Tag Archives: Walther

Weapons

Disappointed in the PPS M2

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One thing I’ve come to expect from Walther – Excellent Triggers.   The PPQ, P99, PPX, and the original PPS all have triggers that go from Excellent to Fantastic.   The PPQ is well known for being The Best out of the box trigger of any Striker – even better than the VP9.
Now the this gun here… the PPS M2… I was really looking forward to getting my hands on one.  Because I am one of those weird guys that actually liked the original PPS.  So I was hoping that this would be the same gun as the original, but with some ergonomic enhancements.   This is not the case.  This is a completely different gun.  The new PPS looks great.  This is a good looking gun.  And for a Sub-Compact Single Stack – it even feels good.  If you like a Shield, you’ll probably love the PPS M2.
And then I tried the trigger.

Continue reading Disappointed in the PPS M2 →

Weapons

Why you need to buy a Ruger LC9S Pro

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We’ve seen some interesting developments in defensive pistols this year.  And by Development, I mean product enhancements, changes, tweaks… that may or may not be Earth Shaking, but are nice none the less.    Here’s my favorite one for 2015.  The Ruger’s LC9S Pro.
Ruger-LC9s-Pro
Ruger finally made the LC9 right.  This is finally what the gun should have been right out of the gate.  In fact, it’s so good, that not only does it top this list… but it’s so good that if you already have an other version of the LC9 – just sell it and go buy this one.

It’s not what Ruger put into it, it’s what they deleted.  Ruger deleted the manual safety.   Thank You.  The unnecessary and redundant safety on this gun is like a pretty girl with a festering boil between her eyes.   The poor dear… It’ll be alright…

The other thing Ruger deleted was the magazine disconnect safety.   A Magazine Disconnect Safety is to guns what Double Clutching is to Cars.   It’s outdated and unnecessary, and pisses you off when you come across it.  Whoever thought it was a good idea to put that in there in the first place, needs to explain that to Jerry Miculek.

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Here’s the great things about the LC9S Pro:

1.  It’s affordable.  MSRP is 450 with Retail around about 400 bucks.  One place I know had them for 389.  That’s crazy.
2.  It’s light.  The thing weighs nothing.
3.  It has a good trigger pull.  Some have said it’s a bit long, but come on.  This is an EDC CCW pistol, not a Match Blaster.  The trigger is excellent for the purpose of this pistol – and I’m a Trigger Snob and I’m saying this.
4. It has good sights.  And by good I mean they are usable and you have a bunch of Aftermarket options that you can swap them out for.
5. It’s skinny.  Going hand in hand with the light weight, this gun being so skinny means it can disappear on you when packing… it just evaporates.  Gone.  Stealthed Out.   And since Concealed means Concealed, this is a good thing.
6.  Ruger has a 9 round magazine for it.  So if you have to go Fangs Out and Loud you can reload with a higher capacity magazine. I’d suggest buying 3 of those and one extra spare at the normal flush fit size.  So you can rotate your magazines to keep the springs in order.  I do that with all my guns, and I’d do that with these too.  Carry with the short mag in for EDC Concealment… and my Reloads will be with the Niners.  Done.

I’m going to say this now – and it’s going to be shocking.  I like the Ruger LC9S Pro better than the S&W Shield.  There.  I said it.  It’s out there.  I like it better than the Glock 43 as well.  That grip is too small for me to hold onto well, the LC9’s grip fits much better.  And its much easier to conceal than the Shield’s grip.

Here’s my top 3 compact single stack 9mm’s:
1. Ruger LC9S Pro
2.  Springer XDS 4.0
3.  Walther PPS

Weapons

2014’s Top 5 Best New Handguns.

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I had intended to write this list before the Worst list… But had too much fun with the Worsts.  Here’s my favorites from all the handguns released in 2014.

