Played with a Walther P99 at the store today.

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Futo Inu

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Man, what a great pistol. I want one in 40s&w. I know it's been discussed before, but they really did their homework on this one. Incredibly comfortable grip, cool decocker, etc. My only complaint was the loooong trigger takeup with virtually no resistance, followed by a short, prob 6lb pull. I would think it would feel funny to rapid fire with the easy long takeup, followed by a pretty solid pull at the end to make it fire. Seems a glock-like "similar-resistance-throughout" pull would be more conducive to rapid-fire accuracy. Anyone shot the Walther? Also, there is a "click" in the long 2-stage takeup, where the trigger may be "left" in the second, farther-back position. I don't suppose there's a setting on the pistol to have it default automatically to where the takeup BEGINS on the second stage for every shot?

Also handled a Blaser R93 - what an awesome rifle. Also played with an HK SL8, I think it was, in .223 - also very nice, and rare as I understand it.
 
Only the first shot is with the trigger fully forward. Subsequent shots are with the 2nd position. The reset is short, allowing excellent double-tap capability.

There is a variant that has a constant pull, but I haven't seen one. It's called P990.
 
I was at some shop two days ago and the owner said Walther wouldn't be importing these P99's anymore. Is this true? Oh yeah, the guy was kind of an a**hole because I questioned his extremely high $769 price tag on the 9mm model!
 
I have the S&W99, and like it very much. as mentioned above the second shots are all with the short take up. has very smooth recoil and sights quick not very top heavy as the glock and still way more functions than i have used yet, i only had time to put 50 rounds through it but it seems pretty easy to handle, to me its like a classy glock feel, still love my G17 at the moment but as I put more rounds throught the SW99 I will post on it. my goup was 2.5 at 30ft right out of the box. but of course when i first started shooting I sucked so I cannot compare it to the glock out of the box.
 
I think that is correct. Only the SW99 will be available in the future. My shop had 3 in 9mm and 3 in 40, they were all $635.00 I think.
 
I had a trigger job done to lighten it to about 4.5lbs pull in single action. It is MUCH better now. The heavy single action trigger used to make target shooting tough. Just dry-firing it, I noticed the whole gun move due to sudden "give" of the trigger. No more with the lighter trigger. The job cost me just $60 at Tugwell Custom in Santa Ana, CA.
Aside from that, another criticism is with the barrel. It will feed ball ammo just fine (100% reliable so far). Some bullets that don't "taper in" immediately from the top of the cartridge case will get into the rifling in the chamber, and cause some resistance to chambering. Once chambered, to remove the ammo without firing it can be a chore, since the bullet is already in the rifling and thus sticks in the chamber! Thus my feeling is that feed reliability "may be" compromised with certain types of ammo, even though I have yet to experience any jams.
Again, this isn't a problem with ball ammo, or any ammo that tapers immediately from the top of the cartridge case.
I'm going to see if my gunsmith can fix this by removing some of the rifling from where the bullet would normally sit (maybe an exta 1/16"). I wonder if the SW99 suffers from the same problem... probably not, since S&W has a lot more experience with different bullet designs.
One last gripe is with "cocking." Very awkward to get it "cocked" into single action mode once you depress the decocker. It requires you to pull the slide back about 3/8" and release it. Its too easy to pull back too far and end up ejecting the chambered round, or partially ejecting it, leading to a jam. It takes a bit of practice to learn to get it right each time.
Now for all of my positive opinions:
1. Best looking polymer frame gun available (or for that matter, almost any gun).
2. Best grip design for a pistol.
3. Its semi-compact (smaller than most full-size 9mm pistols).
4. 16 round "pre-ban" factory 9mm magazine still available from KY Imports. This is more than most "full size" 9mm's will hold! They also have 13 round .40S&W P99 magazines! $100 a pop.
5. Easiest gun to field-strip I've ever used.
6. Unique and useful cocking indicator, and loaded chamber indicator.
007. 007 will continue to use the P99 as his standard sidearm in the new movie "The World is Not Enough."
 
AFAIK, the P99 will continue to be available in the US.

BTW, Olympic Arms - http://www.olyarms.com/usa.html - is currently developing replacement barrels for the P99. I think they're doing .357 SIG barrels for the .40 P99, as well as their usual extended-length barrels.

Sambonator, what did the trigger-job include? Were there parts replaced, or just smoothed and polished?
 
I just bought a P99 40s+w in the "Nato" finish. The frame is OD green with the black slide and hardware. It is the first gun I have seen in awhile that I just had to have. I really like it. It functions perfect and I am going to shoot IDPA with it. A price around $625-650 should be fair. The extra mags from Mecgar are pretty expensive. Around $45-55.
 
Ewok:
Are you sure about Olympic Arms planning production of P99 barrels? I wrote them email asking if they had any plans, and they wrote me back stating that they have no plans. This was just a couple of weeks ago...
BTW, the trigger job included no new parts...just smoothing and polishing the innards. He might have done something with the springs but I'm not sure. I'll ask him. Double action is lighter and smoother now, and single action takes less pressure on the trigger to fire.


[This message has been edited by Sambonator (edited October 10, 1999).]
 
That's odd. In June, Thomas Spithaler told me that they were using his own P99 for the test bed, and that they would be out in 5-6 months. In late August, I asked for an update and he said that they weren't ready yet. I don't know, maybe they changed their minds.
 
Ewok:
I checked with OlyArms again, and they are indeed going to produce Walther P99 barrels in 9mm, 40S&W, and 357SIG. I either got incorrect information last time, or I forgot to check with OlyArms, since I thought I wrote EVERY barrel manufacturer regarding the subject about a month ago, and got all "nays."
 
A Walther P99 in .357 Sig? Nice.
A Walther P99 in .40 S&W? Nice.
A Walther P99 in .440 CorBon? Then I would have to buy it!



------------------
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." - Sigmund Freud
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
 
I have a P99 in 40, and I like it very much: it will be my carry gun when I get my permit (who knows how long THAT will be). The gun shoots very accurately and is comfortable in my hand.

The trigger pull will probably take a little getting used to: we also have an HK USP Compact 40, and its trigger feels smoother than the Walther. Also, as was mentioned previously, you can set the action from DA to SA on the first shot of the P99 by pulling the slide back 3/16": this also takes a little practice, but it's worth it to have this option.

I bought the Walther new at a gun show in Texas for $575. The lowest retail store price that I've seen is $639.

I enjoy shooting the Walther a great deal, and I think it's a great-looking gun, too.
 
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