[Yosemite Sam]

Is there any place on the net that specializes in P5s, or any dealers that regularly have them?

I'm sorta-kinda interested in picking one up; I enjoy the 9s I've got, and figure the P5 is an interesting enough gun to make the cut for my collection.

I see them on GB and GA once in a while, with varying prices. Anyone care to suggest what a "good" price for one would be?

Thanks in advance,

-- Sam

 

[searcher451]

Hey, Sam -- the P5 is a wonderful choice. All Walther lovers should have at least two of them.

Some folks on the forum have reported being disappointed with the ones that are offered by SOG; they advertise their samples as being in excellent condition, but the guns that are shipped are potluck discards at best, it seems. (SOG's stock may have been better early on than it is today, perhaps?) Earl offers NIB P5s, but you will pay through the teeth for them. Many forum members have noted that they have had good success by keeping a patient eye on Gunbroker, Gunsamerica, Auction Arms, Guns International, Collector's Firearms, and similar places. I asked my favorite FFL guy to find me one for use as a shooter this past summer, and he produced one a couple of weeks later that was in fine shape: not new, but hardly a discard. I'm quite happy with it and would ask him to find me another, were I still in the market. (PM me if you want his name and contact information.)

One other thought: Try a WTB in the classifieds section of this forum. You couldn't ask to deal with a better group of folks overall.

Good hunting.

 

[searcher451]

Sam: You might want to take a look at this one, from Simpson's Ltd.

http://www.simpsonltd.com/product_info.php?cPath=156_164&products_id=4411

It's priced right, given its NIB condition, and well worth the price if you are looking for a good one. Consider it this way: You'd pay $450 or so for a police trade-in, another $25 or $30 for shipping, another $25 for FFL transfer, and another $10 for a state background check. Then you'd still have a gun that would need some blue touch-up and likely a new set of grips. at $65 or more, depending on what you found.

This one would eliminate all of that. The only problem is whether you'd want to take it out to shoot or just be tempted to just keep it as a safe queen.

 

[Tomovich]

I have a pretty early one 003XXX (I don't remember exactly) and I agree, it's a must have piece of any Walther collection.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Sam: You might want to take a look at this one, from Simpson's Ltd.

http://www.simpsonltd.com/product_info.php?cPath=156_164&products_id=4411

It's priced right, given its NIB condition, and well worth the price if you are looking for a good one. Consider it this way: You'd pay $450 or so for a police trade-in, another $25 or $30 for shipping, another $25 for FFL transfer, and another $10 for a state background check. Then you'd still have a gun that would need some blue touch-up and likely a new set of grips. at $65 or more, depending on what you found.

This one would eliminate all of that. The only problem is whether you'd want to take it out to shoot or just be tempted to just keep it as a safe queen.

Thanks for the link, Searcher (hey, now I know how you got your name! ). That's a pretty good deal, given the condition.

-- Sam

 

[searcher451]

Hey, Sam: Here's another, this one on Gunsamerica at the moment, that looks like it's in decent shape ... and the price is in the ball park as well.

http://www.gunsamerica.com/976809064/Guns/Pistols/Walther-Pistols/P5.htm

Here's another, this one wearing Nill grips. It's more money (the grips are worth $145 or so) but looks superb:

http://www.gunsamerica.com/90107810...s/Post-WWII/Large-Frame-Autos/WALTHER_P5.htm#

The P5 is a wonderful firearm, an engineering marvel. Good luck in your hunt.

 

[fatdog]

Back in December I bought one from Century Arms (through my FFL guy), great price, $425 shipped, and it was mechanically fine but the finish was a basket case. So much so I decided to have it done over in Birdsong's Black-T to get it looking decent.

 

[searcher451]

Back in December I bought one from Century Arms (through my FFL guy), great price, $425 shipped, and it was mechanically fine but the finish was a basket case. So much so I decided to have it done over in Birdsong's Black-T to get it looking decent.

This seems to be a consistent theme with the surplus P5s that are on the market these days. Many of them are advertised as "excellent," and they tend to be exactly that mechanically, yet the finish is not what you would expect to get from a gun that boasts that description.

Keep in mind the oft-repeated refrain here that the German police trade-ins tend to be seldom fired, often carried. If the finish on a P5 is important to you, you might want to a) look elsewhere, or b) know going in that a reblue or hardchrome job might well be in order. This is one of the reasons why many folks will shop around and pay a couple of hundred dollars more at the outset for a P5 that is in, to them, visually acceptable condition.