But that wasn't the purpose of the range trip. She wanted to rent a smaller gun, and chose:
Walther PPK/S
It looks a bit like the Bersa Thunder (the Bersa is a clone). It shoots the same round, but it's not NEARLY as snappy in the recoil department. That Bersa is a monster. The Walther is pleasant.
(I wonder if I need to try a Bersa again to see if I experience the same heavy recoil I remember .380?)
Anyway, the all metal Walther is clearly put together well. I like the fit and finish. Though I'm not a huge fan of the plasticky grip, that wasn't a problem. It's a DA/SA with a decocker, so if Trollop got one she'd have to get used to the difference. Presumably, in the unlikely event she went the CCW route with it, she'd chamber a round and put it on safety. When needed she'd flip off the safety, get a DA shot with the first, and SA thereafter.
The magazine release is on the frame, so that's good, thought it's a little high up and not where you expect it to be if you've fired a lot of American designed pistols. But it's an advantage over mag release on my Colt Pocket Hammerless that is at the end of the grip. The sights on the Walther are much better than the rudimentary bumps on the old Colt, too.
The only big peeve I had with it was the mag spring is VERY strong on it, making loading a chore. My mag loader is too big to be of any use in this situation. Unless resolved, it would make extensive practice a problem. After 2 boxes of ammo, my loading thumb would be torn up pushing those rounds in.
But it's a fun little pistol.
10 comments:
Beautiful gun, that.
You remember the Bersa recoil correctly, I shot my friends, hated it.
Anon: I imagine your friends didn't like getting shot... :-)
(Had to read that twice...)
The Walther is steel-framed, while the Bersa has an alloy frame. The weight difference explains the difference in recoil.
(Not that the Bersa's is bad, ya big baby. ;) )
My memory of the PPK/S from my time behind the gun counter in the '90s is the double action trigger was brutal. Every one that came into the shop had what felt like a 12-15lb DA trigger pull...much like the NAA Guardian.
For me, it wouldn't have been sore thumbs from mag loading that caused the end of a range session, but a sore index finger from that brutal DA pull.
Perhaps they've gotten better, but if I wanted a .380 in that form factor, I'd likely go with the SIG P232 (or its older P230 sibling.)
Meh... I didn't care of it because of the DA trigger.
The S&W-made PPKs are a lot better quality-wise than the previous Alabama-made Interarms-marked ones, and they've made improvements to the ejector and lengthened the grip tang so it doesn't leave the web of your hand a bloody mess anymore.
However, the new MIM trigger bars snap at an alarming rate. I had three or four customers bring S&W-marked PPKs back with snapped trigger bars and so I just stopped stocking them new. Three or four out of eight sold is just an unacceptable failure rate.
Do you happen to know if the S&W versions can swap internals (such as trigger bars) with older Interarms or European guns?
No idea Geo. Tam?
I loves me my S&W PPK. Great trigger in both DA and SA.
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