German Walther vs. American Walther

American or German Walther?

  • American-Made Walther

    Votes: 5 13.2%

  • German-Made Walther

    Votes: 33 86.8%
  • Total voters
    38
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XxWINxX94

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Location
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Hey everybody,
My father wants a "carry" gun for our summer home/farm up in Wisconsin. He knows some about guns, but really depends on me to do all the research and everything for him. I decided that a Walther PP or PPK would be a good shooter & "carry" gun for me & him. Preferably the PPK over the PP as it's a little smaller (I think). Now, being the history buff that I am, I don't want an American (S&W) Walther, I want one of the older German ones whether it be East or West German, etc. I still need a little more info on each one. I'm pretty sure the Germans never made a Stainless Steel PPK. My dad wants a Blued gun anyway.

So, if you've had expirience with an American PPK or a German PPK, please vote & share which one you like better and why. I'm also looking for some general information, too.

P.S. I am pretty much sold on the Walther pistol, not really considering others.
 
Just one opinion.

I own both. Interarms stainless .380 PPK and TPH .22, and German .32 PPK and .22 PPK

In my experience German guns are fitted better, machined better, finished better, and work better. But most of the Interarms guns are fine. I've never seen the S&W version so I don't comment on them.

In .380 the slide is very stiff to retract. .380 is really at the edge for a blowback gun. I prefer the .32s.

While you are sold on them and I like them, I don't carry one. Walther are not a good choice for carry, they are too heavy and the DA pull is very hard.
 
I dont have one yet, but I am already on the bandwagon for anything chambered in 9mmMak... Personally, I am looking for a PA-63, and this one was actually designed from the Walther. You can search for PA-63, or just "makarov" and get TONS of info about a great gun with a lots and lots of history.

Just something to think about...
 
In order, the German-made guns and the French-made guns are on an equal footing and are highly recommended. Next in line come the USA-made Interarms/Ranger pistols, which were made to the exact same specs as the originals and are, for the most part, quite nice. In my view, S&W is still working out issues with its licensed model; you might find one that works, and then again, you might not. But ... you can't go wrong with a Walther- or Manurhin-manufactured pistol.
 
Love my interarms ppk/s in blue but the finish started showing signs of wear and small pits in finish from daily IWB carry. I have switched to one of my Sig P230SL's, If I had a PPK/s in stainless I would have easily chosen it to replace the blued version.
 
My father has a german made Walther PPK/S in .380acp. Very nicely made little gun, but I agree that it would not be my first choice for a carry gun. It has the heaviest double-action trigger pull I've ever fired. I believe that it is the first semi-auto DA trigger developed, so they get credit for that, but it is much too heavy by modern standards.
 
DA trigger can be lightened some with spring change. But any Walther DA is a target trigger compared to those PA -63 and other of that class

Best DA /SA trigger in a PPK/s style pistol . Is the Bersa Thunder beats them all.
I would look at one over a S&W PPK series any day.
 
I have the S&W PPK/s in stainless and it shoots great. You will need to break it in though. The Smith has a longer beavertail then the German model so it will not bite your hand when the slide comes back. The slide on mine was real tight when I first got it but now it racks real easy. I did have a couple of FTF in the first 200 rounds but that has since gone away. Remember Hitler had two PPKs and used one on himself. If good enough to kill Hitler its good enough for me. How many Nazi's did Glock kill?
 
I picked up an Interarms PPKS, blued, a while ago for 385 LNIB, 2 mags, solid gun & runs well. I like it allot.
 
Well, I've owned a German manufactuered Walther PPK/S; and now own
an American (InterArms) Walther PPK. Fit and finish was better on the
blued German PPK/S; but honestly, the American stainless PPK shoots
as good as the German gun. However, any German PPK or PPK/S does
command a premium price these days~! :scrutiny: ;) :D
 
Try a makarov, they pretty much are a walther in a better round that is cheaper and more available to shoot, and they are a LOT more comfortable to shoot, some PPK's can be downright painful.
Also +1 on the spring kit on a Polock mak, they are about the size of the LCP with a better round and all steel construction.
 
Thanks everybody!
To clarify, the gun won't actually be carried around, it will just be a go-to gun in case of an emergency. I am also looking for the collector/historical value as well as shootability.
 
My German-made Walther PPK .380 ACP shows a distinct horizontal "step" between the feeding ramp in the frame and the barrel chamber throat. It also displays frequent feeding problems.

Whereas (as I've seen from pictures) in the US- made PPK/S these two join into one uninterrupted, uniformly continuous slanting plane.
This can't but enhance reliable feeding, I think.

Anyone else had similar experience ?
 
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