Just purchased a brand new Walther P99AS last week. I am a strong proponent of the 1911, but not the point of exclusion of other designs. I have literally hundreds of thousands of rounds out of various 1911's from single stack 45's, to high-cap 38 supers, to my STI custom 40. Then I branched out and tried a Glock 34 at some plate matches (before Hurricane Katrina closed the range!). My carry guns have rotated from a Glock 26 to a Colt Series 70 LW Commander. Each is a fine piece. I had done some research on the Walther and decided to give it a try. Here are my impressions after 500 rounds:
1) The P99AS is extremely light and well sculpted. There seems to be no excess metal or plastic anywhere. The front edge of the slide is rounded and I've encountered no sharp edges. I could live without the grip texture and think it would have been better if Walther had adopted a textured grip like that of the USP. The Walther exhibits superior ergonomics.
2) Brilliant decocker design. Why have a lever when a flush mounted button will do the same thing and preserve the sleek design of the weapon?
3) Very smooth double action pull with consistent pressure (no discernable stacking before break.) Single action pull has great reset.
4) Pertaining to reliability, so far so good. I'll know more after I put another 2K rounds thru it.
5) As far as accuracy, let me tell you this: it, like most guns is better than you or I. It will put a .355 hole where you want it if you do your part.
Someone in a previous post mentioned that Walther should do a better job of promoting this gun. I think that is a good idea. I can think of few pistols with a 16 round capacity that are so light, sleek, and accurate and shootable. For my other 1911 bros out there I would urge you to pick up one of these gems and try them. When you stop analyzing it for what it is not, and discover what it is, I think you will be quite impressed.
Caspian
1) The P99AS is extremely light and well sculpted. There seems to be no excess metal or plastic anywhere. The front edge of the slide is rounded and I've encountered no sharp edges. I could live without the grip texture and think it would have been better if Walther had adopted a textured grip like that of the USP. The Walther exhibits superior ergonomics.
2) Brilliant decocker design. Why have a lever when a flush mounted button will do the same thing and preserve the sleek design of the weapon?
3) Very smooth double action pull with consistent pressure (no discernable stacking before break.) Single action pull has great reset.
4) Pertaining to reliability, so far so good. I'll know more after I put another 2K rounds thru it.
5) As far as accuracy, let me tell you this: it, like most guns is better than you or I. It will put a .355 hole where you want it if you do your part.
Someone in a previous post mentioned that Walther should do a better job of promoting this gun. I think that is a good idea. I can think of few pistols with a 16 round capacity that are so light, sleek, and accurate and shootable. For my other 1911 bros out there I would urge you to pick up one of these gems and try them. When you stop analyzing it for what it is not, and discover what it is, I think you will be quite impressed.
Caspian