng.com/capabilities.html

These hardening processes can be performed according to the properties desired in the treated product, and the specific type of iron based metals being treated.

Also, here's the recent thread where I posted some info (on the first page) regarding my opinion comparing the very similar products produced by Walther and S&W ...

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4727&highlight=sw99

The deliberate cosmetic, minor ergonomic and metallurgical differences notwithstanding ... it's simply a matter of personal preference, really. Either pistol should easily be capable of reasonable "combat/service" accuracy. These weren't designed as "target pistols", but as duty/service pistols, you know ...

The slight variation in slide dimension may affect some folk's perception of balance and "feel", due to the slightly thicker dimensions of the SW99 slide, versus the angled slide of the P99. The listed weight of the 9mm SW99 is 25.4 oz ... while the weight of the 9mm P99 is listed slightly differently, depending on the source used for the information ...

In one source the weight is listed at 21.51 oz, while in another source its listed at 25 oz, and then in the Walther brochure available for download its listed at 22.2 oz.

http://www.carl-walther.info/Ersatzteil/P99E.pdf

http://www.carl-walther.de/englisch/defense/defense-36.html

http://www.saftek.com/firearms/walther.htm

I suppose I should simply remember to weigh one the next time one comes through our range.

Also, as Darrin mentioned, Walther warranties their pistols for 1 year ... while S&W warranties their SW99 version for the life of the original owner, which includes the Walther-produced frame and frame parts ...

Lastly, here's a recent thread over on the GT forum which involved this subject ... but which also attracted some "distracting" babble ...

http://glocktalk.gunserver.com/showthread.php?threadid=143051&highlight=tenifer+finish

They're both good pistols ...

[PATH]

P99. Period.

[WhoKnowsWho]

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=145654&highlight=walther

An small discussion about the two.

I prefer the Walther P99, the original, which S&W did not improve upon at all...

[Spackler]

Not enough difference between the two to argue about.

[Bowlcut]

Yea I picked up the sw99 for the reason it was on sale, and that the life time warrenty really was talking to me. Some say such things are stupid, but I like the idea of if I drop it or it gets worn I can send it to Smith and they work on it. I dont have a local smithy that I trust yet so that was a big deal.

The cosmetic differences.....well the p99 is prettier :). I do like the smith but the walther really is prettier.

Quality of workmanship. I can not knock the smith one iota. I dont have any of the ratting some talk about nor have any of the other sw99's ive picked up had it. The finish has come to be very tough as it cleans up with a patch to look brand new and its about a month old now with around 500-700 rounds though it so far. I havent had any sort of malfunction yet, none gun related, none ammo related, and none user related.

My biggest complain is price of .40 ammo :).

My final logic came down to something like that. If I was buying a .40 cal i was going to get the Smith. If I was goign to get the 9mm i was goign to get the walther. Why? Well p99 orgininaly was 9x19 first so why get a cheap knock off ;).

Both are fine guns. It really does come down to astetics as they are both made with similar quality in mind. The metalurgalic differences is mostly different by where the metals are made. Both are similar in quality and durability.

I will say im one of the people that do kinda wish they got the walther....why...cause well it looks cooler and thats it.

[Ammo First]

Thanks for all the replies, I know their is a general bias favoring the german model, seems nobody offered up any test data suggesting the walther is more accurate or reliable. Which makes me wonder why Americans don't consider all issues when making this type (bigger ticket items cars, guns, whatever) of purchase. I try to buy American whenever I can, if not I try to buy from a country that trades fairly with the U.S. Not only is Germany's electorate consumed with anti American'ism. Germany's trade Surplus with the U.S. is approx. 35 billion dollars Annually! I just think America deserves a-helluva lot better trading partner than this. If consumers excercised thier influence this way, We would bring about the kind of changes neccesary (the kind of change politicians have little control over.) to improve our position in the world both Geopoliticaly and financially. To quote one of my favorite dirty harry movies "power to the people, man" Thanks for listening.