[Jagman]

Hi group! My first post here. I'm a long time Walther P99 owner along with many other quality handguns. I recently aquired a P99C AS 9mm. While 9mm is not my favorite caliber, I've found it to a great and fun round to shoot in my full size P99. I bought the P99c after handling it at a gun shw and quickly recognized that it has the same great ergonomics of it's big brother. What I didn't expect was the increase in felt recoil in 9mm. As I said, I'm not a big 9mm shooter, deferring instead to .40, .45 and some 357SIG, but I've come to appreciate the round a bit more lately. My P99 full size is a snappy 9, but the comact really feels jumpy, particularly with some 124gr +p's, but even with range fodder. The other thing is that while the gun is very handsome, I've found a few things that don't come with the full sized pistol:

-much looser slide to frame fit. It locks nice with a full mag and one in the pipe, but still isn't as lock tight as the P99

-the trigger pin made an attempt to push itself out after about 300 rounds the other day. I pushed it back in with a punch and it does seem to have stayed put after at least 500 more rounds.

-the magazine base plate on the finger extension isn't a real solid fit, contributing to the pistol being jumpy in my hand when firing.

None of these issues are severe, just some general observations. I find my P99 full size to be such a perfect 9mm that I wanted the compact to be the same. My reference point for the compact was my Glock 26. In all reality, and I didn't think this would be the case, the Glock feels better made, recoils quite a bit less, and has greater capacity with the +2 magazines. It also is a smoother pistol for concealed carry with less rough edges.

I like the compact. It's a good little gun, it just doesn't grab me like I was hoping it would. I'm still gonna get a .40

 

[ShipWreck]

I had a Glock 26 for 8 years. I finally just sold it to get a compact 99 in 9mm. I shot the full size 99 a while back (range rental)m and I liked it so much that I plan to get a full size soon, This also made me think that thecompact 99 would be a good carry gun.

The reason I ditched the Glock 26 is that no matter how much I practice with the Glock, I ALWAYS shoot low and to the left. I have prev had a Glock 17 and Glock 19, and it's always been that way. My accuracy with the Glock 26 also left a lot to be desired. I shot it again about about a month ago and made up my mind to finally be done w/ it. The only reason I kept it this long was it's durability. I never had to oil it down even if I sweat on it all day on a hot summer day. Perfect carry gun durability-wise. (the only Glock that I love is my Glock 34 - with the different trigger weight, I shoot that gun normally and accurately)

I got the compact P99 on Fri and shot it for the first time yesteray. It is a lot more accurate for me than the Glock 26 ever was. I was very satisfied with it. On the slightly neg side, there is a lot more recoil. It didn't affect my accuracy, but after 150 rounds, my hand started to hurt. I went to 175 rounds and then decided to stop.

No, it's not a gun that I would shoot a couple of hundred rounds thru, like I would with a larger framed gun for a day at the range. But as it was new, I always want to shoot around 200 rounds thru a new gun to make sure it works right.Mow that I know it works, I'll probably shoort 50-100 rounds thru it periodically to stay in practice with it, since I'll be carrying it almost everyday. But, it is very snappy, and it's not something U would really want to go put 200+ rounds thru.

Despite this, I would recommend it. In a self defense situation, a mag or two of firing is fine. It's very accurate. Judging from the sample target that came with the gun fired at 25 meters, it's more accurate than I could ever shoot with ANY gun. But, I agree that while I wasn't a big fan of my Glock 26, my hand didn't hurt from firing 200 rounds thru it.

Now, another reason I went with the Walther is the tennifer finish. I assumed it would be on par with the Glock. Hopefully, it will provide the same level of rust protection from sweat. But I have noticed that the black finish on the slide is much less scratch resistant than the Glock is. And, that also goes for the plastic frame (it scratches very easy).

 

[Jagman]

Yes...I agree that the finish on the pistol appears that it will scratch easier than the Glock but still looks like a pretty tough finish. The thing about the 99c for me that is the least desirable is the stouter recoil. (I can't believe I'm complaining about recoil from a 9mm, but it is pretty snappy.)

I am a long time SIG Sauer enthusiast and believe them to be of the most accurate handguns made. I can shoot them to point of aim consistently. I'm fairly new to Glocks, adding a G26/27/30 within the last year. I shoot them very well too. I do have to work a little harder, particularly with the G27 to stay within 2" at 12 yards, but all in all they are all straight shooters. I don't shoot them as consistently as I do my SIG's, but I've been shooting the TDA system for so long that isn't surprising. I've found that it isn't a good idea to do too much mixing of trigger types for a range day.

Now snappy aside, that 99c is one accurate handgun. As opposed to you, I feel like I can shoot the gun 200-300 rounds per session, but then I have a thing for compact handguns. It doesn't actually hurt my hand, just tends to wiggle a little, particularly on the first round out a mag. I was at a public range today where the only option is 7 yards behind a bench. I was laying round after round on top of each other all day with this thing. It's damn near as accurate as the P99 full size, and that's saying something.

