i have one of these bought in the late 80's/early 90's.  Its in the plastic case with all stuff.  I't hasn't been fired.  I'm trying to decide what to do with it.
- Keep it as a collectors item and don't shoot it.
- Sell it for something else I may use, range/CCW.
- Take it to the range and use it as a small CCW.

It is a great looking handgun.  I've seen some people question some model's reliability and the caliber or imply there may be better choices for CCW.  I already have a Glock 19 and 34.  Recommendations?

As much as I admire the PPK (I have a blued one just like yours), I'm afraid there are better choices for CCW.  Your pistol would probably bring a nice price over at the Walther Forum.  If you like the idea of Walther quality and are already used to the Glock, maybe a Walther PPS would be more suitable than just parking the money in your safe in the form of the unfired and unloved PPK.

The PPK is a sweet classic gun but is much too big for a 380 CCW. There are 9mms that are smaller like the Kahr PM9. The Shield or PPS are about the same size but in 9mm.

Not much encouragement to keep from this thread.  I'm very hesitant to let this one go.  To me, its a classic and thing of beauty with high intrinsic value.  Nutnfancy reviews it and says its a "Code for Cool" and he's often one to look at guns as tools (I appreciate his take on all my AR and handgun decisions), but even he seems to have a soft spot for this handgun.  As a backup gun or CCW gun, he gives it a thumbs up, although he concedes there are others which could be considered better choices, but he obviously loves his and I could imagine while others will come and go, this is one he'll always hang onto.

Question.  If one takes a handgun like this and fires it several times and puts it into use (holster it) as apposed to leaving it new in box in the safe, does it drive down its value much?

Here's my take on their concealed carry value:

Small  subcompact .380s and small 9mm pistols are the current Concealed Carry fad right now, but it's a safe bet that most of the people singing the praises of sub compact .380 and 9mm pistols do not shoot them often or shoot them very well.

I regard the all steel construction of the PPK and PPK/S as a real plus, and see that as a major advantage over a polymer frames sub compact, especially in a pistol that you plan to actually shoot/practice with on a regular basis.  

The PPK and PPK/S are at about the lower limit in size and weight to allow a shooter to utilize them effectively in terms of necessary speed and accuracy in a combat situation.  You can get smaller .380 and even 9mm pistols that are more concealable, but the downside is that they become much more difficult to shoot well, and many of the smaller .380s and all of the smaller 9mm pistols are uncomfortable, if not outright painful to shoot, creating a significant disincentive for adequate practice and often resulting in the development of problems such as flinching, heeling the pistol, etc, that seriously reduce accuracy.

If one of the many sub compact proponents plans to carry a small self defense pistol without ever feeling the need to develop the ability to shoot it well, then all of the above are non issues.  But they need to be honest with them selves and not bother thinking they will ever be able to meaningfully defend themselves.

The 3.3" barrel is also long enough to give the .380 enough terminal performance to make a good .380 ACP self defense round better than any .38 Spl round fired out of a 2" barrel. It remains to be seen how well the shorter barreled sub compact .380s will perform in real world shoots.  

IMHO, the PPK and PPK/S are pretty much the sweet spot for a concealed carry .380 in terms of size, weight and capability in .380 ACP and have decent ergonomics for most people with a good grip angle and a good trigger reach for most shooters.  

They are not perfect however.  A PPK or PPK/S in DA mode will have a trigger pull around 12 pounds and given the geometry involved, you just can't improve it much.   That's just an artifact of the original 1930s PP/PPK series development. The SA pull however will generally be very nice in the 4-6 pound range.   The other downsides is the cutting that can occur with some people due to the slide contacting the webb of the hand with the PPK and PPK/S on the shorter tanged original versions.  

Personally, I use a S&W .380 PPK/S as a back up and as a primary in situations where a full sized pistol does not work well.   That gets us into all kinds of S&W versus Manhurin versus Walther hate, but I do like the longer tang as it eliminates the slide cutting, and I've found mind to be suitably accurate and extremely reliable with my preferred .380 ACP SD ammo  (Remington 102 gr Golden Saber).  And I don't have to worry about the loss of value from shooting it frequently.

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As for the unfired status, no firearm is truly "unfired".  All firearms are proof tested with one or more rounds, and most semi-auto weapons will be function tested with at least a few rounds to ensure they function as designed.  And more recently, another round may be fired by the factory or the dealer to produce a case for forensic analysis purposes.  

That means a PPK probably had a few rounds to a full magazine put through it before it left the factory and was sold as "new". Consequently, "unfired" is a very relative term.

From there, you will encounter new in the box PPKs that have never had another round fired through them, but show the wear on the slide rails from being manually cycled perhaps hundreds of times.  In that case, being "unfired" has no more value than a PPK that's actually been fired (and properly cleaned) producing a similar amount of wear.

