Walther Underrated?

[Doc_Glock]

I think that Walther pistols are underrated by most people that do not own a Walther pistol. However, I also think they are overrated by most people that do own Walther pistols.

Oh jeez that made me laugh. Because it is true!

I loved my full sized 9mm Walthers until I didn’t. They shoot great, are durable and have amazing triggers.

They also easily drop the striker with any hit to the bottom of the grip.

The P99 AS sort of ameliorates that issue, but meh. Just lost interest in them. Same way I lost interest in 3 hour P&S Modcasts.

[olstyn]

I believe at this point if I had to recommend a Striker Fired Pistol Walther would be my first choice, but unfortunately they don't offer DA/SA pistols which makes them less desirable to me personally.

I carry a DA/SA Walther (P99c AS) and compete with another one (P99 AS), so I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that they don't offer DA/SA. For that matter, the PK380, crappy though it may be, is also DA/SA. Same goes for the PPK.

While I definitely like my Walthers and have no interest in replacing them with Glock/Beretta/HK/whatever, I also have no illusions that they're substantially better than any other well-vetted modern pistols - they just happen to be the best fit I've found for me personally in the realm of "pistol, 9mm, suitable for carry/competition."

[RJ]

Briefly owned a PPS M2. Traded it in towards a P30SK LEM when I discovered the non-swapable mag release disengaged a couple times inside my carry holster (I’m a lefty). Which would have been awkward.

I also found it was heavy in terms of weight per round with the 6/7/8 round magazines.

I was at my LGS a month or so ago and noticed it was still in the rental case. I knew it was the same gun because I remember the serial number. It hadn’t sold I guess.

[GardoneVT]

Walther’s problem is Glock . Why would I buy a PPQ/P99 when a Glock 17 does the same job, with better logistics for less money? I can even cosplay as James Bond with a Glock 17 thanks to Skyfall.

[Lefty Gunner]

@jeffhughes

The important fact is the Walther chamber caused a stoppage and a difficult to clear jamb because of their chamber design which is easily overcome with an additional simple design "Tweak". SAMMI does not recognize the stepped chamber for US firearms.
Ammo was not the point and it would take too many pages to debate that subject....
Insufficient crimp on any quality of load would cause this stoppage..... Pistol is not good for self defense for this and other reasons stated in this thread.

[olstyn]

Ammo was not the point and it would take too many pages to debate that subject....
Insufficient crimp on any quality of load would cause this stoppage..... Pistol is not good for self defense for this and other reasons stated in this thread.

Sorry, but in this case, it really sounds like ammo *is* the point. Insufficient crimp is a manufacturing defect. Why would you expect a gun to run problem-free with defective ammo? FM is widely regarded to be cheap junk, so I guess if your requirement for a pistol is that it be able to work with crap ammo, then maybe Walthers don't meet your requirement, but I'm not sure how you're relating that to being "not good for self defense." Do you carry with FM reman? I certainly don't...

[pew_pew]

Take the podcast with a grain of salt. I like those guys but they used to rip on Walther on their forum and in podcasts. Then they become a sponsor and now they are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

PPQs have the best striker triggers by far. But that’s about all it beats a Glock on imo.

[Zman001]

I like my ppq well enough, but i think if anything, walther is overrated.

Sure it has the best stock trigger in a striker fired handgun, it doesn't have much of an impact, at least, not as much of an impact as many walther fans seem to think. The PPQ is also larger than, say, a G19 while holding the same amount of ammo, the PPQ is more complex, and some assemblies are not even considered "user serviceable" by walther. I've also seen more than a few PPQ's brought down by steel case ammo. Parts are hard to source, or at least they were when i last checked. The grip texture is pretty wimpy, and after only a couple of hours outside, the gun felt like a wet bar of soap.

[spyderco monkey]

Walther doesn't get enough credit:

-First successful DA/SA hammer fired pistol with the PP/PPK series
-Invented to firing pin block in 1976 with their P5
-Invented removable backstraps with the Walther P99
-Pioneered the use of 'sculpted' ergonomics with the Walther P99
-Invented the DA/SA striker fired pistol with the P99
-Pioneered / Perfected the SA striker trigger with the PPQ

[Zman001]

Walther doesn't get enough credit:

-First successful DA/SA hammer fired pistol with the PP/PPK series
-Invented to firing pin block in 1976 with their P5
-Invented removable backstraps with the Walther P99
-Pioneered the use of 'sculpted' ergonomics with the Walther P99
-Invented the DA/SA striker fired pistol with the P99
-Pioneered / Perfected the SA striker trigger with the PPQ

While i dont know about semi's, more than a few revolvers had firing pin blocks before the P5 did

Many people would point to the 1911 as far as backstaps go

I don't know if walther invented the DA/SA striker, doesn't that "honor" belong to the CZ100?

The ppq trigger is nice, yes, almost too nice. Walther even re-designed it to give it more sear engagement, iirc


I like walther well enough, but their main "duty" pistol just doesn't offer much beyond a nice trigger, and the rest of their line is little more than a strange gaggle of subcompacts, and budget oriented fullsize 9mm's like the creed, and PPX