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Dr. No was the first James Bond movie but the sixth book. In it Bond (James Bond) begrudgingly exchanges his .25 ACP Beretta for a Walther PPK chambered in the much more powerful .32 ACP, described as having “delivery like a brick through a plate glass window.” [Click here for the clip.] The PPK was available in .380 as well, but that wasn’t a popular or well-known caliber in Europe. Although the Mossad are still partial to .22 for close range wet work, one assumes most people would buy a pistol chambered in the relatively small caliber for newbie instruction, target shooting, and plinking fun. Walther’s PPK/S .22 allows you to do this with 007 style . . .

New for 2013, the Walther PPK/S in .22 long rifle is very much like the centerfire PPK in almost every way, from controls to weight and size to machining, fit, and finish. With millions of casual 007 fans out there, I must say that I think it was a great idea to offer the PPK in this chambering, which makes the pistol and the shooting more affordable and likely more fun. It’s certainly better for introducing new shooters to the sport, as recoil from a straight blowback .380 can be pretty stout.

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In The Box

The /S version was created by Walther to meet the new ‘sporting purposes’ importation requirement under the 1968 Gun Control Act. ‘S’ stands for Sport, and the frame is taller – i.e., the grip is longer – than the standard PPK. That actually makes the pistol a bit more pleasant for target shooting and plinking, as your otherwise-dangling pinky has a home. Probably a good choice for the .22 version, which I’d assume won’t be a popular CCW option where the extra size or weight would be less desirable.

In the black plastic Walther case, along with the PPK/S, is a 10-round magazine, a gun lock, an owner’s manual, warranty card, an NSSF safety pamphlet and a ziplock baggie with some parts and tools in it. Included are two replacement front sights – one taller and one shorter than the sight installed on the gun – for adjusting point of impact for elevation, a thin punch for pushing out the pin in the front sight, an Allen wrench for adjusting the rear sight for windage, and a wrench for removing the barrel nut. All in all pretty good kit, although I wouldn’t mind a second magazine. They’re available online for around $28.

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Although it has been quite a while since I’ve handled a centerfire PPK, it’s my understanding that the controls on the /S are identical. The magazine release is a thumb button high on the left side of the frame behind the top of the trigger guard. The slide-mounted safety flips up for ‘fire’ and down for ‘safe.’ That’s the opposite of most guns with frame-mounted safeties, but is the norm for guns with slide-mounted safeties – neither the location nor the operation is something I’m used to.

The safety is also a decocker, and pushing down on it safely drops the hammer. Unlike a lot of pistols, the slide can be racked with the safety engaged. Doing so automatically lowers the hammer as the slide comes forwards. Oddly enough, upon doing this or upon decocking, the trigger remains in the more rearward, single action ‘staged’ location even though the hammer is now down, and then the trigger springs forwards to its double action position as you flip the safety up to ‘fire.’ Some complicated German lockwork must be going on inside there.

The slide locks back on empty, but there’s no external slide lock/release control. You’ll have to insert an empty magazine if you want to lock the slide back. To release the slide, either eject the magazine and then pull back and guide the slide forwards, or insert a full magazine and slingshot it (which will chamber a round, of course).

Fit and finish on my nickel-plated version is quite good, with my only nitpick being the font and/or sharpness of the roll marks on the slide. It isn’t the same as on the centerfire version here. Slide-to-frame fitment is decent, machining and apparent parts quality (hammer, sights, safety, trigger, etc) are all very good, especially for a .22. Lots of metal, and very little plastic other than the grip panels. It feels like a real pistol, rather than like a reduced size, reduced quality, more plastic, lighter weight .22 version of a real pistol, of which plenty options exist.

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With that said, I don’t know what the slide or frame are actually made of except that I’m fairly certain it isn’t steel due in part to the impression I get just from feeling and tapping it and from the fact that it doesn’t attract a magnet (and I don’t believe it to be stainless steel). The breech block insert appears to be steel, as do most of the small parts and controls mentioned above. No further conjecture from me and I have not heard of any durability issues, but I bring it up due to some folks’ concern over zinc alloys and “pot metal” slides cracking in some .22 pistols. So far so good here, but I only have just under 300 rounds through my example at this point – mainly due to trying to conserve my dwindling .22 reserves.

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Field stripping is accomplished just like Bond’s PPK. Pull down on the hinged trigger guard, pull the slide all the way to the back and lift it up at the rear, then guide it off the front of the frame. The recoil spring uses the fixed barrel as a guide rod. That’s it! Field stripped.

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At the front of the barrel, a nut can be unscrewed in order to remove the barrel from the frame. However, a more common reason to remove that nut would be to install a thread adaptor. For instance, to effectively extend the barrel out the front of the slide and provide 1/2×28 threads for mounting some sort of muzzle accessory like a compensator, fake suppressor for the easy secret agent look, or real suppressor to more fully satisfy your inner Bond. Thread adapters for Walther’s P22 fit the PPK/S just right! I just picked up a Tactical Innovations one at my local gun store where I then shot the video below, but these guys also have some cool offerings.

