To all those who carry Walther P99s in either 9mm or .40 cal,
Are these guns good for concealed carry? Are they reliable? I'd like an automatic with high-cap, but don't want to go the Glock way, and I'm looking seriously at the P99 as a viable option. Feel VERY free to post pics and show your piece off ;-)
I have one. I don't carry it only because I prefer something smaller. It has been totally reliable. Hicaps are very expensive just so you know. The P99s were actually designed by one of the Glock designers- and I have found mine to be Glock reliable. Sorry no pics...
My Smith compact SW99 is in effect the same gun overall - I rate it highly for what it is. It has some G26 flavor in some ways and is a great concealment piece. I usually carry much larger but am happy if this is all I have on board.
I have a pre-2004 P99 AS Military 9mm, a 2004 P99 QA Titanium .40 S&W (with the light rail), and a P99 Compact AS 9mm.
They are phenomenal guns. I prefer the AS (Anti Stress) triggered versions (DA/SA with a very light and shorter SA trigger arc over the competition) over the QA (Quick Action....Walther's take on a Glock-like trigger).
They are very accurate, lightweight, accurate, reliable (although my P99 QA has choked on Winchester's 165 grain BEB rounds....those rounds have caused malfs in other .40 S&W guns I own), have good trigger pulls for plastic, striker-fired guns and thin.
Two great things about them are the user interchangeable features: the commonly mentioned backstraps and the rarely mentioned front and rear sights....the sights can be user swapped very easily for night sights....no need for a brass hammer and punch or sight press tool!
The P99C AS is every bit as small and concealable as their closest competition, the Glock 26/27. They also take their bigger sibling's magazines with no problems.
I can conceal my P99 AS and P99 QA, but the P99C AS is a gun carrier's dream.
I do not have the P99, but I do have the PPQ M2 .40 It is right there as my favorite handgun with my Glock19. It has the best stock trigger of any gun from any manufacturer I have either owned or fired. And we are talking a LOT of guns there.
The P99 AS is the best P99 in my opinion. I have to say that I love the PPQ M2 though, got to be the most underrated firearm I have seen in a long time. It's just a superb firearm. The PPQ is like knowing about the Beatles or Led Zep before everyone else did.......
Second variation, military model. White outline sights, 16 round magazines, wood stippled backstrap (not installed).
Back in late '97 when I first read about this (then) new Walther I had to have one. I must have called 12 different on-line gun shops looking for one. No one had ever heard of it. Most thought I was talking about some other manufacturer's product. I had to tell them what this new pistol was and who was making it.
I finally found a Walther P99 at some gunshop in Texas. I paid the man over the phone and had it shipped to the local shop. The serial number was 100237. Serial numbering for the first variation started at 100001, so I had the 236th commercial P99 ever produced (that number does not include the prototypes). I cry every time I think about that P99 because I traded it off about 10 years ago for another Walther (or SIG or HK, can't remember now). It had the roll marks and the trigger with the little safety tab on it that wouldn't allow the trigger to move unless it was pressed straight back.
That model came with 16 round magazines which at the time, was unheard of after the Crime Bill of '94 had been in effect. I sold it with a threaded Walther barrel ($400) and a Laser Devices Inc. laser head for the dustcover rail ($299). Sure do miss it. I wish I knew who had it I'd make an offer for it.
As an experienced owner do not think the Walther P99 is the same as the Smith 99. There are differences especially with the trigger, both feel and reliability.
SCfromNY,
We got a lot information about those pistols all over interwebs, but it would be nice to know more specific info about your experienced stories about Walther P99 and SW99 differences.
Thanks.
I picked-up a slightly used S&W SW99 in 45 ACP---terrific pistol but too large to conceal---have an HK P2000 9mm for that!
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