Any thoughts on the PPK/S?

[Effingham]

Greetings, folks.

I'm rather (okay, very) new here, and I'd like to get an opinion.

I'm looking to get a few handguns down the line, but want to start with something that can do double duty as a general purpose handgun and an occasional concealed carry piece. I'm thinking about finally breaking down and getting the Walther PPK/S in .380 to serve the "swing duty" until I decide on a definite power handgun (thinking Sig 229, Walther PPQ, something along those lines) and the conceal piece (Bodyguard 380, Ruger LCP, Sig P290, etc.), I'm thinking PPK/S.

It has a narrow, comfy profile, a grip I feel at home with, reasonable oomph, and an all-around good compromise for size and function. (Oh.... and, yes, there is that old James Bond sex appeal. Who am I kidding? )

I once had a chance to mess around with an American InterArm "PPK clone" and I liked the feel, but I would rather get the real thing.

Does anyone have experience with the PPK or PPK/S, and can offer me the benefit of it? I'd be grateful for any advice and opinions regardless. (And I'm also perfectly open to alternate suggestions for a double-duty carry piece.)

Thanks!

Tony

 

[Shoots4Fun]

I don't have one, but 2 different guys I occasionally shoot with each have one.

There's no doubt it is a classic and with the James Bond appeal you can't go wrong. I don't think they're any more or less reliable than my Bersa 380. That's not a slam, the Bersa is a pleasure to shoot and runs great on all the ammo it can find.

However, I think the PPK/S are a bit overpriced in comparison to many of the higher capacity 9mm's out there (even the subcompact ones which may be more suitable to conceal carry).

I think it just has be something you really want because of the nostalgia and classic recognition and styling to go that direction.

My ...

 

[wrigleycub]

I have a PPK/S that I carry, its about 30 years old. It was given to me unfired about 5 yrs ago. It was a little tight at first, but, after about 500 rounds its loosening up well. My little review go's something like this. Nice small, however a bit heavy .380, mag cap is 7+1. Fits most hands nicely. Break in period seems a little longer than most others. However, once its broken in, it will eat just about anything put down it. Conceal's very easily! Great shooter, probably due to the extra weight. Cost to plink= not desirable!

 

[Effingham]

Thanks, guys.

Yeah, Shoots4, I admit that the sexy Sean Connery (the One True Bond) vibe is a major appeal -- at first, any way.

And the cost-to-plink factor Señor Wrigleycub mentioned... oh, yeah. I hadn't thought of that.

Am I correct in understanding from some of my reading here today that .380 ammo is pricey and hard to find, relatively speaking?


Tony

 

[jamstutz]

YMMV, and this is only based on my own personal experience, but here goes...

I like the Walther PPK and the PPK/S, but with the following caveats--

The German-made PPK's (mostly 7.65 mm / .32 ACP) are engineered and manufactured extremely well and most are extremely reliable. These are all blue steel. A few were made in .22 LR and .25 ACP and a few were made under license in France by Manhurin.

The early US-made PPK's and PPK/S's were made under license for Interarms, and were marked "Interarms under license of Walther Waffenfabrik." These were also well made and reliable, and while a few were made in blued steel, most were stainless steel. The vast majority of these were chambered in 9 mm Kurtz / .380 ACP.

More recently the Walther PPK has been made under license by Smith & Wesson, and these were subject to a number of recalls for a tendency to fire when they were taken off safe. The ones I have shot have also had considerable feeding and reliability issues, but there may be others that are more reliable. In any case, I would consider their record as spotty.

 

[maxmayhem]

I have one of the ppk/ s ...just bought it on here...it is my favorite gun...i showed my uncle the gun...he already has one...he showed his cousin and now i no longer have a ppk...my wife is ticked but i am going to buy a brand new one from buds for $494 with the proceeds...i did take ot to atterbury this weekend and shot about 50 rounds thru with no issues whatsoever....i prefer it to any other 380 i have owned...the felt recoil is strong as it is focused all in the web of your hand...it is just the most good looking gun i have ever seen and i really like the concealibility of the gun....been carrying it every day...have to give it to my mom soon to give to the cousin in virginia but i will have another one very shortly...also the gun is very accurate and suited well for concealment with a stiff first pull on the first shot and a nice safety...second shot is so smooth....i really like thse and wish i could afford the blue and the stainless

 

[Jay]

I had a PPK/S. It's was a nice gun, but I didn't like the fact that the only way to lock the slide back was to insert an empty mag and pull the slide back. There is no external slide lock. Trivial to some perhaps, but it was enough to lead me to trade the gun off, and I rarely trade/sell guns.

 

[Deet]

You could also look at the Radom P64 pistol. It looks alot like the PPk, uses the 9x18mm ammo which is cheaper than .380, and the gun costs $150-$200. Just a thought.

 

[STEEL CORE]

Have had a few, back in the day before Glock, I carried a stainless PPK/S just baout everywhere. .380 is not as powerfull as the .9 or .40 and the metal pistol was not as fun after awhile to shoot. I shot my .45 colts back then more often, but as a CC piece they fit the bill. (If you don't have a G-26/27).

 

[Boiled Owl]

You could also look at the Radom P64 pistol. It looks alot like the PPk, uses the 9x18mm ammo which is cheaper than .380, and the gun costs $150-$200. Just a thought.

I got one of these and they are great. I'm thinking the DA trigger pull on it is really hard. But SA is good. I can hit stuff with it! But not in the same category as a German Walther.

