Capacity is easy to market to and an easy way to differentiate your product. It's an easier sell as to why this new gun is better than your old gun or the competition's gun.
The PPKs, etc. aren't outdated due to capacity. Weight, ergonomics, usable sights, that sort of thing is what makes them "outdated". I don't know that they shoot any better than the current crop of replacements, and if they do if it's enough to be relevant.
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
My experience has been that the older "classic" smaller autos were generally less accurate than modern pistols, but I wasn't always shooting the best specimens.
Some of the ergonomics were not bad, but yeah, their weight would drive away a lot of shooters nowadays. Case in point: I really, really enjoyed shooting a CZ Model 27... but for a .32, it was kind of large and overweight; the safety system was weird, yet the grip was oddly pleasant for me. I actually liked shooting it better than any of the PP/PPK family, but the sights were every bit as dismal as most small autos of the day. Those sights are now little better than "suggestions" for my old eyes. I find most of the current crop of small autos to be easier to field strip and clean. Some of the old stuff was "fiddly" by comparison.
I sort of wish this Hellcat wasn't striker-fired. Perhaps a hammer-fired "Wildcat" might show up someday.
g n
Back when I carried a S&W made PPK as a BUG to my Beretta 92FS, I would routinely post respectable groups at a local 25 yard range with regular FMJ ammo.
Then I made the mistake of sending it back to S&W for a recall. They sent it back and it never ran reliably again. I get at least one light strike per magazine now.
But accuracy wise it was always a tight shooter.
Regards.
You'd just be jealous of my dashing good looks, suave demeanor and electrifying machismo--all of which is amplified by the mere presence of a PPK. So I'll spare you the existential agony and post a few groups from my Makarov (which is also a fixed barrel, blowback design akin to the PPK):
First time I ever shot it, 10 yards standing:
Took me a few shots to get it dialed in, but the group centered pretty effortlessly.
Second time I ever shot it--after not shooting anything for over a month:
As a point of comparison, this is with the XDE I shot immediately following the Mak:
Like most small, polymer-framed 9mms for me (and probably a lot of people)... it shoots left of whatever the F I'm aiming at. The Mak puts rounds right where I put the sight. So did my PPK. So does my Sig P230. I will say I sold the PPK (older German model) because it had an issue (faulty mag catch) which I didn't want to pay to have fixed. And I'll say it wasn't exactly comfortable to shoot. But that gun was every bit as dead-on as the Mak--or any other pistol I've ever shot.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
Show me a decent group at 10 yards with your G43 or Shield, 365 or whatever striker-fired mini-me you carry... I'll shut up. Better yet, show me something at 25 yards with any of the aforementioned, since you obviously "Pistol Forum like a mofo."
Until then... lasuh' beam all day, home skillet.
A reliable DA/SA gun the size of a G43 , in .380 would be fine by me. Ohhhhh it has to be reliable.
The P232 may be oversized , but I don’t care. What I care about is they are not reliable in my experience .
An updated P232 with a normal mag release, slide lock lever, and a capacity of 10-12 rounds would be neat.