[chaz]

My PPK/S 380 Has roughly 2500 rds thru it . Today at the range after 150 rds
the trigger felt gritty it seemed to have something to do with the safty . I took out the mag , cleared the chamber . worked the slide, pulled the trigger , it worked fine . I reloaded it , put the safty off , tried to pull the trigger it was gritty again ; but it fired . I worked the safty off and on a couple off times . Now the trigger is completly stuck.
The gun is only 4 months old I am going to bring it to the dealer in the AM
I was just wondering in anyone else has had this problen .
I just finished telling the guy that I was shooting with how much I love this gun . Then it happened .

 

[InfernoMDM]

I think your looking for the older Walther PP series pistols lower down on the main forum. This is for the brand new Walther PPS.

 

[chaz]

need help

My PPK/S 380 Has roughly 2500 rds thru it . Today at the range after 150 rds
the trigger felt gritty it seemed to have something to do with the safty . I took out the mag , cleared the chamber . worked the slide, pulled the trigger , it worked fine . I reloaded it , put the safty off , tried to pull the trigger it was gritty again ; but it fired . I worked the safty off and on a couple off times . Now the trigger is completly stuck.
The gun is only 4 months old I am going to bring it to the dealer in the AM
I was just wondering in anyone else has had this problen .
I just finished telling the guy that I was shooting with how much I love this gun . Then it happened .

Can someone direct me as to where this post should be ; and how to get it there. Thank you .

 

[1911]

http://www.waltherforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=7
Correct Forum link is above.
1911

 

[searcher451]

PM sent to forum moderator. With any luck, the entire thread will be moved to the correct area that others can weigh in on the issue posted by Chaz.

 

[homeyclaus]

It the hammer (and so the slide) stuck too?

My PPK's hammer strut (the thing that guides the hammer spring at the back of the grip) seemed to have a machining/metal quality defect, which caused that problem.

I had the thing 15 months, so I am out of warranty - thanks S&W!

 

[Heavy Handed]

Homey, You should give Walther(S&W) a call anyway and see if they'll do the right thing. Most of the gun manufacturers will do a repair for free, even past warranty, unless the gun was damaged under dubious circumstances.

 

[homeyclaus]

I did prior to posting, and found their "send it in with a letter explaining what happened, then we'll chat" attitude a bit dubious.

I'll certainly make the case that the hammer sticking back since the thing was new was an indication of parts failure from the get-go and not "breaking in" as all the wise weasels will want you to believe.

In all honesty, the S&W PPK has been a bit disappointing. The German and French made ones don't deform at the back of the slide rail the way the S&W ones do, even in stainless, and that's a prime indicator of not using a hard enough metal, or not tempering it right. Since it's a shooter/carry piece, I don't care as long as the thing does not break, but I had just hoped for more from someone like S&W. I'll find somewhere to host pics and post that stuff.

I tend to break a lot of FNH equipment (don't ask), and they'll at least tell you up front that if it's materials, it's no charge, and if it's operator error or reloads they'll call and quote you. Just don't ask for them to ship you parts; I know, that's very weird too.

Either way, I'll report back, and will start looking for a spare PPK in the meantime.

 

[MGMike]

Look at it form their point of view: they want to examine the gun before committing themselves to an out-of-warranty repair, and I don't blame them with all the remnants of kitchen table gunsmithing that is sent in to them to be corrected.

Why not do as requested? Send the gun back to S&W with a short factual statement of what happened. Keep it brief as nobody in the service department will take time to read metallurgical theories and opinions. You might be surprised.

M

 

[Milspec]

Trust the factory...

Look at it form their point of view: they want to examine the gun before committing themselves to an out-of-warranty repair, and I don't blame them with all the remnants of kitchen table gunsmithing that is sent in to them to be corrected.

Why not do as requested? Send the gun back to S&W with a short factual statement of what happened. Keep it brief as nobody in the service department will take time to read metallurgical theories and opinions. You might be surprised.

M

I couldn't agree more. I bought a "like new" S&W PPK/S-1 that began to skip before the double action failed totally. I called the factory and explained the situation. They sent me a pre-paid mail sticker and return authorization number. I packed the gun with both mags and included a letter that described the problem in detail. Even though it was mfg in 2004 the factory fixed it at no cost. They replaced the trigger bar and cocking piece to solve the double action failure. Plus they modified the frame, barrel, slide, and trigger guard to meet current specs. I received it back in less than a week from the day I mailed it. That's not bad customer service...

Milspec

 

[searcher451]

Say what you will, but S&W's customer service is second-to-none in the firearms world. They almost always go out of their way to make things right, to do the right thing, to please their customers. For every bad experience you might read about, you'll get another hundred examples of superior and efficient service. In my view, Smith & Wesson sets the industry standard; we are fortunate that they look after our Walthers.

