Walther PPQ First Impressions

[Guest uzzi]

I recently purchased a brand new Walther PPQ 9mm from Guns and Leather. Guns and Leather is a class act. It is very refreshing to have an owner shake your hand and thank you for your business. This is the first time purchasing a gun new from a gun store. Man, what a pain. The back ground check, though I believe necessary is a pain for the store owner, and what an unfair burden in my opinion..but that is for another post.

I was interested in the Walther because for one, it was unique and not as common as a Glock or M&P. Nothing wrong with those guns, just wanted something different. I liked the way it looked and was getting good reviews. I liked the large slide release and the ambidextrous controls. I can shoot well with either hand, but decided to focus on shooting right handed because of the availability of right handed guns and gear. With the Walther I don't have to choose based on the controls of the gun itself.

I've owned Glocks in the past, and liked them, but after not having another gun, it was hard to judge whether I was truly a Glock fan or not. I realized there where some things lacking in a Glock that were not lacking in the Walther. For one, the magazine is metal and there are no issues releasing it. Even with my "drop free" Glock mags, sometimes they would not slide out after pressing the slide release button. On the Glock, the slide release is very small and difficult to use. Inserting a magazine in the Walther does not require me to "bang" it in or use a lot of force to ensure the magazine is seated. It just goes in easy, and when you hear the click, it's in. That has not been my experience with Glocks. Of course, Glocks are accurate and reliable, but seems the mags and mag release were the weak part of the design.

The Walther however has easy controls and came with two 15 round magazines that will slide easily everytime. Purchasing a third magazine was $54. Pretty steep for a spring, metal case and some plastic if you ask me!

Firing the gun however, I can tell the slide is not as smooth as the Glock. The 9mm Walther seems to kick as much as my previous Glock 21. Maybe just a learning curve, but I was surprised when I shot it. The white dots on the sights of the PPQ are much smaller, and for my preference are easier to use than the standard Glock sights.

Field stripping the gun is as easy, if not easier than a Glock. Press and slide down the releases and the slide comes off, sping and barrel pop right out.

Accurate, easy to shoot, great controls - and of course the replaceable backstraps! You would think they would include some a punch to use in removing and changing the backstraps, but none was provided.

The gun came with a small envelope with an empty shell casing. Not sure what that is for - anyone know?

Overall, I love the gun - I wish it came in a longer barrel version, sort of like the HK P30L or the Glock 34. Looking forward to prefecting my technique and shooting tons more ammo through it!

Thanks for reading!

Edited September 8, 2011 by uzzi

[UncleJak]

The empty shell casing is the test fired round from the factory. It is put in there to show you its been tested and functions properly. I have a Walther sp22 and have nothing but great stuff to say about it. I know you will enjoy yours.

[JAB]

Unless I am mistaken, some states require that spent casing to be sent to one or another law enforcement agency by the firearms dealer when the gun is sold to a customer. I think that is to have a spent casing for comparison if it is ever suspected that the gun was used in a crime. I could be wrong, however. Tennessee has no such requirement so the spent casing simply gets left with the gun.