In short, "unfired" is a condition that has very little to do with round count and it's something that a firearm retains until it starts to display wear from use, cycling, handling, or storage that reaches a point where the person viewing it no longer regards it as "unfired".  In that sense, it's both relative and somewhat subjective.  

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You can now buy .380s that are an inch shorter in both height and length, and that weigh half as much, but the bottom line is that the PPK was designed as an easily concealable, reliable and effective self defense pistol and that has not changed in the 83 years the PPK has been around.   It remains to be seen whether other newer smaller and lighter .380s like the Ruger LCP or Kel Tech P3 will still be as highly regarded 80 years from now.   Personally, I doubt it.

DakotaFAL…One of the best posts I've ever read.  Thanks for that effort…you make a strong case for the PPK.  The argument between size/weight/conceal-ability and effectiveness/accuracy/comfort is a good one for the PPK.  While this might not be one I'd slip in a pocket, it would certainly be near invisible with an inside the belt holster even with shorts and a  t-shirt.  The person at the range next to me today was using a PPK…actually, his girlfriend was most of the time while he was working on a 911.  Your comments about the PPK sitting in the sweet spot is a good one.  I think I'll keep it.  It is much smaller then my Glock 19 so fills the next smaller size category.  If my wife or girls decide they would like to shoot, it may be ideal for them to start on.  And I have a feeling for a compact handgun, I will find it a joy to practice with…which only increases its effectiveness as you say.  Plus it just looks to damn good!

Interesting to read your thoughts as you work through the question to use the PPK or not.  If you're determined to use it - great.  Buy some ammunition and get to work.  I kind of resented the post above that said that many people who carry a .380 don't practice with it.  I buy them a thousand at a time and routinely run them through the PPK, a Beretta 85, and a Sig 232.
Enjoy your PPK as it is indeed a classy firearm.

No need for resentment - you make my point very nicely.  You own and shoot a PPK, a Cheetah and a Sig 232. Of those 3, the PPK is the smallest and the Cheetah and Sig 232 are moving into PP territory for size.

All of them are larger, heavier and much more comfortable to shoot than a sub compact .380 or a subcompact 9mm.

I carry a ppk , a blued .380 Interarms in a iwb holster . The gun disappears. I bought it nib never fired and I've shot about 1000 rounds now with no failures. Fmj and hornady critical defense. I love it. I have other reasons for carrying it too. It is very accurate.


Here's my daily carry ppk

I carry my blued PPK from time to time.  I understand its limitations, I just like the gun.

I don't see a stainless Interarms ever reaching collector status.

I carried a PPK/S for a couple years but it was never reliable enough for me. Hopefully you can trust yours.

I say keep it, it's a classic. After S&W acquired the rights to produce them the quality was far from adequate. Like others have said, practice with it to make sure it's dependable.

I would like to make an update.  I Finally made it out to the range and fired 3 clips through my Walther PPK using PMC .380 ammo.  The gun had been in the case for 20 years stored most of the time in attics.  It had not been cleaned or oiled.  All ammo fed though and fired with no issues.  The gun performed perfectly.  I fired it at 9ft, 18ft and 36ft.  At 9ft and 18ft, the gun was very accurate, at 36ft i was hitting right.  I'm a new shooting, so my skills are not one to say good or bad, but the groupings were close.  I would like to say I was very happy with the gun and I'm glad to be keeping it.  With my other main pistols being Glocks, it was nice to have this smaller gun be steel with some weight and mass to it, although it still felt very compact.  I liked having the manual safety (something missing on my Glocks) and that will make me feel confident in carrying it safely as a CCW.  I will be getting a good CCW IWB holster for it soon and plan to keep working with it at the range.  Too bad .380 ammo is hard to come buy and high though.

I wish I still had mine.  It was the first handgun I bought when I turned 21 in the early 80's.  Blue Walther PPK/S imported by Interarms.  I shot that pistol a lot. I remember that I polished the feed ramp on it, but I don't remember if I did it because it had problems feeding hollow points or if I just wanted to do it just in case.  I remember something broke on mine and I drove to Interarms in Alexandria and they fixed it for me.

The only concern I would have with using it as a carry piece is the manipulation of the safety, but if you can develop the muscle memory for it then I say go for it.

I have both a Manuhrin made PP and a S&W made PPK/S that I carry either as back up or as the primary from time to time.

The major advantage is that the PP series pistols are about as small as you can go with a .380 and still have a fast, accurate and pleasant shooting handgun, yet it's still small enough to be well concealed and very comfortable to carry.  



S&W states the pistol should be carried with the decoding lever on "safe", but the reality is that the average PP, PPK or PPK/S has a 12 pound DA trigger pull and there's no issue with carrying it with the decocker lever on "fire".  And unlike a striker fired weapon like a Glock, the PP series pistols have a hammer so when inserting the pistol in a holster with it off safe, you can feel the hammer coming back if something finds it's way into the trigger guard.  That's more than enough to prevent a "Glock Leg" type event.  

