[Jimmo952]

I just brought home a new Fort Smith PPK. I bought the blackened version.

Overall, fit and finish is good. Trigger pulls are better than expected.

It's fit together tightly. Should be nice after a bit of break-in.

My one complaint are sharp edges. It's not the worst steel gun I've owned. That honor goes to an early Smith 3rd Gen that could double as a hide skinner.

The safety level has sharp edges. The slide has sharp edges. Annoying. Wish Walther would spend a couple of minutes and break the sharp edges on these things before shipping them.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Which is the advantage of bare stainless.
You can break those edges yourself.
Moon

 

[Jimmo952]

Which is the advantage of bare stainless.
You can break those edges yourself.
Moon

Yep. If I did it again I'd get the bare stainless.

 

[lwh8]

Nice. I've been weighing my options between the black and the stainless. Going to post any pics?

 

[Austin Powers]

You'd think that Walther would spend just a bit more time with the black models to smooth out those edges considering that the Melonite finish they're using apparently has a Rockwell Hardness Rating similar to Diamond.

Charge a bit extra if you must, but don't leave the buyer with razor-sharp edges that are nearly as hard as Diamond.

 

[jtmont01]

Not to hijack your post Jimmo, but here's a new PPK in black I picked up this week. Haven't got to fire it yet, but I love the way it looks and feels out of the box. I'll post more later on.

 

[Jimmo952]

Not to hijack your post Jimmo, but here's a new PPK in black I picked up this week. Haven't got to fire it yet, but I love the way it looks and feels out of the box. I'll post more later on.

No worries. It's the same theme. How you liking it so far?

 

[Jimmo952]

I'd pay a little more for a version of the PPK that's dehorned, has a wider rear sight and a dovetailed high visibility front sight.

They could call it the "special carry edition" or some such.



!

 

[jtmont01]

Not to hijack your post Jimmo, but here's a new PPK in black I picked up this week. Haven't got to fire it yet, but I love the way it looks and feels out of the box. I'll post more later on.

No worries. It's the same theme. How you liking it so far?

I like the look and feel, anxious to finally shoot it this weekend. I did a field strip and oiled it up tonight. The slide is still pretty tight but you can tell it's well crafted and engineered.

 

[Jimmo952]

I like the look and feel, anxious to finally shoot it this weekend. I did a field strip and oiled it up tonight. The slide is still pretty tight but you can tell it's well crafted and engineered.

Thanks jtmont. Let's us know how it shoots. I'm guessing it will shoot fine.

 

[Austin Powers]

I'd pay a little more for a version of the PPK that's dehorned, has a wider rear sight and a dovetailed high visibility front sight.

They could call it the "special carry edition" or some such. !

I recall a certain article by a certain publication (American Hundgunner?) calling for the exact same thing.

Personally, I think that if they're going to go that far then they might as well take it a step further and build one with a lightweight aluminum alloy frame.

If they could get the PPK down to 16oz unloaded, with Hi-Viz sights and some polished edges, then they would really have something to get excited over.

I think the original PPK/L would have stayed in production if it weren't for the worthless Gun Control Act rendering it ineligible for import into the USA, so a revival in .380 ACP with better sights would likely be a hot seller stateside. And before someone argues to the contrary, please turn your attention to the SIG P238, which in spite of being essentially just a Colt Mustang Pocketlite, based on the even older design of the M1911, has been a hot seller for SIGsauer for over a decade now.

 

[Balogh]

I think the original PPK/L would have stayed in production if it weren't for the worthless Gun Control Act rendering it ineligible for import into the USA, so a revival in .380 ACP with better sights would likely be a hot seller stateside.

The PPK-L, that's the correct name, was never offered in .380 probably because of the limitations of the alloy frame.

 

[153]

An aluminum frame .380 PPK would wreck your hand and the pistol would beat itself to death in short order. The PPK is a bit long in the tooth to try and modernize it to be truly relevant in the 21st century.

The new long grip tang is bad enough as a modern concession to “shoot-ability”. Adding wide fiber optic sights and maybe some laminate finger groove stocks might seem like improvements, but IMO by then you’re better off with the Colt.

 

[Kar98]

Right? Like, either get the PPK as it's offered now or an older one, but if you want something more modern, there is the Glock 42 and 43, or the various micro 1911s if your preference is metal.

 

[gts350]

I recall a certain article by a certain publication (American Hundgunner?) calling for the exact same thing.



Personally, I think that if they're going to go that far then they might as well take it a step further and build one with a lightweight aluminum alloy frame.



If they could get the PPK down to 16oz unloaded, with Hi-Viz sights and some polished edges, then they would really have something to get excited over.



And before someone argues to the contrary, please turn your attention to the SIG P238, which in spite of being essentially just a Colt Mustang Pocketlite, based on the even older design of the M1911, has been a hot seller for SIGsauer for over a decade now.

153 is correct the gun would trash your hand and beat up the frame. You can't compare a gun with a Locked Breech to a Blowback design. It's the exact reason I replaced my PPK with a Sig P238 and couldn't be more happy and I know several people who did the same.

Sent from my SM-T290 using Tapatalk

 

[halfmoonclip]

Substituting alloy for steel in a .380 PPK would not be a gimmie.
The .380s already snappy recoil would be worse, and the frame would take a beating from the slide.
Now if they wanted to make a .32 PPK-L, that would be interesting. Except some glutton for punishment would demand it in .380...
The PPK is limited by its blowback action; other alloy framed pistols are generally locked breech. If you really have to have an alloy framed .380, the SIG 230 is Waltheresque.
Moon

 

[Austin Powers]

For all the folks saying that an aluminum alloy framed PPK in .380 ACP wouldn't last or would be unbearably painful to shoot...

FEG PMK/SMC-380
SIG P232
Bersa Thunder 380cc

These are all straight blowback, aluminum alloy framed pistols chambered in .380 ACP, and I've never heard any complaints of them beating themselves to death nor breaking the hands of shooters.

So although the Duralumin frames of the original PPK/L may not have been strong enough to withstand a steady diet of .380 ACP, it is most certainly possible that Walther could build a PPK/L in .380 ACP using modern aluminum alloys.

 

[Wildtoad]

Does anyone here know what the buy rate is for NEW PPK or PPK/S pistols is? Seems to me with so much competition in the CCW / small pistols, that there would have to be a strong reason for Walther to build another .380 version of what they already got. If they were looking to build another PPK then perhaps a .32 could be a good seller, but then a lot of people say .32 is not a good choice for protection. I’d buy one but I’m just one guy who thinks the new/modern pistols aren’t that attractive.

 

[Balogh]

...it is most certainly possible that Walther could build a PPK/L in .380 ACP using modern aluminum alloys.

If this were the case, then hopefully they would call it PPK-L to avoid further confusion. Walther never used the spelling with a slash (unlike PPK/S or PPK/E).

 

[Jimmo952]

This new PPK seems a decent pistol. They are not going to make the collectors of the old guns happy with it. They are not going to make the guys wanting a viable carry gun with it.

Walther chose a middle ground with the gun. Kind of old timely but not true to the old gun either. Kind of modernized but maybe not enough to really be practical.

My humble opinion is they should have come out with two versions. One as close to the old guns as possible. They other with some features people actually carrying them might appreciate like more usable sights.

Who knows. Might still.happen.