Walther TPH (American)... Anyone?

[Mr Jody Hudson]

Very interesting Zip...

I had 4 of those early Alabama stainless ones and each was fixed many times. However, it was only the 3 I got from S&W that had mag releases fall off! All three of them did!

Sounds like, perhaps, S&W got all the bad mag releases from Interarms, along with partially made pistols, or perhaps S&W just got a lot of boxes of parts (perhaps parts that Interarms was not planning to use, in some cases).

They are fine pistols when they work! :banghead:

 

[Pocket Pistol]

The speed and accuracy is one reason I love it.
Does not realy need sights as POI and POA are VERY close

Like I say if you are faster and better caliber does not matter

 

[Pocket Pistol]

Ok more questions

Does anyone know when S&W started selling the "problem" TPH's
It seems to be that the "Interarms" early ones are pretty good and the later ones are where the problems started.

Is there any kind of SN# break ???

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

Personally, I have chosen to "just get one, don't pay any attention to when or where or how, etc." shoot it for a while with all sorts of different ammo... and then start sending it to the gun smith with exact complaints and whenever possible the empty cartridge that was marked during the malfunction.

I consider 4 trips to the gun smith to be minimum and I'm not surprised by double that. You end up with a lot of money invested. HOWEVER, there is nothing else in the world at any price to compete with it, in my opinion.

And, remember, there was a time, and it lasted for several years, when you paid a MINIMUM of $900 for one and still had the same work to do afterward.

 

[Pocket Pistol]

I suppose you have a point.
I did not know they were that high in the past as
I have just reciently got involved with them.

 

[Zip06]

My current TPH was made by a subcontractor to Interarms. The serial number is T0335XX and it was manufactured in 4/98. This is the one the mag release broke. It also has some pronounced machining marks internally. My earlier one was referenced in a previous post.

Prices for the German TPH's was/is quite high but you can still find a TPH without looking to hard for $300-400. Saw one at a gunshow a month ago for $320 used.

 

[Pocket Pistol]

Well got my TPH back from Roger Perry today.
He fixed the grip, new Mainspring, recut the sear, recut the Hammer SA notch, replaced sear spring, test fired.
He said it worked great.
I will test it tomorrow.
So far it looks great.

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

Keep us posted Pocket Pistol! It sounds like he did a LOT of work on yours as well.

I have some other pistols that are done now and hope to see Roger Perry about them tonight or soon.

 

[Pocket Pistol]

Well I went to the range today
Good news is my 22 rifle shot great and I got it sighted in just fine.
Bad news is I left frustrated. :banghead:
As for my TPH it just was not a good day
For some reason I could not get 2 magazines through it.
It took 3-5 DA strikes each time to fire.
It never self cocked to SA, It would return to DA after each shot.
It only fired 75% when I thumb cocked it to SA.
Also once after I cocked it and fired it did a double tap.
Kind of surprised me when it went off twice with one pull.

I hope this is just a fluke and Roger can fix it up like
it is supposed to because I really like the TPH

Lets all pause and share a moment of silence for my TPH and
pray Roger can fix it up

 

[9x19]

Dang!

Ain't nothing worse than a gun that won't run right.

BTW, I just got an order in from Natchez... they have nickel-plated TPH mags in stock.

The ones I got today run just fine in my American stainless TPH.

Best of luck to you with your own...

www.natchezss.com

 

[Pocket Pistol]

Yea that is it
Dang

I hope we can get it straightened out.
I have sold guns that I have had less trouble with.
But I knew there were a couple of small problems with this kind
going in, where the others were new and supposed to be "good to go" out of the box.

I have kind of started a collection of small pocket pistols and like them
and the TPH has a nice history behind it, German design, imported for the CIA, among others, Kinda Cool

(yea I know that those were the German Blue ones but I like Stainless)

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

I will Pray as well.

I too will pray for you. Send it on back to Roger and give him your best explanation of the failures of course. Also, send him a box or two of each of the ammo you shot in it.

These damned things are like Colt .45 SA and Harley Davidsons; we LOVE them, even though we spend terrible ammounts of time and money getting them to work like they should have from the beginning.

