T
heoriginalWaltherPP
(Polizeipistoleorpolice
pistol)hasbeenaround
since 1931 andhasseen
usebya lotofpoliceand
militaryofficersinitslonghistory.
ThePPhada 3.9-inchbarreland
offereda seven-roundcapacityin
.3 80 ACP (it was also chambered
in. 32 ACP). The PPK variant came
aboutshortlythereafter,andit
combineda shorter 3 .3-inchbarrel
witha 0.4-inchshortergripframe,
whichreducedcapacitybyone.
ThePPK/Sversionmadeits
debutin 1968 andwasa direct
resultofourGunControlActof
19 68.TheGCAbannedtheimport
of pistolsthatdidn’tmeetcertain
“sporting”criteriabasedonsize,
weightandfeatures,andthePPK
wastoosmall.Inordertomeetthe
GCAcriteria,thePPK/S(the“S”
standsforsporting)combinedthe
shortPPKslidewiththelargerPP
fr ame.
Fordecades,thePPKand
PPK/Swerethecarrygunsofpro-
fessionals(anda certainfamous
spy,seesidebar),andaftera lull
of a fewyears,Waltherisonce
againofferingthePPK/SandPPK.
Ne w versionsof both models are
currentlybeingbuiltintheUnited
StatesbyWaltherArms,which
is whythePPKcanbesoldhere
now.I secureda sampleofthenew
PPK/Sforreview.
ThePPK/Sisa traditional
double-action/single-actionpistol
chamberedin. 380 ACP(the
onlychamberingoffered)with
a decockingsafetyleveronthe
leftsideoftheslide.Thebarrel
is 3.3incheslong.It’sanall-
steelpistol,andunloadedwith
anemptymagazine,theWalther
tippedmyelectronicscaleat 2 3.7
ou nces. The pistol measures6.1
by 4.3inchesandcomeswithtwo
seven-roundmagazines—oneflush
andonewithanextendedpolymer
fingerhook.
Youhaveyourchoiceofblack
or silver.Theblackpistolhasa
carbonsteelslideanda stainless
steelframe,andbothhavea Mel-
onitefinish.Thesilverpistolisall
stainlesswitha naturalbrushed
finishandisthemodelI secured
forthistest.Whilethispistolisn’t
aslightasmostofthemodern
polymer-framedpistols,itiswon-
derfullycorrosionresistant.
This pistol is so size-efficientI’m
su rprisedJohn Browningdidn’t
designit.Itissuperflat—theslide
is justabout 0 .8inchthick,and
thegripsarethefattestpartofthe
gunatjust 1 .1inches.Thebarrel
is low,whichcontributestoless
muzzleriseandfeltrecoil.It’sa
fixedbarrel,withtherecoilspring
fittingaroundthebarrel.
Ifounda gunmagazinefrom
1998 thatcontaineda reviewof
a customizedWaltherPPK/S.
Customizea PPK/S?Whilelotsof
peoplecarriedone—itwas,after
all,theonlyreliable. 380 Autoon
th e market in the 1980s and ’90s—
WWW.HANDGUNS.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 HANDGUNS 35
WALTHER’S ICONIC PPK/S IS BACK, AND NOW IT
IS MADE IN THE USA.
they didn’t like the horrible trig-
ger pull and the sharp edges on
the frame and slide that hurt the
web of your hand when you fired
the gun. To quote from that gun
review: “The trigger [of the PPK/S]
was, and still is, among the worst
of any pistol, and it has an annoy-
ing tendency to bite the hand that
holds it.”
With the new American-made
PPK/S, Walther has certainly ad-
dressed the trigger pull. Adver-
tised trigger pull for these guns is
13.4 pounds double action and 6.1
pounds single action. My sample
did better than that: 12.25 pounds
double action and 4.75 single ac-
tion. The double-action pull was
smooth with no stacking, and the
single-action pull was crisp.
The double-action pull on the
PPK/S is somewhat short com-
pared to other DA/SA and double-
action-only semiautos, making it
feel lighter than it is. Walther ad-
vertises trigger travel as 0.4 inch
in double action and 0.2 inch in
single action. After taking up just
a tiny bit of slack, double-action
trigger pull length on my pistol
was 0.625 inch and single action
just 0.125 inch.
It should be no surprise that as
a gun whose design originated in
the 1930s this pistol is a bit old
school when it comes to controls
and features. There is no slide
release, for instance. After reload-
ing you have to work the slide by
hand to release it.
Unlike many European pistols
with magazine release levers in
the heel of the gun, the magazine
release on the PPK/S is a small
checkered button on the left side
of the frame just below the slide,
a little higher than you might be
used to.
