So... After a number of folks here on SF raved about their Walther PDPs, I bought one! I put 200 rounds of Blazer Brass 115 and 124 ball and another 50 rounds of Gold Dot 115 (my carry load) standard pressure HPs through it.
Experience thus far:
100% reliable. Optic ready right out of the box. Well fitted (my Glocks, not so much) trigger safety tab. Easy disassembly. Fit and finish is excellent. Trigger is one of the best out of the box striker triggers I have shot. Excellent reset, too. The grip is outstanding and fits my hand very well. Multiple backstraps but I have not swapped them around. Finding OEM Walther (MecGar) magazines for $29 on GunMagWarehouse was a pleasant surprise! Whine: Plastic sights! But they are Glock pattern and easily replaced. Which I did with a set of G19/17 Truglo night sights. Every bit as accurate as my Gen 5 G19.
Final words: Its a shooter and a keeper! As soon as I can try the "F" model grip, (marketed to ladies with small hands) I may pick up a second one. Will it replace my Glocks? Not at this point, but maybe after I run some more rounds through it. And I am looking at the $1K+ models to see if they are worth the extra money.

I wouldn't go with one of the more expensive models unless you want a metal frame.

Another idea to make you gun shoot a little softer is going with a 15# recoil spring instead of the 18# to for softer recoil and the same reliability. The guns are oversprung from factory in case you need to shoot some rusty and corroded Russian 9mm surplus ammo.

Thanks for the tip! Extraction / ejection was fine with the stock spring. Walthers website shows a ZR Tactical Spring for $65. And the metal framed model is pricey! Also, the various sizes and barrel lengths of the listed models is kinda confusing. If I can find one in stock somewhere, I want try the feel of the poly framed 5 inch.

I have the 5 in compact. Same general experience as you described. Best out of box trigger. I put a metal fiber optic front sight, kept the stock rear sight. Have a Holosun SCS PDP on order.

Been thinking of getting the F compact 4in as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Belwolf:
I have the 5 in compact. Same general experience as you described. Best out of box trigger. I put a metal fiber optic front sight, kept the stock rear sight. Have a Holosun SCS PDP on order.

Been thinking of getting the F compact 4in as well.

I miss my PDP F. They didn’t have the 4” barrel one when I got the 3.5. Might have to do that next.

Love my PDP compact and my PDP-F. My PDP-F is backup to my CCW G43X.

Walther has replaced my P320 as my go to range gun. Everyone that has shot it loves it. And with a Holosun407 Comp on it the viewing window is YUGE!

My -F has a SCS I like it.

Found that going with the ZR tactical recoil springs makes a huge difference in recoil/flip.

I carry the 4.5-inch when I have to wear a uniform, and I carry the f series while in plain clothes.

Those of you with experience with the F model:
Is there a really noticeable difference between the F model grip and that of the standard grip? And is it better?

Several of the guys in my shooting group have switched over completely from both Glock and Sig to the PDP. I've put a few rounds through a few different ones including whatever metal frame match model and found them all to be really pleasant shooters. Scoring good hits felt easier than with Glocks for whatever reason. If there was a platform out there that could pull me away from Glock for most of my uses, the PDP is the only one so far to pose an actual threat of that.

The difference I noticed with the F model vs Compact is that the F is a full size grip similar to a Glock 17. While the Compact it's a little bigger but close to a Glock 19 grip.

Best example is the Compact was too small for my best friend with really large hands his pinky was hanging off the bottom a little. But with the F it fit him just fine so that's the one he went with.

As for me I'm so tempted to add one to my collection I already have a OG P-99AS and if I was in the market for a new duty/bedside gun the PDP would be my top choice followed by the VP9A1.

The trigger was the lightest one out of the box of any striker fired guns I've tried and I've tried all most all of them.

A while back I went all in on the PDP platform. Ended up with both size SF (steel frames), the Match and the Compact and multiple polymer frames both full-size and compact.

