A p99 question

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eviltravis

New member
I'm looking at buying a Walther P99. I've read the posts about german made v.s. u.s (smith and wesson) made. From what I've gathered from the stuff I've read, if there are proof marks on the barrel, the gun was made in germany. If there are no proof marks, then the gun is of U.S. manufacture. The opinion of most people seems to be that the german guns are better. This is what I found today. The gun is a walther P99, new at the gun store. The proof mark is on the barrel. The frame has the Walther name on it. The slide has smith and wesson on it. All of the serial numbers on the parts match. A similar gun in the guncase at the same store says Walther all over it, no s&w anywhere on it, but there are no proof marks, and it says made in springfield mass. The last time I checked Germany was in Europe... Are either of these guns made in germany? Are they pieced togethor here? Why are their proof marks from Ulm Germany on a gun made in the U.S.? I'd kind of like to get a german made Walther, but it's harder than it should be to figure this one out. So...Please, experts come forth and set me straight here. I am confused:confused:
 
The answer depends if the guns you're asking about are 9mm or 40cal. This has been beaten pretty much to death, but as I recall, it was only the 40cal that had some slides made by Smith. All 9mm pistols are out of Germany, and they should therefore all have the proof mark. You might not be looking in the right places.

On the rear right hand side of the slide, aft of the cocking serrations.
On the rear right of the barrel's flat side, at the ejection port.
On the forward right side of the frame, just aft of the light rail.

My gun is an all-German model, but also says 'Springfield, MA', which is the importer rollmark, and does not have any bearing on place of manufacture. I believe that newer guns are all made in Germany, as Walther has not been happy with the workmanship out of S/W, however, they are applying the S/W rollmark, to identify the importer.

Someone jump in to correct me if I'm wrong!
 
If the slide says smith and wesson on it then the slide was probably produced here in the USA. My P99 has all Walther proof mraks and is of Alexandria, Virginia import origin.

Not that I know for sure...but it sounds like that one might have the walther frame plus s&w slide.

Mike
 
There is a simple set of answers to your question. ALL current manufacture P99's are German made. There was a batch of .40 cal 99's that were partially made in the US by Smith&Wesson. There is also the bastardized SW99. This gun looks nothing like the P99. Don't let anyone tell you it is the same thing. The frame is made by Walther. The rest of the gun is all S&W. To tell if you are getting an all German P99 here is a set of characteristics that the gun should have. 1.The laft side of the slide will be marked with the Walther logo banner and the model # P99. 2. There should be 3 eagle over N proofmarks on the right side of the gun. One on the slide, one on the barrel and one on the frame. The gun may have one of three different importer marks on the left foward portion of the slide. Interarms, Alexandria Va., Walther USA LLC, Springfield,MA or Smith&Wesson, Springfield MA. Even if the gun is marked with the latter import mark, if it meets the 2 above characteristics it is all German. It is not an S&W product. Sorry for the long post. Hope this answers alot of questions.:)
 
eviltravis,

First, the current imported P99 pistols are imported by S&W, the newest firm to do so. They are marked Smith&Wesson, Springfield, MA on the right front portion of the slide. This includes both 9mmx19 and .40S&W pistols. They ARE NOT made by S&W as some believe and some AH's behind the counters of some gun shops will tell you.

As long as you see the proof marks on:

1) right rear of slide
2) hood of barrel
3) frame

And the frames have Made in Germany on the right side, the pistol was mfg. in Germany.

The most current exception to ALL of this are the German made European version of the P99. They have NO markings on the right front portion of the slide, are 9mmx19 only at this time as far as I can find and are all black only (no military models). They have the importer info on the top portion of the barrel hood, ERS, Inc., Tewksbury, MA. They have ALL the proof marks needed to show German proof house (Ulm) testing. S&W does NOT import this version of the P99 pistol.

For more detailed photos and some additional info, visit my web site thru the link below.
 
The 9mm and .40 S&W frames use sear modules particular to the respective caliber. The ejectors contained in these modules are different for the two calibers.
 
