[anapex]

So I went ahead an exercised my C&R FFL and picked up a Manurhin PP from Centerfire Systems. After cleaning the gun I took it to the range and ran a box through it. It has trouble stripping the first round off the magazine and every 2 or 3 rounds has trouble stripping another round. A tap on the slide (kinda like what you have to do on a Garand) will have it finish chambering the round. My first thoughts are that it's probably a weak recoil spring but since it's my first pistol of that type I wanted to check. So feed me your ideas of what it could be.

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. I think you're on to something with the possibly weak recoil spring.

Best.

[Nick96]

The Manurhin PP (especially in .32) was a popular Police pistol in Europe for many years. In fact, Walther of Germany was prohibited from making guns for a while after WWII. So Manurhin PP's were made in great numbers under Walther license for many years as Police duty pistols. These pistols seem to show up in quantity from time to time as Police surplus guns. I had one that was made in the mid 1950's. So there are a few things that could be potential trouble areas. If an older model, the recoil spring could in fact be a bit week. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to replace it. But I'd try the following steps first.

- Many of these gun may have been sitting on shelves for literally decades. There could be varnish like lubricant deposites still on the gun. So a thorough cleaning (like soaking in degreaser) may be something to consider. Pay special attention to slide rails and breach throat area. Then re-lubricate with a quality gun oil.

- The older ones were designed for FMJ bullets (about all there was in those days). Especially in .32, the European ammo was typically loaded a bit hotter than the American ammo. There may also be slight variations in case diameter and bullet seating among various brands. So you might try using some different ammo brands - in FMJ.

- Obviously, look for any excessive wear or damage. Slide rails, extractor area or even damaged or apparent rubbing on the top of the magazine lips.

The one I had was very nice. Much better fit & finish, better trigger, more accurate and in general much more pleasant to shoot than a Walther PPK/S I got in the late 1980's.

[Cosmoline]

I've had good luck with my Ulm marked PP. There is apparently a modification you can do to the extractor which makes the PP like Silvertips and similar low-recoil, short OAL cartridges. This was done with mine by the previous owner and it has 100% reliability with silvertips. The down side is it no longer likes hot FMJ. Given that the euro FMJ is probably better and certainly cheaper, I'd advise against having a gunsmith bend the extractor. I'm probably going to get mine bent back.

My spring is most certainly weak. I believe there is an outfit selling stiffer PP and PPK springs. I'll post if I can find the contact info.

[denfoote]

My friend's French made PP did the same thing!!
He cured the problem simply by shooting the gun...a lot!!
It seems that these pistols were never broken in properly!!! :confused:
After a couple of hundred rounds, it settled down and now runs fine!!!
It's a wonderfully accurate gun and he is now very pleased with it!! :D