Keep it... and shoot it.. You will not kill the gun. Its very strong gun. I have the blued version and shot over 15,000 round through it. I had to replace the sear because it wore out. But a great gun.. I eats all ammo which a plus but reality a 380 with ball is just as good as hollow points because must HP's will not expand.

. Small compact gun great for ccw..

I have the S&W version. As for reliability, I cannot get it to not fire, limp wristing as much as I can without dropping it. I use only 90-100 grain FMJ, mostly S&B's which I find a little hotter then most. I've had my feed ramps polished which I think is most of the reliability issues with the newer ones. I can get all blacks at the 10 yard, rapid fire, right handed. I'm left handed but the decocker doesn't lend itself well for that. It's the only one I use right handed. I use it mainly as my carry gun to and from and at the range. I have a nice, multi angle carry, on the belt holster (right hand) that I use there and carry mostly on the small of my back. Unobtrusive but easily accessible. With one in the pipe, decocking and drawing, with practice, is smooth and seamless. I also have the Galco executive shoulder holster for it. A very nice rig for under a light jacket or something more formal.

Do you use an inside the belt holster and which one?  I shopped around for a while and decided on the Bianchi as my first IWB the holster and I haven't had time with it yet, but it looks good and is snug.  At the range, it fires flawlessly.

My holster preference for IWB with a PPK or PPK/S is the Covert Carry from Wild Bill's Concealment.  They are very well made, very durable, the mouth stays open even inside the waist band with the piton removed, and the location of the clip helps keep the butt tucked in close.

One possible downside with the S&W PPK and PPK/S is the longer tang.  I can wear a Walther or Manuhrin PP or PPK/S all day long and not feel it, but the longer tang on the S&W can start to dig in after several hours.  The tab on the inside of the Bianchi holster is the only reason I might consider it over the WBC Covert Carry, but the Bianchi is not a tuck able design, and a tuck able holster can be a real advantage with a small pistol.



Wild Bill's Concealement Covert Carry

I have to chime in, and I'll do my best to tear down your point.

First, my experience with Walthers; I can remember shooting pop's Nazi bring back PPK (7.65 aka .32acp) in our back yard in Maryland in the 60's. He brought that one back, but left it BACK in W. Germany as we were there when they enacted the '68 GCA. It shot OK, but I was a tyke and couldn't tell you too much about it.
In the mid '70s, pop picked up an Interarms PP in .380 after we moved to Tennessee. That had a horrific trigger and one afternoon while we were shooting it, I watched it launch the extractor out of the slide into the tall grass on the hillside, where it most likely remains. A beautiful gun, to be sure, but not much of a combat weapon, too big to carry well, too small in caliber to be much of a stopper. Still, this was the '70s, so I suppose that it was fairly state of the art (for the 70s...).

Fast forward to the mid '80s, when I was stationed in Groton and worked evenings at a local gun shop (Lebanon Sports Centre, long since defunct), I had not quite yet gotten the "Walther bug" out of my system and so when they announced the new stainless, USA made PPK, I got one of the very first ones. Now I'll admit, it actually fed Silvertips, but with that typical Walther 12+lb trigger pull, it was no tack driver! By this time I also noticed a couple things, it kicked all out of proportion to it's size and the cartridge's power, and it seemed to routinely cut the living shit outta my hand, both sides where the slide came back, one track at the base of my thumb, one at my trigger finger base. It was small back then and for it's power level and size, it was great (back in the '80s!).

In comparison to the modern crop of ultra compact locked breech .380, it is, repeat: IS outdated and very much so. My LCP is smaller, lighter and to me, easier to shoot AND carry, more reliable and holds as many rounds. My LCP and my wife's KelTec both feed CorBons, PDX, Critical Defense and (of course) Silvertips. My Kahr PM9 is smaller, lighter and packs a better punch.

No, for me, the stainless PPK/s that is in my safe is like the Glycine Watch on my dresser, or the Randall 1-7 on my mantle, classics from a bygone era that have been rendered largely obsolete in function by modern technology. I'm actually considering selling the PPK/s .380, but I'll not be selling the '74 vintage Interarms PP in .22lr in the other safe, it shoots too nice, looks to ..... sexy?  and really could not be replaced.

TL; DR? nice gun, obsolete, better choices abound!

Here's my two cents: I'm not a huge fan of the tiny for caliber guns. I CCW a G17, the smallest 9mm I'd carry is a G26. I don't care what anyone says shooting a LCP, P3AT, PF-9, etc on a timer will NOT be pretty. If I want to go smaller I'd go 380 with FMJ. I'm looking at the Glock 380 as it is still shootable because in my personal opinion shootability far outweighs carryability (Like I said, I lug a G17 around so you know I'm serious) and the PPK/S has this.

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