Having problems with a new PPQ M1.

Welcome to the forum Je. The PPQ is a fine weapon....I've got waaay more than one...4", 5", 9mm, 40, 45, M1, M2......that about covers it. With that said, all my Q's run the way they're supposed to.

However, its actually pretty common to have someone come to the forum, posting about failures to return to battery or other cycling issues. The first thing to check/ask is, what kind of ammo are you shooting....a new Q is not going to like weak ammo....so use good ammo. Next thing, is one's grip on the pistol....PPQ needs a pretty firm grip....limp wristing will result in some the problems you mentioned. Next, have you let anyone else shoot the pistol?

Now, with that out of the way, lets talk about hand racking the slide. That proves diddly. The pistol was never designed to operate at such a slow slide movement. PERIOD. If you want to load a round into the chamber, there are two ways to do it. Lock the slide back, insert loaded mag, thumb the slide lock, releasing the slide and letting it 'spring' forward stripping and loading a round into the chamber....and it should also make it all the way forward into battery. The other way to chamber a round is the same, except, not using the slide lock....in this case once the mag is inserted, grasp the rear of the slide, pulling it all the way to the rear, then 'cleanly' releasing the slide, letting it rip and strip.

I might also add that its that last 3/8" of forward slide movement where the sear pops up in front of the striker, holding the striker while the slide continues its way forward, which is actually compressing the striker spring. Keep in mind, its that last 3/8" where the striker spring is being compressed...in addition, the barrel starts to cam up at about the same point, which means, the face of the cartridge is starting to slide up the breech face. In addition, the rim of the case is starting to slide UP under the extractor, pushing it outward. SOOOOOOOOOOOO....lotta crap happening at the 3/8" inch point. AND letting the slide slowly move forward is a recipe for 'it ain't gonna work'. PERIOD. The slide needs momentum/velocity. It needs REAL ammo.....good ammo.....or if loading manually, you need to use the slide lock to release the slide or a good slingshot (meaning grasp the rear of the slide, pull er' all the way back then let that puppy go).

That's all for now....I've gotta go walk the dogs.

In the center of the image you will see the metal wearing away on the opposite side of the extractor. There is a small indentation.

jefournier said:

In the center of the image you will see the metal wearing away on the opposite side of the extractor. There is a small indentation.

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Here's you picture....blown up. I'm sorry, but it's not REAL clear....or maybe it just my CSS acting up. I can't believe brass or aluminum ammo would gouge a steel slide. You're not shooting steel cased ammo are you?

Try cleaning that area of the slide....use a good brass cleaner and maybe a toothbrush. I'm thinking/hoping that poop will clean up/off.

After cleanup, try some different ammo too.

Assuming you are not having an issue with the practice round inserting into the chamber. One thing you might want to look at is the difference between the practice round and the Blazer round. Check the length of the case (max. 0.754” ) as this is what determines proper cartridge seating. Also check the overall length of the cartridge (max. 1.168” ). These 2 checks are to insure that the cartridge is properly seated in the chamber. If you don’t have the means to accurately measure these dimensions, you can also remove the barrel and drop a round in the breach and visually check that it is fully seated. You can also drop a spent case in to check the depth of the breach but keep in mind a spent case has expanded some after being fired.

By the looks of the brass left on the face of the slide you have a great deal of friction between the base of the cartridge and the slide face. Use a brass brush to remove the brass on the face of the slide. To continue to shoot it with that much build up of brass just makes the problem worse.

OF is right, in about the last 3/8” of forward slide travel the barrel begins rotating up and the base of the case slides behind the extractor. Look at your picture again and notice that the brass residue runs somewhat vertically on the face of the slide or from bottom up. There is obvious hard friction between the base of the case and the slide face. This can pretty much only happen during the forward cycle of the slide as the spent case is pulled straight back during the rearward movement until the case clears the barrel. A couple of reasons for this much friction could be the case, overall cartridge being too long, or the breach depth in the barrel not deep enough. Also the gap between the ejector and the face of the slide being too narrow to allow the cartridge base to properly slide behind it.

