[Dogwhistle]

My new P99 .40 ejects 12-round magazines while shooting. At least once per magazine. I read all the forum threads suggesting it could be ammo or shooter related. I tried American Eagle 165gr and Blazer 180gr. Even different grips did not change the result.

I called Walther and they suggested I try the FMJ ammo they use for their testing: 165 gr. Winchester White Box and Fiocchi. I even had several experienced gun owners shoot mine, checking to see if I was doing something wrong. Same result even after more than 700 rounds through it.

After more reading here, I came across the thread where another P99 owner had the same problem, and the responses came from others who had the magazine release repaired by Walther. So, I called Walther today and am sending it back to them to repair.

Here's my question: What, besides the lever,magazine return spring and catch, makes up the magazine release? I want to make sure they replace all of the defective parts, not just the minimum.

The PPS .40 we have has been performing very well. No issues. I knew going in it was going to be hit or miss on the reliability of this gun, but i have to say I am disappointed. I hope Walther can make it right.

 

[imaoldfart]

Doggie....just two things.....the mag release and the spring. Could be a weak spring or the nub on the mag release could be damaged. Then the jarring from firing could shake the mag lose. This happens with multiple factory magazines, right?

 

[Herr Walther]

I wonder what would have happened if heel mag releases kept falling off of P.38's in 1938/39.

 

[imaoldfart]

Doggie....just something you might want to check. I removed the spring and follower from the magazine and inserted it into the mag well....taking a few pictures along the way. You can see the nub on the paddle mag release and the shinny spot as well, then you can see how the top of the mag while being inserted hits the nub, pushing it forward, allowing the mag to me inserted. The nub slides along the front of the mag body until aligning with he catch hole in the magazine and then the nub snaps into the hole. You can see in the last picture, a portion of the nub sticking thru and into the inside of the corner of the mag....again the shinny spot.

Your mag should look/work just like this.

 

[Dogwhistle]

Thank you Ima! I didn't think of looking at it with the magazine spring-less.

Yes, it happens with all factory mags.

Although your camera is a lot better than mine, I did look at the alignment and wear. I noticed that my mag 'tab' only shows wear on one edge of it, so it certainly is not parallel to the magazine notch. Sorry, the photo makes that hard to see.

Secondly, I noticed that the magazine tab barely protrudes into the magazine, and that the magazine can be released by moving the release lever only 1/8".

You've helped me identify that it is more than the spring causing this. Thank you for your help.

 

[imaoldfart]

Doggie, the wear or shinny spot on the magazine catch (nub as I sometimes call it) will not be parallel, as the nub is latching on the rounded portion or corner of the mag. The wear on your nub as best as I can tell, looks very similar to the wear on mine.....your's may have just a little bit less....just an rch. But you're right, your pictures aren't quite as clear....so it's a little difficult to determine precisely. I just went back and worked the mag release on one of my PPQ M1's and mine releases the mag when the top (front tip) of the mag lever is even with the bottom of the trigger guard.....looks like yours drops a little earlier....not sure why that would be.

If I was trying to fix this issue, I'd replace the mag lever as well as the spring and go from there.....especially, since it's doing the same thing with all four factory mags.

 

[23738]

Kudos to Walther for blaming the ammo, when it's obviously an issue with the mag release mechanism.

Sorry if I'm coming off as a little hateful lately.
They (try to) give us a gun we don't really need, with features a lot of us here wouldn't want, and then don't release it because of some such issue or another, that they're not forthcoming.

Meanwhile, tax season isn't too far off, and I'm going to be wanting to spend some money on a full size poly frame .45 handgun....my first choice would be Walther...but...but.... *disclaimer*

It's simple cabin fever. Hey, it's 37 degrees, I think I need to go pop off a couple hundred rounds of stress relief and dream about guns they won't make in Germany.

(Blame it on Tanfo...he posted that altered pic of the "PPZ", and I've been lusting for a .45 PPX badly ever since!)


(*Likely going to try to find an SW99 in .45, and do the long paddle mod)

 

[Dogwhistle]

Thank you for your help. I will return the gun to Walther, now that I can be specific about the parts I would like replaced.

I will report back with their repair, and again after some range time.

 

[MillerMpls]

Dog - hang in there. Once fixed, you will love the P99. Welcome to the forum. What part of the Metro do you call home?

Thunder - 37 degrees? Sounds like heatwave. It was single digits here the other day...

OF - you're the man! We appreciate your time and experience.

 

[bsetzer]

Might need to file down front edge of mags too

My P99 40 had same issue where it would either eject every magazine or prematurely lock back the slide/FTF. Mine was a combination of things - the mag release lever/spring and the front edge of my magazines needed to be filed down. You might want to load a mag and while holding it in your hand, use your thumb or other finger(s) try ejecting the ammo to see if any hang up on the front edge of the mags. If the shell hangs up on the front edge of the mag, then you probably need to file them down. After having the mag release lever/spring replaced and after filing down the mags my P99 40 works great.

Good Luck!!

 

[Dogwhistle]

Miller - Thanks. I am looking forward to gaining confidence in my 99. We're over on the east side, nearing the river Maybe we can meet up at a range once this issue is resolved.

bset - Thank you also. I had actually read your post in another thread and I did smooth file the inside of the magazine lips and leading edge. When ejecting the shells from the magazines with my thumb, only the second-to-last casing catches. When the problem occurs while shooting, it's usually within the first 5 rounds of a magazine. Since I am sending it back to Walther, I didn't want to be too aggressive on filing - yet. I'll let them diagnose and repair first. Did your casings catch on any particular number before you filed the magazine?

 

[Dogwhistle]

Range Test Update

Received my P99 back this week and took it to the range tonight to run some rounds through it. I stuck with the American Eagle (Federal) 165r and used all four magazines.

It worked as it was supposed to! I am glad I can concentrate on my target and not wonder if the next round will chamber.

Inspecting the gun, I could see that they replaced the magazine release mechanism and, from the feel of it, the release spring. Looking at the wear on the new magazine tab, I could see that the wear marks were in the center of the tab, instead of in the outside corner, like the old tab.

 

[DavidS]

Glad this was resolved and the customer service did its job. But I still have to wonder why a new pistol should have to be returned.

Dave

 

[MillerMpls]

OUTSTANDING!
I am very pleased that you like the platform, and even more so that Walther took care of the problem.

Enjoy your shooting iron!

 

[BlitzPig]

Glad this was resolved and the customer service did its job. But I still have to wonder why a new pistol should have to be returned.

Dave

Well, it's a product made by human beings, and like any other thing we do, sometimes we don't do it right. Or a supplier messes up the heat treat on a spring, or it gets dropped and there is no superficial damage so it gets packaged and shipped anyway...

There is no such thing as a perfect product over the entire production run.

 

[DavidS]

Sure, I get that, but when I buy something that is 100% brand new it really pisses me off when it is not right. This applies to cars, power tools, microwave ovens, or whatever. It is all about quality and process control. Glad they made the OP happy.

Fortunately, all of my Walthers have been flawless (except for some particular ammo in the P22 )

Dave

 

[Dogwhistle]

What I found exasperating about this mis-adventure, was that had Walther test-fired even one full clip during their accuracy test, they would have discovered the problem before it shipped. My test-results target came with only 5 rounds shot.

 

[balance]

It may have gotten damaged somehow after it left the factory, in shipping or in the gun store. Most pistol manufacturers that provide test targets, like Walther, H&K, CZ, etc, only put five rounds through them.