I love my Sigs and especially my 232 and 230 samples, but I thought I would post this about my other love affair, Walther PPK’s and PPK/S’s.

The title of this thread is sort of tongue in cheek but after carrying Walther PPK and PPK/S guns since 1965 (on and off duty as a LEO) and now retired, I believe I just put together the best one I have ever had. I have an unfired 1968 made in Germany,1968 .380 PPK which is of course the most valuable, however, for a user and ultra reliable PPK, I think this Fort Smith PPK fits the bill.

It is shown with an xGrip adapter on a 7 round PPK/S magazine. It really flows with the handling and looks of the gun which now sports a set of custom grips originally made for a S&W PPK. It only took a little sanding to make them fit.

I have not been to the range yet but my comments above are related to my Fort Smith PPK/S. I see no reason that this gun will not perform the same way.






I will post the results of my first range trip which I hope will be soon.

Trooper Joe

Nice looking gun and grips. I do prefer the models with the wrap around grips compared to the panel pieces, as they fit my hands better and the gun doesn't seem as harsh to shoot.

I’ve owned several Walther PP series in .380. They are all gone now. Every one I have is in .32 ACP.

I like new. I like a full warranty. And, that’s a very nice looking gun.

quote:

Originally posted by patw:
Nice looking gun and grips. I do prefer the models with the wrap around grips compared to the panel pieces, as they fit my hands better and the gun doesn't seem as harsh to shoot.

PPKs have to have a wrap-around grip because the gun has no backstrap. PPs and PPK/Ss do, but PPKs don’t.

My .380 Interarms PPK/S has a 17# DA trigger break.

I LOVE my SIG P238.

OP: Beautiful pistol.

Good looking. But I'm definitely not a fan of how these .380s shoot.

I’ve got a Fort Smith PPK that I like a lot. Trigger is heavy in DA but smooth and the gun has proven both reliable and accurate. It’s a bit harsh to shoot for more than 50 rounds or so and .380 kills isn’t my favorite caliber, but I carry it occasionally just because I like it. Not everything has to be super tactical.

I want to like the PP's/PPK's but, I can't. I know they are iconic. They look great.

In my experience, they suck to shoot, I get slide bite, the recoil is excessively snappy for a .380 and the trigger pull has normally been atrocious.

Nobody should ever say that 50rounds in one session is too much. That's reserved for .460s&w, 454casull, etc, not the mighty .380acp.

Nice looking piece Trooper Joe

I too am a fan of the PPk over it's taller brother

quote:

Originally posted by inspcalahan:
I want to like the PP's/PPK's but, I can't. I know they are iconic. They look great.

In my experience, they suck to shoot, I get slide bite

inspcalahan,
I also suffer from slide bite with the older versions of the PP family. Howere Smith & Wesson fixed that problem when they extended the tang of the pistol. I think the Fort Smith tang is even a bit longer

Compare the tang on the top photos with the one on my older PPk

Just dug out my other Fort Smith gun, a 2019 model PPK/S. It is the same story on the grips as my PPK. I had the grips on my Interarms PPK/S for several years. They also were for a S&W PPK/S and needed a little fitting to fit the Interarms model. They really helped this Fort Smith PPK/S in the looks department since they sort of subdue the longer grip tang. I found that I really like the feel of that grip configuration on these new Walthers. I never experienced “slide bite” on my older models but this new grip design works well on a gun that you are actually going to use.




The brown magazine base plate on the PPK/S came from Earls on an original PPK .32 cal magazine. I read someplace that these brown finger rest base plates varied in the amount of black swirling they had. This plain brown sample looked better on this PPK/S than on my restored German, .32 cal, PPK.

Still planning on getting to the range with my new to me PPK. Will report on that
ASAP.

Trooper Joe

I wanted to channel 007 with multiple PPKs. All were bang, bang jam.
But they were all .380s. If I run across one in .32ACP, I will try again.

Only time I had jams with my S&W PPK/s is when I used truncated nose hollow points or when I installed Knill grips and needed to sand away the wood that was rubbing the action parts under the grips. When I use round nose FMJs, no issue.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:

quote:

Originally posted by patw:
Nice looking gun and grips. I do prefer the models with the wrap around grips compared to the panel pieces, as they fit my hands better and the gun doesn't seem as harsh to shoot.

PPKs have to have a wrap-around grip because the gun has no backstrap. PPs and PPK/Ss do, but PPKs don’t.

My .380 Interarms PPK/S has a 17# DA trigger break.

I LOVE my SIG P238.

OP: Beautiful pistol.

I follow you. I was just speaking of the model in general. The PPK/S I had, a terrible S&W version, was very sharp on the back strap. After holding a PPK, it was a game changer.

I haven't carried it much in the last few years, as there's so many smaller/lighter/higher capacity .380 ACPs I own now that lend themselves to pocket carry, but I bought this PPk in the 1990's and upgraded it with KN Nill stocks that really feel great. While this Walther never fed JHPs reliably, I tested it with my favorite .380 ammo (Lehigh Defense Xtreme Penetrators) and found it functioned without a hitch. These copper solids disrupt tissue as well as hollow-points, but don't need to expand and they penetrate as well as 9mm JHPs. I've got a Milt Sparks "Summer Special" holster for this oldie, so if I do decide at some point to carry it, I've got that option.

I have an Interarms German Walther and an Interarms USA Ranger.

There were no true German Walther PPK pistols manufactured after WWII. They were all made in France and sent to Germany for proofing and finishing.

RANGE TIME

Shot off hand at 15 yards. First shot dead on and the other 4 drifted a little. Fed ball ammo as well as some Remington jacket hp with no problems.

Not sure about the xGrip adapter. It sort of dug into my lowest finger upon firing. I think the standard grip with the finger extension would probably have been more comfortable (ran out of time to try it). However, the grip adapter with the extra round (by using a 7 round PPK/S magazine) would still be useful in a defense application.



I also think my Fort Smith PPK/S is a little more comfortable to shoot.



Trooper Joe

I too like the Ft.Smith PPK’s. I give S&W high praise and credits for the modifications & improvements they rendered the design when they licensed the pistol from Walther. Those mods have also been incorporated to the Ft.Smith Walther pistols and make for superb performers.

Is it true that the slides of these new Walthers are made in Germany. Can anyone confirm this?

The slides of the Fort Smith PPKs are made in Germany. The frames are made in the United States.

They are assembled in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Very nice Walther PPKs. I have aWest German made PPK in 7.65 that I enjoy to shoot. I also have a FEG R-61 in 9 Mak.

Regards

quote:

Originally posted by monoblok:
Good looking. But I'm definitely not a fan of how these .380s shoot.

I love the way they look but completely agree about the shootability.
I had one and traded it away because it shot like crap and was unreliable.
However it is a very sexy looking firearm.
{sigh} wish I could have made mine work ~ it was an Interarms version.