Another little piece of trivia, which I may or may not have posted here...

The way I found out about them was from a 'wet agent' that I met as a Realtor, some 25 years ago. We were talking guns, etc. for several days as I held all-day open houses at his home. He spoke of his use of Rugers and AR7s in his work; he only used .22s and a double stack .380 Beretta pistol.

He claimed to always use the Ruger .22 or AR7 .22 and then leave them on the site after use. He claimed that on those occassions when he had to use the .380 that he would leave it behind him as well. BUT he said, he was never without his TPH, even if wearing a European suit or bathing suit (now that is a picture ). He told me that nearly all the secret agent types revered the little TPH but it was seldom if ever found in the US, as usually only agents had them and they didn't let them go. He said usually only an agent who died would let one on the market, via his remaining wife. He spoke of the smallness, accuracy, beauty of the fine little piece with a reverence that was intriguing and those stories of his sent me on a quest.

I spent years, after that, trying to find one. And, I’ve been loving them and sending them back to get fixed ever since! Thank GOD, I don’t also have a thing for Harleys and Colt SAs!

 

[Pocket Pistol]

Fortunately I do not have or plan on getting a Harley.

One question:
If we seem to have problems with them what did the CIA do to them or are the German ones that much better ??
I thought some one said they had a German one and it needed just as much work as a Stainless one and sold it because of the price of it NEW and possible degrading the value of it by working on it.

I do really hope He can fix it as I do not need a Very expensive paper weight, as I can not sell it in the condition it is in now.


Well just finished cleaning it, to see if I could see anything obvious
It is weird when you rack the slide the action works fine and it stays in SA like it is supposed to. But if you let the slide go it drops to DA

 

[Zip06]

Pocket Pistol - Another prayer vigil going on here for your TPH. I agree with you guys, we do put up with an inordinate amount of fussing with these pistols. Obviously we think its worth the fuss. What kinda ammo are you guys shooting?

 

[Pocket Pistol]

I have tried a little of a few different ones.
CCI Quick-Shok
Aguila Super Maximum ( any one know how to pronounce this one ??? )
Remington bulk box ( for fun )
Winchester super-x (more fun)
Aguils SSS
Aguils super colibri and colibri ( kinda neat and fairly quiet but will not cycle the slide or feed very well because of the length)
Even tried a Federal shot shell as an experiment. ( did not work good, won't cycle the slide)

I will most likely carry CCI Quick-Shok or Aguila Super Maximum in it when I get it running.


Thanks for the prayers

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

Max Power loadings in TPH are best!

My several TPHs have always loved Stingers, QuikShok, MiniMag, and other maximum power, max velocity loadings... ONLY.

If you can find any of the old Russian "sniper" rounds which were steel case, hyper velocity in the almost 40 grain range, with a soft lead deep HP, those are my most favorite of the exotics. Otherwise, your favorite +P type of .22 LR loading is worth a try.

And, I have NO idea what the deal was with the German ones, my German one was no better than my newer stainless or my newest stainless and blue.

In fact the most accurate and "best" of the bunch is the Arkansas made for Interarms, stainless models from the first American manufacturing years.

Since the original "special projects" folks at TPH manufacturers for Interarms, where I sent mine back at least four times each, Roger is the best I've found, by far. Just send him at least a couple of boxes of each kind of ammo you want to use; and test lots of ammo first to find what YOURS so far, likes best.

 

[Pocket Pistol]

where do you find old Russian "sniper" rounds ???
They sound interesting



Being a fan of secret agents, 007, spys and the such I have also become a fan of the small pocket pistols they use.
I kinda figure if they are good enough for the CIA and Mossad (I think I spelled it right), etc, I figure they are good enough for me.

But I have had trouble finding info on these neet little gadgets.
Where does one find info on the types and configurations used by the various worlds secret intellegence agencys ??

So far I want another TPH and I want to get a silencer for one of them, I think it would be a hoot to play with.
Then get the other one black teflon coated and have night sights put in, I think it would make a nice carry piece.

