schickster

I recently inherited a Walther PPK/S 380 from my dad and would like some feed back on the gun. I never owned a pistol but would like to keep it in his memory.

Nomercy448

If it's an older Walther made PPK/S, then you have a fantastic little pistol. A bit on the hefty side compared to the ultra-light, super-compact pocket 380acp's out there these days, but they're incredibly well behaved and usually quite accurate.

If it's a newer S&W made one (doubtful, since you said it was your gpa's), then it's still a great little pistol, just without quite as much finesse in the fit and finish.

Either way, my advice would be to buy some ammo and go have some fun at the range with Grandpa's old piece. The PPK/S's are really a joy to shoot. I no longer have a Walther made version, wish I'd have never sold it, but I have a Bersa Thunder (clone copy) and a S&W made PPK/s. They're a bit large for concealed carry in the summer, but I carry them occasionally, and I've even carried the S&W version a bit around town ever since we passed universal preemption in KS.

I suppose a "tell me about the Walther PPK/S" thread wouldn't be complete without acknowledging that it happened to be the weapon of choice for James Bond.

bugsNbows

Great little handgun. I have a similar model... the Sig 232. Love it.

Big Uncle

Close - but no cigar!

In Chapter 2 of Doctor No Bond is issued a Walther PPK 7.65mm (32 Auto) to replace his .25 Beretta. Doctor No was copyright 1958, over ten years before the PPK/S was developed. Bond was also issued a "Smith and Wesson Centennial Airweight Revolver .38 calibre", but I can not recall him carrying the S&W.

CalHunter

They carry concealed in the front pocket of slacks quite well and don't print that bad. There are holsters designed to break up any outline and be carried in the pants pocket if you prefer. As far as shooting, they are very accurate. The double action trigger pull is heavy but single action is pretty good. Make sure you don't hold your grip hand too high as the slide can slice you pretty good during recoil.

Sheridan

I'll leave you all to read about the connection between James Bond 007 and the Walther PPK.

http://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com/product/walther-ppk

http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/Walther_PPK

Nomercy448

Hmm.... Learn something new every day. I had heard that he carried a PPK/S in .380acp a long time ago, and frankly - I'm an anti-Bond guy, try as I might, I just can't get into the 007 series movies, so I'd never watched one to have noticed the difference.

But, whether a jim-dandy brit in a bow-tie signed off on it or not, the Walther PPK/S is still a handy little pistol.

CT-Hunter

The PPK is a nice pistol. But, it is not fun to shoot. It definitely not the gun I would take to the range with plans to go through a couple of boxes of shells. The Walther has a bit of a sting. It is a light weight pistol and the recoil has no place to go but into your hand. If you are not careful it may chew up the skin between your thumb and and index finger. Be sure when shooting it you hold it firmly and keep your wrist steady. Basically do not limp wrist it or it will jam (stovepipe).

Nomercy448

In the interest of not scaring him out of shooting the fine old pistol, I'll comment that I've never felt the PPK/S recoil to be severe. It's one of the best behaved .380autos on the market these days, with VERY mild recoil, especially compared to the rest of its 380 bretheren. Felt recoil is very subjective, but the reality is that the PPK/S has very little recoil to start with, and a MUCH larger footprint in hand than most 380's.

Relatively speaking, the Walther is a giant .380auto. She's nearly 3 times heavier than her cousins like the LCP; the PPK's a pound and a half, to the LCP's 9oz, the Sig P238's 15oz, 12oz for the Shield. Even the LC380 in her same size class is only 17oz, garnering TWICE the recoil energy as the PPK/S in the same load. The same load in a PPK/S and an LCP will have SEVEN TIMES the recoil energy in the LCP.

To add a bit of context, a Glock 19 with 115grn loads has 4x the recoil energy of the PPK/S, and a 1911 5" has 2.5x the recoil energy. Just for fun, a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44mag has almost 15x more recoil energy.

With around 1.5ft.lbs. of recoil energy, it's actually pretty hard to find a centerfire pistol with less recoil. It's the only 380 in my safe that I'd say IS a good time taking to the range just to burn a few hundred rounds.

Topgun 3006

NM448---Not a 007 fan! Well shame on you, LOL! I've been watching a cable channel all weekend that has been running all the 007 movies. It's sort of neat to watch the young Sean Connery and clones and how they have aged over the years.