Took my PPK to the range today Had an issue.

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megatronrules

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Ok so I took my walther ppk to the range today and everything was going great until about right around 100 rounds when the gun failed to go into battery four times. I had to smack the back of the slide to get it into full battery I was using some reloads bought from a local gunshop and they got the gun pretty filthy really quick,could this have been the reason for the issue? I field stripped it and it was really guncked up. Do ppk's not like being run dirty? I realize in a defenseive role this woulden't matter as your not goning to fire 100 rounds in self defense and I keep my guns very clean and well lubed and it diddn't have any issues until the gun was really dirty. I also had one feed jam a nose dive and at the same time the mag popped out but diddn't fall out on the gun I think I failed to seat the magzine all the way on that one. Other then that there were no other FTF's or FTE's issues and accuracy was very good for such a small gun.

One last thing as an interesting side note and this bothered me was that the loaded chamber indicator (the little pin that sticks out the rear of the slide when the gun is loaded) popped out after one of the hsots I fired. It didn't fly out but it stuck about half way out of the back of the slide I wack it with one of the mags and it went back in and diddn't do it again it also diddn't affect the funtion of the gun at all is there any way to remove this? I've read about some people attributing some ppk failures to this "safety device" and that removing it makes the gun chamber easier and run better is this true? thanks
 
What is this "issue" nonsense I see so much now? Issues are what you have with the personnel department at work or your shrink.

You had a malfunction in a dirty gun on junk ammo. Clean the gun, feed it good ammunition.

Sounds like the loaded chamber indicator is broken or defective, too. Get it fixed. I don't think it will hurt to just take it out, it is hardly a "safety device" if you are keeping the pistol fully loaded for defense. But I'd get it fixed right if I had bought the gun new and had a guarantee to fall back on.
 
Can't really blame the gun for problems with one type of ammunition, especially reloads. Some guns simply will not function 100% of the time with some rounds. Try some other rounds. It might shoot 500 rounds of generic FMJ without a problem.
 
I can't resist dissing a PPK.

An extremely outdated design despite that "James Bond" thing.

My recommendation?

Get a Glock G26 or Kahr MK9.
 
I've heard a lot of negative stuff about PPK pistols so I don't recommend them.

On the other hand, mine has never jammed...

Then again, I've never shot "gun-shop reloads" in ANY of my guns.

I would be willing to test some of the reloads in my PPK if you sent them to me for free along with enough money so that I could purchase a new pistol and pay to transfer and ship my old PPK to you after I completed the testing.
 
Use good ammo and keep it clean. Mine has never had a problem but then I would never shot reloads in it. Sounds like your loaded indicator was gunked up to Give it a good cleaning and load with some good factory rounds It. will be all right
 
Thanks guy I'am gonna bring it back to the range this weekend with some S&B, magtech and cci balzer ammo and try her out again it probably was the ammo its safe to say then . BTW for the record I don't usually shot reloads and this was the first time I have and I would NEVER carry them in any ccw gun. I diddn't buy these they were given to me I usually only use factory ammo for all my guns. Also anyone know where I can get detail stripping info for my ppk's slide?
 
I don't think that the loaded chamber indicator was broken. If the ammo was THAT dirty, it's entirely possible that so much gunk was in the firing pin channel that it stuck.

Now, there are a couple of cures--some conventional, some not so conventional.

First, don't give up on reloads. They save tons of money. Just use this general guide when choosing powder for your ammunition:

Short barrel=faster powder.
Long barrel=slower powder.

Second, the dirt left in a semiauto has a lot to do with unlocking time. If your gun is new--or nearly so--don't worry too much about it. However, if you have had quite a few rounds through it, consider a new--and slightly stronger--recoil spring.

The reason for this is that a lighter spring will allow the pistol to unlock faster, while the powder is still burning. It is kinda scary to see flame coming from the ejection port.

So, here's what you might want to do:

1. Clean the gun. I mean, give it a good scrubbing. Remove all plastic/wood, disassemble as much as possible, and soak the thing. Cylinder and Slide's Dunk-kit is worth every penny.

Scrub it, and remove all traces of fouling and gunk. Clean the barrel well--as a matter of fact, after normal scrubbing, take some Sweet's solvent to it--in a vell ventilated area.

Reassemble, and shoot some more. Hopefully, this will cure the problem.

Good luck!
 
good quality hardball.380 rounds=winchester. Our local Wally World now has them in value packs, with truncated nose.
 
