I don't believe any PDPs are made in Arkansas.

 

My PDP case label clearly states "MADE IN GERMANY, distributed by Walther Arms, Fort Smith AR."

 

Mine also states "Made in Germany, Distributed by Walther Arms in Fort Smith AR"

 

I checked with Walther and they are making the new ones in Arkansas.

 

Wow. That is big news!

 

I thought the proof marks had been moved to the bottom of the rail?

 

Yes, that's how I had seen it too.

 

I would not buy a Walther that was not made in Ulm. I do buy American when it makes sense to do so, but I don't see any sense in letting Umarex make my PDP.

 

Not sure if you know this...but Umarex bought Walther in 1993 and that includes Walther in Ulm....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umarex

Just...so you know...all of your Walthers, by your logic are "Made by Umarex"
Probably better with supply issues if more Walthers were made in the US due to delays and such in the whole global scenario of shipping.

 

I'm going to be a little contrarian on this.

In the era of injection molded plastic frames, stamped metal parts and CNC machines, how much does it matter?

I think the quality of the workforce and the company's commitment to quality still matter but we are a long way from the days of Hans and Franz, huddled over a workbench with a hammer and file making sure the parts fit correctly.

Glock, HK and Sig all make guns in the USA now. Doing so is allowing them to do things they could not have done others.

Walther is late to the game in getting production up and running in the USA. Their ability to deliver will be better once they do.

 

In the era of injection molded plastic frames, stamped metal parts and CNC machines, how much does it matter?

I'm not sure.

It is more that I know the way things are right now. I know the pistols that come out of the Ulm plant are top notch. I don't know for sure that this would still be the case if they moved here. I'd say it is as simple as that as far as I'm concerned.

 

On the Graham Baates video on the Series F it was asked in the comments if that gun was made in Germany. He said that on the inside of the slide it is stamped DE.

 

I just bought a PDP F-Series. The Walther Rep was at the store when I bought it. He told me the F-Series is made in the USA. In fact he told me a lot of German machinery was being brought over to Arkansas, so that the US plant has the same machinery that the Germans are using. There are no German proof marks on my pistol and no import marks. No DE on the slide anywhere, not even on the inside. There is a QR code just forward of the trigger guard and before the first slot of the picatinny rail. On the left side is molded into the frame "Walther Arms, Fort Smith, Arkansas", but NO "Made in Germany" like the regular PDP. RIght side says "F-Series".

Haven't shot it yet, but the slide is easier to rack, the grip angle feels more 1911ish to me. Maybe not to others. I don't see anything that is different quality wise to my German made PDP.

 

Wow. Thanks for the update P88. That's pretty bug news.

Did you get the 3 5 or 4" barrel?

You didn't happen to ask him about the availability of the 2.0 optics plates, did you?

 

All they had was the 3.5" barrel. The pistols were supposed to be at the dealer on Wednesday, but they didn't get there until Thursday, so to make up for it, Walther gave anyone who bought an F-Series a free holster. I did find that I was missing the bigger backstrap. The guys at the store opened up the other boxes they got in and half had the backstrap and the others were missing. Apparently it was a rush to get these out. So, I hope the pistol itself is ok and they didn't miss something in the rush to get it out. I'll find out tomorrow when I shoot it.

I can't tell any difference between this and my German made PDP, other than markings or lack there of. The barrel hood has a big "9x19" stamped in the side. There's no Walther banner, serial number or proof marks.

Update: I just took the barrel out and there is a "DE" and what appears to be a serial number. So, my previous post is wrong. There is a DE mark. The Serial number in the slide does NOT match the serial number on the frame. Maybe the first batch of slides were made in Germany. The Walther Rep told me that it was going to be American made. So maybe in the future it will be 100%.

The recoil spring is a double spring. A small inner full length and a larger outside spring that is half as long.

 

Thanks. I think a whole lot of us will be interested in hearing your take on how the thing handles and shoots.

 

I should be able to shoot it tomorrow. I'll let you know. I might not get to do too much shooting with it, as I'll be shooting a match, but I'll at least try to get a few rounds through it.

As for the trigger. It doesn't feel any different to me than the regular PDP. The trigger does have the PDT label.

