PPK any good?

B

bullfrog99

New member
I've been hearing a few different things, ppk's have bad triggers, ppk's will leave you bleeding, PPK's cost too much. I have also seen pictures of 2.5" groups at 25 yards with them. Pretty good for a pocket sized pistol. For those of you who have, or don't have but have shot PPk's either in 380 or 32, what's your opinion on them. which are the models to get, which caliber is better, which is more accurate, etc.
 
Before everyone tells you to go buy a Clock or a Kahr in a larger caliber for "nearly the same size", I'll say this...

Buy German if it fits your wallet, if not get the French made. Either caliber, 9mmK or 7.65mm.

Excellent workmanship, reliable and well made.

Stay away from the Interarms copies.
 
There have been a couple of threads on this in the last month, and maybe a dozen in the last year or so. Click on "search" on the top right of the page, and put "PPK" in the search field.
 
I had one (American Stainless PPK).
It was accurate and 100% reliable with both ball and hollow point ammo. I bought mine as new in box, unfired for $395.00 and sold it after firing,,maybe 100 rounds,,three months later for $400.00. I hated mine so much I would have sold it for a loss.
Hard recoil and 2 very nasty cuts in the back of my hand, were the reasons. That plus the high cost of fctory .380 ammo compared to 9mm.

That being said:
I highly recommend one for anybody that wants one.
The 007 factor alone is reason enough to have one. :D That plus the fact that if you buy a real decent used one, there's always some other 007 wannbe that will buy it, and they do hold their resale value.
 
I was a devout Walther PPK, PP, and PPKS fan for 30 years and had somewhere on the order of 300 of them, mostly in .380 but quite a few .22 and .32 as well and a couple of 9mm Sup.

I kept buying them and trying them as I was convinced that there was a perfect one for me somewhere.... I didn't mind the scars and blood running. I didn't even mind sending dozens and dozens of the best of them to various world famous gun smiths who do so much work on PPKs and PPs that they don't even need to work on any other guns (that should have been a tip off) and I kept at it for those decades.

I loved them. They are the perfect size and look and feel and the .32s are even pretty darned accuate.

I have not owned a PPK or PP since I got my first Makarov 9x18. Reason: The Makarov is for ME the one and only perfect Walther PPK or PP. It's a little more powerful. The ammo is a lot cheaper. It is a LOT more reliable and a LOT more accurate -- ohhh and it's a LOT cheaper too.

However, if I had not gotten my Makarov, I'd still be chasing the Holy Grail of the Walther PPK or PP and trying to find one perfect one. Fortunately now I have several... Makarovs. :)
 
Several years ago,I paid $400.00 for one of the much-vaunted PPKs's.It was the worst jam-o-matic I've ever seen-sold it and bought a Colt Government Model .380.
 
I've got an Interarms PPK, and love it. Great gun. While I've heard lots of horror stories, mine does not jam, and is accurate. I've also never cut my hand using it (I hear that this happens more to people with big hands, which I don't have). I carry it on a regular basis in a Galco ankle holster.

While I agree that there are other guns out there which hold more rounds and/or bigger rounds (Kahr, Kel-Tec, etc.), 6+1 (or 7+1 in the PPK/S) rounds of .380 is pretty good power for everyday civilian carry. The gun is very well made, and I particularly like the safety setup.
 
My neighbor has a worn PP in .32auto.
I've shot it twice at close range and pretty bad aim. The 12yr old kid was shooting at the close target (10yds?) and it looked like a shotgun pattern. Handed him my Kimber Full size and he blasted a quick 10rd group maybe 2". (He's not a very good shot, just likes the kick and noise!)

However, I tried just five shots again last weekend and tried to aim real good, my first two about 2" off. Next three all in the 1" dot.

I guess the gun is just real hard to aim & shoot. Not the actual gun being innacurate. Also, we have had terrible problems with feeding. Do I need to put a complete spring kit in it before they sell it?
 
I shot my interarms ppk/s 250 times yesterday with no cuts or bruises. No failures to feed or fire, no problems in accuracy and no problems cleaning it.

I have concluded that the interarms ppk/s is a crap shoot, some are ok, some are not. I got lucky after only one trip to the factory for repairs.
 
Like my SIG 232 better

I've shot about 200 rounds thru mine PPK/s (Interarms) and had 2 or 3 jams. I'm not quite ready to give up on it, as there are three possible reasons for this; 1) I was using HP (Federal Hydrashok) and 2) maybe I left the clips loaded too long or 3) maybe it's not broke-in. I want to take it back to the range with ball ammo and new clips and try it again. If it jams under those circumstances then I'll sell it.

I have a SIG 232 that's almost identical in size and weight that I've put about 300 rounds thru w/no failures at all.
 
Love 'em

I've had great luck with them. Even an American made one. However I did trade the American made one in on a German made PP.

P99
 
Some of the following is from various Web sites and some is personal experience:
=========

There were various experimental models of the PP, such as a ten-round model, and one with a decocker mounted on the frame. These never made it into regular production. Though the decocker can be found on the PP Super.

Here is a picture:
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/2188/ppsup.jpg

The PP Super came about as the result of requests made by German police officials for a more powerful cartridge than the traditional 7.65mm cartridge that had been carried for so many years. The police were leery of the full-power 9mm Parabellum cartridge because of its penetration capabilities in densely populated Germany. Walther designed this completely new pistol in 1973 to answer their needs, however the cartridge was first experimented with during WWII but did not succeed.