 

[homeyclaus]

Look at it form their point of view: they want to examine the gun before committing themselves to an out-of-warranty repair, and I don't blame them with all the remnants of kitchen table gunsmithing that is sent in to them to be corrected.

Why not do as requested? Send the gun back to S&W with a short factual statement of what happened. Keep it brief as nobody in the service department will take time to read metallurgical theories and opinions. You might be surprised.

M

Well, as it turned out, my PPK was still under warranty - for some reason I thought I had it longer, but that may have just been from too much shooting the thing. I sent it to S&W as requested.

I got it back, and who and behold, the hammer stuck back again. Apparently they replaced the hammer - that's what the tag said. I'll take it to the range soon, run it hard, and see if it was just a break-in of the replacement part or something.

 

[MGMike]

I got it back, and who and behold, the hammer stuck back again. Apparently they replaced the hammer - that's what the tag said. I'll take it to the range soon, run it hard, and see if it was just a break-in of the replacement part or something.

That is NOT an astute idea. A pistol with a sticking hammer is a hazard to you and everyone else at the range.

Call S&W and ask for another shipping voucher. A replacement hammer does NOT need to be "broken in" to operate without malfunctioning. If the hammer was not 100% when it left the gunsmith's bench, the job wasn't done right, or there was something else wrong that he didn't find (which is another way of saying the job wasn't done right).

M

 

[searcher451]

Say what you will, but S&W's customer service is second-to-none in the firearms world. They almost always go out of their way to make things right, to do the right thing, to please their customers. For every bad experience you might read about, you'll get another hundred examples of superior and efficient service. In my view, Smith & Wesson sets the industry standard; we are fortunate that they look after our Walthers.

Seeing as how the above comment was made on 1/15/08, it's likely worth noting today that S&W's customer service is starting to be second-rate in the industry. This is a trend that many folks have noticed in recent weeks, one that has been picking up steam since the first of the year. Similar threads also have been posted on the S&W Forum in recent days.

I'm not sure if procedural changes were made, payrolls cut, hourly wages reduced, new rules put into effect, or something even more sinister, but it ain't what it was and is heading in the wrong direction at the moment. It still could be argued that it's better than most, but that's little consolation when when you get a gun returned that wasn't repaired correctly ... and far less consolation knowing that the gun was delivered NIB without working correctly in the first place. It might be time to give them a heads-up, in writing or with a phone call the next time you have to deal with them. These things don't sit well in the industry, as anyone who ever had to deal with Beretta or Taurus knows full well.

We are still fortunate that they look after our Walthers. But we'd all agree that they need to do a better job of it from the get-go.

 

[cdr]

I think the ideal customer service model that S&W would be well served to emulate would be that of Nighthawk Custom and Wilson Combat. Now that is service...I know their 1911s are at a different price point than the average Smith and Wesson, but the level of customer service and overall mindset at these two marvelous companies is really about as good as it gets. JMHO

 

[homeyclaus]

Well, as it turned out, my PPK was still under warranty - for some reason I thought I had it longer, but that may have just been from too much shooting the thing. I sent it to S&W as requested.

I got it back, and who and behold, the hammer stuck back again. Apparently they replaced the hammer - that's what the tag said. I'll take it to the range soon, run it hard, and see if it was just a break-in of the replacement part or something.

It's not fixed, at least with hard recoiling ammo (like Wolf, plus that stuff stovepipes now). My .380 reloads run fine, as do the three or four of Federal Personal Defense rounds I put through it. Argh. Now comes the question: Is trust in the thing permanently ruined?

Sell it and get another? Get something else? I want to shoot it, not collect it, so most older PPK models are out of the question.

 

[homeyclaus]

That is NOT an astute idea. A pistol with a sticking hammer is a hazard to you and everyone else at the range.

Call S&W and ask for another shipping voucher. A replacement hammer does NOT need to be "broken in" to operate without malfunctioning. If the hammer was not 100% when it left the gunsmith's bench, the job wasn't done right, or there was something else wrong that he didn't find (which is another way of saying the job wasn't done right).

M

I'd agree if the original problem, which was the hammer just stopping because of a disengagement with the hammer strut, locking the slide in place, was the problem.

The precursor problem was that the hammer would not come back forward the two millimeters to re-engage the sear after getting slammed into the recess in the frame. This seems to only occur with Wolf now, although the Remington JHPs also recoil pretty hard. Smoother loads don't have this problem, and the pistol didn't hiccup in a moderate round count IDPA match with my reloads.

I agree though, and I'll send it back once more. Soooo disappointing.

 

[homeyclaus]

Or I could just give up and get a true Walther hammer strut and hammer, and call it a day.