Walther PP / PPK .32 acp

I always wanted a PPK. I ended up with a manurhin PP in 7.65 that I absolutely loved. My only complaint was the typical 32acp complaint that it launches brass into orbit leaving me as a reloader frustrated with retaining brass supply. I have big meaty hands and I did not have a problem with slide bite, but I did have that issue on the PPK I shot which has a smaller grip and likely pushed my hand higher to accommodate. I traded the pistol away for a boat motor after I ripped off the lower unit on the motor I already had. I will get another one at some point but it is not a priority. The PP is easily one of the prettiest and best shooting 32s around, and the issues I had with the PPK made me pretty well sweat off the beretta tomcat and other similar compact and micro pistols that would be conducive to slide bite for my large hands.

A side note- the Manurhin pistols are incredibly well made. The German pistols command a premium as they could have been (and likely were) used in ww2. The “East German” pistols are less desirable from what I recall, and for a reason... the loss of both fit and finish quality and historical value puts them at the bottom of the heap when compared to other variants.

I agree, my Manurhin was excellent; mine fed my 60gr Gold Dot HP reloads perfectly to boot

The PPK is beautiful. It feels compact, solid, and well-made in the hand. It shoots ok, little bit snappy for a .32. Not as much fun to shoot in .380 and the .380s always seem to be the ones with feeding issues.

To me it’s not a practical carry piece (heavy compared to more modern guns of higher caliber and capacity) and not as much fun at the range as other .32s. I wouldn’t buy one now for the price they bring. But they’re nice guns and if you want one... go for it. Mine is an S&W and I wish I had an old Walther, Manurhin, or Interarms without the slightly ugly extended beavertail.

My PP is an Austrian Police model with the SW & rack number.

I'd gladly trade my Beretta M81 for a Beretta M90 Roma aka the Italian PPK

WestKentucky said:

A side note- the Manurhin pistols are incredibly well made. The German pistols command a premium as they could have been (and likely were) used in ww2. The “East German” pistols are less desirable from what I recall, and for a reason... the loss of both fit and finish quality and historical value puts them at the bottom of the heap when compared to other variants.

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I had an East German PP for a while. It had been nicely but heavily refinished, and had a Hammerli mark stamped on the barrel mounting under the slide. I have no idea why. I can't recall what import stamps it had. It still had flat wooden East German grips.

It was stunningly accurate, even though I was not an excellent shot. What it wasn't was reliable. It had feed jams in some way that seemed to involve the chamber-loaded indicator pin and jammed the slide in place so it was difficult to clear. The single action trigger pull was good, but the DA pull was not, which is apparently the norm for Walther PP's.

Monac said:

I had an East German PP for a while. It had been nicely but heavily refinished, and had a Hammerli mark stamped on the barrel mounting under the slide. I have no idea why. I can't recall what import stamps it had. It still had flat wooden East German grips.

It was stunningly accurate, even though I was not an excellent shot. What it wasn't was reliable. It had feed jams in some way that seemed to involve the chamber-loaded indicator pin and jammed the slide in place so it was difficult to clear. The single action trigger pull was good, but the DA pull was not, which is apparently the norm for Walther PP's.

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That hammerli mark is interesting. Perhaps they refinished the pistol, but I don’t know if they ever did that type of work.

For those that have a PPK 7.65mm
WALTHER PPK 7RD 32ACP NKL NEW SMALL SCRATCHES, $19.99
https://www.cdnnsports.com/walther-ppk-7rd-32acp-nickel-magazine.html

I am a huge PPK, PPK//S fan...I have 8 of them, in every caliber and finish.. My PPK-L in .32ACP is nothing short of a true joy to shoot.

A correction to the post above; I picked up another PPK/S in .380 to add to my Walther collection. It may be too much bling for some, but I like it.

Wow, obviously a presentation pistol. What markings are there on that sparkly thing?

Single point of failure on the former police turn-in Walthers is the hammer drop safety. German police practice was to use the hammer drop safety whenever loading or unloading the gun and readying it for carry. So a cop probably cycled the safety 8-10 times a day over a long career. TWO used former police PPS failed in the same way when the safety shafts broke. Numrich parts are also used and of unknown history and you don't know how long your replacement part will last.

