How is the quality of the current Walther PPK series and who is importing/manufacturing them now? I’ve always wanted one and PSA has them on sale right now. I admittedly don’t know very much about them but have always read that you can get slide bite and they don’t feed hollow points very well. Is this still the case?

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Unfortunately, current isn’t going to be current much longer. They’ve just been discontinued again by Walther. Anyway, the most recent PP-series were being made by Walther here in Fort Smith, Arkansas from a mix of German and domestic parts. The overall impression seems to be that they’re better than the old ones produced by Smith & Wesson under license. Slide bite hasn’t really been an issue ever since the beaver-tail was added. However, they are still known to be somewhat picky on ammo.

My new production seems fine. I have yet to shoot as I've been waiting on the suppressor.

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I've only shot a couple magazines through my Ft Smith .380 PPK but no problems. Quality seems good, all are stainless with some having some kind of black finish, not actual blued carbon steel.

They are ceasing production. I believe that cdnn sports has the remaining supply!!!in 32 and 380

I always wanted one, until I owned one.

I've been shooting all of the smaller Walther series pistols since 1980 when I bought my first. These include the PP, PPK, PPK/S---all German ones in 22, 32, 380--- and also one PPK stainless steel in 32 (90s era Interarms). So far I've had nothing but great luck with ALL of them. Now I do have to say that I've never used hollow point ammo, only FMJ ammo.

One thing must keep in mind when it comes to reliability with these pistols: the PP series was designed in 1929 around the 32 acp round firing FMJ. Having said that, my guess is that the majority of people wanting a PP, PPK, PPK/S want one in 380 and are using hollow point ammo.

I've had no experience with the new production ones made in Arkansas, so cannot comment there. The beaver tail on them is the only thing that looks displeasing to my eyes anyway.

BTW, CDNN isn't the only place that has the remaining supply. There are a couple of other websites that seem to have oodles of them.

The current Arkansas manufactured ones ended last year after making them since 2018.


Search out a pre-1979 Interarms.

There has been no actual German Walther PPK series made in Germany since 1945. All Made In W Germany PPKs are actually forged, machined in France, then finished out in Germany.

There are several Made in USA versions. If it in an Interarms and has no canoe cut out in the trigger guard, it is a Ranger Arms and the best of the American pistols. This production was from 1978 to 1999. There were a few blued ones made, but most of them were stainless. These were the first stainless version produced.

In 1999 to 2001 Walther USA had Bear Creek Manufacturing build them.

Then there are the Smith and Wessons....2002 to 2013. They put that ugly serial number canoe on the frame.

For hollow point ammo, Cor-Bon Pow'RBall will feed in them because of the rounded plastic insert in the bullet.

Here's my 1972 Interarms made in "W Germany".

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I just picked up a stainless PP in 32 ACP from Palmetto, and the fit & finish on the pistol is exceptional. There's not a toolmark or blemish to be found on the pistol, inside or out. I was initially a bit hesitant, given my experience with some of the PP's & PPK's of old, however, I couldn't be any more pleased with what Walther has done with this gun. It functioned perfectly with ball ammo, and I didn't have a malfunction with the 50 rounds I fired.

Mars_Attacks, why specifically before 1979? I haven’t heard that as a date.

Also, 1986-1999 were made in Germany from start to finish, but there are many who think that the earlier (part-French) post-war guns are nicer.

There absolutely no made in Germany guns after 1945. Mine says it, but they were ALL forged in France and FINISHED in Germany.

Like modern cheap Swiss watches. OUtsourced parts and assembled in the home country.

Mine is a 1972 Made in W Germany, but I know for sure they are manufactured in France and finished up in Germany.

1979-1999 all Interarms marked were made in Alabama. They are Ranger Arms. The absolute best of the American manufactured.

^^^I don't think that's correct (according to Dieter Marschall's book). From 1986-1999, Walther PP-series pistols marked "Made in W. Germany" were produced entirely in Ulm. These pistols are very rare in the US (especially the PPK -because of GCA restrictions- but the PP and PPK/S are rare too).

