polydeuces
10-18-14, 22:44
As promised here is my subjective based on my experience Range Rapport of the Walther PPX, 4.65" threaded barrel.
Purchase price $299 new at CDNN
29123
Ammo used - Federal 115 grn 9mm
Field-stripped, gave 'r a visual once-over, put some grease on the rails and went at it.
Short Version: No Surprises other than a great pistol for the price - can't really think of anything out there able to top it at that price.
The real surprise is how fun it is to shoot and how out of the box accurate it seems.
My day-to day pistol is a M&P pro - which is my subjective frame of reference.
Please keep in mind that other than the targets everything I present is highly subjective and personal - the way this pistol feels to me.
Accuracy shown speaks for itself: I consider myself an average shooter, therefore no doubt in the right hands this is a tack-driver.
29120
29126
29121
29122
It has an acceptable trigger - not spectacular but not horrible either. (Considering it's price point it's nothing short of sensational…. )
Plus the fact that is is new means some break-in improvement can be expected.
It is an inherently different firing mechanism. What won't improve is the rather long reset which is already on the soft side; with some practice this can be overcome as well I hope.
THE GOOD
Recoil is surprisingly soft, was also really surprised how easy it was to get fast back on target. Part of that I believe is due to the grip and overall weight of the slide - it is not a light pistol.
Very comfortable to hold, love the grip, really felt like an extension of my hand - after shooting 100 or so rounds in less than an hour and a half I felt like I could shoot this thing all day long no problem. It's just a joy to shoot, really.
Then - Not sure it's a 'design-feature', slapping in a fresh mag will release the slide - I like this a lot - being used to this with my M&P.
Reliability so far so good - I mean really at ~ 100 rounds I pushed through it using 2 magazines a bit early to tell, but no problems whatsoever. And I don't expect any for what it's worth.
Besides the Federal ammo I used for the 'pictures' I used my range grab ammo bag - basically a mix of all kinds of loose rounds, from down n dirty factory range ammo to discount reload stuff. Swallowed it up and threw it back out like a champ without a single hiccup.
Easy field strip - identical to Sig P226 et al.
THE NEUTRAL/NOT SURE
Sights are.... hmmm…white, and that's where it ends: this is where some improvement could really pay off, getting the inherent accuracy out of the gun.
Firing mechanism: Its not striker. Its not a hammer. You don't get the short reset of a good striker or the crispness of a good SA hammer action, but you also don't have the awful first shot trigger-pull of DA.
Just like a striker easy to carry ready to go, 'pre-cocked', nice and even across the board. Unfortunately no 2nd strike capability. No big one but would've been nice.
Basically, give a bit take a bit - something has to give I guess.
Plastic ('Polymer...') guide-rod. Which "they" say is a no better or worse than metal.
THE NOT SO GOOD
Yes, one must figure there has to be some give at that price point. No free lunch.
-Total lack of ambi-controls;
- 2 (3? MIM parts barrel - lets be realistic - it IS a weak spot; there have been documented issues. I don't foresee any problems, but again - there have to be compromises; this being one of them.
- Last - something I have yet to hear anyone bring up but I think is an issue need mentioning: an out of spec rail.
When mounted the laser-dot has ~ 10-15" of movement, 7 yards @180˚. Do the math at 15 and 25 ydRs……
FWIW - I've run this on my Sig P220, Steyr M9A1 and S&W M&P, and all without fail these have a solid rail, allowing for laser to be (re)mounted with what I'd call return to zero.
This same light/laser also has a solid return to zero when mounted on any of my AR rails/attachments (DD, Troy/VTAC, Magpul) - ruling out the light, leaving me with the only conclusion that the rail on this PPX is very much out of speck.
All a bit surprising, and I will be contacting Walther regarding this. Stay tuned….
Bottom Line - if this is the Entry Level Discount Version of what Walther is offering - wow!!!!!
Give or take another ~500 failure free rounds convincing me of it's reliability, my M&P might be relegated to back up; more-even so, I see a PPQ or a HK VP9 in my near future, no question!
