Walther PPK Mini-Review

I'm currently in the market for a CCW gun that's smaller than my Glock 19.  Today, I gave the Walther PPK a try. Here's how it went.

Ergonomics
The grip is surprisingly good for its size and relative lack of texture, and the gun points well. I did not have the PPK/S version with the longer grip or an extended magazine, so my pinkie was off the gun, but it didn't seem to matter.  Beyond these points, though, I wasn't very impressed with the ergonomics.

The PPK was not gentle on my hand

The safety is thumbed off by pressing up instead of down.  I think this is slower coming off the draw, so I don't much care for that.  There is also very little to the frame beneath the slide, which means there is almost nowhere for your support hand thumb to go without being on the slide.  I managed to go through 50 rounds without getting my thumb bitten, but I can see messing that up on a draw.  The impact of the recoil is also very rough on the hands, even though the recoil itself is not all that bad.  The webbed area of my hand between my thumb and pointer finger were left red and tenderized after shooting the PPK.

Trigger

Accuracy in single-action at 21 ft

Double Action:   Double awful.  It's a very stiff 13 lbs of force needed for this mode.  To make matters worse, it's very hard to feel the uptake vs. the break.  When I was shooting this, the shot caught me by surprise just about every time, as I just couldn't pull this trigger slowly while applying that much force to it.  Accuracy suffers.

Single Action:  They say its 6lb but it feels less.  This is a fun gun to shoot in SA mode, no question.  Again, though, I don't like the way it breaks.  The trigger seems to break the moment it moves with very, very little uptake compared to a 1911 or a Buckmark.

Sights and Accuracy
Very impressed on this criteria.  The PPK has very low-profile sights, which usually are very hard for me to use.  They have a red front sight and in the back, there is a red bar below the center of the rear sights, which helps you align.  Different from what I'm used to, but it worked.  I was acquiring a good sight picture as quickly as I can with the Glock 19 that I usually shoot.


It's very accurate in single action mode; far more accurate than what I'm used to for a subcompact.  Granted, most of those subcompacts were Double-Action-Only, so that may be a factor.  I was shooting this little guy almost as accurately as the Glock 19 at 35 feet.  In double-action mode, though, I was less accurate at 21 feet than I was in single-action at 35.

Recoil is manageable, despite the pounding my hands took.  The gun comes back on target quickly for follow up shots, no complaints there.  I think the all metal design helps manage the recoil in spite of the small size.

Overall

Double Action at 21 feet:  7 rounds,
1 bullseye, 1 in the black,
1 in the white, 4 misses 
Single Action at 35 feet:  9 rounds,
2 bullseyes, 3 in the black, 
4 in the white

I really liked the accuracy of this gun in single action mode.  The idea of a subcompact that shoots this accurately out to 12 yards is very appealing.  I could almost see myself doing IDPA-style matches with this (granted the .380 would not make power factor unless you went into BUG division) because it's accurate enough to keep up.  The double action kills it for me, though.  I like the idea of a DA/SA for carry, but I would want something a little less still in DA and with a crisper break.  And no, you cannot carry this "cocked and locked" because engaging the safety will also de-cock the gun.  I don't have any confidence in that first shot out of the holster, and if you're going to go with a .380, shot placement matters.

I'd still love to own a PPK someday, but as far as a carry gun goes I think I still need to look elsewhere: I'd like to try a Ruger LCP, S&W CS9, and give the S&W M&P Shield 9 another look.