Glock-42
#1. The Glock 42.   Despite being a .380 Auto, a subcompact .380 is just what some folks wanted, and has resurrected general interest pocket .380’s after the surge crested about 4 years ago. Concealed Carry remains a top reason for new gun purchases, and according to GunBroker.com the Glock 42 is #4 for Semi Auto pistol sales.  Yes, this pistol was on my Worst list because of the disappointment factor.  But for those wanting a .380 Auto pocket pistol the G42 has been the Go-To option for most people.  It offers good sights and a good trigger in a compact package.  Other options that offer this are the SIG 238, the Kimber Micro, and Colt Mustang… and all of them costing as much as 200 dollars more.

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#2 Ruger’s GP100 Match Champion.  This classic revolver has the features that I want on a general purpose carry revolver.  Big visible front sight, fixed rear that isn’t just part of the frame, good grips, target crown, and a good trigger.  I was mulling over the idea of getting another revolver… and the Match Champion is the one that pushed that desire over the edge as it’s everything I wanted to do with a GP100.  The half lug is a give or take sort of feature, but I find it visually appealing on this gun.

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#3  Walther PPQ 5″.  This gun was probably the most interesting new pistol I handled at 2014 SHOT.  It’s simply a long slide version of the PPQ, which already had a ton of great attributes.  Now, you get a good sight radius and barrel length to go with that great trigger the Walther has.   Walther is Germany’s 3rd great Gun Maker… behind HK and SIG (You guys can argue which is first and second) and it’s been the one with the most ups and downs.   10 years ago I said that Walther was struggling to  maintain its significance.  In 2014 it has certainly found it.  This is one of the very best handguns on the market.  Period.

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#4  The HK VP9.  This is the pistol that HK needed to build years ago.  Not because it’s just a Striker version of the P30… but because it’s priced where HK pistols should be priced.  It’s about 200 bucks less then others, and that’s were they should have all been.  It also has something rather new to HK since the P7… a damn good trigger.  Not just a good trigger for HK, but it’s just a damn good trigger.  Not as good as Walther’s PPQ trigger – but then again nothing is.  But this trigger in an HK pistol was unexpected.    Really, I think this makes it the best pistol HK has ever made.

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#5  S&W Model 69 Combat Magnum.  What makes this model 69 so sweet, other than the innuendo of the name, is that this .44 magnum is built on the smaller and lighter L frame instead of Smith’s normal N frame from .44 mags.  The L Frame is Smith’s frame for the delicious 686 series of revolvers.  So now you have that, but with full .44 Mag power.  That is just a fantastic balance of size and weight and power.   I had a 3″ 696 in .44 Special and loved it.  But it was incomplete due to the lack of horsepower.  When you say “.44” you are not looking for a mild and pleasant plinker… you are wanting a ferocious monster slayer.  Here you go.

There are a couple Honorable Mentions:  Springfield’s XDS 4.0, Ruger LCRX, Ruger LC9S.

Weapons

My Top 3 Interesting Handguns

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I’ve a rather short list of handguns that are of interest to me, at the moment.  Perhaps the fascination will pass on these, but the Want Factor has been quite high all year so far.

1.  The Walther PPQ M2 5″.
PPQ-M2-5inch
The P99 I reviewed for Concealed Carry Magazine really impressed me, overall. But a couple things that irritated me to one degree or another on the P99 was removed or fixed in the PPQ.  Namely the mag release and the decocker button on the top of the slide.  The PPQ retains everything good about the P99, just cleaned up.  Like a Subaru WRX without the Spoiler and Hood Nostril.  Talking to some other guys about the PPQ, such as Jon Hodoway from Nighthawk Custom Training… it’s quietly becoming a favorite in the class of Polyframed Striker Fired pistols.

2.  The SIG M11-A1.
SIG-Sauer-M11-A1
This is basically a reintroduction of the  very excellent SIG P228… Which is what SIG is now calling the 229… but the 229 has rails.  Don’t try to figure it out – it’s SIG and they just do things like that.  But it takes nothing away from the M11A1… Which is an excellent pistol and one that’s been on my mind more and more lately.  Slightly shorter than the full sized 226, the M11A1 comes home to that “Just Right” size for me.  For EDC work both Open or Concealed, this gun can get it done.  And has been getting it done under the 228 tag for a long time.  I had a 228 that I used as a backup gun for some time and it was quiet excellent.  I did have some problems with the trigger return spring, but that was an easy fix and it never troubled me again.  I miss that gun.  This is it’s resurrection.