I sold both of my Walthers after replacing the safety levers with new original Walther factory replacements I got on a trip to Germany in 2011. I have a pair of Berettas and a SIG P230 which don't suffer this affliction and a family heirloom Colt Pocket Hammer less Type III made in 1914 which has served four generations of our family in both peace and at war on four continents.

I'll repeat PPK was state of art in 1937. It obsolete as a CARRY gun today. The first shot double action trigger pull is too heavy for good accuracy and they are not reliable with hollow point ammo.

groundhog34 said:

I'll repeat PPK was state of art in 1937. It obsolete as a CARRY gun today. The first shot double action trigger pull is too heavy for good accuracy and they are not reliable with hollow point ammo.

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I'd have to agree with that. I was hoping to carry my PP and got a shoulder holster for it. The DA trigger I can deal with. But it wouldn't reliably feed Hornady Critical Defense. So I scratched the idea.

groundhog34 said:

I'll repeat PPK was state of art in 1937. It obsolete as a CARRY gun today. The first shot double action trigger pull is too heavy for good accuracy and they are not reliable with hollow point ammo.

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I'll disagree. With a bit of practice, my first shot with my S&W 380 ACP PPK is just as accurate on target as the follow up shots.

(side note, I have several S&W DAO J-frames,. I've worked with them to get the DA shots on target accurately. It is an acquired skill.)

I'll agree on the hollow point point. But 380 ACP does not reliably expand hollow points anyway. I'd rather have the penetration potential of FMJ bullets. In my opinion, designer hollow points are a waste of money in a 380 ACP or 32 ACP gun.

Finally, a hit with a 32 ACP OR 380 ACP tumps a miss with anything else. If you can get reliable hits with a PP/PPK, go for it.

I will have to disagree. My WALTHER PPK in .32ACP has been absolutely reliable and the trigger, while not a worry to BERETTA or SIG, was quite usable. The only ammo that I had trouble with was the WINCHESTER White Box 71 grain fmj. These rounds for some strange reason have a flat tip and it used to cause my PPK to jam. Since it did this in every other .32ACP I tried, I blamed the ammo, not the gun. It had hung up in a BERETTA model 82 and 3032 Tomcat plus a COLT 1903 Pocket Hammerless. All these guns fed every other brand and type of ammo I tried.

Jim

That Winchester White Box stuff hasn't worked in my European 32acp pistols, either.

Maybe it works in American ones?

I don't know. I had a few boxes of it and ended up shooting it through my 32 magnum revolvers.

Any of the factory-loaded JHP rounds in .32 ACP which are fragile enough to expand from a barrel shorter than 8cm will fail to provide adequate penetration. Euro-CIP 74-77 grain heavy ball gives 300 m/s from a pocket pistol with 8cm barrel and makes a 180 - degree "flip" after 10-12 cm of initial penetration, continuing base - first and penetrating 30-35cm in gelatin, being more effective than a flat-nosed JHP of lighter weight which fails to expand.

TALLBALL,

The WINCHESTER fmj did not work in my COLT 1903 Pocket Hammerless or KEL TEC. They are both American made.

Jim

I collect vintage PPK and PPK/S pistols, i am mostly interested in those pistols made post WWII up until about 1986. .I do own three Interarms guns though; one is a stainless steel PPK/S in .32 ACP, and the other two are richly engraved stainless guns, a PPK and PPK/S, both in .380 ACP. Out of my ten, my two favorites are my PPK-L's; one in .32 ACP and one in .22 LR . Here's a few pics:

druryj said:

I collect vintage PPK and PPK/S pistols, i am mostly interested in those pistols made post WWII up until about 1986. .I do own three Interarms guns though; one is a stainless steel PPK/S in .32 ACP, and the other two are richly engraved stainless guns, a PPK and PPK/S, both in .380 ACP. Out of my ten, my two favorites are my PPK-L's; one in .32 ACP and one in .22 LR . Here's a few pics:
View attachment 994137 View attachment 994138 View attachment 994139 View attachment 994140 View attachment 994141 View attachment 994142 View attachment 994143

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Very nice!

My Interarms/Ranger and Manurhin were both beautiful examples of machinery as art- they were just failures as functional firearms.

On an emotional level, I still miss them, but cant afford to keep unreliable guns just to look at......