Shooting range tale: Some problems/solutions for PPK owners

[TANFOGLIO]

for Pilotsteve

-how-reassemble-ppk-slide-video

-how-disassemble-ppk-slide-video

[gene 1]

Thank you Tanfoglio, you have made what sounded like a hard job look easy.


Gene

[RickJZ]

TANFO,
Those are excellent tutorial videos that you made; very helpful! Thanks for posting those.

[gene 1]

Thanks to Steve for starting the thread & Tanfoglio's videos, it took me about 30 minutes to strip & clean my slide that had given me the same trouble as Steve's.
Gene

[gene 1]

This is for Mike or any one else who can answer it. The ppk/s that I just cleaned in the last post, I shot today for the first time & the falling safety happened again twice in 50 rounds. The gun is nearly perfect & has been shot very little ( about 700 rounds). The safety is very easy to work, moreso than my other ppk's. I wondered if the extractor spring could be weak & not holding it up.

The gun is spotlessly clean and the ammo was Remington or Fiocchi fmj . It is an Interarms 380. The recoil spring also feels lighter than my other 380. I bought it from a friend who bought it new in about 1990. I shot it for about a year & put about 300 rounds thru it with no problems. This is one of the first problems I have had with ppk's in over 50 years. I have a similar problem with my PP 32 but I haven't shot it since I cleaned it so that will come later. Thanks Gene

[Pilotsteve]

Originally Posted by gene 1

The safety is very easy to work, moreso than my other ppk's. I wondered if the extractor spring could be weak & not holding it up.

Yeah, Gene it sounds like it's getting to be time for a new set of springs for the old girl. In my case, the springs were tight and strong but the tunnel it hides in inside the slide was just plain nasty - filled with paste-ified carbon goop and sludge. Also, in the recess above the loaded chamber indicator pin was carbon buildup and nastiness worthy of song.

I've got some thousands of rounds through my PPK and never cleaned those hard-to-get-at places. If fact I don't really know if you can get in there without a complete slide teardown. But thanks to King Tanfoglio and others, the task is now clear to me and not daunting. This forum is an incredible resource and bounty of information for all Walther owners and enthusiasts. The best part is it continues to grow every day.

-Pilotsteve

[gene 1]

Steve,,, Thanks for the post but I did the complete take down of the slide like you did. It did help alot but I thought like you that the extractor spring might be a problem as the safety did work easier than my other ppk's. It is surprising as the gun has had very few rounds thru it , probably only 600 or so. I will let you know as I ordered Wolff springs for the whole gun yesterday. I will only change the extractor spring. Thanks Gene

[ActionExpress]

A few days ago, a user posted a question that I had hoped would get some answers so I wouldn't have to waste space on the board. Unfortunately, while there were some good answers it didn't answer my particular question:

Comparing the PPK/S .380 and the PPK .380 are there any more or fewer reported issues between the S and the standard PPK? I know several users commented that the .32 seems a bit better, but as a carry gun, I feel .380 is the minimum. The PPK has a slightly shorter barrel and thinner frame IIRC, so are there any functional differences?

Thanks everyone - and I realize that most people don't go out and buy a PPK and a PPK/S just to have them both (I could be wrong) but after having a so-so experience with my S&W PPK/S I'm really interested to hear if the standard S&W PPK tends to be slightly better.

Leaning towards the PPK this time as CCW is now signed into law and I prefer a pocket compact over a medium frame .357.

I guess if there are still doubts with the PPK, I'd be looking into a Sig 232, or a Bersa..

[searcher451]

We have only incidental evidence that the S&W-made PPK in .32 is any better than the S&W-made .380 PPK/S. There is no real evidence to support this conclusion -- only fewer reports of problems. You will have better luck with an Interarms-made pistol, or with one of the German- and French-made models.