New S&W Walther PPK/S-1 .380 Engraved

[dtvburns]

When I went to pick up my Clot, 1911 Gold Cup Trophy, I spotted a shiny factory machine engraved Walther PPK/S sitting on the shelf. Against my better judgment the fancy shiny gun made me buy it. I am not a fan of compacts or .380 ACP but.... it felt good in my hand, not too small or light like a toy, easy to pull slide back and chamber a round and enough heft to make me instinctually respect it.






I have read about the relatively new version on walterforums, and they do not seem to like it at all. I hate to say it but they seem like retro grouches. Right out of the plastic carrying case/box the gun worked very well. I have put over 200 rounds (not enough to be truly proven) through the gun without a singe problem. I have run Fiocchi, Blazer and Remington ball ammo without any issues. The Colt Gold cup I picked up on the same day had feed issues for the first 100 rounds, now perfect

The SS and grips on the gun are flawless. The engraving is not very deep because it appears to be laser, but is a good pattern. The only issues are that the gun fired 6 inches to the left at 15 yards (hammer and brass drift fixed issue by moving dovetailed rear sight) and the mahogany display box that came with the gun is way oversized for this gun. I appears S&W either uses these boxes for other guns or is trying to trick you into buying two or three more to make this presentation case looked remotely filled.

I like it! I know it looks like a BBQ gun, and I like that, but so far I shoot it well, not as well as my newest 1911 but well enough to make me seriously plan on shooting it enough to make it a carry gun once it is proven.

 

[dovedescending]

Daaaaaaaang son. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age

 

[dtvburns]

Not just pretty, its an accurate shooter too.

 

[Dogguy]

Yeah, the Waltherforum guys are only interested in the German Walthers or any Walther that is not new. Anything new is, by association, junk to them. I'm glad to see you're one of those people who believe in shooting guns instead of just talking about them. That's a nice PPK/S.

 

[MICHAEL T]

It was S&W that had to recall all the PPK/S and PPK they had made for several years. Not Walther or Interarms. Just S&W the internal changes to make it less labor intensive bit them . They couldn't leave a proven design alone . Had to mess . Read the Walthers boards a lot of S&W owners still having trouble and sending back .

I do thank S&W they raised the value of my Walthers a lot.

 

[dtvburns]

Micheal, Thanks my point about the exactly! BTW I do not think bad S&W PPKs will lower the value of your collection, it will make the value of the non Smiths higher because the are allegedly better.

They did a good job on this one and it works great. I would have bought a new Interarms but... they are out of business.

 

[searcher451]

Dogguy: I'm one of those Walther Forums guys, and I'd have to respectfully disagree with your assessment. While it's true that the German/Frernch-made pistols are wonderful and highly reliable, the issue is more the reliability of the S&W-made pistols and not the fact that they are "new," by definition. Heck, there's nothing wrong with the relatively new Interarms Walthers, to be sure. We all just wish that the S&W version was up to the same quality standards and craftsmanship as the originals. Currently, it's not.

Dtbuurns: That's an elegant pistol over here, as well as "over there" on that other forum. Congratulations.

 

[Overkilll0084]

That's a nice little pistol there. I'm glad there wasn't one of those around when my wife bought hers. Previous to my wife's purchase, I'd never had any dealing with them. I've found it to be a good, reliable little gun. Even if it's considered a "lesser" version by purists.

 

[PRM]

Another Walther Forum guy, and I have no objections to the S&Ws. All I own are the Interarms and French Manurhin models, solely because I acquired them before S&W got in the game.

S&W has a less than stellar rep on their early QC. Early S&W guns were kind of hit and miss. Just about everybody I have talked to that had to send one back due to issues were happy when they got them back. Problems solved. So lets be fair, the S&Ws are pretty good guns.

The PP series design is a classic and will be around regardless of who has the current license to make them.

 

[Dogguy]

LOL....I figured I'd get a response from Waltherforum guys on this forum as well. My remarks were a little tongue-in-cheek. I recently joined the Waltherforums as well as recently buying a new S&W PPK/S.

As for the "old" guns vs the "new" guns, you see the subject on all the gun specific forums. There's always a group who prefer the classics, a group that defends the current models and the conversations can get heated. I'm a member of several gun specific forums and I can tell you, people get worked up on the subject.

 

[dtvburns]

There is a nice thread on the waltherforum that is about "Why your S&W PPK is better than your others". Just when you google the new PPKs it comes up with all negative reviews from that forum.

I joined there too and everyone has been nice to me..... so far, and I have not been a sarcastic dick either.... so far

 

[hAkron]

I had FTF issues with my S&W PPK/s when I boughtit new last October. Sent it to S&W and they replaced the whole slide. They didn't do a great job of fitting the slide so it scratched up the frame rails a bt, but it does go bang every time now. I didn't like being without it for 9 weeks, but it is reliable since being fixed.

 

[MedWheeler]

I had an Interarms back in the early nineties, and carried it as a BU/OD gun for a year (after which, I left law enforcement.) It was quite a handy gun. I'd certainly rock that one.

 

[dtvburns]

Any company can screw up a gun not just S&W I sent in a 6 month old Browning lever action that developed feed and ejection issues, it came back two months later all scratched up. Sent it back and it has been there for 4 months now.