[mm6mm6]

My PPS arrived this past Wednesday, but my FFL was in the hospital. He's better now so I picked it up today. I had to work it into my schedule, but now it's home. I was able to take some quick pictures, I know some here want to see an all black one! Obviously, I haven't fired it yet so that report will come later....

First impressions: The gun is very small. I slipped into my right rear waistband and it disappears. It's (as they advertise) very slim. It feels like a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless to me. But the Colt is slim and smooth with its steel contours. The PPS has the stippled front, rear and sides so it doesn't feel slippery at all. It holds in your hand and it holds tight.

The trigger pull has some take up but absolutely no overtravel. The trigger seems fine to me while dry firing it. Obviously, it's very similar to the Glock trigger.

The sights are easy to see because they're very big to your eyes. There is alot of light on either side of the front sight, which I like alot. They are also very snag free. They're an excellent design. Perusing the manual, I see they offer four front sights, all numbered as such. The gun comes with a #4 sight (see the picture, you can see the #4 right on it) but other heights are the 1, 2, and 3. The manual also says you can remove a screw from the inside of the slide to replace the front sight. This system should make the sights easily replaceable with night sights by the owner if desired. Cool

There's definitely a mystique about the Walther name. Seeing the Walther banner on the plastic case was fun. Seeing the old style Walther test target was a ton of fun too! My old 1966 PPK has its test target too. Two Walthers, separated by 41 years!

The extra magazine holds 7 rounds (one more than the flush mag's 6 rounds). The mag release is going to take some getting used to. When activated, it chucks the empty mag out with force. I like that. But I can't use my right hand's thumb to hit the release. It seems easier to use my right hand's trigger finger. I will continue to experiment, like I said, I've had the gun for just a few hours now.

 

[mm6mm6]

Part II

Here is the PPS with my '66 PPK:

 

[uncut]

Congrats.... sweet looking PPS....

 

[ispeed]

Thanks for posting this. I always like looking at your pictures. I got to hold and look over a PPS about 2 weeks ago and it got me very interested, but I just can't justify the cost to my wife just yet. Maybe next year ...

Looking at the pictures though, it looks like on the test target, they test fired from 10m instead of the normal 25m for every other Walther target I have seen. This is the first PPS target so are they doing this with all the PPS's? I am just wondering why?

Anyway, enjoy your new gun. Hope it's not to cold to go out and shoot it, or at least you have access to an indoor range. It would be a shame to let that thing just sit there ... that's what happened to my new p99. I bought it, weather turned cold and it sat there for 2 weeks before I could get out and fire. It was dusk, cold, and misty rain ... but I got 62 rounds before it was to dark to see.

Have fun

 

[dmobrien2001]

Bravissimo!

 

[mm6mm6]

Thanks ispeed! I missed posting the picture of the front sight. There's something very "business like" about having a number on the front sight. Kinda cool:

 

[bulbboy]

Very nice!!!! How does the weight feel compared to your PPK?

 

[PhilR.]

Congrats, and very nice pics!

Since you obviously have no further need for the PPS, you should sell it.

Today.

To me.....


PhilR.

 

[mm6mm6]

It feels much lighter in the hand. And it is. It does have that top heavy feel common to steel slides on polymer or aluminum frames. But when it's loaded, that feeling goes away and the gun is balanced wonderfully.

 

[David S]

Thanks for the pics!!!

 

[153]

mm6mm6,

I will echo the previous post, THANKS for the nice photos, helps make up for the fact that this gun is still banned where I live.

 

[Walther_Fan]

Nice pics. Stock photos don't do the PPS justice.

 

[David S]

honestly, i thought it was sorta ugly way back when the first pics came out, but its really growing on me

 

[Heavy Handed]

Very nice pics, specially the side-by-side with PPK shots. Not to sound like an ingrate, but could I get some pics of the action, trigger bar etc? Around here PPS pistols come and go so fast I can't even get a look at one, let alone field strip it and see how well it's made on the inside. I'd really like to see the specifics of how it functions.

 

[mm6mm6]

I shot the PPS yesterday. Wow. I only had time to put 120 rounds through it but gun never had any problems. I was surprised how little felt recoil there was. The PPS's thin grip and angle, along with the fact that the bore axis sits very low in the hand, made the pistol very easy to shoot. When you look at the muzzler area from the side, the gun looks very blocky, rectangular and very "tall." But when it sits in your hand, you notice how high the area just below the rear of the slide is compared to the front. There is no way anyone can get bitten by the slide's rearward action (a la the PPK).

The sights are very easy to see and the rear has a rather wide notch...something I prefer. They are also very snag free as I don't have a holster for the gun, so I was constantly jamming it in my waistband's right rear. It never snagged on a draw.

The trigger is fantastic. I'm an old time Bullseye shooter. I was bought up thinking that pinpoint accuracy is everything. On a gun like the PPS, it's not about pinpoint accuracy, but the gun is easily capable of it. I've handled Glocks and some come with wonderful triggers, some come with okay triggers and some are horrible. This PPS's trigger is perfect with a crisp let off and no overtravel at all.

I was very concerned about the magazine release. There is no way my big hands can release the mag using my shooting hand's thumb without radically changing my grip. However, I found that using my trigger finger to pop the magazine was naturaly and intuitive. That surprised me. I know left handed shooters who use their trigger finger to hit a magazine release button located on the left side of a pistol's frame and they do it with ease. This is sort of like that.

