Any "Made In USA" Interarms gun should be fine, blue or stainless. I remember when they first started making them here and the actual German Walther representatives gave their official stamp of approval to begin production after touring the plant and inspecting the guns. Walther said the guns were as good if not better than the West German made guns.
Most used guns have to be "abused" to have something wrong with them. If you simply work the action and try the DA and SA trigger pulls (never snapping the hammer, but feeling the trigger action) and be sure the safety/hammer drop works and the rear sight is tight, you should be good. A PPK disassembles in about a half second so you can usually ask to remove the slide to inspect inside the gun and look through the barrel.
The "bite" people refer to is the slide coming back when the action cycles and the web of the shooting had is really high or really "meaty." The slide will cause a slight abrasion. Not really a cut but a little blood is possible. I'm trying to be as honest as possible. When I qualify with my PPK (50 rounds total) I would say 50% of the time I get a little abrasion. Another Range Officer and I joke about it because he has a PPK too (and a PPK/S which he hates because of the extra weight and grip length). "Did you get bit?" we ask each other. During the actual shooting, we are concentrating on our sight picture and trigger pull so much that we don't know if we got bit until we're all done. It seems that if I "plink" with the gun, I never get bit. If I am trying hard to shoot well and qualify with 50 rounds, it seems I hold the gun a bit tighter and harder and I sometimes get bit. So in reality, you might get bit if you are trying to save your own life in a gunfight and in that case it really won't matter and you'll probably not even notice it.
I think the button magazine release gives the PPK a huge advantage over numerous other .380 pocket pistols with heel magazine releases. I find that the Walther PPK fits my hand ergonomically better than ever other gun out there. I really like the SA pull and the DA is very smooth despite being heavy (but it's supposed to be heavy in DA). But that is also a very, very subjective thing that applies to me. I tell people who ask about guns that as long as the gun fires 99.9999999% of the time (no gun is 100%, not even a revolver) and it hits where you aim it, it's a good choice IF YOU LIKE IT! Guns are like cars. Very subjective. Every car gets you from point A to point B. How many people that you know or work with drive the same car? Some cars have a reliability reputation that makes you not want one. Some people are Ford or Toyota or Chevy or Honda or BMW people and that's it. Some people are Colt or S&W or Ruger or Walther people and that's it.
The thing that I can't stand is this: Any gun sold on the market today should fire 99.9% and accurately to point of aim right out of the box. The concept of "breaking in" a gun before it will shoot with misfires is absurd in this day and age. Can you imagine if Glock or Sig or Beretta or S&W or Ruger said it took 200 rounds to "break in" their gun before you could bet your life on it?
I was shocked to read a review of the S&W/Walther PPK/S in Law & Order magazine that said the gun failed to feed and failed to eject numerous times until is was "broken in" with 200+ rounds! That's insane!
I've carried my stainless Interarms PPK for 19 years without a single malfunction of any kind, qualifying with it at least once a year. I always clean it after firing it and keep it lightly oiled. I know the limitations of the Winchester Silvertip .380's I carry.
I hope this helps!
you sound like a believer to me.
How do I tell what to look for, if issues can be spotted.
I have no idea what may have been changed or replaced if anything. Or what might have been an original issue (problem) to look for.
Is the "bite" that people refer to from the recoil or the potential cut from the slide coming back? I certainly am not crazy about a gun attacking me.
Was there two different addresses that Interarms put on these or just one?
Is there a way to contact Interarms? I am just guessing that S&W will not honor the Interarms lifetime warranty.
Sorry for all of the questions, it may not be a great deal of money to some, but I like to feel confident that it is the right way to go when I put the money down-- as opposed to just buying someone elses nightmare.
Yes, I could buy new but ?????????????
Thanks