New Walther Q5 Steel Frame

[wild cat mccane]

Hi all,

I won an amazing deal on a new Walther Q5 SF (steel frame) on gunbroker for 1,100 delivered. Win. Haven't shot it yet, but a huge Walther user.

I purposefully selected the SF non Pro version. The Pro retails for $1,700. However, the only difference between the two Q5 SF versions is a $100 mag well on Walther's website that requires 17rnd mag use. The non Pro is the standard P99/PPQ/PDP "compact" for 15rnd mags. Both SF version come with 3 mags. Otherwise, they are physically the same gun, no upgrades.

The Q5 steel frame began the use of the current grip texture on. The PDP. Q5 SF comes with a "medium" side grip that is replaceable. Interestingly, others have created a flat back for the Q5 SF. This introduces what Walther later used to make the PDP F-Series with a non hump backstrap. The cut grip texture on the trigger guard and front strap are fantastic.

I personally do not care for the PDP because of how large the slide is. To make a red dot "fit" deep in the PDP slide, Walther cheated and raised the slide height of the PPQ. I know lots of people like red dots. I don't. So while the Q5 comes with a mount, I really like the fully adjustable target all black rear. Front optic is small and bright.

What I really like on the PPQ series over the PDP is the slide.
-The PDP went away with the anti glare channels on the top of the slide.
-The Q5 slide cuts are technically deeper and therefore more aggressive than the PDP "Super Terrain" cuts that make the PDP so wide. Was it worth doing this to make the sharp PPQ more by making it one of the wider slides? I do not think so.
-Slide shape. Walther has claimed in the past that the P99/PPQ are triangular in shape to draw your eye to the top of the slide/sights. I think that this might be marketing, but naturally works.

What the Q5 SF does that the PDP enjoys:
-The Q5 grip texture is great. I didn't find the PPQ bad though.
-The clean up of the PPQ area that was really busy where the rail began. I particularly like the look better on the Q5 SF between the PPQ and PDP. It just blends well.

Sight picture is great. If you handgunhero the Walther series, you can see the sight picture on the Walther is longer than a few others. Longer barrel, shorter overall, and longer sight picture. Worth mentioning.

The Q5 poly and steel frames come with a blue trigger. The Walther Germany website, but not American, claims the blue is an "anti-friction coating(AFC)" on the trigger bar that uniquely makes the Q5 have a great pull. However, all Walther P99/PPQ/PDP come with a coating. In one of my crappy pics you can see the blue trigger bar inside the chamber. So it might be true that Walther uses an coating, but it is not uniquely better on the Q5 series.

Having owned PPQs and the Polymer Q5, I do not believe the Q5 blue AFC provides anything different than a standard PPQ trigger.

Steel guide rod. I can take or leave that, but it is there.

Here's where I think it gets exciting. Walther installs their Dynamic Trigger and is under warranty by them. I'll be sending it to Walther shortly to replace the stock PPQ trigger (in my opinion).

All this said, I think the Q5 polymer has a lot going too. With a replaceable backstrap that is weighted, you can gain the weight of the SF version. The polymer Q5 also uses the PPQ/PDP barrels that the SF version is unique. Will that be a problem later if Walther decides to PDP the Q5? I don't know.

Since both the Q5 polymer and the Q5 SF both use the same trigger, both equally will enjoy the Walther Dynamic Trigger equally.

I am happy with this purchase. It feels amazing. This is unique in the only striker fired that I recall that is steel framed. It just feels fantastic.

Thanks all!

 

[TunnelRat]

I’m not sure why you always feel the need to bring up how you don’t like the PDP. The PPQ is a good pistol in its own right. You don’t have to compare the two. I get that to some extent it’s a natural comparison, but even Walther itself appears to be keeping around the Q series so I don’t think it’s in danger of disappearing.

As a bit of trivia, if you use Handgun Hero like you said the slide on the PDP isn’t wider. It simply doesn’t taper. That you don’t like the fact that the slide doesn’t taper is fair. The PDP slide itself doesn’t actually seem taller than the PPQ. Look at the back view of the two pistols. For some weird reason the slide rails on the PDP are slightly higher up. If you carry that difference all the way up it accounts for the slide appearing taller, but just the slides themselves are very similar in height. I know you think Walther really had to butcher the slide for the optic cut; I don’t think that’s all of it.

I think anti-glare serrations are a nice pride of ownership feature. I get why people like them. That said in all the shooting I’ve down on pistols with and without top slide serrations I have never found glare off the top of the slide to be a problem. Maybe on a polished stainless slide I could see it, but when the pistols in question have a matte black finish I don’t see it happening. That said all else being equal I think they look nice.

The Q5 is a great pistol. I hope you enjoy it. A note on the stainless guide rod, I’d argue that’s a good feature. The polymer RSAs of the PPQ/PDP seem more fragile than some others. I’ve had two break on me, one on a PPQ and one on my PDP. On the Walther subreddit it’s a fairly common complaint, fwiw.


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