 

[GBuck]

I had the same problems others have mentioned on here with mine. It was one made via smith and wesson and was NOTHING but a problem. It FTF every 2-3 rounds. I NEVER got an entire mag fired without failure. The barrell had a crack in it and was replaced by Smith. When it still didn't work it went back to Smith TWICE before I finally decided to give it up.

 

[spec4]

Mine was a Smith. Got rid of it after about 100 rounds. Couldn't keep it from chewing my hand up. In retrospect, wish I'd gotten a SIG P232 instead.

 

[88E30M50]

I've owned a bunch of Bersas and decided to buy a PPK/S because Bersa did not make one in stainless. For the first 400 or so rounds, I hated the PPK. The stock DA trigger is about as stiff as an 1895 Nagant revolver. I swapped springs and polished the chamber and then shot the heck out of it. After about 400 rounds, it loosened up and has become one of my favorite guns to shoot. I like the weight since it lets me accurately fire faster than my Bersas. The extra weight takes a bit of the snappyness out of the 380s.

Now that it's broken in, it's proven to be a good gun. I'm still not happy that a Bersa could produce a better pistol than the S&W PPK for half the price, but that's just how it is. One other thing I did when I got mine was to smooth all of those dang sharp edges, then polish it. Before doing that, it was like shooting a cheese grater.

 

[Mr. Habib]

I had one years ago. It was very reliable and accurate. It was also very heavy for it's size and caliber. Mine was painful to shoot. It would bite the web of my hand consistently. I would be bleeding after the first magazine or two. They are nice, well built guns, but if you have large hands or like a high grip it may not be for you.

 

[shootinghoosier]

I had fondled the PPK at several gun shops and loved the looks of it, so I ended up purchasing one a few years ago...it was one of the later versions made by Smith & Wesson. My first trip to the range was a major disappointment...25% of everything I tried to shoot was either an FTE or light firing pin strikes. More time was spent messing around with the problems than actually shooting it. At first, I wrote it off due to the fact that I was shooting reloads, so I ran out and bought several boxes of factory loads to run through it. Unfortunately, they were only marginally better. I really liked the looks of the gun and gave it all I had trying to break it in during several trips to the range, but I was consistently disappointed because the thing just never performed the way it should. I wasn't excited about sending it back to S&W for repairs, so within 6 months, I traded it in on a Sig P232.

I simply gave up on the PPK, but I have to say I'm a happy camper with the Sig 232. I have run 100s, if not thousands of rounds through it and not one hiccup.

While the early Walthers or Interarms PPKs are fine little guns, don't waste your time or money on the Smith & Wesson version of the PPK.

 

[Effingham]

More recently the Walther PPK has been made under license by Smith & Wesson, and these were subject to a number of recalls for a tendency to fire when they were taken off safe. The ones I have shot have also had considerable feeding and reliability issues, but there may be others that are more reliable.

>eep<

That's not a good thing. Thanks for the warning.

I had the same problems others have mentioned on here with mine. It was one made via smith and wesson and was NOTHING but a problem. It FTF every 2-3 rounds. I NEVER got an entire mag fired without failure. The barrell had a crack in it and was replaced by Smith. When it still didn't work it went back to Smith TWICE before I finally decided to give it up.

Oof.

Mine was a Smith. Got rid of it after about 100 rounds. Couldn't keep it from chewing my hand up. In retrospect, wish I'd gotten a SIG P232 instead.

I have heard somewhere something about the Walther having a tendency to bite one's hand. I guess that's true. I don't like that bit.

I've owned a bunch of Bersas and decided to buy a PPK/S because Bersa did not make one in stainless. For the first 400 or so rounds, I hated the PPK. The stock DA trigger is about as stiff as an 1895 Nagant revolver. I swapped springs and polished the chamber and then shot the heck out of it. After about 400 rounds, it loosened up and has become one of my favorite guns to shoot. I like the weight since it lets me accurately fire faster than my Bersas. The extra weight takes a bit of the snappyness out of the 380s.

Thanks for that. I'm going to have to look into that one.

I wasn't excited about sending it back to S&W for repairs, so within 6 months, I traded it in on a Sig P232.

That's another one, then, that I'm going to have to look at. Also the G-26/27 That Steel Core mentioned.


Thanks, guys, for the advice. You saved me from potentially making a bad decision from emotion rather than seriously evaluating the gun's FUNCTION. I'm glad you other guys have had good experiences, but those other accounts worry me.

Frankly, I'm surprised S&W made a so-so version of the gun. I thought S&W were quality gunmakers. What's the story on that? Sigh.

Well, off to look for another mid-size, double-function gun. Thanks, folks. I appreciate the help.


Tony

 

[Hkfiend]

Good little .380

 

[GBuck]

Frankly, I'm surprised S&W made a so-so version of the gun. I thought S&W were quality gunmakers. What's the story on that? Sigh.

Tony

Oddly, they went through a period where they were making some "comparatively" crappy guns... that started turning around again when the M&P semi autos started coming out.

 

[Mr P.]

Mydad just gave me his PPK/S and I was considering using it as my CC pistol, butthen I opened the box and held it. It feels great in my hand, but man-oh-man it’sfar heavier than I wanted for a concealed carry weapon.

 

[gglass]

Do yourself a favor and look at the Sig P232 before you purchase a PPK/S. It is a much better pistol, and you still have the Bond look.

Sig P232 Reviews:
SIG SAUER P232 .380 ACP Pistol
GunWeek.com