James Bond and his Walther PPK

I have a PP in 32acp. It's pleasant to shoot.

My PPK in 380 is more challenging. When I practiced with it I got to the point where it was accurate enough for SD and didn't hurt my hand. That was an accomplishment.

They're both 1920's technology. Range toys, not "serious" SD tools.
 
9mmepiphany said:
Something to bear in mind when comparing the Walther PPK to the SIG 230/232, is that the SIG, in .32ACP, was designed as a holster/duty gun for LE...much like the Beretta 84. The 7.65 x 17mm was the default LE round until the German LE trials to adopt a 9x19mm pistol produced the P5 (Walther), P6 (SIG) , and P7 (H&K)
Click to expand...
The PP and the P230/232 are basically the same size. The PP is a bit thinner in the grip. The PPK isnt really all that much smaller than either of those either. Kind of like the difference between a Glock 17 and 19.

I suppose too, you could also say the PPK and PPK/s are the Walther versions of the Glock 19 and 45. One being forced upon us by the government, the other, by people thinking theres really some sort of difference and the company giving them what they want.

I mistakenly passed on a P230 in .32acp back in late 90's. Didnt realize how rare they really were at the time here, and while the $400 price tag seemed high at the time, turns out it was actually a pretty good deal. From what I read when I looked it up, they were a run of guns for the Japanese police. Of course, when I went back a day or so later, it was already gone.

From what Ive read about Ian Flemming, he may have a bit more involved with the intelligence community than they lead on in the bibliographies. Sounds like his time and depth there wanst just during the war either.

As far as choices of guns go too, the thoughts on things were a bit different back then too. There really wasnt a whole lot of choice, in both guns and holsters/equipment, so you were pretty much limited in your choices. I dont think a lot of people these days realize just how good they have it now when it comes to something like "choices". It really wasnt until the late 70's, that things in that respect began to change, and up until then, things really werent all that different than they were in the 40's.
 
I was never super impressed by my Sig P230, either. It's a rounder smoother lighter PP in 380. It's a fun range toy, but it's still the same basic pistol.

full&d=1516764349.jpg
 
I found an old ad for Berns-Martin:

Berns-MartinLightnincut.jpg

Supposedly Bond used the Triple Draw Holster, even though Fleming was advised by Geoffrey Boothroyd that it was strictly a revolver holster. The Bond reference lead to an inclusion in the 1966 Berns Martin sales brochure, "no shoulder holster made for automatics".


BTW, if you're into Fleming, be sure to check out this audio interview he did for the BBC with writer Raymond Chandler in 1958:

https://archive.org/details/ianflemingraymondchandler
 
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Tallball said:
I was never super impressed by my Sig P230, either. It's a rounder smoother lighter PP in 380. It's a fun range toy, but it's still the same basic pistol.

View attachment 1146462
Click to expand...
With an unhandy and cheaper to make heel clip mag release , unlike the thinner PP . I like the Walther .32 PP and the .22 PP especially the longer barreled "Sport Model" . I took a Walther 9mmKurz PPK with me to VN in 1968 as I was much into the Spy thing from 66 in college ROTC and bought the PPK then and managed to make it into Army MI as a CI guy and a VN linquist. It took me two month over in RVN before I was assigned to a unit where I was issued a weapon so I was glad to have the PPK, two mags and one box of ammo for it . I did point it at a couple unpleasant enemy sympathizers who were trying to do me wrong , so it did save my bacon. I traded it to a pilot , but that is another story.
 
I have a WWII vintage Walther PP and a 1990 vintage Interarms PPK/s, both chambered in 32 ACP. Also, I have an S&W 380 ACP PPK. The 32 ACP versions are much more pleasant to shoot than the 380 ACP version, mostly due to blow back action.

One of these days, I stumble into a 32 ACP PPK but I am not actively pursuing one at the moment.

One of these days, I may pick up a 22LR version in a moment of weakness.

At least in the films, Q admonished 007 for carrying a 25 ACP gun as it almost cost 007 his life. The 32 ACP Walther was mentioned as hittlng like a "brick outhouse" or some similar term.
 
I've got one of the "new" Fort Smith PPk/s' in 22 LR that is more fun to shoot than you can shake a stick at. I got it on sale at Sportsman's Warehouse for less than $300.00. With Stingers or Mini-Mags it just plain works. Run of the mill bulk pack stuff mostly works, but does jam from time to time.

Walther1.jpg
 
My dad has four. Two are Walthers and two are Manurhin. Two each in 32 acp and two each in 380. The Walthers are stainless and the Manurhin are blued. Funny we have never really shot them a lot.
 
I put another 150 rounds through my PPK the other day, now that warmer weather is coming I like to refresh with the gun since I'll be carrying it more. It's a great shooter! However, I will say it's one of my least favorite handguns to clean. Between the open firing pin channel, the opening in the breech face for the loaded chamber indicator, and other nooks and crannies in the mechanism... I find the gun gets very dirty, and is tedious to clean. I bought a can of compressed air specifically just for cleaning this gun, to spray the deeply imbedded crud and CLP from the firing pin channel.
 
Ethan Verity said:
I put another 150 rounds through my PPK the other day, now that warmer weather is coming I like to refresh with the gun since I'll be carrying it more. It's a great shooter! However, I will say it's one of my least favorite handguns to clean. Between the open firing pin channel, the opening in the breech face for the loaded chamber indicator, and other nooks and crannies in the mechanism... I find the gun gets very dirty, and is tedious to clean. I bought a can of compressed air specifically just for cleaning this gun, to spray the deeply imbedded crud and CLP from the firing pin channel.
Click to expand...

When I got my PP from Simpsons, I experienced a dead SA trigger several times -- found out that a significant amount of gunk had accumulated under the trigger bar. A good cleaning (plus some judicious stoning of a machining high spot in the channel) fixed the issue.
 
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Dave DeLaurant said:
When I got my PP from Simpsons, I experienced a dead SA trigger several times -- found out that enough gunk had accumulated under the trigger bar that it wouldn't always disengage the magazine safety. A good cleaning (plus some judicious stoning of a machining high spot in the channel) fixed the issue.
Click to expand...
I didn't know the PP series ever had a magazine disconnect safety... or, did you mean the hammer block safety?
 
Ethan Verity said:
I didn't know the PP series ever had a magazine disconnect safety... or, did you mean the hammer block safety?
Click to expand...

I stand corrected, good catch -- had to get the gun out of the safe to refresh my memory. Went back and corrected my reply.

The gunk that was causing the dead trigger was still in the area between the frame and trigger bar.
 
I've got a couple myself. I'd like to say it's because I'm a WWII enthusiast, with the added bonus of having a father who actually took part in the capture of the Walther factory at Zella-Melis near the end of the war, and it mostly is because of that. Then again, I've been a Bond fan since I was a teen, so... anyway, here's mine: an early pre-war commercial (1931) with "90-degree" safety, a later pre-war commercial (1939), and an Interarms/Ranger American PPK in .380:
IMG_0024a.jpg
 
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