I would confirm the cartridge dimensions first as that can be remedied by changing brands. The other possibilities requires sending the gun back to Walther.

Hope this helps.

I had double feed jams, and stove piping.

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Are you sure you had double feed malfunctions?

Explain the malfunctions that were happening on your pistol, in detail please.

I noticed that with the magazine loaded with dummy rounds, the slide would get stuck when the slide had 1 cm left to be completely racked.

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Completely normal if you were racking the slide slowly.

Were you?

I then removed the slide and looked at the breach face. Placed a dummy round with the primer next to the breach face. Noticed that with vigorous shaking that the round would not fall out.

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This is a good thing.

If you ever run across a pistol that has the cartridge just fall out from under the extractor in the same circumstances, that is when you need to look for a fix.

On the opposite side of the breach face across from the extractor, i noticed friction marks (bare metal) to the point where there is small indentation. I think this is what is causing the malfunctions.

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On the opposite side of the extractor, on the breechface, there is a "guide" to help the rim of the cartridge slide into and underneath the extractor hook while the slide is cycling. It is completely normal for that to be there, and no amount of use should allow for a notch that size to show up on the slide, anywhere. All of the PPQ pistols I've seen have this "guide", and plenty of other models from other manufacturers have it as well.

You can take the slide off of the pistol, and try sliding a cartridge up the breechface. It should be pretty easy to see why that notch is there. Notice how it helps guide the rim under the extractor. Especially when you realize that when the cartridge is feeding into the chamber during cycling, it isn't always feeding directly perpendicular to the breechface.

It also helps during ejection. As the barrel tilts, the rim of the cartridge drops down the breechface, and when the casing hits the ejector, that notch can help so that the rim of the cartridge does not impact that side of the breechface on its way out.

I'm hoping I don't have to send off my ppq to Walther.

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I doubt that you do.

From what I'm hearing (given that you aren't really getting double feed malfunctions), I believe this is an issue that is due to either weak ammunition, a weak grip, a strong recoil spring, or some combination of the three. It takes a few hundred rounds for the springs in the pistol to take a set. Until that point, they will be stronger than normal, and stronger springs can cause the issues you are having.

I'd suggest trying 124gr or 147gr ammunition the next time, with a tight grip, and see if the issues don't go away. Maybe let someone else at the range shoot it to test this as well. In my experience, after a few hundred rounds, these pistols will shoot anything that's not steel cased, and with any amount of grip tension.

Good luck and please keep us informed. How much experience do you have with pistols?

I had some time just now and snapped a couple of pictures from my PPQs (both 9mm).

First one is from the 4" M1, date code BB (2011). Second one is from the 5" M1, date code BH (2017).

They both show brass markings. Also, they both have a sort of rounded "notch", although the two are slightly different. As Balance just explained, this is normal and guides the next round into position.

Dave

Ok so the indentation is normal it looks like the other pictures that were posted, and now that I look at the slide more closely, there is brass shaving there. My concern is that the extractor is holding the rim of the cartridge to tight hence leaving all the brass shavings on the guide. When I insert the dummy round or blazer brass, the cartridge rim does not slide in behind the extractor easily. I have to apply some pressure.

Are the brass shaving normal after a trip to the range?

I would not say I am an expert by any means, but I have done a fair amount of pistol shooting with family and friends. This is my first time owning a hand gun.


The double jam if memory serves correct looked like there was a round in the barrel and another round was being inserted from the magazine. The magazine would not drop. I had to turn the gun upside down to drop out the extra round and then rack the slide.

I measured the dummy round and blazer brass.

Dummy round
Length: 1.114"
Width: .386"

Blazer Brass
Length:1.138"
Width:.388"

I will hold of on calling Walther until I get to the range and try some other ammo and get a few more hundred rounds threw with 124 or 147 grain. Any ammo in particular you guys recommend.

I got a brass brush and I will get the brass shaving off the guide as well. I really appreciate the help guys.