Regarding the Walther PP/PPK

I was thinking about getting one. Turns out there are much better choices for a similar handgun:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/im-really-thinking-about-getting-a-fancy-ppk-s.854712/

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/suggest-a-380-as-a-shooter.872736/page-4#post-11644839

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/mid-size-380-pistols.867920/

In 1930, the PPK was a pocket pistol. In the last 25 years, a lot of better choices have emerged.

Still, it’s a high quality, accurate little pistol with an excellent single action trigger. Double action is stiff, but that’s because it’s a true Double Action, not a hybrid design that only mimics DA.

If you enjoy historically significant guns, the Walther PP and PPK are right up there.

PPK pros: It's a beautiful expression of German engineering. An elegant design that hasn't changed in decades.
Cons: It hasn't changed in decades.

Technology advances and of course there are better designs out there. So what. If you want something lighter, better trigger, easily carried, more capacity, effective calibers, won't break, sights that aren't merely vestigial, you have plenty of choices.

Curiosity is the best reason to have one.

Since the mid'70s I have owned & carried all 3 in the series in 9x17: PP, PPK/S and PPK.

Double action on all 3 ab-so-lute-ly sucks.

I currently only have the PPK that I purchased a little over 30 years ago. If you are not careful, like when you are drawing quickly, the slide will slice you. Sometimes when you think that you are being careful, the slide will slice you. Sometimes if you look at the pistol wrong, the slide will slice you.

As has already been said, there are better options available.

I still like my PPK. I would have liked them all a bit more if they featured a locked-breech design rather than blow-back, but ...

I currently have two .32 PPK guns- a 1961 blued and a late production S&W stainless.

Both have been outstanding, and are a fine carry gun if you don't fall under the 9mm or nothing, minimum 10 rounds, striker-only club.

I bought an Interarms PPK back in the day when my dad and I still watched every Bond movie religiously, no matter how many times we'd seen them.

Pitiful sights. Horrible trigger (both DA and SA). Only pistol that ever gave me "hammer-bite/slide-bit" and I don't have particularly fleshy hands. Accuracy was good at ten yards and in; I never could shoot it a lick at any farther distances. The ergonomics never worked for me, it didn't point well or feel natural in the hand. Difficult to reload. Hated the pistol when I had it.

All the cons aside, the cool factor is undeniable. Another fine piece of German engineering.

Wish I had it back.

I have two PPK/S's - one .22 LR and one .380 ACP, and I have a PP in .32 ACP. I highly recommend the PP .32 as a shoulder-holstered carry gun (a la Bond), but a little big for my pocket, anyway. The PPK/S .380 I can take or leave it as either a pocket gun or shoulder-holstered; it's OK but there are better options. The PPK/S .22 is pretty, but it's so picky on ammo, even for a .22, that I can't recommend it at all.

No need to be on one side.

I love the way the gun looks, and the feel of hefting it in the hand. The recoil, capacity, and slide bite are why I don't carry one. But merely pointing out that there are lighter guns who weigh a lot less and are softer shooting isn't hate.

Love the looks and the history, but they really hammer bite me. I have a Mauser HsC that I really like for that type of pistol.

Lots of times "haters" are people that haven't ever shot much less owned one. Think of all the kids that "hate" broccoli, just because its they think they should, having never tried it, in order to gain an opinion based upon experience.

If they are recoil sensitive to a PPK they would think light 380's like the LCP and other polymers are intolerable and alloy J frame revolvers were created to amputate...

I have lots of them and can't say I hate any of them but I like some more than others.

I have a German produced PPK/s in 22lr. It is not a pocket gun, it is heavy, not great sights, and a heavy trigger pull....and is one of my favorite plinkers. Things said about the PPK could be said of most smaller semi autos of the same time period. By today's standards, probably not going to be a first choice for carry. Fur sheer shooting fun, these pistols, regardless of caliber, are just a lot of fun to shoot.

The PPK grip is too short for me and makes shooting it awkward and uncomfortable. The PP however is slightly larger and is a ton of fun. The issue there is that for a .32acp it weighs a ton. For a .380 version it kicks hard enough to take some of the fun away. I have had both and of the guns I would gladly take a PP over another ppk and I would choose 32 over 380. It is a heavy gun but it’s fun and it’s not too heavy to carry it. You definitely know it’s there, but it’s not a lead brick either.

Had an Interarms/Ranger .380 PPK/S. One of the most beautiful, finely machined pistols Ive ever owned- and one of the least reliable. Jammed with every brand of ammo I tried, and I tried a bunch. Different magazines didnt help. Bought a Wolff spring kit, but couldnt get the slide off, even after letting it chill in the freezer overnight. From what Ive read, this isnt unheard of with Ranger- made guns. The suspect is peening over time makes it impossible to pull the slide back far enough to clear the unhitching slot in the frame.

Sold it, cried and cried. It was SO pretty.....

Bought a '60s Manurhin PP .32- also a jam-o-matic. Walther forums suggested removing the loaded-chamber indicator. This helped, but even after it really only liked Aguila ammo, and even then occasionally jammed. Wouldnt stake my life on it, so down the road it went.

Cried some more. Of all the guns Ive wanted to love and couldnt get to shoot right, none brought me more heartache than those Walthers.

jmorris said:

If they are recoil sensitive to a PPK they would think light 380's like the LCP and other polymers are intolerable and alloy J frame revolvers were created to amputate...

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Eh, recoil in small blow-back .380s does tend to be snappy; my Mauser HsC and PPK were guilty of that. OTOH, my SIG P-230 doesn't seem as bad in comparison, but that's probably subjective and just because I happen to think the 230 is the finest .380 ever made (with a much more egonomic grip shape, too).