 

Thanks again and congratulations on the purchase.

 

This is interesting. You didn't by chance ask which pistols would be made or assembled here other than the PDP-F, did you? Did a test target come with the pistol? Also, the tenifer treatment of metal, from what I understand, is not allowed in the US, so I'm curious to know if they are still using, or are still going to use carbon steel slides and barrels with some sort of ferritic nitrocarburizing process, or if they are going to switch to stainless steel with a melonite treatment like S&W's SW99 variant. If you see this Walther rep again, or preferably, a different Walther rep, I would very much appreciate you asking them these questions.

Can you take some pictures of the internals? I'd like to see more on how this two-piece striker operates. Is it still as simple of a process to take the striker assembly off of the slide? If possible, a picture of the sear housing from the top would be appreciated as well.

 

PDP on left, PDP F-Series on right

Here you can see the F-Series frame on top of the Compact frame. Notice the trigger is more rearward.

Compact Slide at top. F-Series on bottom:

 

One more:

F-series on top, Compact slide on the bottom

 

Thank you for the pictures.

It looks like the striker impacts a firing pin. If you pull the striker back with your thumbnail, would you say that this was the case? It also looks like the extractor is held on with a screw instead of a spring loaded plunger.

It seems like at least the barrel is made in Germany if it has the "DE" marking. But just out of curiosity, if you have a magnet laying around, can you tell me if the slide and barrel are magnetic? If they are not, this would be a small clue that they are using stainless steel instead of carbon steel.

 

Yes, it appears that there is a striker that impacts a separate firing pin. And yes there is a screw instead of a plunger.

The barrel does not have any markings other than the 9x19. The slide does have a DE mark underneath the barrel, up near the front sight screw.

The barrel and slide are magnetic. Most likely carbon steel. The finish looks the same for both PDP and F-series.

I was going to take the striker out and take pictures, but I don't have time to deal with it right now. So I took pictures of the manual:

 

It makes sense that a lot of Walther production will be moved to the US due to the cheaper labor. Germany has unions while Arkansas is a right to work state.

 

Aside from that Germany has weird export laws and the US has weird import laws. I think that was a big reason Sig moved production to the US.

 

Again, thank you for the pictures and information.

 

I was able to shoot the PDP F-Series Saturday.

I only had time to put 2 magazines through it, so 30 rounds. No malfunctions of any kind. Ammo was 115 gr. ball.

Recoil seemed a bit snappier to me than my 4" compact PDP. This was after shooting a 1911 all day long at a match I was at, so it kind of surprised me. I didn't have paper, so I shot at a spinner target on one of the stages for the match. I missed low left a lot, so I'll need to play with my sights a bit. I know they fired it at the factory, because one of the magazines had markings on the follower. So I know ammunition was in one of them. But there was no test target in the box, so maybe they just function tested it.

Trigger felt just like any other PDP.

Next time I can get away to the range, I'm going to try the bigger backstrap and get it on paper to see what accuracy is like.

 

I missed low left a lot, so I'll need to play with my sights a bit.

The difference in trigger reach may have been a factor here.

I know they fired it at the factory, because one of the magazines had markings on the follower. So I know ammunition was in one of them. But there was no test target in the box, so maybe they just function tested it.

Maybe they only shot proof rounds through it.

I think you nailed it. Cz, Sig, Beretta, Glock and even HK are doing at least some production in the USA now.

I can see how it would benefit the manufacturers. I've yet to see benefits for us as the consumers. In the very first Guns and Ammo review of the PPQ back around 2011, they visited the Walther plant in Ulm and mentioned things like how the assemblers would have a group of barrels and a group of slides, and they would put them together and take them apart until they found the barrel and the slide that had the right fit using measuring equipment. Now, so far, we have no test target, barrels and slides with different serial numbers, and backstraps missing from boxes.

Let's just say that I'm hoping that the level of quality does not decrease, and that this one example is the exception rather than the rule. I guess time will tell.

 

I dont think so

 

The best way to tell where it's made is the serial number. USA made will have 1 location, thankfully, but if made in Germany, the serial is on barrel, slide, and grip.