3.  The Ruger Super Blackhawk, 4 5/8″, .44 Magnum.
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Nothing quite says “You’re Doomed” like thumbcocking back the hammer on an accurate and powerful single action revolver.  I’m more fond of the western style revolvers than I am the more “modern” double action types.  There’s something about the classic heritage of the breed that is both fascinating and just… I don’t know how to say it… “The way it should be”.  Especially when dealing with full potency magnum loads.  The only thing I’d do to this gun would be to get a Gold Bead front sight put in.  That’s it.  The reason I picked this over the Vaquero… the sights… the magnum frame… and a grip that fits my hand better.  The Vaquero felt too small to me.  Nice, but too small.  That and with the Blackhawks I can really place my shots.  For me, that’s a requirement with a gun with only a few rounds in it.  The shorter barrel looks properly handsome as well.    If I was in a rural area again where Open Carry didn’t even cause folks to look twice – That’s what I’d be packing most of the time I think.  (Along with a Truck Gun in the same caliber… Such as a Rossi 92 20″)

Weapons

Top Service Pistols for 2014

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I’ve talked about the best choices for Concealed Carry, but what about for the guys who have to carry openly?  Law Enforcement, PMC, Security Contractor, or general Open Carry use, these are going to require a different type of handgun.  Basically as much gun on your hip as you can get.  Full sized, full capacity, none of the compromises required for Concealment.

SIG 226/220.  This full sized SIG is a classic and the choice of a great many gunslinging professionals.  A big capacity and rugged construction combined with reliability and accuracy. It’s everything you could want in a Side Arm.  Unless you want a larger caliber.  The 220 everything you like about the 226, but in .45 Auto.  This big bore auto is known as “The Thinking Man’s .45” and that does indeed make sense when you’ve spent time with the gun.  Same capacity as a 1911, but offers a decocking DA/SA fire control profile.  This is probably the safest autoloading handgun I know of. (226 included)  They are also very accurate.

Glock 17/22.  Depending on your choice of 9mm or .40 cal, these guns are probably the first choice of more police departments than anything else.  Very low bore axis, and a simple striker fired trigger mechanism makes these guns very easy to shoot well with once you get used to the triggers.  17 rounds of 9mm was an improvement over the typical 15 rounds others guns had, and 15 rounds of .40 cal is nothing to sneeze at these days.

Glock 20/21.  10mm or .45, these full sized beasts give you everything you need to pull duty on a dark and storm night.    A lot of Law Enforcement Officers are running the 21 and I know a few that are running the 10mm.  15 rounds of 10mm is a lot of firepower.  With good accuracy and legendary reliability – A Glock is never a wrong choice.

Beretta 90 Series.  The 92FS, 92F, M9, M9A1, 92A1, 90-TWO, 96, 96A1.  Shooting the big Beretta is like driving a Cadillac.  Big, comfortable, comforting, reliable and accurate all with Hollywood good looks.   Beretta has a lot of visual style, but what I like best is the almost straight line feeding.  Mine can feed empty casing.  Super smooth action as well, thanks to it’s unique locking block.  The Beretta won the US Army contract for a good reason.  Like it or not – and I know I’m going to open a can of worms here – it kicked SIG’s ass in the Trials.  It kicked everyone’s asses in the Trials.  So much so that the Army actually had to “dumb down” the test just so the SIG could stay in the race and the Beretta wouldn’t be a lone competitor.  The 90 Series is battle proven around the world.

Beretta Px4 STORM.  This is Beretta’s newest service auto.  It uses a unique rotating barrel action with a traditionally Beretta like DA/SA trigger mechanism.  This action makes the Storm a soft shooting pistol as it takes more energy out of the recoil.  Like the 90 Series, the sights and the barrel maintain their relationship, they are very accurate shot to shot.  With good triggers and comfortable recoil – it’s easy to be a good shot with the Px4 STORM.  Even the Mid sized version… But the full sized is seriously just a pussycat.  You can get it in 9, .40, and .45 auto.  It’s one of my favorite new autos.

