Why did P99 series pistol not get more popular in this country?
I know 2 people who were long time Glock shooters who thought P99 was way better for them.  I shot them couple times and thought they were good solid pistol.  Now days I see people getting rid of them for $400 or less...occasionally waaaaay less.

I've wondered the same thing. As far as I can tell Glock is VERY good at marketing. Consumers buy whatever is in cop holsters, and Glocks fill a LOT of cop's holstes. Glock also has GSSF, whereas Walther has nothing in terms of LE or competition. Who has the better aftermarket goodies?

If Walther had really pushed their product like Gaston has they'd have a greater share of the market.

Good question, I have never even held a Walther pistol or had a interest other than a PPK because of JB.

I bought an original P99 and loved it.. I'm actually looking for another original model right now to add back to the stable. The trigger was really good, and SA/DA from a striker gun is interesting.



P99 was the Bond pistol for a while there

I'd happily buy one for sub $400 in 9mm. I had one in .40 at one point and liked it but it was a bit snappy in .40. Always intended to pick up another in 9 but haven't found one that was right.

I think the real answer is a lack of marketing, both to departments and civilians.  It requires a lot of work and money that was never really put behind it.

Its very popular in Europe with police from what I've gathered. I have one and I love it, my favorite pistol by far.

I'm going to second (third?) the marketing notion.  Only reason I knew it existed (and admittedly bought one) was because it was in a few James Bond movies.  The only Walther ads I've seen lately are for the PPQ or PPX.  Do they even make the 99 anymore?  Haven't seen a new one in a long time.

That being said....I love mine.  It is definitely snappy in .40, but it has taught me a lot about recoil control.  My only complaint is I get a little trigger bite sometimes, but nothing to make me not want to shoot it.

I have three of them.



One first gen full size, one current gen full size and one current gen compact.

Yes they are still in production.

Yes, it is a great hand gun.

Why hasn't it sold well in North America?

A combination of marketing, or lack thereof, and the fact that most shooters in this country will absolutely run from anything that is different to them.
Shooters here hate the paddle mag release, even though it is far superior to the old style button, they have been brainwashed that a DA/SA is no longer viable, and the Walthers suffer from NIH Syndrome (Not Invented Here).

Too bad, because they are missing out on one of the great pistols ever offered.

It's SA trigger pull is identical to that of the PPQ, which gets a lot of kudos as the best striker fired trigger out there.

Mine (all 3 of them) have digested everything I have fed them, the only issue I have had were with a couple rounds of out of spec Freedom Munitions reman stuff.

It's a great pistol.



My P99 AS current generation pistol.

It has Trijicon night sights that I installed, and currently serves as my HD pistol, stoked with 147gr. HSTs, in a 20 round Walther mag, and a 17 round PPQ M1 mag loaded the same, in reserve.

Oh, yeah, they have magazine commonality with the PPQ M1 (paddle release).

Smith and Wesson had this model also for while. My department transitioned a to them from an older nickel s&w model. We only got it in 40 and had to have a terrible uncle mikes level 3 holster. Guys liked the gun, especially over what we had before. I thought it was nice but not enough to change from my personally owned Sig at the time. After some failures (cant remember what they were) we changed to Glocks, 9 or 40 and they opened up gear selection....Almost the entire department is now carrying Glock.

 
The S&W version sw99 wasn't really the same gun.  Did you have the sw99 or the actual P99 that S&W imported for a while?

One of the most under rated guns out there

I would really like to like one but I had a S&W SW99 in .45 ACP.  I don't make it a habit of selling the guns I buy but in that case, I made an exception.  The trigger was springy, rough and just was plain terrible and yes, I do have a lot of other striker fired pistols so it wasn't a case of just trying to get used to a striker fired pistol trigger.  The slide wouldn't lock back after the last round, the magazine release would rub and irritate my trigger finger and it was the most inaccurate .45 ACP pistol I owned.  I sent it down the road and don't regret it.  I am always tempted to try a P99 (a PPQ is on my short list though) but the taste that SW99 left in my mouth has really left me cold on the idea. :(

SW99 is not a P99

I was surprised to see both a P99AS full-size and compact locally this past week.

I have only found 1 AS in the wild &
bought it. I picked up another out of
EE a few years later. I have a Glock,
and several USP's, and a host of other
pistols, but I still consider my P-99's as
the highest quality pistols I own. They
are my favorites out of everything I have.
Both of mine are green & black.


This is an image I did for Robert at
US Grunt gear. That's a custom kydex
holster he made for me along with one
of his Infidel war belts.



John

Just saw a new P99c QA in .40 S&W today.

Local shop just picked up a used 99 AS in 40.  Asking $350.  If it was in 9mm I would have been tempted.

For that price I would have
picked it up anyway.

John

Hate, absolutely despise 40s.  Otherwise I'd have snagged it.

Sweet pistol, but bummer of a serial number, bro...

I have one That i bought when they first came out. I remember having friends in germany ship me mags for it.

I was n poland in december, and saw that the police in warsaw were carrying them.

The Dutch National Police adopted the P99 as well, in it's P99 Q version, that we don't get here. (DAO)

The Sigs that they initally wanted to replace their aging Walther P5s, did not work out as expected.

I have an OD green import that I really enjoy. Great gun. I even bought an SW99 in .45 ACP (couldn't get a real P99 in .45). I only stopped carrying it because of the mag release. I had trained for so long with the 1911 style mag release that I just couldn't adapt to the P99. Bummer, I really like that gun.

Another vote for the P99.  This household has been Glock-free since I became a Walther fan.

parts are to expensive and they dont have an american factory.

Your point?  

Glock didn't have an American factory at first either.  Neither did Sig, or HK.

And just so you know, they do have an American manufacturing facility now, though not for the P99 pistols.
The PPK and PPK/s are in prototype assembly in Ft. Smith, Arkansas as we sit here now, with pistols expected to be delivered to dealers this summer.

BTW, Springfield doesn't make the XD series here either, just 'sayin, and most of their 1911 forgings come from IMBEL in Brazil.

Granted their parts are more expensive than Glock, which I know is where you are going with your statement, but so what? If you are haggling over the price of parts than a premium firearm isn't for you anyway.

Enjoy your pistols of choice, and let us enjoy ours.

I love my P99 AS. It is tied for my favorite handgun along with the Grand Power P1.

 
Parts aren't expensive and they have a Walther Arms center in Fort Smith, AR... I've call for parts. At times I got them for free or just paid shipping.