Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns PPK

I recall Kevin (I believe it was him, but could be wrong) was decrying the fact that the S&W PPK is made in stainless steel. Just discovered, though, that they are also offering them in polished blued steel.

I had a 30s vintage PP in .32 back more years than I care to remember. I absolutely loved that gun...but not enough to keep it. Not enamored with the cartridge. Still, despite the heavy double action, I had no trouble hitting a mansized target at 100 yards every time, just shooting for the head and hitting the tummy.

Dan

The PP was the standard issue police pistol. The PPK was for detectives, the word for which in German starts with a K. The PPK/S came about when, in 1968, the US outlawed the importation of "Saturday Night Specials," and the Germans started sticking the PPK slides on their PP frames in order to make the overall size large enough to escape that designation so it could be imported. Eventually, they licensed the original PPK for manufacture in the US by Interarms, in Virginia, thus avoiding the importation restriction on the smaller PPK version. Now S&W has that exclusive right.

Blue or stainless, those little sumbitches kick like a mule and bite the web of your shooting hand. Had one, sold it gladly, and won't ever buy one again.

I've seen new S&W's that would feed FMJ's. It's one of those guns that I always wanted until I got into the business.

I always wanted one to but as I said the other day after reading the owner's manual on operation I'm not so sure I do any more being a south paw who's primary knowledge semi postols is of the 1911.

This looks to be more user friendly according to their owner's manual than the PPK.

http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductDetails/p232-two-tone.aspx

From what I'm hearing, the addition of the beavertail has resolved that biting problem.

PS The shop down the street has several of these new PPKs, and I just checked them out. I wasn't impressed by the way they feel when you work the slide, the safety, and whatnot. Feels cheap to me. Also, the lettering on the exterior is all laser etched rather than engraved, as they used to do it. That adds to the cheap appearance.

The P232 is a fine weapon. I had it's predecessor, the P230. It's a bit larger in all dimensions than the PPK, though. Owning one, you'd always be asking yourself why you didn't get a 9mm in the same size gun, which are today widely available, but were not when the P230/P232 was originally designed.

I had a sig 232 a ppk and bersa thunder 380 all at the same time and short story is the bersa is still here and the other two are gone for good reasons and not $$ factor

The best PPK\S i ever owned was back in the 70's and chamber in 22 LR. I should have keep it.

They were a good gun 50-60 years ago. Now there are many far better options. Kel Tec or LCP for serious deep cover carry, Sig Sauer if you want an all steel 380 that looks cool. Other great options as well. I have had two, really tried to like them, hated them for several good reasons.

well,
I am a southpaw too and i never found them difficult to operate.
Kick like a mule? Surely you jest.
Never had one bite me either.
The 1911 is how old a design?
I like the old ones, as in WWII, and the early 50's. I have fired a lot of rounds out of a Manurhin, which is a walther made in france due to some unpleasantness in the 40's when other countries had some small problem with germans building weapons.
There are better choices available today, but they are what they are. I could get a walther, i didn't think i could get Puzzy Galore. Had a thing for Ursula too.
Now i have had friends that have had multiple problems with the interams versions, and i don't know about smith

Would you mind sharing those "good reasons"?

Sure, The walther would jam on several types of ammo and accuracy us not up to par compared to the bersa or sig, and the sig was reliable as the bersa and accuracy was almost there but the biggest problem for me was the tang on the sig is small and my hand is big and with out tight shooting gloves (bare handed) the slide on the sig would cut my hand in the web between the thumb and index fimger. so it went and the bresa found a permanate home.

I had an Astra Constable (similar design to the PPK) in my early 20's. IIRC it was not easy to shoot, but was reliable. I eventually got tired of it, and sent it down the road.

One of the funnier gun stories I have ever heard involved a PPK. At the friendly local shop a lady walked in and started chatting with the owner, who knew her & her husband. After a while the owner asked her if he could show her any guns, and the lady said, "...no, my husband just bought a little Saturday Night Special from you, he said it only cost him $59.95". The owner, who was also a baptist minister and as honest as they come, was puzzled and said, "gee, I don't recall selling anything like that." The wife looked around, looked down in the case, and said, "well, it looks just...like...this...one..."

She was pointing to a PPK, and the price displayed was $599.99.

After a moment, she looked up at the owner and said, "looks like the price went up." Then she tuned and walked out. When the owner told me the story, he admitted he had not seen the husband in several weeks...

When I worked for a large Class 3 importer, I had my first CCW and it was in California of all places. For one year, I carried in CA and one of my carry guns was a Stainless Interarms PPK. That gun would gobble up all the Silvertips I could feed it, and cluster them into itty-bitty groups like it was a big boy�s gun; I really liked it. So one time I spent the night at my girlfriends house (No, not what you�re thinking), and when I got up, I guess I wasn�t thinking straight and I left the PPK at her house. She took it to work with her so she could give it back to me at lunch. She worked at a Christian Elementary School. She decided she didn�t like the idea of a loaded gun sitting in her car, so she pulled the magazine out. Then she remembered that I always dry fire after unloading, so she did the same�B A N G! !

Through the floorboard of her Toyota Celica, and took out the passenger side front tire. Right there in the parking lot of the Christian Elementary School! So for lunch, I went and got her a new tire, and then on the weekend, I repaired the hole in the floorboard of the Celica. She was a very sweet girl, with an IQ well into the genius range; she just didn�t know guns. I just laugh every time I think of that story�I would have bought tickets to see the look on her face

As for the new S&W PPK�s. Everyone I�ve talked to that has one really likes them. The tang is VERY functional, but to me it just detracts from that classic look. I was aware they make a blued one, but most of the sales are the stainless ones. Modern manufacturing has made the new PPK�s very reliable, and they really are a first rate .380 these days (speaking of the brand new S&W one�s only). The Interarms PPK�s have, in my experience, always been pretty good. Meaning, every now and again, you find a lemon, but most worked very well with FMJ ammo, and most would function Silvertips very well. Other more flat bullet shapes would cause problems from time to time, but the Silvertip has always been an excellent bullet; even today.

By today�s standards, the PPK is large and heavy for a .380, but that doesn�t mean it�s a bad gun. Just means that if size and weight are of great concern, then there are better choices.

Thanks, ld.

Kevin, with your girlfriend's high IQ at least she was smart enough to have the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

kevin, i still have some .380 silvertips that i carried in that manuhrin.
Which dates me, i also have loaded .40s&w rounds with 155grain silvertips.

I have an Interarms PPK that I carry that I bought new back in 91 or 92. I've shot it a lot over the years, it is incredibly accurate for a small pistol and reliably gobbles up everything I feed it. They are neat little guns with a lot of history behind them. Being a bit of a traditionalist mine is in blue.