Irrational Firearm Desires

[olstyn]

Saw a new production Walther PPK today. Uh oh. Watched a Bond movie last night. Coinsidense? I think not.

That is definitely irrational. That gun is iconic, but my understanding is that they're basically miserable to shoot. Nasty triggers (hard to understand why, given that Walther also makes the P99 and PPQ, which have among the nicest stock triggers out there) and a significant tendency to cause slide bite are the two things I've consistently read. But hey, if you need to get your James Bond on, you do you.

[Duelist]

That is definitely irrational. That gun is iconic, but my understanding is that they're basically miserable to shoot. Nasty triggers (hard to understand why, given that Walther also makes the P99 and PPQ, which have among the nicest stock triggers out there) and a significant tendency to cause slide bite are the two things I've consistently read. But hey, if you need to get your James Bond on, you do you.

I’ve actually shot several, and never had a single bad experience. Accurate little guns.

[olstyn]

I’ve actually shot several, and never had a single bad experience. Accurate little guns.

Interesting. I feel like I've read complaints many times about how the DA trigger is excessively heavy, making for a not very nice experience, especially in such a small gun. It's certainly possible that those complaints were from people who are not well practiced with DA/SA guns. That said, per waltherarms.com, the current spec is 13.4 pounds, which does seem unnecessarily heavy to me.

[Duelist]

Interesting. I feel like I've read complaints many times about how the DA trigger is excessively heavy, making for a not very nice experience, especially in such a small gun. It's certainly possible that those complaints were from people who are not well practiced with DA/SA guns. That said, per waltherarms.com, the current spec is 13.4 pounds, which does seem unnecessarily heavy to me.

They have been produced by a variety of factories all over the place. Some eras have better reps than others, some manufacturers have better reps than others. They’ve been slavishly copied, and also been the design basis for other stuff. I’ll buy one someday. The only reason I don’t currently have one is that my actual needs for a pocket .380 are better served by a G42, but I really do like the little PPK.

[Inkwell 41]

They have been produced by a variety of factories all over the place. Some eras have better reps than others, some manufacturers have better reps than others. They’ve been slavishly copied, and also been the design basis for other stuff. I’ll buy one someday. The only reason I don’t currently have one is that my actual needs for a pocket .380 are better served by a G42, but I really do like the little PPK.

Agree on the G42. It makes much more sense. But it's not a PPK......

[Joe in PNG]

I had an Interarms PPK for a few years, and yes- like shooting a handful of razorblades*.
Owning and shooting it pretty much cooled off my 007 fantasies.


*to be fair, so is my FN 1906 .25, a gun I adore and love to shoot.

[Lex Luthier]

I've fired about 6 PPK models of various make & eras, as well as a PPK/S and one PP. Evenly split between .32 & .380 models.
I really kind of liked the 1938 .32, and the 1960s Manurhin.
The rest were rather unpleasant.

The 1960s Mauser HSc was also a taste I didn't acquire.

[Joe in PNG]

Some not-so irrational desires:

A brace of blued round butt S&W revolvers with 3" bbls, including a 15, 17, 19, 25, and 27.

A Browning SA-22 takedown

A CZ 550FS in 6.5 Swede, with receiver peep sight

[Stephanie B]

I had an Interarms PPK for a few years, and yes- like shooting a handful of razorblades*.
Owning and shooting it pretty much cooled off my 007 fantasies.

I took a mill file and rounded off the edges on the bottom of the slide of mine.

[Joe in PNG]

I took a mill file and rounded off the edges on the bottom of the slide of mine.

Not. Helping!