 

On The Range

In the video above, you’ll see that it had a few hiccups right off the bat. My PPK/S apparently wanted a little bit of a break-in period and also benefitted from some lube – it came pretty darn clean of anything from the factory. You can actually see it getting better and better during that first range outing, and a couple hundred rounds later it cycles more reliably than it did then. That said, it still definitely prefers more powerful ammo (100% reliability so far) to weaker bulk box stuff (still has some failures to eject or to fully cycle the slide far enough back). With a suppressor, it ran the Winchester bulk with near perfect reliability whereas it would still suffer about one stoppage per mag without the can. I believe that a lighter mainspring (hammer spring) would also cure it of its dislike for weaker ammo while still providing solid primer strikes.

Now, some of it was my fault. Or, if I really felt like it, I suppose I could try to blame it on the design of the gun, but it was actually more of a training issue. You see, the slide is quite tall and has ‘skirts’ that cover the sides of the frame all the way down to right along the top of the trigger guard and along the top of the grips. It’s lower, as compared to the mini beavertail frame extension, than I’m used to. Basically, the only exposed frame is in front of and behind the grip panels (front- and backstrap, mostly).

All of this meant that I sometimes rode the slide a little bit, whether it was with a thumb or two on the side – a thumbs-forward grip does not work here unless you ‘fly’ them off to the side – or with the web of my shooting hand on the underside of the cycling slide. Although I never suffered painful slide bite, I could tell that it was contacting or rubbing on my right hand. With weaker ammo that was barely cycling already, any friction on the slide was a deal breaker. I actually think this gun might be shot best with a single hand, making sure not to hold it too high up on the grip due to how low the sides of the slide actually hang.

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Aside from struggling to remember to modify my normal shooting grip, shooting the PPK/S .22 was a real pleasure! Recoil is minimal and absolutely controllable due to the weight and construction of the pistol, but it still offers enough kick and feedback to be a lot of fun to shoot. I have some heavier, all-steel .22 LR pistols that barely move when you fire them, and the PPK/S gives you more of the sensation of shooting a ‘real gun’ than those do.

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Despite the short barrel and short sight radius, the pistol was very accurate for me for plinking purposes. The steel sights are sharp and there is plenty of light around the front blade to help with quick acquisition. If the front blade had a dot or was otherwise not the same solid black as the rear sight, my rested target accuracy would have been better. I found the factory-installed front sight to hit right where I wanted it and the rear sight required no adjustment either.

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The trigger in single action is pretty good. It’s fairly short with just a little creep before the break and, as far as DA/SA guns go, I’d say it’s up there in the good+ to almost-very-good category. There’s a couple millimeters of slack that you don’t have to repeat if you ride the reset, which gives enough of a ‘click’ feel that doing so accurately is pretty easy. Walther states 6.6 lbs for the single action pull but I was consistently measuring much closer to 5 lbs. The overall shape and contour of the trigger works well for me. I really wouldn’t change anything in the SA trigger pull category here at all.

The trigger in double action is crazy heavy. It’s super heavy in the centerfire PPKs as well. Walther says it’s 17.5 lbs. DA and I measured that amount exactly once. It was between 17 and 20 lbs on other tests. I believe the gun was consistent, but I just struggled to hold the darn thing still and keep the gauge on the same spot on the trigger each time while pulling that hard.

There’s the exact same amount of slack in DA as in SA (possibly it’s moving a firing pin block out of the way if it has one, but I’m not diving into the mechanics of this gun), and the overall DA pull is consistent – no stacking. It’s a bit gritty, but not horrible and I’d expect it will smooth out with time (assuming you ever pull the trigger in DA).

Bottom line: it isn’t actually physically difficult to pull the trigger with your finger – at least not for me – and it certainly ups the safety factor if you chose to carry the gun in DA with the safety disengaged. My accuracy in DA was just fine and I attribute that to the consistent pull right up to the break.

I thought the location of the mag release would be weird but it wasn’t an issue at all. That and the safety work just fine. The safety has nice, positive clicks at either end and smooth travel in between. The decocker function is easy to operate. The magazine drops free, empty or full, and loads easily even without one of those thumb button things that you see on many .22 LR pistol mags.

The lack of an external slide lock is not an issue for me as I have become quite used to my Beretta Nano, which is my EDC tun and has no external controls whatsoever other than a mag release. I could see this being slightly annoying if you’re using the PPK/S to introduce new shooters to pistols, however. You’ll need to keep an empty mag handy or you won’t be able to lock the slide back on command.

Conclusions

Bottom line: this is a really fun gun at the range. A good trigger, excellent accuracy, good reliability with quality/stronger .22 ammo (solid primer hits, btw), good ergos and overall solid, quality feel and heft make it a pleasure to shoot. It’s definitely a nice looking gun, too – anybody can identify it as the James Bond gun. “Cool factor” is there in spades, but in a caliber that’s easy to shoot, afford, and enjoy.

