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Walther PPS in 40SW-initial review

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2020 4:13 pm
by Vonz90
Apparently I bought one last night. I put in a bid that I figured was too low but won anyway.

So - cool.

Re: Walther PPS in 40SW

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2020 5:20 pm
by Precision
I won't buy anything else in .40. It just isn't that much better than 9mm in any way and the cost of feeding it is going to go up as the round falls further out of favor. But if you got it at a way too cheap price. Meh, it is a good gun and cheaply purchased good guns are awesome.

Re: Walther PPS in 40SW

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2020 2:31 am
by Jered
.40 S&W isn't much better than 9mm. I've got two guns in .40.

I prefer .45 or 9mm.

Re: Walther PPS in 40SW

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2020 6:16 am
by randy
If you decide you don't like it in. 40, did you get it cheap enough that converting it to 9mm is an option?

I don't like the sharp impulse of the. 40 and will stay with 9mm and .45acp in autos as well.

In either case always nice to get a good deal.

Re: Walther PPS in 40SW

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2020 2:27 pm
by MiddleAgedKen
I should rent some 9mm and practice more; I've got out of the habit and need to get back into it. I liked .40S&W better back when, but I practiced more with .40.

Re: Walther PPS in 40SW

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2020 3:14 pm
by Vonz90
randy wrote: Tue Jan 07, 2020 6:16 am If you decide you don't like it in. 40, did you get it cheap enough that converting it to 9mm is an option?

I don't like the sharp impulse of the. 40 and will stay with 9mm and .45acpin autos as well.

In either case always nice to get a good deal.
I bought the P99C a bit ago in 40 and like it a lot. I do not really notice any extra recoil, but some of that is that it is a much nicer pistol that the LC9 I was carrying. The issue with the P99C is that it is kind of fat (1.3 inches vs .9 for the LC9). I thought I would get use to it but have not.

The PPS has almost the same dimensions as the LC9, same # of rounds, but they are 40 rounds. So I am figuring win/win. And for $205, not a lot of risk if I do not like it.

I am going to get some 12 round magazines with extensions for the P99C. That makes it really a midsize pistol and it can be my bedside pistol to replace the Ruger P97DC that has filled that role since 2000 or so (it is very reliable, but has the worst trigger in the known universe).

One thing, they both have the paddle mag release, which I like.

Re: Walther PPS in 40SW

Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:27 am
by Vonz90
Picked it up last week. The ad was said "almost new" or words to that effect. However, it looks absolutely new, like probably not fired etc.

So far quite happy. I ordered some extra maga for it. Should get it to the range next week.

Re: Walther PPS in 40SW-initial review

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2020 4:10 am
by Vonz90
Got out shooting the new piece over the weekend.

First impressions.

The PPS itself seems brand new. If it was shot at all, it could not have been more than once briefly.

Walther magazines have tight springs. Not the easiest to load, even as a single stack.

The trigger is not as smooth as the P99c. Way better than the Ruger LC9, but what isn't.

I did 2 boxes of Fiocchi, 1 of Winchester white box and one Remington HTP hollow points. One failure to feed on the Win, but still breaking in so I think not bad for beak in. The others were clean.

Accuracy was fine, I shot at 7, 10, and 20 yards and had no issue keeping it center of mass-ish. When I took my time I had no problem getting head hits (silhouette targets) at the short ranges and mostly at 20 too.

On the negative side, the 40 kick is definitely more snappy than the 9mm in the LC9. The wider grip and heavier frame on the P99C make it less apparent, but it comes out in the PPS. It is not unpleasant, but there. What is unpleasant is the aggressive grooves on the grip back-strap. After about 2 boxes I could feel that pretty well right on the web of my hand. I may throw some Talons or similar on there to mitigate that.

A related issue, the thinner grip left me pulling left a couple inches sometimes, especially on follow up shots. It improved when I worked on it, but a better grip may be a more systematic fix.

I have tried carrying it a couple times. It fits right in the same pouch with an extra mag (2 x 7 round mags total). It is only .9 inches wide and lighter than the P99C, so it basically carries like the LC9, same round count too. It is about half an inch taller, but feels the same on my belt. Big improvement over the P99c which carries heavy and off my body too much.

On the whole, it is early, but I am happy so far.

Re: Walther PPS in 40SW-initial review

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2020 4:56 am
by SoupOrMan
Sounds like you found a pistol you enjoy shooting. Nice!

Re: Walther PPS in 40SW-initial review

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2020 12:35 pm
by Precision
Nothing wrong with liking what you bought. And at that price, not a bad bargain.