Reported Interarms/Ranger Serial Numbers/Dates

[ClearLakeClayt]

Hi, new to site, new to Walther ownership. My father passed on his Interarms Stainless .380 PPK/S to me last year and I'm just getting to know it. Ran across your site while trying to determine the production date for mine, which is what this thread is all about.

The serial number on mine is S043272. The invoice has two dates - the Purchase Order No. (which is a date) 5/11/87, and the invoice date 06/09/87. The target has a date that looks like 5-21-81 (see photo) but I think may be 5-21-87, with the 7 poorly written. Doesn't seem like a 1981 production piece would sit on the shelf for six years. The date sequence seems to make sense: ordered 5/11/87, test fired 5/21/87, purchased 6/9/87. This would also be consistent with Post #51 by Philrich01, which listed a 1983 serial number as S000944.

Just added a set of Pachmayr grips to the PPK/S, and looking forward to shooting it. Expect the new grips will take some of the sting out of her!

Looking forward to exploring the site for ammo, magazine, holster, and maintenance tips.

[searcher451]

Nice pistol. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Sometimes the pistols were recieved from Ranger, checked out for function, sent back for adjustments, and returned again to Interarms. Sometimes that process didn't happen overnight. Who knows what might have happened here? Maybe it sat on the shelf in the local gun shop for two years, was eventually sold, the buyer found that it didn't work properly, it went back to Interarms and then to Ranger for adjustments, it was kicked back again, it still had issues, eventually it got sent back to Interarms and then to the local gun shop. And, in the meantime, the original buyer had gotten frustrated and walked out with something else, and back it sat on the shelf ...

Just speculating, but stranger things have happened.

Welcome to the forum; enjoy your time here.

[MGMike]

In this case, from the s/n alone, I think it's a '87 gun. But what Searcher has suggested is pretty close to the mark. Look for an asterisk or something else close to the s/n on the frame; it might mean a warranty-return gun that got repaired and recycled.

M

[ClearLakeClayt]

Thanks guys. I don't see any asterisks or other marks, and the invoice is direct from Interarms to my dad, so think it's a 1987. Looking at Pilotsteve's serial number thread, I think there's an out-of-kilter data point - the S046930 serial number dated 3/9/1995. It doesn't fit the sequence at all. Toss that one out, add mine, and the numbers line up nicely.

I'm going to post an idea on Pilotsteve's thread concerning Interarms boxes...

[airfoil]

Interarms PPK .380 blue #KO11126 target date 11/93 (P.O.I. 1" low)

eats everything from cheap russian to expensive hollow point.

[MGMike]

In the FWIW Dept., I ran across an old invoice showing that I purchased new in September 1983 a stainless PPK/s s/n S-01744. A few days earlier I had acquired S-01940.

That tells me that Phil at post #51 above is pretty close to the mark.


M

[AR1561]

Interarms PPK/S. #s137699. Test target 3/1996

[JPK]

Just purchased in a FtF a blue Interarms PPK/S .380. SN is 050838, no prefix or suffix. It was made in the USA in I believe Gadsen, AL. Unfortunately no docs came with the gun but I can postulate a couple of things.

The gun came in the square black plastic case with silver Walther logo in the lower right hand corner. The case has the PPK/S sticker on the side confiming this case came with this pistol. This is the same type case my P5 is in and it was made in 1984. So I believe my PPK/S is from sometime around the mid 80's.

Another thing I've noticed about Interarms PP's/PPK's is the different Interarms stamping on the slide. Mine has Interarms in all caps over a smaller font, all caps, Alexandria, Virginia on the right side of the slide. The left side has Made in USA below the Walther banner. It then has made under license over the usual pistol type and calibre. Some Interarm pistols have their logo over a star burst or compass type device on the right side of the slide. Are these older import pistols or were some made in the US? Also I've seen some with the Interarms stamp on the frame. What if any significance do the varying stampings mean regarding date of manufacture?