Purchase price $299 new at CDNN
29123
Ammo used - Federal 115 grn 9mm
Field-stripped, gave 'r a visual once-over, put some grease on the rails and went at it.
Short Version: No Surprises other than a great pistol for the price - can't really think of anything out there able to top it at that price.
The real surprise is how fun it is to shoot and how out of the box accurate it seems.
My day-to day pistol is a M&P pro - which is my subjective frame of reference.
Please keep in mind that other than the targets everything I present is highly subjective and personal - the way this pistol feels to me.
Accuracy shown speaks for itself: I consider myself an average shooter, therefore no doubt in the right hands this is a tack-driver.
29120
29126
29121
29122
It has an acceptable trigger - not spectacular but not horrible either. (Considering it's price point it's nothing short of sensational…. )
Plus the fact that is is new means some break-in improvement can be expected.
It is an inherently different firing mechanism. What won't improve is the rather long reset which is already on the soft side; with some practice this can be overcome as well I hope.
THE GOOD
Recoil is surprisingly soft, was also really surprised how easy it was to get fast back on target. Part of that I believe is due to the grip and overall weight of the slide - it is not a light pistol.
Very comfortable to hold, love the grip, really felt like an extension of my hand - after shooting 100 or so rounds in less than an hour and a half I felt like I could shoot this thing all day long no problem. It's just a joy to shoot, really.
Then - Not sure it's a 'design-feature', slapping in a fresh mag will release the slide - I like this a lot - being used to this with my M&P.
Reliability so far so good - I mean really at ~ 100 rounds I pushed through it using 2 magazines a bit early to tell, but no problems whatsoever. And I don't expect any for what it's worth.
Besides the Federal ammo I used for the 'pictures' I used my range grab ammo bag - basically a mix of all kinds of loose rounds, from down n dirty factory range ammo to discount reload stuff. Swallowed it up and threw it back out like a champ without a single hiccup.
Easy field strip - identical to Sig P226 et al.
THE NEUTRAL/NOT SURE
Sights are.... hmmm…white, and that's where it ends: this is where some improvement could really pay off, getting the inherent accuracy out of the gun.
Firing mechanism: Its not striker. Its not a hammer. You don't get the short reset of a good striker or the crispness of a good SA hammer action, but you also don't have the awful first shot trigger-pull of DA.
Just like a striker easy to carry ready to go, 'pre-cocked', nice and even across the board. Unfortunately no 2nd strike capability. No big one but would've been nice.
Basically, give a bit take a bit - something has to give I guess.
Plastic ('Polymer...') guide-rod. Which "they" say is a no better or worse than metal.
THE NOT SO GOOD
Yes, one must figure there has to be some give at that price point. No free lunch.
-Total lack of ambi-controls;
- 2 (3? MIM parts barrel - lets be realistic - it IS a weak spot; there have been documented issues. I don't foresee any problems, but again - there have to be compromises; this being one of them.
- Last - something I have yet to hear anyone bring up but I think is an issue need mentioning: an out of spec rail.
When mounted the laser-dot has ~ 10-15" of movement, 7 yards @180˚. Do the math at 15 and 25 ydRs……
FWIW - I've run this on my Sig P220, Steyr M9A1 and S&W M&P, and all without fail these have a solid rail, allowing for laser to be (re)mounted with what I'd call return to zero.
This same light/laser also has a solid return to zero when mounted on any of my AR rails/attachments (DD, Troy/VTAC, Magpul) - ruling out the light, leaving me with the only conclusion that the rail on this PPX is very much out of speck.
All a bit surprising, and I will be contacting Walther regarding this. Stay tuned….
Bottom Line - if this is the Entry Level Discount Version of what Walther is offering - wow!!!!!
Give or take another ~500 failure free rounds convincing me of it's reliability, my M&P might be relegated to back up; more-even so, I see a PPQ or a HK VP9 in my near future, no question!