Posted on 03/21/2005 11:51:58 AM PST by Servant of the 9
Walther and Smith & Wesson have been tighter than two fingers in a mitten recently, with Walther \USA (the US branch of the company) sharing the same corporate address as Smith & Wesson in Springfield, and some commingling of personnel and assets. Walther USA has disbanded, and now Smith & Wesson is the US distributor for Walther products, as well as the maker of the current PPK/S. So we're up to date on the who, what, where and why, let's take a look at the gun.
Gun Details
Smith and Wesson and Walther have big plans for the PPK/S-the Walther website catalogs four versions of the pistol, two in stainless (bright & satin), one in blue, and one in a two-tone finish. The bright stainless pistol is listed in both .32ACP and .380ACP, the other three in .380ACP only.
When I first heard that the guns were being resurrected in the U8A again, I asked for an early production sample to test. When it arrived, it looked just like a bright stainless .380 PPK'S with a couple of new touches.
The basic frame on the S&W produced pistol is cast for Walther/S&W by Ruger's Pine Tree casting facility in New Hampshire, with final machining done by Smith & Wesson. The slide and other major components are produced in-house by S&W. My sample PPK'S came with the typical small sights and very heavy double-action trigger pull common to the breed, along with black plastic checkere4 grips and two 7-round magazines, one with finger rest and one without. The pistol features a rounded hammer spur, safety lever on the left rear of the slide, magazine latch button up near the slide behind the triggerguard on the left side of the frame, and the blowback pistol operates the same way as its multinational predecessors. With a loaded magazine and round chambered with the hammer down, the first shot is double-action and all subsequent shots are single-action. The safety lever also works as a de-cocker. Rotate it down and the hammer falls to a safety position with a small bar of steel blocking it from contact with the firing pin. You can carry the pistol with the safety down or up, if it's down the hammer can't be cocked, if it's up the trigger will work the hammer either cocked or uncocked. The safety will NOT lock the cocked hammer, there's no way to safely carry this pistol with the hammer back and a live round in the chamber, unless you have a holster that puts the thumbstrap between the hammer and the firing pin, and I've never seen one for a PPK/S. This pistol's action was revolutionary in 1929, and its whole reason for being was safe carry with the hammer down while being ready for immediate use with that DA trigger. The Walther/S&W PPK/S also retains the loaded chamber indicator ~in in the slide just below the rear sight. One major new feature that anybody who shoots this pistol very much ought to really like is the extended tang that eliminates the hammer bite the little pistol tends to produce. Also, this PPK/S has a brand new second hammer strut inside that Smith & Wesson says is there to help reduce the heavy. DA trigger pull that's built into the design.
SO9
I was kind of wondering why they aren't making any attempt to get into the Single Action stuff as well. Colt is making money at it, and SASS is apparently doing rather well. Colt and S&W were the big two when it came to the Old West.
Then again, I have a bit of Cowboy Action bias here.
strange... My dad has a Walther PPK. nice gun. good at close range, useless over 50 yards or so.
I prefer Sig P232 myself
ping
Its a lovely design, but with the 380 in single stack is a bit dated. There are 9mm's of that size out there,,,Khar's. For a cheaper smaller 380 look at the Kel-Tec. But nevertheless, I sure would like to have one, two, etc. New a guy who every time he bought a gun he would buy two of them. One to use and one just to have. LOL /p>
Let S and W bring back the Schofield. The prices Navy Arms are charging for their repro are ridiculous!
They seem to have dropped production of the Schofield, at least the unengraved model.
SO9
I like Sig's too.. my dads PPK is an old model, I believe its was made soon after WWII, its in great shape. My mother bought it for him as a christmas present.
S&W brought back the Schofield before Navy Arms, but they were even more expensive.
SO9
Probably never. Ruger will eat their lunch.
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Let Freedom Ring,
Probably never. Ruger will eat their lunch.
Maybe. With todays modern steels it is perfectly possible to build an exact reproduction of the Colt single action that could handle the pressure of Buffalo Bore loads or be chambered for .454 Cassul without going to the Ruger Fatboy design.
So9
I'm with you on that, and have a pair of Ruger Bisley Vaqueros in .357. My carry gun is a Sig P232 in stainless.
Me too. See my last post. The Sig is much more reliable feeding JHPs.
WWJBC?
How is an SA going to work chambering and firing .380 ACP cartridges?
Also dont forget the PPK is the weapon that killed Hiter. :D
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