Walther PPS / 9 or 40?

Depends on what kind of ammo is available, or what kind of ammo you're set up to reload.

For example, if I were still living in El Paso, and I had the SR9C, and had decided to buy the PPS, I would buy the PPS in 9mm so I would only have to stock up on one kind of pistol ammo between them.

But now, living in Anchorage, in the same situation, I would (and HAVE!) purchased the PPS in .40 instead. It's hard (nearly impossible) to order ammunition online in Alaska, so basically, what's on the shelves locally is what you get. In that situation, having one weapon in 9mm, and one in .40 gives you better odds that you can find ammo to feed at least one of your handguns. Less of an issue if you reload already, mind you.

I really like the PPS I have, BTW. Light years ahead of the Kel-Tec PF-9 that I replaced with it.

I've got one of each; nice pistol, easy to conceal. I enjoy shooting the 9mm far more than I do the .40 S&W, but your mileage may vary.

I went through the same decision process. I bought the 9mm because I have a couple of BHPs in that caliber and the PSS hods an extra round of 9mm compared to the .40

I have not shot the PSS in .40 but I would think with the smaller magazines the PSS is easier to handle and back on target faster in 9mm.

.40 is probably more effective than 9mm, but when I worried about that I carry a 1911 variant in .45 acp.

A few years ago I was researching the PPS and the general consensus at that time was the 9mm seemed to be more reliable than the .40. I don't know what the general consensus is now. I purchased the 9mm as I already have a 9mm pistol and reload for it. As K soze said, if the 9mm isn't enough for the job I'll break out a .44 or .45 caliber. The PPS is a nice shooting, slim pistol suitable for belt carry or pocket carry if you have very large pockets. My only problem with the PPS is that my daughter likes it so much that she wants to liberate it from me.

Whatever you do, at least attempt to shoot that .40 S&W before buying it. That's a snappy round. I have a PPQ in .40 and is has a pretty bad muzzle flip . I shoot it well however but the PPS is much smaller. Just my two cents.

9mm every time. Not enough difference in a handgun round to sacrifice follow up shot accuracy. Extra capacity is always nice too!

I have a PPS 9 and I love it. I have heard other folks refer to their (previously owned) PPS .40s as the worst gun they've ever fired--and they were not refering to looks or engineering, just recoil.

I have a 9mm. If I want a larger caliber I will step up to a 45. Not an intermediate step to a 40. I love my PPS. It's the centerfire pistol I shoot the most. I also cast for it and have not had any leading issues. I love the ergonomics and wish all my pistols had the mag release like the PPS.


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I bought mine in 9mm, primarily because I wasn’t set up to reload .40 and didn’t want to go through the trouble of retooling and buying components for another caliber. So far, I think I’ve made the right choice, the PPS-9 is a very good blend of features, slightly more capacity than the .40, and it’s very controllable when shooting.

I’ve never liked .40 even in a full size pistol though; it’s a snappier recoil impulse than a .45.

Chuck

I owned one in .40. Shooting it the first few times at the range really wasn't too bad. I could handle the recoil without too much of a problem.

And then one day, I realized I couldn't the the broad side of a frickin barn with it! I found the .40 to be way too snappy, and I threw the gun off target because of that. It's a nice small, flat gun. Don't try to shove too much power into that.

I'd buy the 9mm if I did it over again. I dind't like the .40 so much I just sold it and went to an entirely different gun.

The PPS does carry very, very well though.

I have the PPS in both the 9 and .40.
Honestly the recoil reports surprise me. I have shot mine back to back and really can't tell much difference in recoil.
I even had my wife randomly hand me one without telling me which was which...hard to tell.
The slide is a little heavier in the .40 and the recoil spring may be stouter, not sure on that.
Maybe it is just me...

rhinoh said:

I have the PPS in both the 9 and .40.
I even had my wife randomly hand me one without telling me which was which...hard to tell.
Maybe it is just me...

Click to expand...

It's just you.

Never tried the .40 but I doubt I'd like the additional snap. My G23 is my preferred .40 caliber gun anyway. I shot a friend's 9mm PPS extensively and it was a great little gun. If the right deal came up I would buy one just like it, and I don't even like 9mm much in general.

The .40 handles so well I cannot see any reason to go nine unless you simply want cheaper ammo. Unless you're really, really recoil sensitive (like some women may be) don't be afraid to go for the .40. It actually recoils less than my M&P .40c, which is strange because that gun is actually heavier. I believe it has to do with Walther's design. The slide springs, I'm betting, absorb recoil better.

I just rented a pps and shot it side by side with a bunch of other guns. Very accurate and controllable in 9mm for its size. Great grip for its size too.

Get the 9mm.

Carried one in 9mm as my BUG on duty for a while. Very nice -- my department has a separate qual course for back up guns (less longer range shooting, that sort of thing), but I didn't have any problem qualifying on the standard course of fire with my PPS.

An academy-mate of mine carries on in .40. Side by side, the 40 is snappier. I don't think it would make one bit of difference at the kind of distances BUG's are intended for. At longer range, I can put rounds on target faster with the 9mm than the 40 (obviously there's the counterpoint that the .40 caliber hits might hurt more, but there are about a million threads covering that debate, so perhaps that is best set aside).