First off, the SF guns are heavy as you would expect. They also are phenomenal shooters. Expensive but for everything except carry they are light years better shooters than the polymer versions.

People complain that the PDP's don't come with a plate and you have to send in for your free one. It comes pretty quickly and the optics cut is crazy good from the factory. My two favorite setups are the Holosun SCS which is a direct mount and requires standard height irons. It is very nice. I also bought the PA State Police version which is factory cut and comes with the Aimpoint Acro in a 4.5 inch fullsize polymer. I added the ZR Tactical full length guide rod system and it is a pretty sweet shooter. If I was a cop I would use this setup and be very content.

I have a P99 and obviously the family lineage is apparent and improved upon in my opinion.

Amazing triggers. Honestly I like both the highest end Dynamic Performance Trigger and standard Duty Performance Trigger (I think those are the names). I have grown to love both of them. With a gun to my head I would take the higher end one but either one is great.

These guns are better shooters than any Glock I have owned. I used to compete with a somewhat tricked out 34 and these PDPs are easy to shoot better scores with. Especially the steel frame ones.

My favorite is the SF Compact. If they ever come out with this gun with the Dynamic Perf trigger and a magwell I will probably get another.

They are great guns and I would take one over my Glocks any day. Great pickup.

I don’t know a whole lot about the Walther PDP, but recently became acquainted.

The son got married, since he knew I’d get them a gift or 3, he asked about a PDP, full sized. When I looked, seemed a little expensive. I got him one through grab-a-gun. It’s destined as more of a range gun.

Compared to the standard, a G19, the PDP “seems” bigger. It’s not. It is slightly,3/10’s of an inch, taller. It is shorter in length and 1oz heavier. That’s it. The Super Duper Terrain serrations make it seem way bigger than it is. If you can carry a G19 the PDP (COMPACT) will carry nearly identically.

I have only had 2 issues and both are on me. I find the longish slide release to be very easy to ride and induce the slide to ride home on an empty chamber. I have considered cutting it shorter which would solve this but what I ended up doing was altering my thumb placement. It took some practice but now I don’t. I still wish I could buy a shorter slide release (which is exactly what I did with my HK P30’s, same problem but I could fix it with a factory part).

The other issue is I put a comp on one of them just for fun. It is the only one that I have ever had malfunctions with. I have swapped between factory and reduced recoil springs and won’t call it solved yet. The obvious answer is to ditch the comp. If it was my only PDP it would already be gone. Since I have multiple I have the luxury of trying to figure it out. The comped gun shoots really flat and is easy to go fast and get back on target which is why I really want to solve the issue. It is a ZR Tactical comp, I kinda wish I had gone with the other big brand comp whose name escapes me at the moment.

Hmmm... Need to budget for an F model!

I have the ZR Tactical 17# recoil spring on my Walther PDP Professional. It works very well!

I kind of went nuts on the ZR Tactical website. I have/had their long slide and fat guide rod stuff in all my PDP’s. The lighter weight recoils spring is a noticeable improvement. The long travel (name?) recoil spring guide rod is close to magical. Yes that is an exaggeration but it is wildly noticeable when shot back to back. Which is hard to do because of the goofy polymer spacer on the 4.5 and 5 inch guns but I can attest it is doable. lol I have 2 of those and if your gun works with it (read the website warning)(I think they now don’t recommend it in the polymer guns even though I am running one exactly that way after following their old directions) it is a great addition.

The only one that is back to factory is the comped one. I may actually try the heaviest ZR spring I have which is 18# I believe to solve that one. At least the testing is fun.

My Bride got herself a PDP-F 4 inch. We got a 15# spring and heavy mass guide rod from ZRT and she is pretty deadly. I liked it so much i got myself the same setup. It's my most accurate and favorite pistol.

I saw one of those in a famous "big-box" store and couldn't help giving it some extra attention.