Why doesn't Walther get more love?

[TNK]

Walther waited 14 years to move from the P99 to the PPQ. Consider how much the market in the U.S. changed as the striker-fired pistol with a consistent trigger pull took over. Walther tried a P99 with a "Quick Action" but this move was a false start (to put it nicely).

The PPQ was an improvement, but, as stated above, Glock and its significant aftermarket support, especially with trigger kits, was not to be challenged.

The P99 has seen wide use in European Law Enforcement. It is co-produced in Poland with Radom. But its paddle-style release made it a non-starter here.

Walther also took an unfortunate detour of a manufacturing and marketing partnership with Smith and Wesson. While we did get a SW99 in .45 ACP, there is not much else to say about this business venture. There was also one with Magnum Research. None of these pistols did not do what the original P99 already did well enough.

And the price of magazines: Walther magazines are expensive. Everyone here probably agrees 7 or 8 magazines per pistol are a necessity. When magazines are $50 to $60 a pop, and often not available, the Glock looks better everyday with ubiquitous magazines costing almost half as much.

I like the new PDP, it shows promise, but when it has better support for holsters and more affordable magazines, then I will take another look at buying one.

[DpdG]

I bought a PDP (see that thread) and it had issues related to magazines (both in terms of function and availability) and the trigger has degraded with use from very very good to decent but with a weird hitch in the middle of the take-up. I will likely trade it towards a more mainstream gun as the logistics don’t make sense for me and the trigger sensation is weird and I fear it may continue to degrade.

I’m also a lead instructor/armorer at a small LE agency. I would not consider it for duty use- trigger is debatably too light, logistical support isn’t sufficient at the moment, track history in the US LE market is marginal and name recognition by my non-enthusiast bosses is basically nil.

[Trooper224]

Walther isn't used by cops all over the country. Walther isn't used by real american heros in the military. Walther isn't used by a fictional Hollywood badass assassin. This trifecta greatly influences the general publics purchasing decisions.

[Default.mp3]

Walther isn't used by a fictional Hollywood badass assassin.

Also seen in Casino Royale, along with the PPK used by various Bonds. Though I suppose the Bonds were never that handgun driven.

[P30]

In Germany, the Walther PP and PPK were for a long time very frequent police pistols.
In 1978, police switched to single-stack 9 mm pistols. Mainly SIG Sauer P6 and HK P7, Walther P5 in a lesser number, too.
In 2005 in the federal state where I live, they switched from P6 to Walther P99 DAO. They still use it, 42,000 instances are in use in my federal state.

The PPK and the P99 were also James Bond's pistols at that respective times. This was huge marketing. I read Walther had relationships to the Broccoli family. I'm not sure but I assume, the James Bond movies had a significant influence so that the Walther pistols became police pistols here. Maybe you US cowboys should just watch more James Bond movies.

I remember such an advertisement poster very well, first Bond movie with a P99. A few years later police here had the P99:

[TGS]

I think the agency issues already mentioned previously play a big role.

In addition to what was mentioned, on the east coast the platform hit bad press because of problems seen by the New Jersey State Police with their brand new SW99 guns. The guns were dumped and they bought P228s instead. I think this garnered more press and attention than it otherwise would because the NJSP had ordered it in a hurried response to a Trooper being killed during a gunfight where his HK P7 jammed.

[LOKNLOD]

Walther couldn't market free sex with supermodels at a Star Trek convention.

One could say it's part of their Creed.

[MistWolf]

The Walther Crew seem to keep missing the mark by that much. Several Walther vids show the PDP with the ACRO. I read comments in the PDP thread how the ACRO is a good fit for the PDP because the deep cut lets the boxy sight sit lower on the slide than any other handgun. Yet Walther refuses to add the PDP to its list of available plates. Just one of Walther's marketing missteps.

[JonInWA]

I've handled and shot Walther's in IDPA matches; for several years, Walther was/is a major sponsor of our Washington State IDPA match, and their guns were a staple feature in the stage they sponsored as an initial mandatory "pick up and use" gun (you then transitioned to your personal weapon). Nice guns, but personally of limited attraction to me for several reasons:

1). I'm heavily invested in Glock;

2). The gun that Walther's really compete against in my eyes are the HK VPs-and I personally prefer HK (and my personal VP40) for ergos, more extensive vetting, and the superb afteermakket support I've pesonally experienced with HK US Tech Support.

3). OEM sight-wise, to me Walther and Glock are a bit of a wash, with a slight nod towards Walter. But Glock has gotten more aggressive with their Ameriglo affiliation as an OEM option, and HK offers their LE option with the VP, which provides a third magazine and Meprolight tritium nightsights for an additional $100-a good value in my eyes.

4) Walther triggers (and in the past, magazine releases) were a bit too much on the light side for me, particularly as a duty SFA trigger. Glock's crisp break to me is peferable, followed by HK's.

Best, Jon

[Rex G]

I always liked the P5, but they were never inexpensive, and then they became collectible, so the asking prices went stratospheric. If I were to become a wealthy man, I might buy three of them, a pair and a spare, at collector prices, and commission a custom horsehide holster. In real life, my retirement-era, DA/SA nostalgia pistols are single-stack, Third-Generation 9mm S&W.

I really do like the German and West German-made PP and PPK/s, which includes their superb point-ability, but unless/until I find one that feeds reliably, they are not candidates for serious carry guns, for me. The duck-bill tang on the S&W-made PPK and PPK/s rasps a hole in my skin, in the first few shots, and they are a step down in reliability, from the European-made guns.

I wanted to like the pre-M2 PPS, but the M2 soon came along, and spoiled that. If an LGS will ever get a well-preserved, pre-owned, pre-M2 PPS 9mm in stock, I might go for it, but owners seem to be keeping them, as I only see the .40 versions being offered, and not often. Working against this is my reluctance to buy into any new weapon system, this late in the game, especially now that compact nines are painful to shoot right-handed, and my healthier left hand is starting to show its age, too.