Walther P99 decocking

T

tony.s

New member
(I have to do this in several parts due to some problem with my Internet connection. Sorry for the hassle.)

One problem that I have with the P99, as fine a gun as it is, is the fact that there's no way for me to control the decocking. What I mean is, back in the Finnish Army when training with the FN-80s, we were instructed to manually lower the hammer with the off-hand while dropping the hammer with the decocker. Reason being that sometimes those guns had gone off when the hammer was dropped by the decocker on a live round. Now, with the P99 there is no external hammer to control while decocking. I've tried to decock the gun
 
(part two)

with a fresh snap cap in the pipe for approximately 100 times and there was no dent on the "primer". Also the gun has functioned fine every time I've decocked it after that.But it still kinda bugs me that I can't control the decocking sequence. (I do point the gun in a safe direction while decocking, but I don't think I'd gain popularity by shooting a hole in the floor...)

So, what I'd like to know is if anyone has ever heard of an AD while decocking the P99? Or if someone knows the inner workings of the gun could tell me just how safe the decocking mechanism is? (I imagine pretty darn safe, but it only has to fail once...)
 
(part three)

...On a related note, what are Walther owners thoughts on carrying a P99 (standard) cocked & locked? I know, there is no external safety, but the trigger pull is pretty long on the first shot. And if you think about a Glock, it doesn't have an external safety either, and that one has a really short trigger pull...
 
Just a guess, but I'm sure that on the newer pistols with a decock there is a safety bar or some sort of safety that prevents the hammer from fully traveling forward when decocked. Additionally, there might be a firing pin safety that prevents the full forward movement of the firing pin unless the trigger is depressed.

As far as carrying the Walther cocked and (un)locked, I'm not very sure if that would be safe... is the single action trigger THAT long? I would think that decocked/(un)locked would be as safe as carrying a revolver...

Just my open thoughts... I'm not too familiar with the P99s operating mechanisms...
 
If you take off the slide and orient it with the recoil spring facing up and the barrel facing away from you, you will notice a small silver metal piece mounted in the slide about 5mm behind the left side of the chamber. This is the firing pin block safety, unless that is pressed in you will notice that the striker cannot be moved forward. The only way that the block can be moved is by the lever connected to the trigger, unless of course you never clean your gun and allow the safety to be seriously gummed up.

Also notice that the trigger lever cannot be moved by itself backwards unless the trigger is pulled. Thus as long as both safeties are working properly, it is not possible for the gun to be fired by pressing the decocker alone.

That being said, any time you have a loaded gun, you should treat it with extreme caution. No matter how safe a gun is, it mechanical safeties still could malfunction and you could have a AD. Don't point a gun at anything you don't intend to shoot.
 
Decock it using the decocking lever. Make sure you point it in a safe direction while you do so. But it's far more likely that someone would mess up manually lowering a hammer than it is for the decocker to break.

No, the gun is not safe to be carried cocked. If you want to carry a gun that is cocked, purchase one that is designed to be carried in that fashion (M1911, Browning Highpower, HK UPS variant 1, etc.).

M1911
 
Paochow,
Walther went even beyond the standard firing pin block you described. With the slide inverted, disengage the firing pin block, so that the firing pin moves forward. While holding it in this position, push down the decocker, and try to move the firing pin. You will notice that the decocker mechanism has it's own, 2nd firing pin block.

So, when you are decocking the P-99, TWO separate, individual, firing pin block safeties are engaged. Walther did their homework on this one.
 
krept, the P99s "trigger-forward" mode has a trigger travel of 14mm. So it is pretty long...

Paochow, what you said about the trigger lever not moving back unless the trigger is pressed doesn't really enter into this. After all when you decock a weapon you are dropping the cocked firing pin (or in other guns the hammer) without touching the trigger and relying on the internal mechanics to stop the firing pin from striking the primer. (And at least in some guns this doesn't always work...)

(I did know about the firing pin stop, but I did not know there was a second one on the decocker. That helps put my mind at ease. Of course I will continue to follow every safety rule in the book...)

M1911, no offense but you do not seem to be too familiar with the design of the P99. (FYI the Walther P99 is a hammerless design, it is not possible to decock it manually.) So how do you know the design team didn't mean to include the option of carrying it cocked & locked?
 
