[zenner22]

I'm curious as to why the Walther P99 never caught on domestically. Seems fairly popular abroad but I know of not one domestic LEO contract for the P99. S&W must have thought highly of the gun initially because they sold their own version of it. Their support of it didn't last however. Now that the S&W M&P is out, I've heard they are discontinuing their version of the P99. From what I can gather the M&P is already beginning to enjoy a popularity that the SW99 never did.

With interchangeable backstraps, superior reliability, plenty of different trigger options and the popular polymer frame the P99 / SW99 seems to have everything going for it. I'm curious why others think these pistols never really challenged Glock for the police market? And how is the P99 accepted with the average shooter? It seems that fans of the P99 are definitely fanatics but how many of us are there really? I hear that some people still get funny looks when they take them to the range.

I guess I ask because I think the AS P99 is a great pistol and can't understand why it's not anywhere near as popular as it should be.

 

[MATCHES]

Glock was the first on the market. They did a great job of marketing their products and continue to do so. I hear they do a buy back program for LEO agencies which makes replacements cheaper, always a plus with government contracts. All this in addition to Glock being a solid, reliable weapon makes taking market share from them a difficult task.

 

[onebigcubano]

How is the P99 AS accepted by the average shooter? The P99 AS is complicated. My experience with my friends is that they don't like that long double action pull and the 3 different trigger 'modes'.

How many P99 fans are there? Not many. I regularly shoot IDPA and USPSA and i have only met one other person who used a P99 and both his and my guns have had parts break so at least in my clubs they have a bad reputation. Mostly though it is because people don't know about it, or if they do, it is because James Bond has one.

Funny looks? More like "What kind if gun is that?" followed by a clueless look.

Lots of guns have things going for them, but Glocks are truely focused on what a combat handgun should be...reliable, durable, light weight, simple...no BS.

I bought a new P99 which broke a trigger bar guide for no good reason.
I bought a new Steyr M9 which has a weak extractor spring so when it is dirty it jams.
I bought a new Kahr PM9 which never worked at all. Failure to go into battery, failure for trigger to reset, failure to feed whether clean or dirty or lubed etc.
I bought a USED Glock 17 and my only story with that gun is that it works.

 

[zenner22]

That's a good reply, it's rare that I hear anything negative about the P99 and it's good to get a different perspective. Not many people post problems and a lot of people love the pistol so much they buy more than one. Maybe we're just like Mac users in a PC world?

 

[onebigcubano]

I posted my problem with my P99 on here a long time ago and no one responded.  I also made an indepth google search for any similiar problems and found none.  That tells me two things:
1) It was a freak problems and I just got lucky.
2) The P99 in general is not as well documented as other guns like Glock/1911 style pistols.

I shipped the pistol free of charge to SW (they service all P99 in US) for a free warranty repair and got it back in two weeks.  Great service.

 

[zenner22]

You know by your first post you sounded like you didn't like the Walther because of the problem you had but I see that's not the case.

 

[Navy87Guy]

I think the P99 is too "quirky" to be accepted by the main stream - particularly law enforcement. LEO's want weapons that are straight forward and easy to operate. The mag release alone is probably enough to knock it out of competition in most LEO markets.

As far as reliability, I think it's probably on par with most handguns. You could line up hundreds of owners of any brand of firearm and they could tell you horror stories about their gun. Granted, on a Walther forum like this, you expect to hear mostly positive stories, but the fact that there aren't very many problem stories, even here, is a good indicator.

I like my P99 but it's never going to win over the American market like Glock did.

Jim

 

[ShipWreck]

Well, Walther also doesn't seem interested in courting any agencies - they do a crappy job advertising in the US to civilians as it is... - Its a shame, because it is such a great gun!

 

[Hal8000]

Quote[/b] (zenner22 @ Aug. 18 2006,11:31)]Not many people post problems and a lot of people love the pistol so much they buy more than one.

I'm one of them! ( I will post a problem, if and when I have one) I have several and have yet to have a failure of any sort! Even my Glocks have failed. The only other Manufacturer that "I" can say the same thing about on par with my Walther's are my Sig's... Luck of the draw?
No doubt...

 

[onebigcubano]

Quote[/b] (zenner22 @ Aug. 18 2006,2:50)]You know by your first post you sounded like you didn't like the Walther because of the problem you had but I see that's not the case.

Hi zenner22...the P99 was my first gun and I spent considerable time researching/comparing with other guns and I liked the unique but very usable designs, durable tenifer finish, Walther reputation etc. I am a fan of the gun. I do respond/think in very analytical ways and analyze all sides of an arguements independent of what my 'internal emotions' may feel which can be interpretted as being negative towards my 'side' of the arguement.

I will say I have stepped away from my original (noobie days) commitment to double/single, in this case 'anti stress' triggers for the 'safety' it offers.

 

[allenst65]

Actually the Orange County (California) Sheriffs Dept issues the SW99. Really a shock to see what I thought was a P99 in their holsters a few years back, but on closer exam I found they were SW99s. Talked to a OC deputy today who said they bumped them up to .40s now from the 9, though he had nothing good to say about the SW99.

 

[onebigcubano]

Quote[/b] (allenst65 @ Aug. 19 2006,10:05)]Actually the Orange County (California) Sheriffs Dept issues the SW99.  Really a shock to see what I thought was a P99 in their holsters a few years back, but on closer exam I found they were SW99s.  Talked to a OC deputy today who said they bumped them up to .40s now from the 9, though he had nothing good to say about the SW99.

So did he actually 'say' anything specific?

 

[zenner22]

Yes I'd be curious what they didn't like as well. It would increase my understanding why the P99/SW99 is considered irrelevant and not seriously considered by the vast majority of agencies.