Oldschool shooter said:

Things said about the PPK could be said of most smaller semi autos of the same time period.

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Yep. Although I had a Kel-Tec that was horrid as far as the snappy recoil and could never make it through a second magazine with malfunctioning.

I carry a Sig P-232, 90% of the time, couldn't agree with you more. Now, if I could only find a holster that was "Truly" sweat free, I would be in "High Cotton". I had to use an "Easy Out" to remove the grip screw. Also, sweated out the circuit in my Crimson Trace grips. Called Crimson, the said to send it in and they would repair it for free. Sent it on September 16th, waiting for the return.

I carried a W.German Interarms .380 PPK/S for many years as a backup. It was a very pretty, highly polished, bit of kit, and was slim enough to carry well in an inside waistband holster..

That being said, the slide did have a tendency to bite if you weren't careful, the recoil was definitely noticeable, and there was weight to it compared to modern plastic guns. The snappy recoil made putting a hundred rounds through it at qualification not that much fun. The difference in the trigger pull between the first round in double action and the subsequent rounds in single action could be disconcerting.

But it was cool, but I no longer have it. I think that says it all.

In the similar sized WWII German design 32acp pistols the most often mentioned are the Walther fraternal twins but for me, they are the bottom pair of the quartet. All four designs were similar in size, DA/SA in function blowback with spring around barrel designs. All used a lock/release forward of the trigger and pull slide back and up to field strip. In 32acp the PPK had a 7 + 1 magazine capacity while the other three were all 8 + 1. The Walther PP and JP Sauer 38h are very similar in size and both used the button type mag release. The Walther PPK and Mauser HSc were similar compact pistols and the HSc has a heel release magazine but hold 8 + 1 rounds vs the PPK 7 + 1 rounds.

Personally a much prefer my JP Sauer 38h pistols over my Walther PP and while both the compacts tend to pinch the webbing of my thump the HSc is far more forgiving that the slice-n-dice PPK.

I have a Bersa Thunder, which is a PPK clone - close enough?

I hate the stupid thing. Bought it because with a price in the $200s and stellar reviews, I figured I couldn't go wrong. Well, I did go wrong. It kicks more than you think it would, and that's coupled with a beavertail that bites my hand with every shot. Getting through one or two magazines is literally a pain. SA trigger's fine, DA trigger sucks, can't comment too much on the accuracy because I simply don't shoot it much. It's been hanging around in the back of my safe for years now; I should just sell high on it right now.

Anyhow, the snappy kick is going to translate from the Bersa to the real-deal PPK and any other blowback 380 out there, and if you pair a small grip and beavertail along with that, I'd expect the Walther to be just as painful to shoot.

I have both a Bersa Thunder and a Walther PPK/S and the Walther's DA trigger is heavier and its recoil is stronger. That being said, I don't think either trigger pull or recoil are really high priority factors for people who want a Walther PPK/S.

Its interesting what people pick-up on for negatives with the PPK...

The only failure I have ever had with my .32 PPK's was a hard primer on some S&B in my 61. I only shoot Euro ball.

For me, the sights of the S&W are top notch, and the 61 are perfectly serviceable.

With the flat bottom mag, my hand fits perfect, with the pinky curled under the gun.

I agree, the trigger pull is not a striker gun, and that why I like it.

I have a few FEG—PMK-380’s, which I think are a clone of the PPK. At least it fits a PPK holster, and they are some of the sweetest guns I won,,,Nice trigger, Low recoil,,,nice weight,,,, so maybe they aren’t the same as a PPK....I don’t care, they are good guns.

Mr. Mosin said:

I have been researching the Walther PPK out of curiosity, and everyone I've seen on internet forums either seems to love em, or hate em. Those that love em, love em for the reasons those that hate em, hate em. Heavy, trigger pull, sights, etc, etc.

My question regards the haters. Is this one of those things where the hate spews from a handful of lemons, or is the hate actually justified ?

My thoughts on it are that the design itself is not a "pocket gun" design. It's a smaller version of a service pistol. The trigger hate... if I had to guess, comes from a generation or two of Glock lovers who can't cope with having to actually remember a safety and learn a double action trigger pull. The sight hate, capacity hate, etc; I can not comment on. The hate of the wieght... my thoughts are "If it's too heavy, buy an S&W 442."

Also.... objectivity is absolutely useless when a gun is viewed through the eyes of want and Hollywood mystique.

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In the early 1990’s I bought a Hungarian made FEG PPK/s copy in .380. Sights were small but functional, the trigger wasn’t bad for a small DA/SA gun. I carried it for years and years as a duty back up gun in a shoulder holster I could access through modified uniform shirts.

I love James Bond movies, books and stuff, so I had to have a “real” one. I found an Interarms imported stainless Manhurin PPK/s .380 during a production lull in about 2000 that was close enough. I owned this gun long before I had ever shot, much less owned, a Glock.

The PPK/s trigger pull was lousy, the sights minuscule, the sharp-edges of the grip and lower half made it uncomfortable to shoot, it wasn’t super-reliable with JHP ammo and after a short period of ownership it started to double on me. I sent it elsewhere, I kept the much better operating and feeling FEG and I never really looked back.

I still want a real German PPK in blue, not to carry but strictly to fill the James Bond void. I will say based on my experiences and in all honesty, I feel the Hellcat, 365 and other modern higher-capacity sub-compact 9mm carry guns blow the .380 PP-PPK-PPK/s series away.

Your mileage may vary, as with all guns we all have our likes and dislikes .

Stay safe.