This was one of those gun purchases I did not need, but wanted anyway.  Always a bad way to start, I'll admit.  

I purchased one of these pistols and took it home and was immediately put off by it.  Oh, it had the classic Walther lines with the graceful double curve beside the hammer, but there were a lot of sharp edges on it, notably the hammer and grip, which were off putting.  The original Walther engraving was nicely done, but where Smith and Wesson got their hands on it was rather crudely added.  The stamping or engraving where S&W had put their name and address on the slide was rough to the touch as opposed to the smooth Walther engraving.  S&W had also taken an end mill and I guess erased the original Walther serial number and blasted in a panel with the name of the gun and a new serial number.  I also did not like the sights, but was still sold on the flatness of the pistol as well as the history behind it.  Despite all this, I dutifully took it apart and cleaned it and took it to the range.

I had a couple of boxes of Federal FMJ, some Silvertips, and some Golden Saber .380s.  I was really upset that the thing did not feed the FMJ properly, having one failure to feed with every magazine.  Damn - can't even feed FMJ?  It loved the Silvertips, however, and also the Golden Saber, so the problem was not with the profile of the round so much as it was the spring, perhaps.  When it did work, it turned in nice little groups at ten yards.

Oh, and it also gave me the classic "Walther bite" despite the lengthened tang below the hammer.  I had two nice little divots taken out of the web of my thumb.

Holding the Walther in my now bleeding right hand, I could already see myself polishing that feed ramp, ordering Wolfe springs, dicking around forever with my new purchase which to add insult to injury will only shoot the expensive ammunition.  I still had a bad feeling, now made even worse by the performance of the Walther.  I put it back in its box and put it in the safe for a week.

A couple of days ago I got the Walther out again, threw it in the car, and took it back to where I got it.  After taking a hundred dollar hit on the original price, I added some more money to the pot and got a SIG 232, stainless, with night sights.  

I love the SIG.  It feels wonderful in my hand and has that "pointability" factor that just feels good. I shoot very well with it, and as I expected, there have been NO malfunctions.  As for the night sights, after getting out from under the Walther I swore I would never be without the glowing sights, if only because I can find the gun in pitch black dark.

So the Walther was what you call a misstep - an expensive misstep.  I knew it going in, and my fears were soon proven.  The SIG is great, the Walther sucked, I'm broke, and that's my story.  Hopefully, others may profit from hearing it.

The best thing about the Walther is that it broke important ground for other DA autos.  It is also a classic, like its older brother the P38.  Also like the P38, however, the PP(x) comes up pretty short against modern designs.  

They're best as collector's pieces, not shooters, as far as I'm concerned.

That's pretty well put and I think (now) describes the situation exactly.  

Hopefully I will remember your comment and restrain myself before I get an irrational desire to own a P-38.

No comparing a walther from 30 years ago to the pieces of shit they make today.  

Quoted: That's pretty well put and I think (now) describes the situation exactly.   Hopefully I will remember your comment and restrain myself before I get an irrational desire to own a P-38.

I invite you to shoot my P38.  I guarandamntee that will cure you of wanting one.

Heavy, heavy DA trigger, creepy heavy SA trigger, ^ over V sights, and a nice pointy chamber-loaded indicator that protrudes out the back of the slide, waiting for you to smack the rear of the slide when it fails to go into battery.  I think I still have the scar from that damn thing biting me.

Other than that, it's OK.

Sounds great.

I do appreciate the P38 (like the PPK/s) for its history.  My old man had one when I was a kid that a burgler got and I well remember holding it.  

They certainly are a classic, although apparently more to be admired than fired.

I much agree, new PPs by S&W are not the quality of the ones made by Walther.  I have both a PPK and a PPK/s and they are fun shooters.  Just don't limpwrist with them because they will then have feed/stovepipe issues.  Small gun with good pop.  If you got bit then you need to fix your grip or the gun just doesn't fit your hand.

Quoted: No comparing a walther from 30 years ago to the pieces of shit they make today.

Big plus 1.
Mu uncle has a West German PPK - sweet gun, though it does have some bite.

I love my old Interarms PPK/S. Great shooter, accurate, and never had a bite problem.


This looks like a "if you can't get 'em from when they made 'em right, don't bother" situation.

The 'bite' is usually not from the hammer as most think, but from the sharp, non-rounded edges of the backstrap and tang. I cured that problem with a set of rubber wrap-around grips. Unreliability with this pistol usually stems from poor US-quality control, the German made ones are much better. I have a US made one by Interarms and it is good fortunately. You must keep a fresh recoil spring in it at all times or it will jam due to not having enough energy to cycle the action.

Surprisingly, my PPK/s and Makarov are probably the two pistols that I shoot the best besides my S&W 686 due to the fixed barrel.

When people I know get the PPK bug, I steer them in the direction of the Makarov. It is everything the PPK is in a more robust and simple design. It also costs far less and the ammo/mags are cheaper.



I too have a P.38, but it is 100% matching, original WW2 pistol that is not import marked. It does not get shot, it is only a collectors item. Its an AC 41.