Walther PPQ .22LR automatic pistol
I don't think it is a secret that I like Walther pistols, the P99 being one of my favorites. Several years ago Walther did something of an update on the P99 and developed the PPQ, which is a full sized combat pistol. I have the 9mm M2 Navy variation of the PPQ, which has some enhanced features, including a threaded barrel. Once upon a time, .22 rimfire conversion kits were fairly common for centerfire pistols, but these days it is apparently as easy, or easier, to make a full sized replica of the pistol in .22LR, which brings us to the PPQ-22.
While not an exact duplicate, the .22 PPQ is about as close to its bigger 9mm brother is you can get. (9mm at the top- .22 below):
The .22 pistol did away with a few of the 9mm features, including the interchangeable rear grip straps. Something else that was changed is the use of a concealed hammer rather than the striker found in the 9mm pistol. The trigger has a good feel, although heavier than I'd like. The rear sight on the .22 has a snag-free appearance which I like better than the squared-off rear sight on the 9mm. The .22 has the now typical Walther slender barrel which is sleeved so as to appear full sized. This is the tactical model so it came with the threaded barrel adaptor to allow attaching 1/2X28 suppressors, which are more or less the American standard. In this photo you can see how the barrel is configured to appear full sized:
You slide the sleeve over the thin barrel and then screw on the suppressor adaptor to secure the sleeve in place. A wrench is provided, which is good because you cannot remove the slide from the frame with the suppressor adaptor screwed in place. You need to remove the adaptor every time you field strip the pistol, which is a bit of a pain. One the plus side, a spare magazine was included!
Here you can see the pistol with a CGY Hydra suppressor attached:
These are first impressions, I haven't had the pistol out on the range, but hope to do so next week.
While not an exact duplicate, the .22 PPQ is about as close to its bigger 9mm brother is you can get. (9mm at the top- .22 below):
The .22 pistol did away with a few of the 9mm features, including the interchangeable rear grip straps. Something else that was changed is the use of a concealed hammer rather than the striker found in the 9mm pistol. The trigger has a good feel, although heavier than I'd like. The rear sight on the .22 has a snag-free appearance which I like better than the squared-off rear sight on the 9mm. The .22 has the now typical Walther slender barrel which is sleeved so as to appear full sized. This is the tactical model so it came with the threaded barrel adaptor to allow attaching 1/2X28 suppressors, which are more or less the American standard. In this photo you can see how the barrel is configured to appear full sized:
You slide the sleeve over the thin barrel and then screw on the suppressor adaptor to secure the sleeve in place. A wrench is provided, which is good because you cannot remove the slide from the frame with the suppressor adaptor screwed in place. You need to remove the adaptor every time you field strip the pistol, which is a bit of a pain. One the plus side, a spare magazine was included!
Here you can see the pistol with a CGY Hydra suppressor attached:
These are first impressions, I haven't had the pistol out on the range, but hope to do so next week.
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_PPQ
Surprisingly well pit together data and specs for the PPQ - a decent primer or introduction.
Mike0 -
https://waltherarms.com/ppq-m2-7/
An additional strong source straight from the proverbial tap.
Mike0 -
Out of all the handgun manufacturers in the world, perhaps none is as overlooked or underrated as Walther (at least in the crowded market consumers face in the United States)
Walther has consistently been producing high quality firearms since 1886 and many of their pistols are among the most iconic in the world, including the PPK - P38 and the P99 - I have their polymer black bullpup advanced design concept .22 long rifle semiautomatic carbine as well as some "Luger" and "Mauser" logo / banner branded 3rd and 4th generation pistols that flew under everyone's radar at the turn of the centry
Their pistols serve as the sidearms for numerous militaries and law enforcement / gendarme / paramilitary / private contractor / first responder agencies across the globe - but as referenced above the aforementioned Walther never seems to be held in as high regard as other companies comparable products like Glock or Smith & Wesson or HK or SIG Sauer
But one thing is for certain: Walther makes good stuff.
The PPQ caused quite a stir back when it was first released in 2011 for one simple reason: the trigger rendered most other competitors clone or similar platform design architecture variations obsolete or laughable - in another league. A game changer least afloat in a sea of multitudes of look alike nearly identical in appearance and purpose clones and contract spec guns.
