[guate_shooter]

Greetings

I have been looking into the Walther PPS lately, NO i will not be switching from my XD's, my GF is looking for her first handgun, she enjoys shooting my XD40 V10 and she is very accurate with it, she has a little bit of a problem with my 40sc but shes a decent shooter with the 9sc.

We looked at a PPS in 9mm at the range, the price is a little high, but she really liked the size of it, since it fits perfectly in her tinny little purse.

The capacity of it is 6, 7 or 8, depending on the kind of mag that you have in it and the bottom plate. I dont know if I would fully trust only heaving 6 rounds in it, but if we go back to the old days of the revolver thats all that they had. I fully understand that with practice and training all you will need mostlikely is 1 round if its hit on the right place, but at a close crossfire situation I would like to have something to depend on.

What are your thoughts on the PPS, and has anybody taken one for a test drive?

Thanks

 

[Joeywhat]

It's pretty high on my hit list of guns to own. Lots of recoil, hard to hold on to, but fits easily in your pocket.

I wouldn't even think about going with .40. 9mm is plenty in a gun that size.

 

[robinsre]

I got a chance to take out and review the PPS for the gun-shop I work for part time.


For me it's a No-Go...and here's why.

What I liked : The PPS is slim, definitely slim. It's easy to operate with no manual safeties. It's easy on the eyes. The trigger pull is GREAT, feels like an improved Glock trigger pull.

What I didn't like: The "slim" features beats the **** out of your hand. With a proper grip on the gun, in .40, the 200 rounds I put down range were BRUTAL. I've put 300 rounds down range with a scandium .357 mag revolver and not had it feel like that before."Carryability" is important but it should not surpass ergonomics.

The capacity is low. The small medium and large sized magazines contain 5, 6, and 7 rounds of .40 respectively. Whoop De Doo. For 5 rounds, I'll take a pocket revolver hands down every day.

It was unreliable. Some folks claim you have to "break" these guns in. I've never had to "break in" a pistol before. All my defensive guns work fine out of the box, if they don't I don't want them as defensive guns. In 200 rounds of Factory FP ammunition the PPS jammed 6 times...an unacceptable standard imho.

The "gun disabling backstrap." Don't get me wrong, I think replacable ergonomic backstraps on pistols are a GREAT idea, I don't really like the idea that removing them disables the gun. What happens if I drop my gun on concrete and the backstrap breaks during a gunfight? Much like the dreaded S&W "Hillary Hole" It's just another thing to go wrong on a gun when you need it most.

The magazine design. The wonderful little plastic tabs on the magazine make it painful to load if you're not wearing gloves and you have big meaty hands like I do. It's also incredibly easy to get the flesh of your hand caught in between the base and the magwell! OW!

The magazine release : try as I might I CANNOT get myself to appreciate or enjoy any mag release other than the standard ambidextrous "button" style. The trigger guard mag release requires you to put your finger inside the trigger guard when you're going to drop your mag, which to me is a BIG no no.

 

[TimXD9]

I went gun window-shopping today, in anticipation of buying a carry gun soon. Checked out both the PPS and the P99, as well as a few others. Not crazy about the PPS. Nice gun, but I don't like the taller frame. The mag release doesn't seem too bad to me since I'm used to the trigger guard release on my P22, but I liked the release on the P99 better - and my P22 much better, but again I'm used to it and it's comfortable to me.

Overall I like the P99 better, but it's about the same size as my XD-9 Service, so there's no advantage to it over what I already have IMO.

 

[guate_shooter]

Thanks a lot for the fast response, like I said before I have not been able to try the PPS at the range. We were only window shopping, i wish she would get comfortable with the xd9 sc, I am yet to have a problem with any of my xd's.

How about a keltec?

I'm just looking for something small, not too much maintenance, easy to operate and reliable, it will not be a range toy, mostly will be a CC gun for her, without the hastle of switching hoslters to hide it. It will definetly be a 9mm, I have even considered a .380 for her.

Thanks again for the response.

Pablo

 

[mousegun380]

I was just about to suggest a KelTec. I wouldn't go .380 if she's going to carry it in her purse since you can get a 9mm in a hardly much bigger gun. I have the 380 and it is a BITCH to shoot anyway. In that frame size I would stick with the .32 for a chick but I digress. Check out a P11 for her. Off the top of my head it's 10+1 and DAO. Shouldn't be much thicker than a PPS if at all. If that's too big for her they make one called a PF-9 but I think it's only 6+1. I'm a big keltec fan, haven't had any problems.

