Original P99

[JodyH]

Pulled out my old 2000 vintage Walther P99 and gave it a run at the range (I even have two of the 16 round mags).
I forgot how nice this gun shoots.
The trigger reset is so short and crisp that IDPA -0 & 7 yards splits in the .15 range are a given (I shot my fastest splits ever <.12 for every shot on a Bill Drill with this gun back in 2001).
I ran this gun hard for around 3 years before switching to a Glock 17 from 2003-2009 and then to the P2000 in late 2009.
The only hiccup is the "set trigger" you get after a reload, not a problem if you're used to it but it throws you off if you've been shooting other pistols.
It won't be taking the place of my P2000, but it makes a dang good reserve corps.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p82/JodyHuggins/20130607_185537_zps97a6b588.jpg

[Kyle Reese]

Beautiful gun, Jody.

I regret selling every P99 I've ever owned, and found them to be very reliable, accurate and well made handguns.

[GJM]

Jody, what didn't you like about the pistol, that caused you to move on?

[JodyH]

Jody, what didn't you like about the pistol, that caused you to move on?
Finding 15-16 round magazines during the dark days of the Clinton AWB was impossible (I had 4 and pretty much saved them for carry).
Went back to my Glock because I had dozens of 17 round magazines.

[BoppaBear]

Nice Jody! My first pistol was an SW99 back in 2001. It was a .40. I had it up until about 2 years ago, and the trigger was pretty dang good. Nice reset, etc., but the set trigger was a little different.

[Rappahannock]

I've been a fan of the P99 for some years now, and since this household became Glock-free, carry a P99 or P99C whenever I can. It seems that the P99, after suffering under the odd Smith & Wesson / Walther arrangement for years, has become eclipsed by a firehose of newer Walther models. Nevertheless, the P99 and its compact version are a very dependable, accurate and versatile pair to have.

[JodyH]

A P99C with the PPQ trigger would be a great pistol.

Walther's biggest problem is supporting their products with magazines and parts.
Magazines especially are hard to find during the best of times.
I've been trying to find 7 round, 9mm PPS magazines for nearly 3 months now with no luck.
And buying things like recoil springs and small parts is a pain.
Walther (and H&K) need to improve their supply chain when it comes to parts and accessories.
Must be a German thing.

[TCinVA]

I rather liked my P99, save for that stupid hump in the middle of the trigger guard (who the hell thought that was a good idea) and the truly ridiculous price of hicap mags. Mine was very reliable, accurate, and had one of the best triggers you'll find on a striker-fired pistol of any sort. Lack of aftermarket support drove me to eventually selling her off to fund the purchase of other polymer toys...

[ScotchMan]

A P99C with the PPQ trigger would be a great pistol.

Walther's biggest problem is supporting their products with magazines and parts.
Magazines especially are hard to find during the best of times.
I've been trying to find 7 round, 9mm PPS magazines for nearly 3 months now with no luck.
And buying things like recoil springs and small parts is a pain.
Walther (and H&K) need to improve their supply chain when it comes to parts and accessories.
Must be a German thing.

I agree with your post. I would submit that the reason for those shortcomings is the the type of people buying H&Ks and Walthers (in general!) are people who buy expensive guns and don't shoot them often. They don't need more than one or two magazines, and they will never wear out any spring. The type of people who are high-volume, demanding shooters, tend to use Glocks, M&Ps, and Sigs.

This isn't to say that there aren't serious people who use Walthers and H&Ks. I think there are several in this thread. I just think that the majority of the sales, say 75% or more, are the people buying a name or to show off to their friends and not necessarily to train and carry often.

And then you also have the military contract stuff. H&K probably makes mags in batches of the thousand or ten thousand for contracts and not necessarily as many for retail sale to civilians.

[JonInWA]

I was strongly interested in the Walther P99 (especially the QA version) for awhile, ended up going the Steyr M40 route, and ultimately went back to, and have remained with Glock. It's not that the Walther/Steyr (well, the current ones, anyhow)/HK et al are undesirable (they may even be superior in some {or even many} aspects), it's just that I came to the conclusion that at the end of the day it made a lot more sense to analyze what platform provided the best overall qualities for me, and then pretty much concentrate on said platform.

There's always something tempting available-but what's served me pretty well is to force myself to take a hard, objective look (including, from time to time, actually putting together an analysis matrix chart together) on what a new acquisition/platform will provide. Will it really be the Holy Grail of handgunnery to me? And-what are the incremental/transactional costs involved (above and beyond acquisition of the new guns itself)-such as holsters, magazines, training time, etc. And then factoring all this in, how long will it actually take me to achieve a skill/performance level of parity or beyond with the new gun over my Glocks...

And then, of course, there's the dreaded Wifely Review Board, well experienced in my new acquisition approach to demand full and complete total project disclosures up front-Congressional and GAO review boards are probably less stringent...

Best, Jon

[JonInWA]

I rather liked my P99, save for that stupid hump in the middle of the trigger guard (who the hell thought that was a good idea) and the truly ridiculous price of hicap mags. Mine was very reliable, accurate, and had one of the best triggers you'll find on a striker-fired pistol of any sort. Lack of aftermarket support drove me to eventually selling her off to fund the purchase of other polymer toys...

I seem to recall that the inside triggerguard hump was an offshoot of German military/police either trial or contract requirements; the idea is that an officer can tell if the action setting is at the longer DA position (or, conversely, at the shorter SA stroke position) by where the hump is in relation to the triggerfinger. Given the relative multiplicity of possibilities with the Walther P99 in at least some of its versions, it actually somewhat makes sense....Or it's simply a perfect storm of Teutonic over-engineering regarding both the action variations and the hump...I think that may be at least a partial reason why some of the subsequent P99 variants came on the scene, such as the QA, which provided less permutations and somewhat simpler control lever functions.

During that era, it seemed that Smith& Wesson was coming up with individualized guns to cover virtually any and all possibilities, and Walther (and other contemporary manufacturers) tried to provide for any and all variations in one gun...

Best, Jon

[BoppaBear]

I agree with your post. I would submit that the reason for those shortcomings is the the type of people buying H&Ks and Walthers (in general!) are people who buy expensive guns and don't shoot them often. They don't need more than one or two magazines, and they will never wear out any spring. The type of people who are high-volume, demanding shooters, tend to use Glocks, M&Ps, and Sigs.

This isn't to say that there aren't serious people who use Walthers and H&Ks. I think there are several in this thread. I just think that the majority of the sales, say 75% or more, are the people buying a name or to show off to their friends and not necessarily to train and carry often.

And then you also have the military contract stuff. H&K probably makes mags in batches of the thousand or ten thousand for contracts and not necessarily as many for retail sale to civilians.

I agree ScotchMan. I think you hit the nail on the head, but would also add that in many cities and states, the less expensive firearms (not necessarily lesser quality of course) were the ones that went first during the scare. This left the higher-priced guns available in many LGS' display cases.

So, people sucked up the price of 2 Glocks or M&Ps, got off the sidelines, and went for 1 HK, etc. I would be curious to know how many new HK owners are actually shooting them, training with them, and carrying them, or if they're using them as a "mantle piece" piece to one-up their buddies. Not that they are lesser people for this, or that there is an issue, but I agree with your statement.