All of the Ranger-manufactured Walthers are marked "Made in USA" and "under license of".

However, pistols of both above categories will have Interarms markings, because they were the importer.

You're correct about your 1972 pistol though (the blanks were forged in France even though it's marked "Made in W. Germany").

For what it's worth, I also prefer the Ranger-manufactured ones over all other USA production.

My PPK/s is Only a few years old, Walther marked and made at Ft.Smith. It is fun to shoot, accurate and will occasionally FTF with fmj. I have shot over one hundred HP with no failure of any kind. Remington, Hornady, Winchester, Federal, Cor-Bon and Norma. If it is HP it is good to go.

Lock N Load

Michael
USMC Ret

I condenser myself lucky to have one of the Ranger Arms Interarms Walther PPK/s guns that has been a reliable pistol since purchased in early 1993. The DA trigger is atrocious and the SA trigger is acceptable but the slide can bite if you aren’t deliberate. I have toyed with changing/tuning the springs with the kit sold by Wolffe in an attempt to solve the DA trigger. I have had the kit for years and if the gun was not 100 percent reliable I would have already messed with it. When you weaken the mainspring on a blowback design you decrease the resistance on the rearward slide thus increasing the velocity of the slide travel under fire. You can counteract that by increasing the recoil spring, but there is a whole lot of things to figure out, all of which can create reliability issues. So as it sits, I have a reliable gun that’s more fun to look at than it is to shoot and no practical reason to change it.

As to the current Walther PPK/s quality, I’d probably skip them in favor of grabbing something of an older vintage. If I had one that didn’t run as well as I would like, there are tuning spring kits that can help them get squared away. It takes some work to find the right combination but it can be done.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
If it in an Interarms and has no canoe cut out in the trigger guard, it is a Ranger Arms and the best of the American pistols. This production was from 1978 to 1999. There were a few blued ones made, but most of them were stainless.

Great info Mars. I'm proud to claim this early, blued Ranger PPK/s in the 0233xx serial number range. Can you please elaborate on the newer "canoe cut out" trigger guard feature as I am unfamiliar with the more modern production PP/PPK series models. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
There absolutely no made in Germany guns after 1945. Mine says it, but they were ALL forged in France and FINISHED in Germany.


Mine is a 1972 Made in W Germany, but I know for sure they are manufactured in France and finished up in Germany.

While the frames were forged by Manurhin in France, and therefore the “firearms” came into existence in France, some of the finishing work done in Ulm does make for noteworthy differences. My understanding, and I’ve never been to Walther in Germany so this isn’t first hand information (heck I wasn’t even born until 1979 so I wasn’t even alive in this time period), but the finishing steps taken in Germany did produce a higher quality pistol. I believe there was additional heat treatment in Germany, for example, that resulted in better durability. I’ve handled Walther marked pistols and Manurhin marked pistols and from 10 feet away they absolutely looked the same, but upon closer inspection the Walther marked ones did feel to be of higher quality.

So, while I’m not disagreeing with what you’re saying - that Manurhin made the frames and slides for both French finished and German finished pistols, I think it’s fair to add that there are definite differences in pistols finished in Germany vs. France. As for the Ranger manufactured, US made pistols, they definitely seem to be the most desirable out of all the US made pistols.

Thanks for the info everyone!

I just got one of the recent production PPKs.

Also have a older PP (import) and a US made PPK/S. How do I tell if it's a Ranger, Bear or S&W?

My 1966 model shoots anything I put in the magazines, very close to perfect.

SteyrAUG, because your PPK/S lacks the beavertail grip tang, it's most likely a Ranger (Mid-South). The only reason I say "most likely" is that there's some debate about whether or not the last tail-less USA PP-series pistols (marked "Walther USA, LLC" on the other side) were made by S&W in Houlton, Maine. However, if it says Interarms on the other side, it's surely a Ranger Mid-South.

You might know more than I do though. What's a Bear?

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