[pippin53]

Can a .40 cal P99 be converted to 9mm with a barrel change and would the mags fit both guns?It appears the frame and slides are the same size. Also, a question on the P5 -- I'm looking at a used one with the code IF on the slide. I was rather surprized to see circular machining marks on the frame. Is this common? I would have expected to see better fit and finish on something of this quality. Does the P5 feed hollow points well?
Thank you,
Ken -- my name also -- I'm a newbie

[cslinger]

I'm not Lunde nor do I play him on the internet but I can answer some of your questions.

As far as I know there are no 9mm conversion barrels for a .40 P99. There was a run of .357sig barrels and the mags work for .40 and .357SIG

As to the magazines working in 9mm I have tried a couple and they do not. You may be able to tweak them but I won't try any of that for fear that they wouldn't work as originally intended blah blah felony blah blah etc.

As for the P5 drool cool drool cool me likey. That is the extent of my P5 knowledge.

[lunde]

Bar-Sto is working on 9mm conversion barrels for the Walther P99 (.40 Auto version, of course). I own two P99s chambered in 9mm, so I don't plan to buy one of those barrels. I have heard reports that 9mm won't feed correctly in the .40 Auto magazines, but I have no direct experience with this.

About the Walther P5, I can see some machining marks on the frame, specifically around the trigger guard. Here is a somewhat close view of the left side of my Walther P5 Compact ("AA" datecode, meaning year 2000 production).

http://www.praxagora.com/lunde/photos/p5c-left.jpg

Does it bother me? Nope. Not in the slightest. My HK P7s exhibit this, too. Again, it doesn't bother me. Only my Sigs don't exhibit this.

[lunde]

Also, I found that my Walther P5 Compact doesn't like rounds that use the Gold Dot bullet. I have tried the 115gr and 124gr varieties, but expect that the 147gr to behave the same. The bullet sometimes touches the slide stop lever protrusion, specifically thet part that is intended to be engaged by the magazine follower when the magazine is empty. This is fine, as I have plenty of Winchester 115gr Silvertips to use instead. Their bullet profile is narrower than the Gold Dot.

[pippin53]

Thank you for prompt responses. If I put a Bar-sto 9mm barrel in a .40 P99, would 9mm magazines seat in the frame and feed? Have you heard how well they work?
Are those Nill grips on your P5c? How much do they cost? Do they make them for P5f?
Ken

[lunde]

The P99 frame is the same regardless of caliber. Thus, 9mm and .40 Auto mags will fit into a P99 regardless of caliber. However, reports indicate that 9mm doesn't feed well. It may relate to the width of the magazine's lips. Again, I have no first-hand experience with this.

The P5C grips are indeed Nill grips. I have similar grips on order for my P5. They're close to $100 per set, but well worth it, as the factory grips are plastic.