S&W M&P.  S&W decided to get serious with the Poly Striker platform and forced Glock to rush the Gen 4 to market.  Smith took a lot of LEO sales away from Glock. The Swampy as some call it, is a good pistol and a huge step up from Smith’s prior Glock Attack, the SIGMA.  *shudder*.   I bought one for my eldest Son, who upon getting the pistol, loading it, and having never fired it before – drilled the X in the target as perfectly as an Olympic Marksman from 20 yards.  They are accurate guns.  Like my Glocks, his Swampy has never failed.

Walther PPQ.  This gun surprised me.  The prior P99 was a gun that surprised me too.  500 rounds of mixed ammunition, it never failed.  But it had a couple characteristics that made it an oddity.  Such as the push down mag release and the top of the slide decocker button.  The PPQ does away with the decocker on top and gives the gun a normal and familiar mag release. Honestly I didn’t mind the P99’s mag release and I found that I would use my trigger finger to drop the mags, just like I did with my HK.  The PPQ is now available in either 4 or 5 inch barrel lengths and in 9mm or .40 caliber.  The PPQ feels good in the hand and is probably one of the best and most under-rated service autos on the market.  Let me put it this way – I really want a PPQ and will be buying one this year. Or Trading for it. A few years ago I had said that Walther was struggling to maintain it’s validity.  The PPQ anchors it.

Springfield Armory XDM.  Good trigger, good sights, and huge capacities make the XDM a solid choice.  If you can get passed it’s “only a mother could love it” looks.  While I’m not the biggest fan, I have to respect it. They are super accurate and easy to shoot well with.  I know owners who have dumped a lot of rounds with astounding accuracy through their M’s.

HK P30 and HK45.  The Germans really do engineer some fine hardware.  But the P30 and the HK45 are both over priced and in my opinion over rated.  With a standard trigger package, I find their triggers to be lacking in the quality of trigger pull that I would expect from such expensive guns.  And I don’t like glow in the dark toy like sights that come on them stock.  Again, for such an expensive gun, I want Tritiums on it right out of the box.  Don’t get me started on the price of spare mags.  For what you pay for an HK, it should come with Tritiums and 4 spares.  All that aside – these guns deserve consideration.  They are sharp looking, and they feel good in the hand.   You can not go wrong with an HK, you really can’t.  They are very well made.  And after you dump enough rounds through it… Cost wise, would be enough to put a kid through a 12 credit semester of college, the trigger does feel pretty decent.   They do look good… Like new BMW or Mercedes good looking.  Pistol-Training.com’s Todd Green did a long term test on the P30 and it ran some 93,000 rounds before forced retirement.  You could buy a new car for that much… Or you could afford to get sick or even have a (small) accident under Obamacare for that much money.  I believe that none of his other tests have run that distance… Which ultimately makes the HK’s probably the best choice out of the lot.

 

Weapons

Walther P22 KB

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Ever see a Rimfire KB before?  I hadn’t.  Until today.  Customer brought in a Walther with a “Problem”.

The KB cracked the P22's frame and subframe is damaged.

This isn’t just from one bad round.  The customer had a second piece of brass that looked exactly like the first.

It wasn't a squib or barrel obstruction... I think the ammo was double primed.

When we have a KB, there are are two Culprits we look at… The Gun or The Ammo.  Most of the time, the Ammo is the cause.  Remington Golden Bullet Bulk Pack.  I don’t have a lot number or anything.  The Customer Cleaned and Lubed the gun, fired several magazines full with no problem and then suddenly had a jam… then another jam and the slide wouldn’t go forward with the magazine in.  Then he noticed the frame and the brass.  Looking at the brass, the way the casing was blown out like that… I think we have some cases that were double primed.  If it was fired out of battery, the brass would be blown out differently and distinctively, indicating it… in this case, the primer material in the rim blew out the rim.  A normal amount of primer wouldn’t do this, and there isn’t enough case volume for a double charge… but the pressure spike from too much primer – would do exactly this.

Luckily no one was hurt, nothing else was damaged.  We’ll see what Walther and Remington does.