WHAT IS THE PPQ?
Simply / basically / from a patent design architecture platform the PPQ is a development of the P99 pistol and it's unseen internal innovations. The P99 was first released in the mid-late 1990s and was unique because it essentially combined the DA/SA trigger mode with the striker fired pistol. In other words, it was like merging the trigger system of a SIG P226 or Beretta 92 with a Glock. It did not just look like these guns externally but incorporated the best internal design features and patent concepts from the industries so called top 5 competitors (it's the 1886 Lebel infantry rifle of the modern pistol market).
To this end - through great research and development but surprisingly little advertising or market roll out fan fare - trade publication exposure - the P99 was one of the most innovative pistols of all time. The first shot was long like a DA trigger pull - while all subsequent follow up shots were "short".
If you desired your first shot to be short and instead of or rather than manually cock a hammer in the traditional fashion - you would instead pull the slide rearward by a quarter of an inch to prime the pump as it where. To manually decock the weapon you would simply press a button on the top of the slide. Both work perfectly and are bullet proof safety wise but training is required as well as faith in concept - an old dog learning new tricks.
The P99 is a truly excellent weapon built to the same standards as Glock (a design team baseline mandate or target along with 3 specific military and LEO contract spec sets) and it was adopted by many European militaries and police forces as their standard sidearm after fierce competitive test trials and torture to failure events.
But in the United States the P99 just never took hold. Glocks had taken over and people were wanting striker fired guns with a single action only trigger. Buyers experienced product blindness and market fatigue as 3 new pistols seemingly were introduced and reviewed in the trade or at shows every week (a slight exaggeration)
In early 2011 team Walther sought to change this by developing the P99 into the PPQ (called the P99Q in Europe). The PPQ is simply a P99 with improved ergonomics and with a Glock style trigger only it was much lighter and crisper in comparison to other guns on the market - approaching match grade or custom drop in levels of performance direct from the factory and untouched out of the box.
The PPQ with the paddle release (called the PPQ M1) will even accept the same magazines as the P99, and the two pistols are compatible with holsters and many other accessories.
FEATURES
The PPQ is much like a Glock in terms of its design. It lacks an external safety (except for the bladed safety in front of the trigger that must be depressed in order for the trigger to be pulled), is striker fired, and takes down largely the same way.
But the PPQ has many other features as well. For one thing, it has an extended and ambidextrous slide release lever for convenience and to accommodate both right handed and left handed shooters.
It also sports a red loaded chamber indicator on the right hand side of the slide, and a Picatinny rail on the bottom of the frame, which makes it easy to add optics or lights or lasers.
The ergonomics are also excellent, and while this is largely subjective, the grips do have aggressive texturing and are designed to be extremely comfortable to hold in the hand with their three finger grooves and natural grip angle. Walther pistols are well-known across the board for being some of the most ergonomic in existence.
Three back straps are sold with the gun: small, medium, and large. Swapping out the back straps is simple and will require you to pop out a pin at the base of the grip with a screwdriver or something similar.
But by way and large, the most prominent feature of the PPQ and the feature that has caused it to stand out among its competitors is the trigger. The five pound trigger pullis very light and crisp, with a nice break and very short reset. Walther markets it as being the lightest trigger pull of any striker fired pistol on the market. Glass rod break no creep short take-up definitive engagement repeatable and consistent - user friendly from novice to national match level.
By direct comparison and mechanical patent design functionality the trigger pull on the PPQ is lighter and crisper than the one on the Glock or the M&P both of which can honestly be a little mushy and perhaps less than ideal for the new or non expert shooter. Examples of other striker fired guns with trigger pulls that are comparable to the PPQ include the CZ-P10C, HK VP9, and the Canik TP9SA/SF (which is basically a Walther clone) as well as the new P210 (in feel and reputation amongst reputable testers)
Two aspects of the PPQ that should be noted, and many people will perceive these aspects as being negative, are polymer guide rod and plastic factory sights. Both can easily be replaced, but it will be an added expense and is something you need to know about.
QUALITY
The PPQ is an excellent quality pistol. Both the P99 and the PPQ have been put through numerous extreme torture tests by militaries and law enforcement units all over the globe and have performed very well on them.
