Walther PP

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JN01

JN01

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I recently picked up this little beauty- 1971 West German produced Walther PP in .32 ACP. I've always kind of wanted one, but there was always something else that caught my eye while out gun shopping, until now.

It has a little bit of holster wear and a couple small blemishes on the right side, but for the most part, retains the high polish, deep blue finish.

It came with a lanyard loop mainspring plug which I replaced. It also came with a no name crappy aftermarket magazine.

I took it to the range and it shot quite accurately, but had a few failures to feed. I noticed that it was easy to pull rounds out of the magazine over the feed lips, so I believed that they were perhaps bent or out of spec.

When I received a couple of Meg-Gar magazines from Numrich, I discovered the lips were a hair narrower- the magazine that came with the gun was apparently for a .380. Haven't yet had a chance to shoot it with the replacements.
PP1web.JPG PP2web.JPG
 
You'll love it. Beautiful classic pistol. My only critique of them are the tiny sights, common of the era. I've the pleasure of having bought both a .32 and .22lr PP. Great guns. Enjoy.
 
JN01

I have had a couple of them: a Walther PP 7.65mm. that was a German police trade-in and a Manurhin PP, also in 7.65mm. Both were fine guns with a slight edge to the Walther in terms of overall fit and finish. Both were very reliable and possessed more than sufficient accuracy for service pistols.
 
I have a West German trade in haven't had a misfeed yet though I was surprised that it fed hollow points no problem. My only complaint magazines are / were not cheap.
 
JN01 said:
I recently picked up this little beauty- 1971 West German produced Walther PP in .32 ACP. I've always kind of wanted one, but there was always something else that caught my eye while out gun shopping, until now.
Click to expand...

Nice looking PP.

I'm fond of the PP, PPK/s, and PPK series of pistols. My PP was made in 1944 and is a joy to shoot. I wonder what stories it could tell.
 
I had a W.German PPK/S in .380 I used to carry as a backup. My only problem was it frequently left two red stripes in the web between my thumb and forefinger after the first shot at the range. Subsequent shots were always fired more carefully. lol

Aside from that, it was a reliable gun, just a little heavy for a backup.

Your PP looks like a nice one, good luck with it!
 
I don't know what your deal with mags are but AFAIK the .32 and the .380 mags are shaped differently and won't fit in the wrong caliber pistol.
 
bannockburn said:
JN01

I have had a couple of them: a Walther PP 7.65mm. that was a German police trade-in and a Manurhin PP, also in 7.65mm. Both were fine guns with a slight edge to the Walther in terms of overall fit and finish. Both were very reliable and possessed more than sufficient accuracy for service pistols.
Click to expand...
IMG_20180413_030001 (1).jpg
+1 on the .32 PP being the best of the breed!

The story of the postwar Walther's is a bit foggy (intentionally so, IMO), but the consensus is that ALL of the postwar, Ulm- marked guns were actually forged and machined in France by Manurhin (as were the P1's).

Walther -branded guns were then shipped to Germany for heat treating, polishing/bluing and assembly, whilst Manurhin-branded PP's were finished in France.

Whatever the case, they are great little pieces of shooting history!:):thumbup:
 
NIGHTLORD40K

The story of the postwar Walther's is a bit foggy (intentionally so, IMO), but the consensus is that ALL of the postwar, Ulm- marked guns were actually forged and machined in France by Manurhin (as were the P1's).

Walther -branded guns were then shipped to Germany for heat treating, polishing/bluing and assembly, whilst Manurhin-branded PP's were finished in France.
Click to expand...

That has been my understanding as well.
 
JN01 said:
I recently picked up this little beauty- 1971 West German produced Walther PP in .32 ACP. I've always kind of wanted one, but there was always something else that caught my eye while out gun shopping, until now.

It has a little bit of holster wear and a couple small blemishes on the right side, but for the most part, retains the high polish, deep blue finish.

It came with a lanyard loop mainspring plug which I replaced. It also came with a no name crappy aftermarket magazine.

I took it to the range and it shot quite accurately, but had a few failures to feed. I noticed that it was easy to pull rounds out of the magazine over the feed lips, so I believed that they were perhaps bent or out of spec.

When I received a couple of Meg-Gar magazines from Numrich, I discovered the lips were a hair narrower- the magazine that came with the gun was apparently for a .380. Haven't yet had a chance to shoot it with the replacements.
View attachment 800383 View attachment 800384
Click to expand...
Did the magazine that came with the gun have a Walther rollstamp on it? If not, it was likely just a poor quality aftermarket mag. and the MecGars should be good to go- a .380 magazine will not fit into a .32 gripframe.

If the problem persists, make sure to try FMJ with the roundest profile you can find, these generally don't like truncated or HP bullets.

Finally, if she is still jamming, check for a broken/bent chamber indicator pin and spring. These are quite fragile and prone to damage during aggressive cleaning. I went ahead and removed the pin from mine and it has functioned flawlessly with FMJ ever since.
 
Regarding the magazine- it is a cheap aftermarket magazine, no markings. I assumed it was a .380 magazine as the feed lips are noticeable wider than the replacement .32 mags. It does fit in the mag well and locks in place properly. When I put .32 rounds in it, it holds them, but when pulling up on them with little pressure, they will pop out past the magazine lips. I'm not concerned about trying to make it work as replacement magazines are readily available. Whatever it is, it seems to simply be junk, and not worth messing with.

Loaded chamber indicator seems to be OK. I'm guessing that with the new magazines, it will run fine.
 
JN01 said: "When I received a couple of Meg-Gar magazines from Numrich, I discovered the lips were a hair narrower- the magazine that came with the gun was apparently for a .380. Haven't yet had a chance to shoot it with the replacements."

Walther PPs are thoroughly classic guns, but they were made for a very long time. I had an East German Walther PP (they came in with the East German Lugers when communism collapsed) and it apparently needed wartime/pre-war magazines. Newer magazines would feed all right, but weirdly, they would not allow the safety to be fully applied. I never figured that out.

It was wonderfully accurate, and fed Winchester Silvertips well, but it had the habit of jamming badly because of chamber loaded indicator pin that NIGHTLORD40K refers to, so I sold it. (It would really lock the gun up!)

Now I have a Manurhin-marked PP, and it works with a couple of the magazines that would NOT work with the East German gun. With something made so for so long, and with new tooling in new places, little differences can pile up.
 
commygun

Like the checkered wood grips on your Walther PP! Give it a very classy look!
 
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