Light Primer Strikes and Other Issues with S&W Walther PPK

[For Freedom]

Hello. I bought a new PPK .380.



I'm at the range for the first time, I slingshot one in the chamber, take the safety off, pull the trigger, and "click." I look at the round and there is a pretty significant indentation in the primer. I loaded the round again, pulled the trigger, and it went off.

The same thing happened 60 rounds later with another brand of ammo.

This gun is very tight. I have it well-lubricated, but in the first 80 rounds, I had four failures to feed because the rim would not properly slide underneath the extractor. Here is a photo of this phenomenon:



I suspect the issue with the failures to feed is a break-in issue. I have also started lubricating the extractor.

My main question is what might be causing the light primer strikes. A knowledgable friend suggested that it may have been marginally out of battery, and it just needs to break-in.

 

[solvability]

My previous experience with these makes me agree that shooting more rounds may be the fix. A friend was having trouble with his and I tried it and found it was not lubed and it was very tight - a couple of boxes after lubing it was running perfectly.

They are an older classic design and not as reliable as some more current alternatives.

You might want to check the firing pin channel for dried grease and detail clean the gun with light oil. A spray with CLP and then a wipe down might help a good bit.

 

[For Freedom]

After shooting it, I sprayed the firing pin channel down pretty good with degreaser. After doing this, the firing pin launched a pencil much more consistently.

 

[For Freedom]

Look just above the cartridge in the photo. The loaded chamber indicator is the pin sticking out. It is blocking the cartridge.