 

[Joeywhat]

Kel-Tec, kahr, Walther (namely the PPS and P22), and a few others all require break in periods. If those aren't your thing, stay away from all those. My P22 needed 500 rounds of hot .22 before it started working flawlessly, and ate any ammo I put through it.

Pretty much everyone reports a few hundred round break in with kel-tec, in fact I think it's even listed in the manual. After that it's all G2G with these guns.

 

[Frontier Owner]

I haven't shot the pps yet. My boss has a PPK in .380. Great pistol to have if your at 50 to 100 yrds. I could consistantly break 3" clays at 100 yrds with it.

that is the only thing that had me looking at the PPS.
the price and capacity is what pushed me back to the XD.

 

[robinsre]

stay away from the Kel-Tec's all their small pistols that I've handled have been utterly unreliable.

I sold the single keltec I owned because it jammed SO badly it had to be disassembled and a cleaning rod was needed to knock the brass out.

I know you're saying it's DEFINITELY going to be a 9mm but I think you should look into a short barreled .38 spl revolver.

 

[Xarvet]

A few weeks back I went to a local gun store thinking the PPS was going to be the answer to my prayers for a good single stack 9mm for carry. I didn't actually shoot it, but I really didn't like the ergonomics and thought the mag release was very awkward. I did shoot a Kahr PM9 (a rental gun so it was well used) and the slide didn't go back into a battery 3 times out of about 30 rounds. The whole experience was enought to convince me that I'd rather carry a slightly fatter and heavier XD9sc (or even Glock 26) that I know is rock-solid reliable and easy to shoot. My .02

 

[GP40X]

I currently own a Walther PPS 9mm and carry it every day. Nice and thin and is a sweet shooter in 9mm. I have also shot a .40 (rented it at the range to see if I wanted to go from 9 to 40) and I agree with robinsre that it is not fun to shoot. Walther should not have made the PPS in .40. Some guns were meant to be one caliber. Bigger is not always better.

Best ammo for the 9mm is 124 Gr or 124 Gr +P. Practicing with 124 gr FMJ is fine and not punishing at all. I have had 10 malfucntions in about 1K rounds. All malfunctions occurred after at least 100 rounds of fairly dirty practice ammo (124 Gr WWB and/or PMC) then shooting some of my carry ammo. A quick cleaning and it's ready to go again (always check your side arm with your carry ammo after getting it really, really dirty to see what may happen. I clean and lube any side arm I am currently carrying at least once a week wheither I shoot it or not and give it a quick clean on the line at the range before reloading with carry ammo to leave). Sweeping the mag release with your thumb does take some practice. I usually carry with 8+1 and carry two 8 round mags which gives me 25 rounds. If it is summer in Texas and a vest is inappropriate (t shirt weather) I usually pocket carry it with the 6 round mag (6+1)and one of the 8's as a spare.

I am currently going from .45 ACP to 9mm due to problems with my shoulders (yes I am an old cuss) and my next two purchases financed by 1911 sales are a XD service 9 & a XDm in 9 as soon as it come out

 

[Joeywhat]

With Walther's new mag release, I usually just use my trigger finger. You can keep your grip that way, as opposed to rotatin your hand so your thumb can reach.

It's awkward, but after practice it's fine.

 

[mikengracie]

I looked at every carry weapon I could lay my eyes on and handled most of them. i looked at Kahr, glock, walthers etc etc etc. I ended up with the P99c 9mm. Not much bigger than the Kahr and light. Easy on the hands and packs away clean.

 

[Sidewayz]

I owned a first edition(just a fancy marble lookin finish & aluminum case) PPS 9mm for about 3 months. I agree with GP40X, it is a sweet shooting gun in 9mm. I put about 250 rounds through it during that time and had no problems at all. I used 115gr WWB, 124Gr Federal hydra-shok, and 147gr Winchester JHP. All shot well, again with no problems. The mag release does take some getting used to. I found that operating it with the trigger finger worked best. It is real thin which makes it very easy to conceal even in an OWB holster.

I ended up having to send it back to S&W because the "cool 1st edition" finish started to peel off. They told me that the finish couldn't be duplicated here in the US as it was originally done at the factory in Germany. Sooo, they kindly offered to send me a brand new black PPS w/some extra mags to make up the difference. I was upset about spending $700. on a gun then having to trade it for another after only 3 months, so I requested a full refund instead. Which they promptly did and I had a check two weeks later. Needles to say I got bit by the XD bug and havn't looked back. Til you brought it up anyway

That's my PPS story, hope it helps!

Would I buy another PPS 9mm: Yes, and I might as my wife loved it.
Would I trust my life with it for CCW: Yes
Would I give up my XD for the PPS: No