[Gordo]

So I was just cleaning my PPS M2 last night and I noticed something interesting on the barrel. There is a small peened mark on the right side near the feed ramp that is bare metal, and not the normal black of the barrel finish. This spot lines up perfectly with the trigger mechanism that protrudes from the frame. that mechanism sits in the pocket of this peened spot when the pistol is assembled and the slide is pulled back.

This pistol has 450 rounds through it and is about a month old.

I have attached an image showing the spot in question. I am curious, does anyone else's PPS M2 have this spot?

I was going to contact Walther about it but their website has been down all day.

Edit: I wouldn't minds some opinions on if people consider this safe to fire with this going on. This is my carry pistol.

 

[SaltyNC]

Mine has the same mark. That's where the extractor makes contact with the barrel. I'm inclined to say it is normal and won't get any worse, but others may think differently.

Salty

 

[chandler5566]

The barrel lug is worn down and appears a corner has been damaged. I suggest you contact Ft Smith. Just curious...did you purchase new, how many rounds fired and have you experienced any issues?

 

[imaoldfart]

I agree with chandler.....that shouldn't be happening....PERIOD. Send er' back to Walther.

 

[Gordo]

chandler, I purchased this new a month ago and it has fired 450 rounds of FMJs and JHPs of various grain flawlessly. I have updated the original post to reflect this.

I found this last night so of course Walther is closed till Monday

 

[gtmtnbiker98]

Normal! The classics did that, too.

 

[Gordo]

It is definitely from the trigger bar thing that comes up and out of the frame. As you can see in this attached photo, it sits right in that pocket.

It also seems harder to reassemble now like it hangs up a little on that when I pull the slide back on.

 

[Gordo]

gtmtnbiker98, I know the relief on that side of the barrel is normal but are you saying the small amount of scalloped metal is also normal?

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be upset to learn that, it just seems odd to have exposed metal there.

 

[gtmtnbiker98]

gtmtnbiker98, I know the relief on that side of the barrel is normal but are you saying the small amount of scalloped metal is also normal?

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be upset to learn that, it just seems odd to have exposed metal there.

I have three of them, all have the slight peening. It's fine. It won't get any worse.

 

[Gordo]

I have three of them, all have the slight peening. It's fine. It won't get any worse.

Good to hear.

Thank you everyone for your input.

 

[LWP]

I have this in my PPS9-M1 with many thousands of rounds, but not as severe. It looks like your M2 barrel is not as hard as my M1. You can remove any burr caused by the metal to metal contact, and maybe blend in the scalloped area to the horn pocket. (I call the mating protrusion on the trigger bar the "horn.") The horn enters the pocket as the slide returns to battery and the trigger resets, and the worn area is just the parts creating a better fit. Also you can file a small angle or radius on the horn front inside edge where you see it rubs, to reduce trauma. The action will be a little smoother.

Look here:
http://www.waltherforums.com/forum/pps/47061-pps-m2-improved-trigger.html

 

[chandler5566]

I have this in my PPS9-M1 with many thousands of rounds, but not as severe. It looks like your M2 barrel is not as hard as my M1.

Your hardness comment is probably important given the extent of the damage. Your PPS M1 is probably stainless or heat treated steel. The PPS M2 is nitride alloy steel. It could be that we are seeing a similar result of what is reported in a number of barrels now appearing on outer surfaces. Of course I am offering an opinion only.

 

[LWP]

...Your PPS M1 is probably stainless or heat treated steel. The PPS M2 is nitride alloy steel...

Stainless, I doubt. Heat treated, yes, but I could not find info on the metallurgy.

If as you say, the M2 barrel is nitride alloy steel, the only reason to use alloy steel is for the ability to heat treat it, or corrosion resistance. I have never heard of a gun barrel not heat treated.

"It looks like your M2 barrel is not as hard as my M1." Not an engineering analysis, but just what it looks like from afar. The difference in "damage" between mine and his could also be due to parts shape or tolerance stackup.

 

[chandler5566]

I have never heard of a gun barrel not heat treated.

Welcome to the world of nitrocarburizing/nitriding. The switch from either stainless or heat treated alloy steel for the firearm industry has taken place over the past 5-6 years and is driven by cost reduction. Unfortunately nitriding, which is one of several processes in use, has a number of potential issues.

 

[Gordo]

I think you guys are definitely on point.

I have checked mine out more and the peening is a result of the position the "horn" is in when the trigger is depressed while the slide reciprocates. I noticed it by pulling the trigger and then locking the slide back on the first pull back of the slide. When I do this, the bar that the horn is a part of moves out to the left of the frame and further from the right wall.

Strangely, while the slide is locked back with the trigger depressed, I can reach my finger in and wiggle that bar a little bit and the trigger will move side to side along with it. If I do the same thing with the slide locked back but with the trigger forward, that bar and the trigger do not have any play and sit much closer to the right side of the frame and slide. When I have the slide off and look at the horn, it sits further away from the right wall than I am guessing most other folk's do and it has some left/right play.

I don't know what that "horn" is supposed to look like, but mine is definitely a bit polished from peening the side of the barrel. I will attach some pictures.

I'm kinda surprised that that trigger mechanism is harder than the barrel. That seems less than ideal but again, I am far from an expert.

 

[garrettprs]

I have over 500 rounds through my M2 and don't have any bit of this issue (but have had my share of plenty others). Something seems wrong.

 

[imaoldfart]

Absolutely, that shouldn't be happening. If I had one like that, I'd fix it.

 

[Gordo]

Absolutely, that shouldn't be happening. If I had one like that, I'd fix it.

I have finally gotten Walther's site to load so I submitted a message about this through their contact form. I am dreading the response and what I'm sure will be a long wait to get this taken care of if they deem it an issue worth fixing, but it is what it is.

I seem to have the worst luck with anything firearm related that I buy. Over the last 6 months I have had problems with:

• Aimpoint PRO that had to be returned and replaced.
• Aero upper receiver that was out of spec and had to be sent in twice
• AR LPK with out of spec parts
• Bushnells TRS-25 that had a borked emitter
• Sticky holster (they were great about it and replaced it within 3 days of contact)
• Dewey cleaning rod - came with large chunk of coating sratched off.
• AR buffer extension kit - came with spring too small to accept buffer.

These were all things from companies with decent reputations that I bought from reputable outfits. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Just last week I mentioned to a friend how grateful I was that my new pistols were problem free. Maybe that's where I blew it. I should have known better.

Sorry for the mini-rant. guess I needed to blow off some steam.

 

[imaoldfart]

Holy sheet Gordo, if you didn't have 'bad' luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all.

Here's hoping Walther will take care of you.

 

[XRing]

It is not bad luck it is modern manufacturing methods. Modern manufacturing methods today. Manufactures take credit for parts and process being held in place (to requiremnt) so only need to assemble and perform minimal function check then ship. In the perfect world that would work . In the real world that makes the customer the beta tester. Also that is why in the firearms industry one individual gun runs perfect but another one from the same factory from another batch can be a lemon.
This method applies to all industry sectors not just firearms.