Walther PPS revisited

[LAFLA]

Well, it's been a year or so since the PPS was released. My wife carries a Kahr PM9 and is very proficient with it. The take down is still somewhat problematic for her with the slide release pin difficult for her to manipulate and push out. She really wants a PPS due to the method for field stripping and it's thinness. We have only come across one in town to handle and it felt nice to her. Unfortunately, it had been sold when we went back to the gun shop and no one else in town seems to have one. Can I get some opinions from you all on reliability and carry issues with it?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[chickdiver]

I've got one on order. It came highly recommended to me by my godfather, who happens to be a retired LEO, now private investigator- it's his current carry due to the ease of concealment. I fired one at the range before buying, and I was very pleased with it. The guys at the store had nothing but good to say about it as well.

Don't know where in FL you are, but I ordered mine from The Gun Gallery in Jax.

[Adam500]

I know B&H gunrack in east central Florida has one instock as of last week. I am sure they still do if you are close i can give you there information. Just let me know and i will send you a IM or e-mail. I am not sure if the moderators/sponsors like mention of non sponsored stores on the forum.

Adam

[Catalina]

I strongly recommend perusing these specialty forums prior to purchase.
PPS - WaltherForums
PPS Owners Forum - PPS Talk

[ppkheat]

Is the .40 cal PPS out yet?

[Hivoltage]

I had one and really liked it, it shot well, and shot every time I pulled the trigger. I sold it because I have a PM9 and a Walther P99 compact and had all the bases covered. But there was nothing wrong with the gun. I guess I am recommending it to anyone that wants it

[sojourner]

As mentioned, check the walther forum on the PPS. There are reported problems with failure to fire with large backstrap. By design, removing the backstrap makes the gun inoperable. There are reports of problems with using the large backstrap.

I truly want a single stack 9 for smartcarry at the gym (to replace my 38 spl revolver). To me, the kahr has it's pitfalls (trigger pull, charging the gun, maintenance and the propensity of the top round to come out of the stored spare mag), the Kel-tec PF9 is to iffy on quality (I've heard of one breaking on dis-assembly (the pin broke), and trigger pull). I was all ready to plunk down the cheese on the the PPS, but after reading about the problems with the large backstrap, I have reconsidered.

Whatever you do, research all the input, both good and bad, before dropping serious coin on the PPS.

[Hivoltage]

I think if you do research on ANY gun, or anything else for that matter, you will find people complaining about it. The same with cars, tv's, you name it. If you want a PPS, get it, and hope you dont get one of the very few lemons out there just like any other product manufactured in any country.

[sojourner]

I think if you do research on ANY gun, or anything else for that matter, you will find people complaining about it. The same with cars, tv's, you name it. If you want a PPS, get it, and hope you dont get one of the very few lemons out there just like any other product manufactured in any country.

I will respectfully disagree here. Walther/S&W decided to use the backstrap as a lockout function (as opposed to putting a lock on the firearm). The intention of the lockout function is good, but the execution is horrible.

When dealing with SD firearms, hope is not a good strategy. I don't want to find out I have a lemon when I am in a lethal encounter and my gun does not go bang.

I am not trying to argue, but for me, I consider the backstrap issue a non-starter for the PPS with regards to reliability. I want to love the PPS, but I just cannot with the blaring defect.

If anyone researches the good and bad and makes their decision, great. I am not going to argue that. I just want people to be aware of issues pre-purchase.

Regards.

[raptor2a]

I've got a 2nd edition PPS and love it. Not one problem yet with close to 1k rounds through it. Easy to carry, thin, relatively light, and very, very accurate. As someone mentioned, browse those other forums and do your research, but I love mine and won't carry anything else.

I showed it to some local Sheriff's Deps around here and they took it into their range and came back with a great big smile...they carry Sig .40s as std issue.

Just my .02
Rob

[MilitaryPower]

I have a First Edition 9mm. 750 rounds through it so far and I love it! I wouldn't get hung up on all the stupid little problems that get magnified over the internet. The gun has been awesome to me.

Yes, the 40 is out.

[the_fallguy]

Don't mean to hi-jack the thread but what is the difference between the first and second edition?

I got to spend a little range time with a friend's PPS and I was amazed how accurate the little gun was. It performed shot for shot with my P7! I seriously considered retiring my Kahr for a PPS after that range session.

[bae]

I've well over 1000 rounds through mine, without any issues.

[ctr]

My wife's PPS has over 500 rounds through it without problems. No FTE, no jams, functions fine. BTW, she does not remove the backstrap for cleaning - it is an unnecessary step.

[LAFLA]

Thanks to all for the input.

Adam500, B&H is only 50 miles from me so will probably head out there this weekend - appreciate the heads up.

Sojouner, if there truly is a problem with the large backstrap and failures to fire, I hope that by only using the small, which I'm sure will be the most comfortble for her, that will be a non issue. Do you think is is a matter of the larger backstrap just not sitting right on the pressure plate, or whatever is the disconnect mechanism?