Walther PPK/S

[Carniemedic]

I know that this is not the typical pistol written about on this forum, but I was hoping for some help. I bought my girlfriend a used, post recall S&W made Walther PPK/S 380 for her carry piece. I heard about the problems some have had with this pistol and tried to talk her out of it, but it’s what she wanted. We took it to the range today for the first time, and experienced 3 double feeds out of 150 rounds. She put most of the rounds through it, but I fired it some too. The double feeds only happened when she fired the gun. I made sure to tell her not to limp wrist it when firing and I think she held it pretty firm, but they still happened. I think but am not sure it might be the magazines. They seem tight and I think the jams occurred in the first two or three rounds of a new mag. I took the pistol home and really gave it a thorough cleaning I also broke down the mags and cleaned them too. Long story short do you think it’s the mags or something else. Thanks for the help.

[PD Sgt.]

I carried a pre-Smith .380 PPK/S (Interarms) for a couple years before switching to J frames for back up guns. While mine never required additional work, several of my co-workers PPKs needed feed ramp polishing to chamber Silvertips reliably. Our Dept. smith told me this was a pretty common occurance, and noted mine was a bit of an exception. I don't know if this has continued to the Smith guns, or if it was addressed with a design change as well (like the added backstrap material).

I would run more ammo through the pistol, of various types, and see if the problems continue. I would also try to see if they happened with one mag over another, etc. If they do, and you are sure she isn't inducing the problems, you may need the feed ramp polished. I would not carry it for defense until I had the problem figured out.

[JSGlock34]

S&W has great warranty service - don't hesitate to give them a call.

[brushy bill]

I briefly worked for an agency where backup gun was PPK/S. Mine and several others were proverbial "jamamatics". Would genuinely rather have no gun. Absolutely horrid reliability. Give me an industrial strength hammer above PPK/S.

[one]

A few years back I had a PPK .380 and a PP .32 A friend had a PPK/S. All were well before Smith was ever thought of in relation to them.

Not one of these guns was the least bit reliable with even ball ammo. Frankly I was surprised after years of reading how legendary the little Walther was.

I never could understand how this gun carried the reputation it did for as long as it did with the performance I've seen first hand and read about online. Then again, thinking back, all those legendary reliability reports came from an age of newstand gun magazines.

Same goes for the CZ75. The one that a buddy here bought wouldn't work worth a damn. Extractor problems. which, I've since seen reported online, are a concern with CZ's.

[Pistol Shooter]

No offense intended Carniemedic, but have you considered trading the PPK/S for a 9mm PPS?

The PPS is slightly larger but very easy to conceal and a pleasure to shoot at the range.

It has great ergos, is amazingly accurate and extremely reliable.

I've got 1,500 rds. of assorted fmj and jhp through mine with ZERO malfunctions at this point.

It might be a good option for you and your girl.

Good luck. Keep us updated on your situation. :)

[SWAT Lt.]

We had a lot of reliability problems out of officers' personally owned PPK/S pistols. The Kentucky State Police briefly issued PPKs a few years back as back up guns. They were also found to be unreliable.

The reliability issues, heavy DA pull, and insufficient caliber would steer me away from this pistol. There are much better choiaces. I would send it back under warranty for repair, then sell it or trade it in. Good luck.

[Tomahawk_Ghost]

We had a lot of reliability problems out of officers' personally owned PPK/S pistols. The Kentucky State Police briefly issued PPKs a few years back as back up guns. They were also found to be unreliable.

The reliability issues, heavy DA pull, and insufficient caliber would steer me away from this pistol. There are much better choiaces. I would send it back under warranty for repair, then sell it or trade it in. Good luck.

I used to work with the QC Manager for Ranger Mfg of Gadsden, Al. Those are were the stateside Walthers were made for Interarms.

He said half the guns that made it to QC failed.

I have a West German made Walther PPK/s and it is nothing but reliable.