Guys with alot of "gun savvy" were able to find and activate the mag release with ease. Some other guys handled the gun and couldn't find the mag release, literally to save their lives! Two guys kept trying to insert a fresh magazine backwards. The PPS's plastic mag bottom has the plastic piece that extends backwards to cover the backstrap release. Most modern pistol's magazines with plastic or rubber bumpers on the bottom extend forward. Like the mag release, this somewhat unorthodox "manual of arms" takes a bit of getting used to.

The gun is very comfortable to carry iwb. It is so darn thin! Walther really got this part right! I have big hands and I like the short magazine (6 round) and the smaller of the two backstraps. The larger backstrap was preferred by some though. The backstrap is very easy to release and re-insert. Everyone I showed the gun to, that owned Glocks, was impressed with the fact that you don't have to pull the trigger to take the gun apart. They all universally said, "Yeah, that's a good idea. Pulling my Glock's trigger does make me nervous. I always double or triple check the chamber."

Speaking of loaded chambers, the indicator at the rear of the slide shows red when the gun is cocked. It doesn't matter if there is a round in the chamber or not. So it's really not a "loaded chamber indicator" like the one we're used to on the Walther PP/PPK series. When you pull the trigger to the rear, the indicator (which is really the striker/firing pin) comes out the rear of the slide. When the gun fires, it is then flush again, but with the red still showing.

I don't think the Walther PPS will win any beauty awards. But it's far from super ugly and it's really grown on me. The muzzle look pretty cool with its radius edges and the way it narrows from the middle to the top of the slide. Much better in appearance than the Glock or Kahr.

If you're a Walther fan, I think you're going to love this gun. Heres' some more pics. I'll try to take some, if I get a chance tomorrow while I clean it, to show the inside!

-Steve

 

[mm6mm6]

1) Sorry about the typos in my post everyone. I gotta proof read better before I hit the submit reply button!

2) That's not me in the pictures.

3) The group was fired at 7 yards (21 feet) pretty quick.

 

[mm6mm6]

Argggh! I keep forgetting a few more points.

The PPS was fired as it came in the box except for one thing. It appeared very clean, but I still applied some gun oil to be sure they were very lightly oiled. I used a Testor's model paint brusht o spread oil evenly over both rails, one drop for the slide and one drop for the frame.

I abhor it when anyone says a modern combat pistol has to be "broken in" before it starts to function 100%. I understand that a custom built gun with very, very tight tolerances might need to be broken or "shot" in.

But a gun thats market is self protection (at home or for CCW) should function just about flawlessy right out of the box (except for a cleaning to get rid of packing grease, cosmoline, etc).

 

[ispeed]

Speaking of loaded chambers, the indicator at the rear of the slide shows red when the gun is cocked. It doesn't matter if there is a round in the chamber or not. So it's really not a "loaded chamber indicator" like the one we're used to on the Walther PP/PPK series. When you pull the trigger to the rear, the indicator (which is really the striker/firing pin) comes out the rear of the slide. When the gun fires, it is then flush again, but with the red still showing.

Isn't the loaded chamber indicator on the side of the gun where the extractor bar is embedded in the slide? A la the P99. I am not certain of this, but it looks like that in your pictures and that's where it is on the P99. When theres one in the chamber you see a red dot at the rear of the bar. Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds like it functions like the P99 when the trigger is pulled on a DA pull for the AS trigger and the striker gets cocked slowly coming rearward with the trigger pull.

Check on the extractor bar and see ... I am curious to know if there is a difference between these two guns.

Thanks

 

[uncut]

Isn't the loaded chamber indicator on the side of the gun where the extractor bar is embedded in the slide? A la the P99. I am not certain of this, but it looks like that in your pictures and that's where it is on the P99. When theres one in the chamber you see a red dot at the rear of the bar. Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds like it functions like the P99 when the trigger is pulled on a DA pull for the AS trigger and the striker gets cocked slowly coming rearward with the trigger pull.

Check on the extractor bar and see ... I am curious to know if there is a difference between these two guns.

Thanks

The loaded chamber indicator is the little square hole on the top of the slide... like on the M&P or Sigma guns....
the cocked indicator is like on the P99/QA.... not visible when decocked, red and visible when partially precocked, and then when you pull the trigger the rear comes out just a bit more

 

[mm6mm6]

Let me clarify....

The one thing I've always thought was pure genius on the part of Carl Walther was the PP series loaded chamber indicator. The pin protrudes from the rear of the slide and can be both seen and felt (in the dark) very easily. If a PPK is on a table, it can be immediately identified as loaded or unloaded without it even being picked up.

The PPS extractor does not move out from the side of the slide when the gun is loaded. It is not a loaded chamber indicator at all.

The square hold in the top of the slide's chamber area allows one to look down to see if a brass cartridge is in the chamber. However, that is just a "viewing window" and not a moving, tactile loaded chamber indicator.

The striker/firing pin is painted red and can be easily seen (but not felt) when the PPS is cocked. But it is no indication that the gun is in fact loaded.

In the dark, you're out of luck to know 100% that the PPS is loaded. But that's how most semi-autos are. I just really liked the PP/PPK's loaded chamber indicator. It remains and excellent design!