So how do you know the design team didn't mean to include the option of carrying it cocked & locked?
Click to expand...

This is where I get confused... does the Walther have an external safety (I thought it didn't but don't know)? (the "locked" part)

If so, can the safety be engaged when when the striker is under tension/the trigger is in the rear position? (the "cocked" part)

If the answer to both questions is "yes," then I think it was designed to be cocked and locked.

I believe the "locked" term applies only to the use of an external, 1911 type thumb safety. Maybe that is the source of some confusion.
 
tony.s: You're right your finger should not be on the trigger when decocking, thus the trigger lever cannot be moved and disengage the firing pin safety, due to the trigger safety. It's a moot point due to what Gusgus brought up though.
 
I love my P99 .40S&W in (duo-tone QPQ).

I don't however carry it in the "cocked and locked" mode with the trigger forward. I figure with as light as the DA pull is, I don't forsee any problem.

That and the P99 is the most accurate semi-compact .40S&W I have!

Derek
 
Viesczy!

You are the PERSON to answer my question!!!

I've handled the P99, and REALLY want one, but don't like the DA pull, etc...

Please tell me briefly HOW the QPQ is different than the regular trigger. (I know it's shorter, like a Glock, but then how is it DA/SA?)

Also, with the QPQ trigger, how exactly does de-cocking effect the trigger pull?


BTW - When Tony S. was discussing his preferred method of decocking, he said that he RODE the hammer down slowly USING the decocking lever, NOT that he lowered the hammer while pulling the trigger. This comment was misunderstood in one of the replies. FWIW, this is also how I like decocking my HK USP45. I don't care HOW many safeties it has blocking the hammer, better safe than sorry! ;)
 
Two parts again - damn troublesome 'net connection...

Okay, let's try this again... Sorry, English isn't my first language so I might not always write very clearly.

When I talked about riding the hammer while decocking, I was referring to when I was trained with the FN-80 - the pistol used in the Finnish Defense Forces. (As in while training with said pistol we were warned about ADs happening while decocking it.) And as for writing "cocked & locked", well, it was getting tired and my fingers just added that "& locked" part all by themselves. :p

And Paochow, like I said before, some guns have discharged while being decocked. Now, I can't remember whether the FN-80 (we were told those did occasionally fire when decocking, hence the order to ride the hammer) has a firing pin stop or not, but even with the Walthers firing pin stop there is still the possibility of it failing, either from dirt jamming it in the "open" position or a part breaking. This is what I was worried about.
 
Part two of post

And no, the Walther does not have an external safety. But take a look at a Glock - there's no external safety there either. And a Glock has a pretty short trigger pull... Still people feel that it's OK to carry a Glock with one in the pipe. That's why I got to thinking about the Walther - with its longer trigger pull it should, if I've figured this out correctly, be safer to carry cocked than a Glock! The P99 has all the same safety features that the Glock has, plus a longer trigger pull.

(Say, what is the action in the P99QA like? Is it just the SA trigger from the standard P99, or are there modifications? This might shed some light on the matter...)
 
Ahh.. thanks for the clarification! I'm not a stickler for semantics, but the "locked" part threw me off with the Walther.

As far as method of carry, I do use a Glock 27 as a CCW and have no problem carrying it with one in the pipe ONLY if it is in a proper holster. Provided from what I have heard from the Walther, it should be at least as safe carrying cocked as the Glock, just MHO.

The way I got to feel safe carrying the Glock this way was to carry it unloaded but "cocked" for days doing chores, etc... not once did the pistol uncock/fire.
 
The P99 QA has a short travel trigger that feels similar to, but not exactly the same as the Glock trigger.

The P990 is a DAO trigger with a long travel.

Tony S., you most certainly can carry your P99 cocked. It is as safe as a Glock to carry in such a manner.
 
That one time when you put the gun in the holster and the trigger happens to snag the holster setting the gun off, you will realize it's not safe to carry a cocked and unlock gun or any other light DAO or Safe-action gun without a manual safety.
 
I own a P99 QA. There is a safety built into the trigger where a straight trigger pull is required. If pressure is applied on an angle, the trigger won't pull.

If you decock with a round in the chamber, the trigger won't pull.

I have not tried this, but if you wanted some type of manual safety you could have a round in the chamber, hit the decock and then when you want to fire, pull the slide back 1/4" to recock and you are ready to go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top