Good overall gun. I was hoping for great, but it's good. I still prefer the Glock 26 for now.

 

[ShipWreck]

Well, I am happy I made the change from the Glock 26. I had it for many years and could never shoot it as well as the 99c. Just a bit disappointed in the finish durability

 

[Wagemage]

Jagman, if the trigger pin is that little plasitc dowl looking thing right above the trigger, mine too has tried to pop out twice now. I have only taken out shooting 3 times now, but it does have me bothered. The questions I have is what is making it do that, and what should I do to get it fixed. It bothers me that it is happening, and if I can fix it that would be great. ALso what happens if the darn thing falls out while shooting.
Well those are my questions. Have a good day, and if anyone can answer them that would be great.
Wagemage

 

[toeball]

It's not limited to the c. My P99QA does that as well. I just drive it back in when I clean the gun, which is fairly often.

 

[ciadst]

Jagman,

-the magazine base plate on the finger extension isn't a real solid fit, contributing to the pistol being jumpy in my hand when firing.

I can second that. One of my magazines suffers this problem, the other does not. I'll try swapping the extensions with the third mag (flat baseplate with no problems) I have to see if it's the plastic baseplate or the bottom part of the metal magazine tube.

On the recoil side of things, I haven't found the P99C to be especially snappy (and I shoot my share of NATO and +P ammo), but I rarely shoot one-handed. I'll try it at the range next time with my 92FS Compact.

I have found that by angling my non-trigger-finger hand downwards as far as possible, with the thumbs of both hands pointing forward, at the target, and lowering my head to channel the recoil impulse back into my arms and shoulders, I experience very little recoil or muzzle-rise. I picked this up from someone on Beretta Forum. I will search for the pics that were posted, showing this technique. I have since noticed many (very good) competitive shooters using this same technique.

Ha! Found the thread:
http://www.berettaforum.net/cgi-bin....#000011

ciadst

 

[Jagman]

Cladst...yep that's THE grip. I've been using that grip for quite some time now, and while it isn't the best grip for a SIG due to the slide catch being nudged on occasion causing the slide to not lock back after the last round, it's too good of a grip to not learn to work around that little problem. That is exactly how I grip the 99c, and as I said ,all my handguns. I've often tried to tell people who are frustrated with their accuracy or consistency to get past the initial feeling they have after using some other grip, and keep using THE grip if they want to improve rapidly. Most don't seem to want to do that, so I'll leave em to it

I also don't mean to imply that the 99c is harsh or anything close to not controllable! Again...it's a 9mm. It's just no where as smooth as my Glock 26 or SIG P239 9mm. I still like shooting it, and have been carrying it. I still maintain the quality control isn'tthe best I've seen with this pistol and not as good as my full size P99. As far as the trigger pin, mine hasn't seemed to want to work it's way out after giving it a good push back in.

 

[ShipWreck]

Well, I like mine better than my Glock 26 that I just sold. I went a few years w/o even shooting the Glock 26, despite the fact that I carried it. I hated shooting it at the range. I was good enough to hit a person in a self defense situation w/ it, but it just didn't work at the range for me.

So, I am happy. I was just surprised how snappy it is, as you said. Now, the full siez Wather is sweet. I hope to get one this weekend. A few weeks ago I shot my Glock 34 (the only Glock I can shoot well, because of the lighter trigger) and compared it to the rental 99, and I shot both equally well.

This new S&W M&P is catchiing my attention, but it won't be out until Dec is my understanding, and I would want to shoot 1 first.

 

[stevehf48]

Interesting about that pin that starts to slide out. I noticed that happen once on my full size P99; I pushed it back in and it has not done it again since, but was concerned enough to call Walther America about it. They advised to call if did it again and they would see if they could come up with some type of fix such as an oversized pin.
I have been wondering about those gunscrubber products I have been using and so asked them about that, if they thought it was a possibility that could be responsible for loosening it up. Stated they did not know, but indicated that if some stuff pooled up by the pin and was not flushed away that softening up of the polymer was a possibility.
My own guess is that the pin is just not a tight enough interference fit in the frame, either due to design error, too wide a machining tolerance or perhaps pin not built/frame not drilled to specs.

 

[Wagemage]

steve
you are probably right because this is a new p99c, w/o too much use yet. about 450 rounds through it so far. I may just contact walther and see what they can do. I would prefer that the pin does not come out and all.
Patrick

 

[stevehf48]

message below

 

[stevehf48]

If they come up with an easy/quick solution soon like replacement pin, I may take a ride over to them, I am only about a two hour drive to Springfield, MA and have been looking for an excuse to se the new S&W museum and checkout their retail store again.