[threeputtingfool]

Well considering the fact that I can't afford a German made PPK just yet - at least not one in the condition I really want, I picked up what I gather to be a good compromise... an Interarms version. I believe made in Gadsden, AL..? Took it to the range yesterday and put about 150 of the Winchester white box FMJ though it followed by a couple of mags of Remington Golden Saber JHP's when it was nice and dirty. No failures whatsoever, save one thing: Initially feeding the first round of each mag it would take two pulls of the slide to get the round to find it's way up into the chamber. This was with both kinds of ammo I tried, from the very beginning when it was clean. After that initial 2xpull of the slide each time, it was flawless. Even with the Golden Sabers. I pulled it back as far as I could too and released it, but the first pull never did the trick. Anyway, I took the grips off to blow everything out with gun scrubber last night and the machining inside looks nice and smooth. No bead blasting anywhere that I could see, except the underside of the slide (non contact point). I'm a happy camper After it ate the JHPs flawlessly as dirty as it was, I have absolute trust in carrying this baby. Below is the link to the GB auction, not sure how long it will be available to see. I was toying with the idea of sending it to Cylinder & Slide for their action job. Any opinions? Thanks for listening...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=90622797


Jeff

 

[ispeed]

Nice pick up! As for sending it to Cylinder and Slide ... the only drawback I have heard is that it takes forever. They do say to put your order in, but not to send them the gun until they call you. I've heard it can take up to 9 months before they can get to some guns. That is just what I've heard, but that could all be false and a simple phone call could get a more reliable answer.

In regard to first round feeding. It could need a feed ramp polish. Both the Winchester White box and the Remingtons have the same basic shape and that could cause the problem. If you try to load it with CCI blazer with a round nose, you could notice that the problem goes away. If that's the case, a simple polish would eliminate your feeding problems. Good luck!

 

[banddr2]

I agree, nice gun and a polish job on the feed ramp. You could try to sling shot the slide more and see if that helps, but still if you have a near perfect gun you might as well address the feed ramp.

I had one like that, it was my first Walther and loved it. I sold it to get my first p99, but wish I had it back. One good thing about the stainless steel guns, is that you can have the sharp edges radiused without needing to refinish it.

 

[threeputtingfool]

Yeah maybe I'll take some Flitz or Wenol and see if I can shine up the ramp a bit. Hard to tell exactly what each C&S job entails. They don't give specifics. I guess they assume you know what they are talking about.

As far as the gun goes, I just noticed the test target says it was fired on 6/8/99. Was that time frame Gadsden, AL production?

 

[banddr2]

As far as the gun goes, I just noticed the test target says it was fired on 6/8/99. Was that time frame Gadsden, AL production?

I don't know for sure, but that sounds like one of the final production guns before they shut down. It wasn't long after that that S&W took over using Gadsden parts to make their first guns, but yours looks like a Gadsden gun to me. Maybe someone like Uncut or MikeG knows for sure about when that all took place.

 

[threeputtingfool]

Thanks to all for the replies. I sure did enjoy shooting this thing. I was conscious of the slide-bite for the most part, had plenty of clearance below the slide...BUT I must have gotten complacent toward the end of the rounds because I noticed a couple of small scratches at the top rear of my thumb after my shower that afternoon! I never knew it at the time. I can't wait to go shoot it some more. What type of grease do you guys use on the rails and barrel hood? I have some Hi-Slip grease from Sentry Solutions that I've been happy with in other applications, but the tolerance seems so tight on this one that it may not be as effective as simply Miltec-1 oil or something. I appreciate any opinions.



Jeff

 

[ispeed]

I use Tetra on the S&W PPK I own. I have also heard very good things with RIG grease that I found on Midway, but I haven't used it any time.

 

[banddr2]

I was conscious of the slide-bite for the most part, had plenty of clearance below the slide...BUT I must have gotten complacent toward the end of the rounds because I noticed a couple of small scratches at the top rear of my thumb after my shower that afternoon! Jeff

Hey, just think, James Bond never wined about a little slide bite .

That's the rational I use when my ppk starts biting, then I move my grip a little lower

 

[MEB]

That's a nice looking walther. How old is it and what are the differences with the S & W version. I noticed that the beaver tail is shorter and that the grips wrap around the back of the pistol. Other than that the two models appear virtually identical.

 

[uncut]

I don't know all there is of the timeperiod of 1999-2001.. however it looks like a Gadsden, AL PPK to me
I saw a PPK the other day that was from the "leftover" of Interarms
It was a blued .380 with "Carl Walther USA LLC" marking on the slide....
we also have seen some "S&W" marked PPK's that still have the short tang

If anybody can tell for sure it will be Mike.... he knows a bit more on the Walther-Interarms stuff than I do....

 

[threeputtingfool]

Wish I knew more about it myself. I sure am enamored with it though. I know it's not valuable, not a collector piece, but for one I can carry and shoot at the range on weekends I am very very pleased. Eventually I will get a safe queen, but this one will do just fine for it's intended purpose. Next time I firld strip it and have the grips off, I'll try and remember to snap a pic or two. The machine work inside looks very nice. Fit and finish inside and out is way better than I expected.