Walther PPK/S...reliable?

[all4glock]

Im looking for a small pocket auto and dont care much for the Keltec...is this walther a good carry gun as far as reliability?

 

[2nd 41]

My Walthers hung up plenty. Replaced it with a Sig 230(slightly larger)

 

[PRM]

Walther PP/PPKS

I have over the years owned 1 Walther PPKS and 3 Walther PP(s).

The PPKS was in .380 (German), 1 of the PP(s) was a .380 (Manurhin Walther)and the other 2 were .32(s) (Maunrhin Walther).

The one I am currently carrying is a .32. Not arguing which cartridge is better - that has been done enough on THR. But, in my Walthers, the .32(s) have been 100% reliable. The .32 is milder in recoil and quicker for followup shots.

My .380(s) were a little more particular about ammo during break-in, but malfunctions afterward was rare. Not as good as the .32 versions which have digested everything I have run through them.

Although I am comfortable with the .32, I would buy another .380 PP if I could find it at a decent price. I am partial to either the Interarms German or Manurhin Walther imports over the S&W. One caution - if you have large hands, you can get the infamous "Walther Bite" from the slide if your not careful.

 

[glockman19]

I just bought a Walther Clone....a Bersa Thunder in .380.

Half the price and not one hick-up over the first 150 rounds.

 

[420Stainless]

I've had an Interarms PPKs for about a dozen years. Don't recall any malfunctions through an estimated 1000 rounds or so. Since it was a common carry gun for me, I shot hollowpoints of several brands through it wih no trouble at all. I don't carry it anymore, but only because I've moved up in caliber with a polymer gun that weighs the same.

 

[Prepster]

I had a Smith and Wesson made PPK in .380 acp until just recently. It was as reliable as any other auto-loader I've owned, but then again I only fed it hardball ammo. I sold it because it was uncomfortable for me to shoot, but I had no complaints regarding operation or workmanship.

 

[Steve C]

I have a Walther PPK/s I bought at a police confiscated firearms auction years ago. Its completely reliable with any .380 ammo I've tried from ball to Hydrashocks.

 

[searcher451]

I carry an S&W-made PPK/S daily and have never had so much as even the tiniest of issues with it. I've fired hundreds of rounds through it, including a wide variety of ball ammo and hollow-point, self-defence rounds; it works time after time, magazine after magazine, day after day. I use the S&W model because it's stainless, and the extended beavertail makes it easy on the hands when you run it through its paces on the range.

 

[paradox998]

Go for the Bersa Thunder .380, hard to find a bad word about them...

 

[Z71]

I have a 1974 Walther pp West German police trade in in .32/7.65mm. An Ulm Germany made gun. I also have a Interarms/Walther US made PPK/S .380 pistol.

Both have been great shooters and jam free. I have shot nothing but ball from the .32 PP, the PPK/S has digested a few different brands of .380 hollowpoints with no jams, but I shoot mostly ball in it too.

I have heard of some people reporting jams and unreliability with the American made Walthers. No such bad luck with my .380 though. It looks just as well made or better than the German pistol, and works just as well.

 

[dwLost]

A few years back I had an Interarms PPK/s and I really never had an issue with it, fed fine. (I don’t get slide bite) For some reason I had a senior moment and traded it off for what I can’t remember. Earlier this summer I ordered a new S&W version and fell in love with the crown jewel of .380’s all over again, I like an all metal guns. Fit and finish is immaculate, cycles with Magtech 95gr. and Cor-bon 95gr. the same. About 400 rounds through it right now and nary a hiccup, just my 2cents...

 

[Claude Clay]

you can trust it for the 1st round. after that depends on how lucky you are: more seem not reliable than are. but they sure are nice lookers.

 

[david_the_greek]

have yet to hear a bad word about the Bersa ppk style pistol, seem to be really well liked for performance/quality/price ratio

 

[Lookn4Brass]

Don't waste the risk. From my own experience with more than one, A PPK/s is kind of the same situation that their new P22 is: Some are fine, some are not. You won't know until you start using it.
For about the same amount of $$, get the Sig-Sauer P230 or P232, new or used, probably doesn't matter. They are a bit more comfortable - less hammer bite and accuracy is very good. Also some of them are lighter weight. Very few people complain at all about the Sig .380 models. Wish I had bought one a long time ago.

 

[MightyPir]

Get a Makarov. Bit bigger and heavier, but utterly, totally reliable and has a more powerful round.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

ditto MightyPir. but get a East German, Russ Commercial or Bulgy.

 

[benderx4]

Had a PPK for the past two years that was uber-reliable. Got rid of it recently after I bought my Seecamp. It sure was pretty, but it was a b*tch to shoot. VERY uncomfortable and "snappy".

 

[KBintheSLC]

I owned a Walther PPK/S by S&W. It was cool looking, but unreliable. I tried everything from ammo changes, to fluff and buff, to putting it in a vise and firing to see if I am limp-wristing it.
In the end, it would FTF, FTE at least 2-3 times per box of 50. For CCW, even one failure is too much IMO.
I traded it back to the dealer for a Glock 26, and I have never regretted it.
Maybe the older German ones are better, but I know the Interarms and S&W ones are sub-par. Just strip one down and look at all of the lousy tooling marks and poor craftsmanship on the interior. That will tell you the story.

have yet to hear a bad word about the Bersa ppk style pistol,

Ditto... It seems like Bersa makes a better PPK-style gun than the originators (Walther)... at less than half the price too.

 

[gun4funtime]

My ppks was very reliable, when I finally got it back from S&W service. It just would not work out of the box.
After they took their sweet time, to fix it , it was great.
shot fine, very accurate, no problems feeding any ammo.
I put a piece of pac-skin on the front and rear of the grip area to help control the muzzle flip, it wasn't to bad, but this did help.

sold it due to ammo prices, .380 is pricey around here, 9mm is a lot cheaper for practice.

 

[Logan5]

My S&W PPK/S ran 100% out of the box with anything I fed it, cor-bon, hornady, etc. It was really accurate for me as well, but it had some really sharp edges on the grip frame, and the slide liked to bite me.

Also they gave me the feeling of being quite heavy for their size, as opposed to say a Colt 1903, but that's a pretty subjective perception.

 

[gbelleh]

When they work, they're nice little guns. My first PPK/S was a very nice Interarms import from the early 70s and was totally reliable (I pocket carried it occasionally). My second (and current) PPK/S is a USA made Interarms and it's a jam-o-matic that I would never consider carrying. I have no experience with the new S&W PPKs.

 

[brockgl]

Mine was semi-reliable, but I couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with it. The fixed barrel is nowhere near as accurate as the floating barrel semi-autos I've owned. I fired 8 shots at an 8.5" by 11" target at 7 yards and missed the paper every single time! It was ridiculous, so I traded it in. Mine was the new Walther PPK/S that are currently running in the $500 range.

I traded it and upgraded to a Sig--best thing I ever did.