Sin-ster
GM of 4 Letter Outbursts
They feel pretty good in the hand, although I didn't feel like I had a very high grip into the tang. That might change with some more familiarization-- I've only handled two, and shot one.
The trigger is certainly nice, and the reset is indeed short. The one I handled dry had the gritty trigger that has raised some complaints; nothing some shooting wouldn't fix, I'm guessing. The one I shot was pretty smooth, seemed to break at about the same weight-- I'd guess the 5# assumption is about right. It's a typical striker-fired roll, with average take up and better-than-average overtravel and reset. It didn't really blow my socks off, but it's worth mentioning just the same. In my not-so-humble opinion (at least based on my own shooting style), short reset is overrated by almost everyone. I can safely say that 95% of the people who rave about it are FAR from being able to track the sights or manage the recoil properly to truly enjoy the benefits-- and the vast majority of them let the trigger out way past reset, and slap the **** out of it at speed t'boot.
Being an absolute hater of the paddle magazine release, I found the PPQs to actually be worse than the HKs-- despite the fact that I was able to get more leverage on it. Compared to other Walther's I've handled, it's not nearly as stiff-- but it's still not an "easy drop", IMO. That might also be something that softens up with some use, though. Just the same, I actually found that I was more likely to miss the thing than with even the smallest HKs-- and that's a dealbreaker for me. YMMV of course, and if you're coming from a blank slate background, I suppose it'd be easier to train than if you were used to the standard thumb release.
I've heard some talk about a higher bore axis and the muzzle flip; it wasn't extremely different from say a G19 for me, but it did seem to lift off a bit easier. (That could also have to do with the sights themselves; I was definitely struggling to call shots with it.) I'm 90% sure the bore axis to the grip isn't the problem, but the fact that I wasn't getting a high enough grip for my tastes in the first place. It's also vastly over sprung from what I can tell-- yet something else that would improve to a certain point with some use.
I think the main concern is availability of holsters and mags, but from what I hear, it fits the newest revision P99 mags and there are some holsters molded for P30's and P99's that fit it quite well. Of course... those aren't very well supported platforms in their own right, as of yet.
The sights were awful, but that's not rare for a factory gun IMO. They were plastic, which doesn't please me for several reasons, but again-- not something that's only present on the PPQ. A quick Google search reveals that there are some offerings out there (made for other pistols) that will fit it, but that'd be one of my biggest gripes if I were looking to change platforms.
I've never personally seen a "real caliber" Walther come up with problems, but then again-- they're not extremely popular pistols, especially amongst the "hard use" crowd. IIRC, these are made in Germany and assembled in Poland; I'd imagine they (as a whole) are quite reliable.
I actually ran into a couple of threads that were concerned that the trigger was "too light and short for carry." Ha-- that made me chuckle at first, because the weight of the pull is pretty standard. Then I considered all of the poor finger discipline and lack of reps/practice that runs rampant out there, and it made me consider the possibility. Personally, I don't think there should be a mechanical fix for a training scar; it's my humble belief that you're hard pressed to go "too light" on a real-world use pistol without mucking up the reliability. But let's be honest-- most folks aren't going to work at the skill sets as much as they should, so it might be a valid concern for some.
Overall, I'd prefer to get a track record for the gun established before I decided to carry one-- but if you put one to my head and told me to rate it, I'd say it'll probably be in the "useable" category of polymer guns once it becomes vetted, alongside Glocks, HKs and M&Ps. I have no trouble believing it'll become another of the "pick your flavor" options out there-- although no matter how it performs, it won't ever be my choice.
The trigger is certainly nice, and the reset is indeed short. The one I handled dry had the gritty trigger that has raised some complaints; nothing some shooting wouldn't fix, I'm guessing. The one I shot was pretty smooth, seemed to break at about the same weight-- I'd guess the 5# assumption is about right. It's a typical striker-fired roll, with average take up and better-than-average overtravel and reset. It didn't really blow my socks off, but it's worth mentioning just the same. In my not-so-humble opinion (at least based on my own shooting style), short reset is overrated by almost everyone. I can safely say that 95% of the people who rave about it are FAR from being able to track the sights or manage the recoil properly to truly enjoy the benefits-- and the vast majority of them let the trigger out way past reset, and slap the **** out of it at speed t'boot.
Being an absolute hater of the paddle magazine release, I found the PPQs to actually be worse than the HKs-- despite the fact that I was able to get more leverage on it. Compared to other Walther's I've handled, it's not nearly as stiff-- but it's still not an "easy drop", IMO. That might also be something that softens up with some use, though. Just the same, I actually found that I was more likely to miss the thing than with even the smallest HKs-- and that's a dealbreaker for me. YMMV of course, and if you're coming from a blank slate background, I suppose it'd be easier to train than if you were used to the standard thumb release.
I've heard some talk about a higher bore axis and the muzzle flip; it wasn't extremely different from say a G19 for me, but it did seem to lift off a bit easier. (That could also have to do with the sights themselves; I was definitely struggling to call shots with it.) I'm 90% sure the bore axis to the grip isn't the problem, but the fact that I wasn't getting a high enough grip for my tastes in the first place. It's also vastly over sprung from what I can tell-- yet something else that would improve to a certain point with some use.
I think the main concern is availability of holsters and mags, but from what I hear, it fits the newest revision P99 mags and there are some holsters molded for P30's and P99's that fit it quite well. Of course... those aren't very well supported platforms in their own right, as of yet.
The sights were awful, but that's not rare for a factory gun IMO. They were plastic, which doesn't please me for several reasons, but again-- not something that's only present on the PPQ. A quick Google search reveals that there are some offerings out there (made for other pistols) that will fit it, but that'd be one of my biggest gripes if I were looking to change platforms.
I've never personally seen a "real caliber" Walther come up with problems, but then again-- they're not extremely popular pistols, especially amongst the "hard use" crowd. IIRC, these are made in Germany and assembled in Poland; I'd imagine they (as a whole) are quite reliable.
I actually ran into a couple of threads that were concerned that the trigger was "too light and short for carry." Ha-- that made me chuckle at first, because the weight of the pull is pretty standard. Then I considered all of the poor finger discipline and lack of reps/practice that runs rampant out there, and it made me consider the possibility. Personally, I don't think there should be a mechanical fix for a training scar; it's my humble belief that you're hard pressed to go "too light" on a real-world use pistol without mucking up the reliability. But let's be honest-- most folks aren't going to work at the skill sets as much as they should, so it might be a valid concern for some.
Overall, I'd prefer to get a track record for the gun established before I decided to carry one-- but if you put one to my head and told me to rate it, I'd say it'll probably be in the "useable" category of polymer guns once it becomes vetted, alongside Glocks, HKs and M&Ps. I have no trouble believing it'll become another of the "pick your flavor" options out there-- although no matter how it performs, it won't ever be my choice.