The PPQ is a reliable handgun that will feed just about anything you put through it. The slide is steel and built with a very durable Tenifer finish, which is the same finish that Glock uses and is extremely rust and corrosion resistant.
CUSTOMIZATION
Customization is one area where the PPQ falls a little short, at least in comparison to more popular guns such as the Glock, S&W M&P, or the Beretta 92 - as of yet the full soup to nuts after market support and customization and accessories markets are yet to be realized or developed to acceptable ubiquitous levels and have not even come close to market saturation and have yet to had a good trickle down penetration at the every day range level.
That being said, this is going to change as the gun becomes more popular, and there are already more customization options for the PPQ now that there were just last year or the year before and earlier.
As far as aftermarket support goes, you will have no trouble finding extra sights, triggers, guide rods, or holsters to use for your gun. The guide rod and sights in particular are two things that you would be wise to replace with metal ones.
VARIANTS
The Walther PPQ is available in four different calibers and many different variants. The calibers are .22 LR, 9mm Luger, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. Out of these, the 9mm is by far the most popular option.
Besides the caliber differences, the PPQ is also available in different sizes. The standard model features a barrel length of 4 inches (4.25 inches with the .45 ACP version). Walther also makes versions of the PPQ that have longer barrels, target features, as well as an SC (subcompact) version that is roughly the same size of a Glock 26.
In summary, here is a list of the current production variants of the Walther PPQ:
Walther PPQ SD Tactical .22 LR
Walther PPQ 5? .22 LR
Walther PPQ M2 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 Navy 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 X/XS F8 Night Sights 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 FDE 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 OD 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 Tungsten 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 Q4 TAC 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 Q5 Match 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 5? 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 5? Standard 9mm
Walther PPQ M1 Classic 9mm
Walther PPQ M2 .40 S&W
Walther PPQ M2 5? .40 S&W
Walther PPQ .45 ACP
Walther PPQ SD .45 ACP
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
In summary, here is a list of advantages that the PPQ provides:
Excellent quality
Superb ergonomics
Light and crisp trigger pull
Reliable
Durable finish
Accurate
And the disadvantages:
Guide rod is polymer
Sights are polymer
Aftermarket/third party support is not the strongest on the market
CONCLUSION
The PPQ is commonly available in the $500 to $600 range, which is about the same price you can expect to pay for a comparable Glock or Smith & Wesson M&P.
At that price point, you?re getting a lot of gun for the money with the PPQ. It?s reliable, accurate, and has some of the best ergonomics and trigger pull of any striker fired pistol that you can currently buy.
This is a collected series of facts and opinions and journal review extracts and manufactures marketing materials...
Ephemera if we'll curated and explored.
Now we need Mark Christian to eviscerate it - to highlight the good points and accurate data - and to use his experience and real world trigger time hands on testing to point out were I got it wrong or passed on propaganda or fan boy fiction.
It's a good framework for him to capture his range day data and contains a good template for comparison and collation.
I greatly look forward to his correcting my thread contributions.
Mike0 -
Bump - BTT - keeping current awaiting follow up reply.
Mike0 -
I had it out on the range on Monday along with the Walther PPK/S. Both pistols shot Remington and Winchester HV without a hitch; no failures to feed or eject with either ammo; suppressed or unsuppressed. Moving to Federal target ammo brought on a few failures to feed from the PPK/S but none from the larger PPQ. Suppressed was another matter: Both pistols had a few failures to eject with the target ammo. I tried CCI standard velocity and it didn't work well in either pistol: about one in ten rounds (one per magazine) failed to eject. With a suppressor it was more like one in five. Stick with HV ammo and you won't have any issues with functioning. 0 -
Mark, thank you for another well done review. 0 -
I don't mean to be a party pooper! But my take, is that it's just a warmed over version of their P 22.
Don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against Walther, or their 22 pistols. Just wish they would use something other than Zamak, (Zinc diecastings). In the construction of their 22 pistols. This dates back years, to my previous unhappy experiences. With the Erma .22 Luger, knock-offs. Made mostly with Zamak, diecastings.
Granted if the Walther .22's, are designed and manufactured so that the Zamak. Isn't exposed to great amounts of abrasion or impact. They will be almost as durable, as if they were made of aluminum. But I still have reservations, about major components such as slides, made of Zamak.0
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