Herr Walther,

JMC, thank you for listing my website on yours.
Click to expand...

I did so indirectly but, yours was one of the very first sites that I found prior to my first P99 purchase. It contained the information that I required. :D
 
Somebody clears it up, and somebody confuses it again... ;)

What I was told by Walther on the telephone and by email:

Some P99 40S&W slides and bbls (about 5000) were made in the USA by S&W. They are stainless steel w a Melonite finish (like the Sigma/SW99). No German proof marks.

If it's a 40S&W and has German proof marks, it was made in Germany and is carbon steel w a Tennifer finish (like the Glock).

All the Walther 9x19s are all German and should have the proof marks. They do seem to work better than the SW99 in 9x19. Just ask the New Jersey State Police? They contracted w S&W for about 4000 pistols. The first few hundred delivered were jamamatics and couln't be fixed. The NJSP cancelled the contract and bought SIG P228s. ;)
 
My P99 has had over 3500 assorted rounds through it no problems at all. It goes bang every time and has never jammed. I guess Smith and Wesson made atleast one working gun.
But if calling S&W names makes you feel good...............



If it wasn't for them you would have no guns. :barf:
 
Alright BrokenArrow,

But if you are going to dig up that story, tell the whole story. Like how the ba$tard commies in NJ required unique, very off normal decocking options that did not integrate well with the already unusual Walther triggers.
 
Macman10, do you have a Walther P99 or a S&W SW99? You state you have a P99(german made by Walther) that we all know is a reliable firearm. The SW99 has been derided for poor performance. They are different firearms. You say you have a P99 then defend S&W.

Hube1236, I don't know about the NJSP requirements, but what do you mean by "the already unusual Walther triggers"?
 
It was my understanding that the NJSP had ordered a DAO version of the SW99, then decided that they wanted them converted, and asked S&W to go back and add a de-cocker button. After all this, they decided they didn't like the pistol.
 
Wanted to let somebody else have some fun.

They have BTDT before? S&W let the FBI take a good gun (10mm) and mess it up, they took the blame. So you would think S&W had learned their lesson and not gone there again? The Beretta 92 recovered very nicely from the military troubles, but the S&W 10mm didn't from the FBI troubles (the intro of the 40S&W didn't help much either), and the SW99 may not from the NJSP troubles regardless of who was really at fault? ;)

OTOH, a big part of their NJSP troubles were failures to feed, and that doesn't sound like something the trigger/decock fiddling the NJSP did would have much of anything to do with? The magazine mods might though (reduced from 16 to 15!?)...

S&W did have a rep for providing contract guns that did not live up to the stds set by T&E guns, or even commercial models, many places I am aware of over the years. A couple states and cities I have lived in often rejected batches of contract guns that should have been OK but were not for example.

That was S&Ws first good opprtunity to look good after the Dirty Deal and it blew up in their face. Hey, is that a kB!? ;)

Anyway, bottom line, they do not seem to be executing the P99 design as well as Walther for a variety of reasons.
 
Macman10, do you have a Walther P99 or a S&W SW99? You state you have a P99(german made by Walther) that we all know is a reliable firearm. The SW99 has been derided for poor performance. They are different firearms. You say you have a P99 then defend S&W.
Click to expand...
I have one of the famous 3000 (that everyone here likes to cry about)slides that Smith & Wesson made for the P99s.
 
Feeding problem

I have a P99 in .40. I like the gun, but I have a feeding problem. The round gets bound up going into the chamber. I polished the feed ramp, but it made no difference. I have been exclusively using Sellier & Bellot ammo. I bought some PMC yesterday. We'll see if it just didn't like the S&B.
 
A SW99 has a frame made in Germany by Walther and a slide/bbl made by S&W in the USA.

Some Walther P99s in 40 have a frame made in Germany and slide/bbl made by S&W in the USA.

Call em SWalthers?

Kinda like buying a Mercedes and finding a Chrysler engine under the hood?

If they cost more than a SW99 I would be pissed; especially since the warranty is shorter (lifetime v one year). And ya may need it?
;)
 
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