Interarms PPK 9mm Kurz

Interarms both imported German-made Walthers and contracted with Ranger Machining to manufacturer them in the US.

I had one of the Ranger-produced guns and it was beautiful but problematic. It wouldn't feed anything except rather spicy FMJRN. Additionally, you had to put it in the freezer overnight to get the slide off because the frame rails were slightly peened. This was a known issue with them.

I sold it with a tear in my eye, but it just wasn't reliable enough for my taste.
 
If you are asking about the Ranger manufactured PPK...manufactured between 1978-1999...as opposed to the PPK/S, they really fall into two categories. It will either work flawlessly, or almost not at all...and the only way of telling is by shooting them.

If you have a chance, Walther PP models are usually much more reliable. The PP family ( PP, PPK, PPK/S) is usually most reliable in .32ACP, followed by the .22LR and then the .380
 
If you are asking about the Ranger manufactured PPK...manufactured between 1978-1999...as opposed to the PPK/S, they really fall into two categories. It will either work flawlessly, or almost not at all...and the only way of telling is by shooting them.

If you have a chance, Walther PP models are usually much more reliable. The PP family ( PP, PPK, PPK/S) is usually most reliable in .32ACP, followed by the .22LR and then the .380
I would agree that the PP is generally more reliable than the K, but I would rank it .32 ok and the others far from ok. Just my personal experience with the type.

I do wonder how they functioned in .25ACP, but there are so few and they command such high collector premiums, I doubt we'll ever get a range report, lol.
 
My Ranger Alabama PPK works fine but I don't recommend them to other folks for a number of reasons.

The slide design tends to catch on the first round in the mag making it hard to chamber the first round.
The sights on mine are too far off to get it shooting to point of aim.
The DA trigger is really heavy. As in around 15lbs of pull weight.
The slides tend to bite.
 
I took a 1966 West German Walther PPK to South Vietnam in 1968 because I could as a 97B Sargent with plain clothes authorization. I spoke Vietnamese pretty fluently and the spy craft after 84 weeks of training and was all James Bond up at the time. I arrived over there with my PPK in a very light A.H. Hardy of Beverly Hills Shoulder Holster I bought in a California Gun Shop in Monterey along with the pistol. I brought the two mags the gun came with and a box of 50 Geco Cupro Nickle FMJ ammo. I had practiced with the gun for a year while attending the Language and intelligence training, and I remember it was surprisingly accurate and kicked pretty sharply. It never failed ever as I remember. I was put up in the Continental Hotel in Saigon and, for a couple of weeks, banged around the wide open pre-Tet 68 town: race Track, floating restaurants, Zoo, and shows. When Tet 68 hit I was still awaiting Orders from MACHV but they had issued me a "MachVpass" when I first checked in which is now called the "Get out of jail free" card. :)
However TET 68 threw everything into crazy disarray! I stayed in the Hotel with no pay issued and the Aussie troops in the area fed me for three weeks. I was issued no weapon and only had a couple changes of civie clothes and a couple of unmarked fatigues which was the "plain Clothes" of the combat zone. :( It was like the Charlie Sheen in Hotel scene from Apocalypse Now! . About five or six weeks after I arrived in Saigon, I was given orders to go to the 101st in Hue, which was still being fought over, and me still armed with my trusty PPK , two mags, and 50 rounds !! I was finally issued a 1911 Remington Rand with three magazines and 100 rounds :) at Headquarters Company 101st . I was sent here and there as the Linguist intelligence geek , mostly by small Helicopter (Bell 500) , and traded a Leaving for home Helicopter pilot the PPK for his cherry M3a1 Grease Gun which came with a shoulder carrier with six mags and all his "extra" 1911 mags . This served me well for what I was doing . All .45acp and I practiced in grave yards when banging around in the 3/4 ton jeep I had access to. I kept that gun even after I was sent to a Company and given an M16 that I was completely unfamiliar with :) When I was close to returning home I traded the M3 set up to another Pilot for his Rolex Submariner he bought in Hong Kong on R&R . He said it cost "a couple hundred" and he was going to get a fancier one anyhow. I still have that Rolex; it's been factory rebuilt a couple of times. It's worth quite a bit :) . I don't have a PPK anymore; I do have a much superior PPS, and so do my kids.
 
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I took a 1966 West German Walther PPK to South Vietnam in 1968 because I could as a 97B Sargent with plain clothes authorization. I spoke Vietnamese pretty fluently after 84 weeks of training and was all James Bond up at the time. I arrived over there with my PPK in a very light Hardy Shoulder Holster I bought in California along with the gun . I brought the two mags thegun came with and a box of 50 Geco Cupro Nickle FMJ ammo. I had practiced with the gun for a year while attending the Language and intelligence training, and I remember it was surprisingly accurate and kicked pretty sharply. It never failed ever as I remember. I was put up in the Continental Hotel in Saigon and, for a couple of weeks, banged around the wide open pre-Tet 68 town (race Track, floating restaurants, Zoo, and shows. When Tet 68 hit I was still awaiting Orders from MACHV but they issued me a "MachVpass" which is now called the "Get out of jail free" card. :)
However TET 68 Thru everything into crazy disarray I stayed in the Hotel with no pay issued and the Aussie troops fed me for three weeks. I was issued no weapon and only had a couple changes of civie clothes and a couple of unmarked fatigues which was the "plain Clothes" of the combat zone. :( . About fiveor six weeks after I arrived in Saigon I was given orders to go to the 101st in Hue, which was still being fought over, and me still armed with my trusty PPK , two mags and 50 rounds !! I was finally issued a 1911 Remington Rand with three magazines and 100 round :) at Headquarters Company 101st . I was sent here and there as the Linguist intelligence geek , mostly by small Helicopter (Bell 500) , and traded a Leaving for home Helicopter pilot the PPK for his cherry M3a1 Grease Gun , a shoulder carrier with six mags and all his "extra" 1911 mags . This served me well for what I was doing . All .45acp and I practiced in grave yards when banging around in the 3/4 ton jeep I had access to. I kept that gun even after I was sent to a Company and given an M16 that I was completely unfamiliar with :) When I was close to returning home I traded the M3 set up to another Pilot for his Rolex Submariner h bought in Hong Kong on R&R . He said it cost "a couple hundred and he was going to get a fancier one anyhow. I still have that Rolex , its been factory rebuilt a couple times. Its worth quite a bit :) . I don't have a PPK anymore; I do have a much superior PPS, and so do my kids.
Wow, thanks for the story and your service!

