Walther P38/ P1 performance?

[Dionysusigma]

I've always like the look of the Beretta 92FS, and finally got to see a Walther P1/P38 (can't remember exactly which it was) the other day, and it really piqued my interest. It reminds me of a 92FS ancestor, which may well be the case (exposed barrel, slide-mounted safety, and grip shape).

Is there any difference between the P38 and P1? How well do they perform? Prices? General availability of gun, mags? Just my usual questions I have any time I see something I like...

 

[EdipisReks]

the P38 in fact is the ancestor of the Beretta 92 series. afaik, the P38 name encompasses commercial guns and prewar and war time guns. the P1 was the P38 made for the German military and police post-war, with many initial ones made in France due to treaties preventing the Germans from producing weapons for a several years after World War 2.

in terms of performance, they tend to be accurate and reliable with FMJ. to me, the double action trigger pull always felt a bit long, but it is certainly useable. the guns and magazines are usually easy to find. prices run from cheap to very expensive, depending on what you are looking at. hope that helps.

 

[albanian]

I have a Walther P-1 and a Beretta 92fs and I know what you mean. The first time I field stripped my P-1, I was surprised at how similar it was to my 92fs. I later found out more about the history of the P-38 and it helped me to understand the P-38's place in history.

The P-1 and P-38 are basically the same gun except the P-1 has a alloy frame instead of a steel frame. If you can get a P-38 for a decent price, go for it. I have the P-1 and it is nice but I would upgrade for a WWII P-38 in a second!

My P-1 is quite accurate but it suffers from a poor trigger. The DA is long, heavy and has lots of stack at the end. The SA is creepy and too heavy to do fine work. I think this pistol may be much more accurate than I am able to tell because the poor trigger limits what I can do with it. Even with the bad trigger, it is above average in accuracy. I have had a few jams using FMJs. It likes Winchester white box and hasn't jammed with it yet.

I have enough guns that the P-1 has no real use for me. I use it as a plinker and that is it. If needed, it could make a decent carry gun, home defense pistol, car gun or informal target gun. I have other guns that serve all these roles better but if I only had one handgun, the P-1 would do just about everything I would need.