I bought a PPK some time ago and had problems with reliability. I never shot anything but decent commerical and defense ammunition, and I kept it nice and clean. For some reason it just liked to jam up on me once in a while.

I've since sold it and bought a SIG P230SL (P232). Same style and size, not a problem since.

I never could figure out what it was about that PPK, but I just wasn't confident enough in its reliability to carry it, and it wasn't that much fun for me to shoot at the range (I'll take my 1911, thank you).

From what I've heard, and this is from gunshop talk (do correct me if I'm wrong), when Walther was bought by InterArms/S&W their quality dropped off some. I haven't heard near as many problem stories about PPKs of German manufacture.
 
One addition

Keep an eye on that mag release problem as well. That's not the first time I've heard that. Also, I have had it happen with my cousin and I at the range. The release usually has weak spring and is pretty easily fixable.
 
" issue" is the PC term for "problem". We see it more and more because more people are becomming PC to the great detriment of this country !...Keep your Walther clean, lubed and use real ammo and it might work.
 
A PPK Letdown

Years back wanted a PPK bad really bad. Friends asked why, they have a bad reputation and its a teeny weenie caliber. Anyways, I saved and finally bought a new one - the crappiest trigger I ever pulled, jammed, FTE, finiky with ammo and accuracy- but very pretty. Kahr MK9, try it you'll like it.
 
My 1967 German PPK 380 failed to fire on the range., The indicatior pin spring had failed and the pin was stuck inside the slide and protruded forward hitting the frame. This prevented the slide from closing resulting in a totally useless weapon.
I keep the new spring and pin out. Safer that way.
However, If someone would tell me how to put the pieces back, I might try.
Easier to sell the gun that way
 
Man I don't get all the PPK bashing.

I have a SW .380 that has never failed me through hundreds of rounds, I've used Corbon, WWB, S&B, Ranger SXT, and others... it eats them all with no complaints. The pistol is surprisingly accurate in my hands and overall just feels right.

In fact, I'd have to say it's my favorite gun.
 
I had a German ppk s, pre 76, it malfunctioned on me twice at the nassau county range, I kept it fot another 10 yrs but never felt good about carrying it , so I bought a model 60, and when I moved down to FL, I got rid of both of them, the walther was customised my Michael Britt, he was big with walthers back in the 70's, in Roslyn, LI, after he screwed with it, it looked great, but never felt right. By the way, I was shooting Ball ammo, no crap reloads. And had the slide adjusted, by Britt, who looked like a german watchmaker, wonder if anyone remembers him.
 
Over the years I've owned three. I never had a problem with any of them. They liked some ammo better than others. All in all they have a good rep. There are more modern designs with better da triggers these days. But from the 30s to the 80s nothing much came close to them in terms of small pistols. The M1903 maybe, but that was single action. So bash away, the guns place in history was secure before Fleming gave one to Bond.

tipoc
 
My old Interarms is accurate and relieable Been that way for many years will all kinds of factory ammo.

From what I've heard, and this is from gunshop talk (do correct me if I'm wrong), when Walther was bought by InterArms/S&W their quality dropped off some. I haven't heard near as many problem stories about PPKs of German manufacture.
Click to expand...

Walther wasn't bought by Interarms or S&W they were lic. by Walther to make the pistol.
 
megatronrules said:
Ok so I took my walther ppk to the range today and everything was going great until about right around 100 rounds when the gun failed to go into battery four times. I had to smack the back of the slide to get it into full battery I was using some reloads bought from a local gunshop and they got the gun pretty filthy really quick,could this have been the reason for the issue?
Click to expand...
Sure sounds like it to me, especially if it has been reliable with quality factory ammo. Very few pocket-sized autos can run "dirty" or unlubed.
 
Gosh I like my S&W PPK/S. There were a few three point jams until I radiused the entry area at the forward edge of the ramp a tad, now it functions perfectly. It has the lightest SA trigger of any of my .380's (Out of 13 or 14 of them) and the only one lighter is the P-64 Radom 9MM Makarov chambered gun, but it has an unbearably long take up. The PPK/S is also extremely accurate. If someone says a PPK/S has a bad trigger they must be talking about the DA trigger, but man, shoot a few DAO hideout guns, some of them make the DA trigger of the PPK/S seem really light and crisp! I can only speak from my own experience, my own guns, I really like the PPK/S! Thanks S&W!
 
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