I have a recently acquired PPK/S .380 The first time I took it to the range, I had problems with it. The hammer would follow the slide down at times, rather than staying back for a single-action shot, as expected. I couldn't trace the problem to any obvious source. I tried a different mag, I tried different ammo, I tried gripping the gun tighter and looser. I took the pistol to a highly respected gunsmith who examined it, said it had been very dirty inside, cleaned it out, fired a few test rounds, and pronounced it ok. I took the gun back to the range yesterday. The gun still has the same problem, and also several times it failed to lock fully into battery, with the slide staying back about 1/4 inch. A person on another forum suggested that he had the same problem which he traced down to a defective hammer release. (Part 37 in the attached link)
http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=2100zPPKS
The left side of the slide is stamped "made in usa" under the Walther banner. The right side of the slide is stamped with the Interarms Alexandria, Virginia stamp. The serial number is S016xxx stamped on the right side of the slide and the right side of the frame as well. The gun came with the original box, manual , and two magazines. It has the checkered wooden grip panels.
Does anyone out there know what's going on with this pistol? Should I just try to contact Smith & Wesson, even though it doesn't say S&W anywhere on the gun? Does anyone out there know of a gunsmith in or near central Ohio who might know how to fix this problem? Could it be just the hammer release? The guy also mentioned that his gunsmith found that his barrel had "moved back a little bit". My impression of this model has always been that it is a very well-designed, reliable pistol. Am I incorrect in that assumption? Should I just break down and get a SIG 230 or 232? Should I stick with my SIG 225, even though it's so much bigger and harder to conceal? I also have an AMT backup .380 and it's not reliable either. I would like to find a reliable, fairly small .380 for a backup gun.
I'm new to this forum and I would ask that you forgive the length of this post. I would love to find a solution to this problem.
http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=2100zPPKS
The left side of the slide is stamped "made in usa" under the Walther banner. The right side of the slide is stamped with the Interarms Alexandria, Virginia stamp. The serial number is S016xxx stamped on the right side of the slide and the right side of the frame as well. The gun came with the original box, manual , and two magazines. It has the checkered wooden grip panels.
Does anyone out there know what's going on with this pistol? Should I just try to contact Smith & Wesson, even though it doesn't say S&W anywhere on the gun? Does anyone out there know of a gunsmith in or near central Ohio who might know how to fix this problem? Could it be just the hammer release? The guy also mentioned that his gunsmith found that his barrel had "moved back a little bit". My impression of this model has always been that it is a very well-designed, reliable pistol. Am I incorrect in that assumption? Should I just break down and get a SIG 230 or 232? Should I stick with my SIG 225, even though it's so much bigger and harder to conceal? I also have an AMT backup .380 and it's not reliable either. I would like to find a reliable, fairly small .380 for a backup gun.
I'm new to this forum and I would ask that you forgive the length of this post. I would love to find a solution to this problem.