What do you think about the Walther PP in .32?

[firestar]

I guess they are selling rather cheap latly, are they any good? Are they in decent cond.? Are they reliable? What is a good price to pay for one? I see that SOG has them for $274. Has anyone seen them for less?

It seems like a great oportunity to get a real Walther PP (my favorite between the PP and PPK) for less than they have been selling for in quite some time.

I bought a Walther P-1 and feel like I got a deal on it even though I bought it before the recent price drop to $200! I bought it when they were selling for close to $300. I paid $285 OTD and still feel O.K. about it. I just saw one sell for $185 on Gunbroker! Damm! Sometimes it pays to wait! I may have to but another one just to even out the price some.

 

[ACP230]

I have one of the PPs produced by Manurhin in France. Germany was not allowed to produce the Walther PPs for a while after WWII. Even after that restriction was lifted the guns were made in France and finished and marked in Germany because it was cheaper to do it that way.

My PP is a nice shooter, accurate out to 25 yards and usable out to 50. It has a lanyard ring on the heel of the butt. Finish was good, but the sights are small. I found them adequate outside, but hard to see on an indoor range. (Old eyes.) The PP "bites the hand that feeds it." It doesn't ding me as hard as my old 1911 used to, however.

Centerfire Systems, wwwcenterfiresystems.com, was advertising a similar gun, minus lanyard ring, for $249 recently.

AIM surplus may still have a good deal on RWS German .32 ACP FMJ ammo. HTH.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. I bought this one many years ago for a song from a fellow needing money more than a .32 ACP. Though too light in caliber for me to feel "ballistically secure," the thing has proven 100% reliable with ball and Hornady XTP factory JHPs. Speer GDHPs would jam the magazine so tightly that it had to be disassembled to clear! Works fine with STHPs as well. I don't shoot the gun often as it's more expensive than .22lr, and when I shoot centerfire, I prefer something else. The DA and SA on this little pistol are better than those on my German PP in .380 and I prefer this .32's smooth trigger face.

Until I could teach my non-shooting wife to handle something a bit more potent, this was here "bedroom gun" when I was out of town.

The sights are the older, smallish ones, but they are "on" for me in this caliber. The pistol is surprisingly accurate.

Best.

 

[bad_dad_brad]

They do hardball okay, but modern .32 JHP ammo often hiccups in Walther PPs and PPKs.

Who cares anyway. The Kahr MK9 and PM9 have obsoleted the Walther, not to mention, if you have to go .32, the ultra light Keltec P32.

Sigh, it is such a pretty little gun though.

 

[Bob C]

I had a .32 PP briefly 15 years ago, and it had been abused too much for me to keep it. When they became availability again recently I got another. The first had a wonderful S/A trigger poull, but allowed the hammer to follow the slide once or twice a magazine. The dealer replaced it with the one I have now, which I plan to keep.

I've had the same experience as Stephen Camp with the Speer GDHP ammo, and have standardized on FMJ, either W/W from Wal-Mart or ( my preference) Fiocchi.

The only reliability problem I've had other than with Speer Gold Dot is a rare stovepipe if I hold the gun too loosely.

I like mine, and occasionally carry it. The caliber isn't comforting, but it is very slim and for me it points very naturally.