Agree about the PPS. My buddy and oldest daughter both have one. Ive shot them quite a bit and they've been flawless. 👍
 
I took a 1966 West German Walther PPK to South Vietnam in 1968 because I could as a 97B Sargent with plain clothes authorization. I spoke Vietnamese pretty fluently after 84 weeks of training and was all James Bond up at the time. I arrived over there with my PPK in a very light Hardy Shoulder Holster I bought in California along with the gun . I brought the two mags thegun came with and a box of 50 Geco Cupro Nickle FMJ ammo. I had practiced with the gun for a year while attending the Language and intelligence training, and I remember it was surprisingly accurate and kicked pretty sharply. It never failed ever as I remember. I was put up in the Continental Hotel in Saigon and, for a couple of weeks, banged around the wide open pre-Tet 68 town (race Track, floating restaurants, Zoo, and shows. When Tet 68 hit I was still awaiting Orders from MACHV but they issued me a "MachVpass" which is now called the "Get out of jail free" card. :)
However TET 68 Thru everything into crazy disarray I stayed in the Hotel with no pay issued and the Aussie troops fed me for three weeks. I was issued no weapon and only had a couple changes of civie clothes and a couple of unmarked fatigues which was the "plain Clothes" of the combat zone. :( . About fiveor six weeks after I arrived in Saigon I was given orders to go to the 101st in Hue, which was still being fought over, and me still armed with my trusty PPK , two mags and 50 rounds !! I was finally issued a 1911 Remington Rand with three magazines and 100 round :) at Headquarters Company 101st . I was sent here and there as the Linguist intelligence geek , mostly by small Helicopter (Bell 500) , and traded a Leaving for home Helicopter pilot the PPK for his cherry M3a1 Grease Gun , a shoulder carrier with six mags and all his "extra" 1911 mags . This served me well for what I was doing . All .45acp and I practiced in grave yards when banging around in the 3/4 ton jeep I had access to. I kept that gun even after I was sent to a Company and given an M16 that I was completely unfamiliar with :) When I was close to returning home I traded the M3 set up to another Pilot for his Rolex Submariner h bought in Hong Kong on R&R . He said it cost "a couple hundred and he was going to get a fancier one anyhow. I still have that Rolex , its been factory rebuilt a couple times. Its worth quite a bit :) . I don't have a PPK anymore; I do have a much superior PPS, and so do my kids.
that’s an Amazing Story full of adventure and drama!
 
I had an Interarms PPK/S American at one time that functioned well, though recoil was surprisingly harsh for a .380 and it tended to leave bloody "racing stripes" on the webs of shooters hands. You needed to take a somewhat low grip. I traded it off long ago, and now have a Manurhin PP in .32 ACP that's easier on the hand.
 
Have a history with the Interarms/Ranger PPK/PPK/s, and generally, a positive one.
A .380 version was my first autopistol; a buddy and I bought them, and I would reload to feed them. After a bunch of experimentation, never did find a HP round that would run 100 straight. I was unaware that this version, and its German cousins, were never intended to run HPs. That caveat remains; some will run some HPs, but it's not a given.
The first one is long gone, but another, since, ran 100% on my standard .380 FMJ reloads.
Their fit and finish is excellent, and the parts are reputed to exchange with the German ones. In the listing of preferred versions, Walther cognoscenti rank them above the Smith & Walthers, and just behind the German/French models. Like any .380PPK, they are snappy to shoot, due to the blowback slide's abrupt stop at the end of its stroke.
I've since parted with the last .380 Interarms/Ranger, but still have two .32 versions, and a TPH.
The .32s are fun to shoot, lack the ugly snap of the larger caliber, and was actually what Bond reputedly carried. If that matters to you...
The PP is a dated series, and there are better modern alternatives. But it's a classic design, one that any handgun owner should have.
The current, Ft. Smith products seem to have a good rep. They have kept the obnoxious S&Walther beavertail, they are reputed to run HPs, and the .32 iteration is back, along with the .380. There is even supposed to be a PP.
Moon
 
Snappy recoil, and the slide always wanted to take blood samples from the web between my thumb and trigger finger.
Not an uncommon complaint, though it very much depends on hand size and how high you hold.
The unsightly proboscis is a response to this issue. Just wish it was more gracefully engineered.
Moon
 
I had an Interarms-Manhurin PPK/s .380 several years ago. I found the gun to be less fun to shoot than my FEG SMK-380 (a PPK/s style pistol) and less reliable, too.

Once the PPK/s started to double on me, I sent it on down the road with full disclosure.

(I still have the FEG, tho. :thumbup: )

Stay safe.
 
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