This cartridge is the 9mm Police as Walther calls it. It has a faster, truncated cone bullet, better for penetration. It is similar to the Makorov 9x18, but the bullet diameter is smaller than the Mak; it is the same as the 9mm Para. This pistol was also chambered in 9mm kurz, which we know as .380.

It is a traditional blowback design with some added features that the Walther PP and PPK are lacking. First is a long-awaited for slide hold open catch. The second is a decocker instead of the safety lever found on the other PP series pistols. As can be seen in the image, the slide has been redesigned for a more modern appearance and the trigger gaurd and grip has been enlarged. It is very comfortable to hold and fits nicely in the hand. It is a larger pistol than the PP, approaching the size of the P5 in all dimentions except thickness through the slide. This pistol also incorporates the recessed firing pin first introduced on the P4 and subsequently used on the P5 and P88 designs.

Roughly 10,000 were produced in 9mm Police and about 1000 in 9mm kurz before production halted in 1981. Unfortunately it did not sell well in either caliber. It is nonetheless an excellent personal protection handgun and is built and finished as well as the other German PP series handguns.

At one time, about 15 years ago, perhaps, there were quite a few that came into the country and they were pretty inexpensive. However, as typical with all of the Walther PP series, and even with the truncated cone bullet, they were prone to failures to feed with a full magazine. Also the ammunition became a bit expensive. But it was more accurate than any of the other Walthers I'd had before.

Cartridge comparison data from Makarov.com:

9x17 = 9mm Kurz = 9mm Short = .380 ACP. Bullet diameter = .356"

9x18Ultra = 9mm Police. Bullet diameter = .356" (used in some Walther pistols...do not shoot this in your Makarov).

9x18M = 9mm Makarov. Bullet diameter = .364"

9x19 = 9mm = 9mm Parabellum = 9mm Luger. Bullet diameter = .356"


I next got a Walther P5 Kompac and got rid of most of my other Walthers. Later, I got my first Makarov and have not had a Walther PP series since. The P5 Kompac was however FINE in every way.
 
Jody, I wrote that. It's from my web site. The cartridge is 9mm Police or 9mm Ultra. No such thing (that I know of) as 9mm Super.

The handgun is a PP Super.

You can't link to any images hosted by Geocities. They have installed a firewall to keep people from using their site as a photo host.

ppsuper.jpg
 
I copied and pasted and added a lot of my own stuff as well. I don't know which was your site. Was it the one that I put the picture link from, I suppose. Great site. Another site called it the PP Super and there were some of the Walther Collectors in our area that called it that as well. It even came up as such on some of the search engines with some of the info I put above.

You may likely be correct in YOUR terminology and I am certainly no expert, other than having owned about 300 Walthers, and Idon't know the proper terminology, dates, collector importances or any thing else. I just like the looks of the Walthers, most of them. However I just had difficulties with them being reliable and accurate in all of the PP series except the Super which was quite accurate for several of us but still not as reliable as we wanted and the ammo too expensive. The local shop has now sold 500-600 Makarovs and they are great.
 
Thanks. The site where you found the photo is mine. As far as the terminology, it is industry terminology and not mine. I call it what Walther calls it.

You own or owned 300 Walthers and did not know the details of your collection? This is NOT a flame, but I find it hard to believe that someone would invest that kind of money and not know what they're buying. That doesn't sound like wise collecting practises.

The ammo is not all that cheap for the PP Super I agree. That's if you can find it at all. I've got three boxes stashed and getting ready to pick up three more.
 
Herr Walther,

No offense taken. I am not and have never been a collector. The most guns I ever had at one time was less than a hundred.

I love the looks and feel of the Walther PP and PPK and just kept trying to find one that would WORK and HIT THE TARGET. I was persistant because I HAD A DREAM and that dream was to have a PP or PPK that shot accurately and reliably. I never found one nor was I able to have one fixed so that the accuracy and reliability were suitable for me. The Makarov suits me on those two counts.

At the most, I may have had 35 Walthers at once but would sometimes take them back for consignment four or five at a time. Once I took twenty back in a day to different shops -- right after I got the PP Super. And it was MORE reliable and a lot more accurate...

I still have some TPHs in .22 because there is nothing like them anywhere. I just got one back today for it's 4th, 5th, or 6th time to a Smith. It seems great now and I can't wait to shot it. However I would LOVE for Glock to make something to compete with it in size and accuracy with it in .22. Of course the Glock would be FAR more reliable most likely and far lighter.

Even though I LOVE Makarovs, based on my attempts to find a good Walther and now I have... It's my Makarovs. But, I am not a collector of Makarovs either, although I have several and have owned a few dozen. I am just a user, not a collector.

In fact I can't figure out how Walther got the reputation for the finest pocket pistols, regarding the PPK and PP, except that people must believe Bond, James Bond...

But, they sure are pretty.

I've had similar relations with women in the past. I've been married three times to women that were unreliable, although I kept hoping, and who aimed for other men in thier lives. I persist however, looking for a good women. But, the ones I've been with sure were pretty, and I kept hoping. And I am not a woman collector either. I just like them and want a good one and I persist in trying to find one.

Perhaps, someday I will find a women like a Makarov, reliable, dependable and consistent in aim. I hope I have already found her. And, she likes Makarovs and just bought her first one. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top