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I bought a used Walther PPKs in .32 ACP, ostensibly for my wife. It was manufactured by S&W and is one of the pistols recalled for a hammer block failure issue. I have examined it and field stripped and it has not been modified. It doesn't have the punch mark behind the hammer on the rear tang and the S&W website verified it needs to be sent in. I have already requested a shipping label. From what I can discern the problem is the hammer block may not prevent contact with the firing pin when de-cocking, as in placing the safety on when the hammer is cocked. Any other issues with these pistols? I read that S&W made some improvements to the loading ramp and recoil spring, but can't find much more. Every pistol I've purchased or let her shoot (9mm, .380) has led me to the conclusion she just can't handle a small pistol in anything larger than .32 ACP. She has small weak hands and beside the recoil she has problems pulling back the slide. She's out of town and I couldn't let her try the Walther, but it seemed to have a lighter slide retraction. Any help/info on the Walther is appreciated.

The changes in the frame were there to reduce slide bite. A high grip will get you ever time. The ppk was ment to run on 32acp and really shines in that caliber vs the .380.
Iirc in da its 14lbs trigger pull is a bit stiff.
The 32acp ppks is hard to find so thats a great score.

More Walther enthusiasts here: http://www.waltherforums.com/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's where we hang out.

PPKs have a strong recoil spring since they are blow-back and require more effort to rack and chamber a round.

My wife has found that the Walther PK-380 is about the easiest semi to rack, along with the Sig P238.

You may want to find someone with a PK-380 to try.

We Walther enthusiasts are also looking forward to the CCP which Walther promises to be an "easy to race/chamber" a round due to it's HK P7 like Gas delayed blow-back system.

Check it out: http://www.waltherarms.com/ccp/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also pick up this months (November) Guns & Ammo:

James

My personal favorite:



Oh wait..... you were asking about guns?

Then no...... I has no walthers....

The Annoyed Man wrote:My personal favorite:

[ Image ]

Oh wait..... you were asking about guns?

Then no...... I has no walthers....

Just what does Joe Biden have to do with guns?

The Annoyed Man wrote:My personal favorite:

[ Image ]

Oh wait..... you were asking about guns?

Then no...... I has no walthers....

Always reminds me of the guy on the right! Joe what's his name?

EDIT: Jim Beaux beat me to it, but I'v got the pic!

cheezit and extremist, Thanks for the info. The extended beaver tail is definitely an improvement and the feed ramp has got to perform better than the original design for some bullet types. Especially hollow points. I have never really heard of feed problems on PPK's, so I don't know if S&W "fixed" something that was minimally an issue or perhaps machining the fit was easier.
I looked on the Walther forum and got some insights but need to dig deeper.
I have many questions especially regarding magazine interchangeability. i.e. German vs French vs US.
I read that there are far more PPK's in 7.65/.32 ACP than any other caliber, so I thought it was odd that the PPKS is hard to find, but it should mean magazines are more common if they interchange. I also noticed they're not making the .32 ACP model any longer. I would think that given all the defensive loads made for .32 ACP nowadays it would be a popular choice for women in my wife's position. Guess that's why I'm not working in firearms marketing.
I don't have a trigger gauge that reads beyond 8 pounds and couldn't test it. The SA pull was 5.6# and though it has quite a bit of creep it's far smoother than the S&W Shield my wife has now. BTW, extremist do you use the same moniker on Walther?

Ppks in 32acp were popular in Germany . There are lots of war trophies, and whatnots.
State side there has never been a big 32acp following.
I have an interarms version ppk in 32 acp made by ranger. Intrerarms made them one year and discontinued them.
Iirc the mags should all work but there is a difference in aftermarket grips.

puma guy wrote: BTW, extremist do you use the same moniker on Walther?

Yes, I'm an Extremist everywhere

James

extremist wrote:

puma guy wrote: BTW, extremist do you use the same moniker on Walther?

Yes, I'm an Extremist everywhere

James

Well. as Barry Goldwater stated extremism is a good thing.

extremist wrote:We Walther enthusiasts are also looking forward to the CCP which Walther promises to be an "easy to race/chamber" a round due to it's HK P7 like Gas delayed blow-back system.
James

What is the rumor mill status on public availability?

November - maybe. Don't hold your breath.

James

The Annoyed Man wrote:My personal favorite:

[ Image ]

Oh wait..... you were asking about guns?

Then no...... I has no walthers....

Self portrait, TAM?

Finally had a chance to take the .32 Walther PPKs to the range. I shot a few rounds through it and tested it to see if it would fire when using the decocker. It never did fire, but it will be sent back for the recall modification. I went over the features of the pistol with my wife and handed it to her to load and shoot. She has small weak hands and I was concerned she wouldn't be able to rack the slide. I showed her how to use a palm grab on top of the slide and she got the hang of it. I gave her a full box of Remington FMJ and save for a couple of times when she short stroked it did fine. She started at 3 yards with a silhouette target and ran out of ammo by the time she was out to 15 yards. Pretty sure the green guy is dead!
I stapled some eight inch solid red and yellow circle targets on the baker board and ran them out to the full 50 feet at Marksman Range. All I had left was a box of PRVI ball ammo and the pistol ate them with no issues. She was hitting the circles with regularity. I think she likes the little James Bond gun and will replace her 9mm Shield CCW with the Walther after I send it to S&W to modify the hammer block.

The Walther I'd really like to have now:



Just like I used on my high school rifle team. I never shot it anywhere near its potential, but loved working at it.