I'm no expert on manufacturing, but this is what I recall from the engineering courses I have taken. "Teething problems" are the initial "bugs" that many new firearms and other products entering the market have. Despite a manufacturer's attempts to thoroughly test the design of a new product, minor and occasionally major issues (remember the Corvair?) arise when the product is first sold to the public and receives much more use and sometimes abuse than had occurred in testing. The manufacturer then responds to (or in some cases simply denies) the concerns and through this process, similar to the painful teething of a child, the product evolves into a more reliable good (or the manufacturer quietly concedes that the design is indeed flawed and slowly discontinues the product.)
In the case of the P99, three of the “teething” problems that I have read about involve trigger problems, frame cracks, and ammo sensitivity. The trigger problems were present in the very early models, were smoothed out in later versions, or so I have read by those who own both initial and late model P99s. Despite this I found that by relubing the striker and trigger pivot pin, my P99 trigger became noticeably smoother.
As for frame cracks, I read that some were due to molding problems, and others were simply seams in the molding process. Personally, I have never seen a cracked frame on a polymer gun period. (Except for the plastic guns I had as a child, which often met an earlier death, playing “war” on the nearby hills) So I am of little help here. I recommend calling Earl’s Repair Shop (
http://www.waltherusa.net/ )(978-851-2656), for they have been very helpful in answering any questions I have had about the P99.
Finally, ammo sensitivity: a phrase that struck fear in me when I had first ordered my P99 and read about the problem on the web. Early models of the P99 were designed to shoot 124gr ammo, which is slightly more powerful than the cheap 115gr that many use for target practice. As a result earlier P99 would have problems with the slide not fully cycling with ammo such as 115gr Winchester White Box. Thus to counter this problem, Interarms (at the time Walther’s US importer) released a “red dot” spring that was slightly lighter than the original so that 115gr would cycle better. Somewhere along the line though, it is my understanding that Walther began using a different spring rate that is a compromise of the original spring and “red dot” spring, and thus allows more of a wide range of ammo to be used. As I have said before, my fairly recent P99, has performed reliably despite the #@$% ammo I have fed through it.
So based on this it is my understanding that many of the initial “teething” problems have been rectified. As for your other concerns, they may or may not still remain. As for the polymer guide rod, I don’t care for it either, but it does work, and it is under less stress than many other plastic items used by society. Who knows, someday, maybe entire guns will be made of plastic, although it would have to be stronger than that plastic which we have today. As for the sights, personally, I like them, they are easy to adjust, and allow me to hit the target. What is it you don’t like about them?
