S&W/Walther SS PPK/S

I have inherited several guns from my best friend's untimely death, and now that I can see again, I am trying to evaluate them before keeping or selling them. One is the pistol in the topic line, and while it seems to be well-made (.380), he never got the chance to shoot it, and there are no ranges around me open until at least a week or more. I am familiar with the German guns, but not these - does anyone have any experience with the latter-day specimens? One thing for sure, it could anchor a small boat making it not my first choice for a CCW...

 

The S&W built version had an extended beavertail to prevent slide bite. PPK in general is an outdated design that is no longer competitive with other smaller and lighter 380s. It has lived on for so long mainly because of the James Bond aura.

 

I have an S&W built Walter PPK in 380 ACP. Mine performs well with ammunition that it likes, primarily FMJ RN bullets. Some hollow points, not so much. I prefer using FMJ in my 380 ACP guns so, not an issue with me.

My PPK goes with me alot when I leave the house. The PPK can get heavy at times.

The S&W Walthers generally do not have a great reputation from my limited research. Maybe internet lore, maybe a real thing. But not from my personal experience from one gun.

 

I don’t have the S&W version, so I can’t help with that. You are right that it is very heavy for size, but I haven’t thrown my Interarms PPK/s overboard yet simply because I’m fond of having a manual safety on carry guns and the current trends mean that most modern designs don’t have them. Also love the way it fits my hand and the way it looks. If you don’t like or care about having a manual safety/decocker though, almost anything else will give you lighter weight and a better trigger. Also, despite the weight, the Walther blowback design recoils quite hard compared to the tilting barrel actions on most current designs.

 

The S&W version of the PPK and PPK/s suffered from many issues that resulted in recalls for safety reasons. My first step before doing anything would be to determine if the recall repair work was done and, if not, get it done. The first link below should help determine if your new PPK/s was recalled, the other for warranty service.

http://www.waltherarms.com/recall/

http://www.waltherarms.com/legendary-lifetime-warranty/

 

My first real carry gun was a French Manurhin Walther PP 32acp, a European surplus police pistol. They were around cheap for a while. I carried it in a Bianchi #3 “pistol pocket” IWB holster.
I certainly didn’t consider it a boat anchor back then...and since I’ve been known to carry a 3” GP100 or a Glock 17, I sure wouldn’t consider a PPK a burden today.
I don’t agree with the comment that the PPK is somehow obsolete. I have a PPK-similar Polish P64 9mm Mak that gets carried sometimes.
I really miss that 32 PP. of all the guns I’ve owned and foolishly traded away, I miss that Walther the most. I recall shooting tiny groups with it at 25yds, and complete reliability with any ammo I tried.

 

No experience with the S&W Walthers but did have an Interarms stainless PPKs that was definitely lacking in build quality and reliability. Older Walther and Manurhin models were of much better quality and very dependable as concealed carry guns.

 

The first stainless Walther PPK and PPK/s models were made for Interarms by Ranger, in as I recall, Alabama.
The last made got a bad reputation for quality problems, but most of these were fine quality pistols.
It was after Interarms went out of business that S&W took over the production and they made some small changes, notably the extended tang on the frame.
For some reason they made a minor change in the frame that prevents using older type grips on the S&W model.
S&W had quality problems and had at least one recall.
Most people will call the S&W the lowest quality of the American made PP series pistols.

The Walther PP series are sort of the 1911 of .380 autos. It's the .380 that all others are judged by, and no one ever quite managed to pack so many features in such a small package.
It is heavy by today's plastic standard, but the Walther still delivers the goods on demand.

These guns seem to "like" grease as a lubricant on the frame and slide rails, and outside of the barrel.
Before heading to the range, clean the factory lube out and apply fresh lube, with grease on the above areas.
As with all PP series pistols, the double action trigger is HEAVY and there's nothing much to be done but get used to it. Lighter springs tend to cause reliability problems.
Happily, once you get used to the DA trigger by practicing with it, you no longer notice it.

 

Vielen dank', Herr Walther! I checked and it is subject to a safety recall for a faulty hammer block, and this one hasn't been modified. I emailed Walther, and expect to hear from them next week. Really glad you commented & provided the link - one of the reasons why this is about the only forum I routinely hang out on. Thanks again!

Cheers and best regards,
George Jacoby

 

Watch out for light primer strikes. I had that problem with mine. Ended up getting rid of it.

Many of the parts do not interchange with Walthers

 

I have numerous Walther PPK's in my gun collection. A German PPK/s in excellent condition, a Ranger built PPK in 32 acp and two S&W 380 PPK guns one blue and another stainless. I don't agree on a lot of what I just read on here, regarding outdated, poor quality, light strikes, reliability issues because of poor quality of the S&W guns. I not experienced any of that from the S&W Walther's. I have owned a lot of Walther's in my life, including a Manuhin 380 I purchased in the 80's. I going to say right here I have had "NO" "Nada" None of these issues with my S&W built guns at all. I never had any issues with the Ranger built 32 I own. I have owned 380 rangers and did experience issues with these guns and my 1976 built German High Quality Superior built 380 will give me fits at times. I just stopped shooting it and put it away as a collector piece. My Smiths are spot on and feed and function everything I toss in them. The best functioning Walthers are the 32 acp models they are a delight to shoot. When I owned my French Manuhin 380 that was a good shooting gun. Too heavy nonsense these guns are blowback pistols and believe me recoil can be stout. The weight helps a lot with them. I also like Beretta 80 series guns and these are even bigger size wise than the Walthers but shoot awesome in 380 and 32. Sometimes a little extra weight is not always a bad thing. Great shoot ability and control comes with a little extra weight. If you have a Walther PPK I would not sell it, just my opinion.