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Lately the Walther P99 has become very hard to find around here, and the AS almost non-existant. There are Smiths to be had, but few Walthers. My home defense gun is a full size all German P99 AS or an SW99 in .45 (AS type trigger). For carry I wanted a P99C and ended up going with a 9mm QA as my only other choice (I wanted to buy locally) was a .40 AS and i wanted the 9. My preference was the AS but my thought was that for a defense gun the QA might be the better choice for me. I am a strong believer that one can train to be effective with most any gun if they drill enough. Few guns are perfecty suited to anyone and it is necessary to adapt to any gun, to varying degrees.
It took me some time to get to the range to spend some time with the Compact QA but I am quite pleased. As you know the pull on the QA is somewhat short but constant with a sudden break. Mine, a very slightly used gun, is smooth and constant all the way through the break. Dry firing at home the pull lenght seemed short. When I was at the range firing the first shots the pull seemed very long and a little heavy. The anticipation of the break and an actual bang rather than a click added to the perceived length of the pull, but as I shot the gun more the length of the pull of the initial shot seemed less long more in line of what I had experienced dry firing.
The real surprise came on follow-up shots. The follow-up shots seemed like a much shorter and lighter pull. I know that this is not actually the case as the length and weight of the pull remains constant from shot to shot, but the perception is very different. The length of the pull and weight seems to be about half of the initial shot when there is maybe a second or two (or less) betwen shots. I have heard others remark about this and found it to be startlingly true. For a lot of reasons I like this type of thing. It provides for what I would say is a more "deliberate" first shot and follow-ups that feel a lot more like I would experience with my AS. I don't see the longer heavier initial pull as adversely affecting accuracy all that much in a self defense situation. For range shooting I would choose the AS every time as one could use that trigger to greater advantage under the optimal conditions of a range, but in a self defense scenario I believe that I prefer the QA, and I would imagine the DA only as well. I know that most won't find this to be true, but once you have set the trigger with the AS the gun is much closer to discharge, and it takes very little to set the trigger to that point. And lets face it, more than likely your finger will be inside the trigger guard by the time you are making your very last final decision to shoot. With the QA I would argue that situation is potentially less precarious than with the AS (ie., an unexpected shove from behind).
The real downside to the QA is the lack of a follow-up in case of a FTE. It will require at the very least a very short (3/8") racking of the slide for a second strike at the primer. That takes time that can only partially be minimized with practice. Depending on how many shots were left and what was going down I might be inclined to just clear the round entirely. Although I'd hate lose the round entirely, the result of back to back FTFs could be fatal. With the AS there would be some savings of time by going for the second strike, but a second FTF could be just as deadly requing a third action taken in the form of a full racking of the slide to clear the bad round. In many situations I would consider a second strike on any gun a big gamble which puts the AS and QA on a more equal footing.
As the P99 AS remains somewhat hard to get you might consider the QA. If you can shoot one beforehand you might find a trigger system that gets a bad rap that may not be deserved when all things are considered.
It took me some time to get to the range to spend some time with the Compact QA but I am quite pleased. As you know the pull on the QA is somewhat short but constant with a sudden break. Mine, a very slightly used gun, is smooth and constant all the way through the break. Dry firing at home the pull lenght seemed short. When I was at the range firing the first shots the pull seemed very long and a little heavy. The anticipation of the break and an actual bang rather than a click added to the perceived length of the pull, but as I shot the gun more the length of the pull of the initial shot seemed less long more in line of what I had experienced dry firing.
The real surprise came on follow-up shots. The follow-up shots seemed like a much shorter and lighter pull. I know that this is not actually the case as the length and weight of the pull remains constant from shot to shot, but the perception is very different. The length of the pull and weight seems to be about half of the initial shot when there is maybe a second or two (or less) betwen shots. I have heard others remark about this and found it to be startlingly true. For a lot of reasons I like this type of thing. It provides for what I would say is a more "deliberate" first shot and follow-ups that feel a lot more like I would experience with my AS. I don't see the longer heavier initial pull as adversely affecting accuracy all that much in a self defense situation. For range shooting I would choose the AS every time as one could use that trigger to greater advantage under the optimal conditions of a range, but in a self defense scenario I believe that I prefer the QA, and I would imagine the DA only as well. I know that most won't find this to be true, but once you have set the trigger with the AS the gun is much closer to discharge, and it takes very little to set the trigger to that point. And lets face it, more than likely your finger will be inside the trigger guard by the time you are making your very last final decision to shoot. With the QA I would argue that situation is potentially less precarious than with the AS (ie., an unexpected shove from behind).
The real downside to the QA is the lack of a follow-up in case of a FTE. It will require at the very least a very short (3/8") racking of the slide for a second strike at the primer. That takes time that can only partially be minimized with practice. Depending on how many shots were left and what was going down I might be inclined to just clear the round entirely. Although I'd hate lose the round entirely, the result of back to back FTFs could be fatal. With the AS there would be some savings of time by going for the second strike, but a second FTF could be just as deadly requing a third action taken in the form of a full racking of the slide to clear the bad round. In many situations I would consider a second strike on any gun a big gamble which puts the AS and QA on a more equal footing.
As the P99 AS remains somewhat hard to get you might consider the QA. If you can shoot one beforehand you might find a trigger system that gets a bad rap that may not be deserved when all things are considered.
Note to Shipwreck: Here is another convert waiting for your guidence