 

[9x19]

CCI's newest "Velocitor" load works quite well in both my Walthers, the TPH and P-22.

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

The only source on the old Russian .22, steel case, ammo that I know of would be online. I got mine from a fellow who was a Marine Sniper, about 14 years ago. I bought about 50 bricks of 500 from him and mine is not for sale!!! I like it a lot and I've shot all but about 1 or 2 bricks of it.

The answer to everything, these days, is ONLINE... then check to see if it is true. That is why the self-correcting value of online forums is so good. If you lie, you get corrected!

Yes, I like the Velocitors in m TPH as well too.

 

[Zip06]

Took my TPH and three other .22's to the range to find out if any of them liked Velocitor's. Decided to test some other ammo also. The four .22's I took were the TPH, a PPK/s (in .22), Daewoo DP-52 (Walther PP clone in .22) and a Beretta 87 (old style that looks like the Model 85 .380). I fired 50 rounds of each type ammo through each as fast as I could. Here are the results:

TPH CCI Stingers, 32 grain HP, No malfunctions what-so-ever
Winchester Power Points 40 grain HP, No malfunctions what-so-ever
CCI MiniMag, 40 grain Hard Point, No malfunctions what-so-ever
CCI Velocitor, 40 grain Gold Dot, many failures to feed. Unreliable

Daewoo DP-52 CCI Stingers
Winchester Power Points
CCI MiniMag
CCI Velocitor No Problems of any kind with any ammo

Walther PPK/s CCI Stingers, No Problems of any kind
Winchester Power Point, No Problems of any kind
CCI Mini Mags, No Problems of any kind
CCI Velocitor, Many failures to feed. Never chambered twice in a row

Beretta Model 87 CCI Stingers
Winchester Power Point
CCI MiniMags
CCI Velocitors No problems of any kind with any ammo


Looks like the Walthers do not like Velocitors at least not in my guns.

 

[Hypnogator]

I carried one as my "always" gun for years, 'till Kel-Tec came out with the P-32. Now my daughter carrys it.

Always reliable with CCI Mini-Mags, both HP & solids. Very accurate for a pocket gun.

 

[Pocket Pistol]

Well Roger just got back in town and called.
My TPH has been bugging him for days now.
He said all I have to do is get it to him and he will take care of it.
Very nice and apologetic, even offered my money back if I did not want to mess with the shipping again.
Least I can do is let him have another crack at it. I think I will throw a couple boxes of ammo as well.
As before I will keep you posted.

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

I strongly suggest that you send him a couple of boxes of each kind of ammo you want to shoot in the pistol. It has been my experience that no matter what you do or who does it... the TPH (like a Harley or a 1911 style .45) will need to be worked on over and over and over until it is right... and even then, you may need to have it worked on again... no matter how good the mechanic. And Roger is superb. I picked up a gun from him last night and he is VERY concerned that your TPH does not work PERFECTLY.

Per my experience, it's just the way these exotic little beauties are... They are like a fantastically beautiful, sexy and HOT babe or wife... they are HIGH MAINTENANCE! But for some of us they are worth it; for others... they will just not ever want to have a Trophy Babe wife, a Harley, a finicky 1911 .45 or a TPH.

Just remember at one time the little TPH was $800 to $900 the German models are that much and more, most likely... and you STILL have to plan on 5 to 10 trips back to the factory customer service gun smiths. Now there are no factory service gunsmiths and there are no parts suppliers that I know of. We will soon ALL have to plan on buying extra TPHs as parts guns too...

The TPH still has no competition in some ways; the Keltec .32 is closest but... the .32 ammo costs a lot more than the .22 if you want to shoot it a lot. It could be worse... you could have married Marilyn Monroe or Liz Taylor! Now THAT would be high maintenance!

 

[Zip06]

Roger that, Jody. Yes they do require maintenance just like a fine watch or a high maintenance babe, like Pamela Anderson. She goes in for maintenance on a regular basis and I, for one, would say its money well spent.

 

[Pocket Pistol]

Well it is back at Rogers now and he said he will get to it in a couple of weeks.
Wish he was a bit quicker though