I believe there are a couple of .22 LR pistols in the same price range that are more reliable and accurate, but they don’t generally operate the same way as a centerfire or look much like a ‘normal’ pistol. For instance, a Ruger Mark III or 22/45 with their internal bolts. GREAT guns, but I find it easier to teach new shooters on something a little more ‘standard.’ Assuming our number one goal here is fun, I’d put the PPK/S .22 near the top of the list.

My personal experience with semi-auto .22 LR pistol reliability when the whole slide reciprocates isn’t great – I typically expect at least some ammo sensitivity. The PPK/S appears to cycle better than average now that it’s been broken in and I have learned to keep my grubby mitts off the slide. While plenty of other options compete on price and reliable cycling, the real deal steel feel of the PPK/S and the James Bond cachet give it something extra. Especially with a can on the front!

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Specifications:

Length:  6.1”
Barrel Length:  3.3”
Height:  4.9”
Width:  0.98”
Weight:  24 oz
Capacity: 10 rounds of .22 long rifle
Trigger Pull Weight: 17.5 lbs DA, 6.6 lbs SA (as stated by Walther. SA ~5 lbs as measured)
MSRP: $449 Black Finish, $469 Nickel Finish. Typical retail price $346 and $376, respectively (see GrabAGun, KYGunCo, etc)

Ratings (out of 5 stars):

Accuracy: * * * *
Given the small size, short sight radius, and black front sight I was much more accurate with this pistol than I expected to be. The fixed barrel certainly shoots straight, and I think the mechanical accuracy potential of the thing is way higher than I could get out of it.

Ergonomics: * * * *
Frame fit and angle are nice. Trigger is nice. Controls are fine, although I’m not a fan of slide-mounted safeties. Easy to manipulate the slide. Overall, comfortable and very good ergos for a sub-compact.

Reliability: * * * 
Three stars (average) in comparison against my experience with direct competitors, meaning sub-$400 semi-auto .22 LR pistols with reciprocating slides. Some distaste for light-loaded ammo. 100% reliable with stronger stuff. Overall, I think it’s about average for .22 of this sort.

Customize This: * *
As far as I can tell, the only aftermarket option that exists are thread adapters that are technically sold for the P22, but fit the PPK/S .22 perfectly. These would give you the ability to mount compensators, flash hiders, fake silencers, real silencers, and other silliness onto the barrel. Normal PPK/S grip panels won’t fit, and I can’t seem to find aftermarket options. Same for sights. At least not yet… (I believe the gun has been on the market for about 8 months). Most holsters for the PPK should work.

Fun Factor: * * * * *
I’m James Bond, beotch!

Overall: * * * 
A fun-to-shoot .22 option. Decent gun to teach first timers, but interesting and accurate enough that you won’t get bored with it either. I wish it ran cheap-o ammo better. If it did that, cost a bit less, or was made of steel/aluminum instead of zinc alloy this would be an “above average” four star rated pistol.

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77 COMMENTS

    • Seriously? A $350 pot metal gun with a 20 pound trigger pull? No thanks. I owned a P22 (two of them) and both had cracked frames around the 3000 mark. S&W told me that 3000 rounds was the limit for the P22. I know plenty of people have P22’s with double that round count, I’m just sharing my experience. I figure the Pk22 is just as much a POS as the P22.

      • Maybe you should take your finger to the gym and do some exercising if it feels like a 20 pound pull to you. Or maybe stick to the squirt guns, junior.

        • Did you not even read the article? It doesn’t /feel/ like a 20lbs. pull, it was tested repeatedly and showed a 17-20lbs. DA pull.

      • I’ve carried S&W my entire career (model 19 and 29) with a P-38 for backup, but those fine weapons are in no way similar to today’s S&W line: The aforementioned 19 and 29 were works of art that were highly accurate and above all dependable, this is simply not the case with any weapon I’ve see since the Brits bought the company some time back.
        As regards the PPK/S .22:
        1. S&W kept the smaller grip, not the traditional deeper grip of the entire PP series, so doubt to attract the “smaller hands” crowd with zero option for a larger, i.e., mans hand which makes this weapon less handy, no pun intended, and if anything more difficult to get use to.
        2. I’ve never seen a recent product from this company that had an acceptable fit/construction or even average accuracy–I’m not one of those buyers who accept the idea that to be useful out of the box a weapon first needs to be taken to a gunsmith before it becomes an acceptable sidearm–that, or you just have to wait befor the gun is “broken in.” Ridiculous.
        Further, I think the “pot metal” comment was fitting because although the current incarnation is not made of Zink you really have to ask what’s the difference if the weapon is just not dependable–not even to mention a 3000 round limit is totally insane.
        Simply put, S&W Walther ppk/s .22, Not Recommended. You want a Walther ppk/s in .22 spend a little more and buy a Pre-S&W Walther, you’ll save money don the bline.

        • Just to be fair, I have the newer Umarex PPK/S .22LR. Received it last year. I’ve had between 2000-3000 rounds through it (most of those being Mini-Mags or Winchester Super-X). The frame and slide has not cracked yet, and shows absolutely no signs of stress, and it gets fed a steady diet of hot .22LR. Umarex recommends Mini-Mags as proper ammo.

          When I received it, the internals obviously had some finish work done, but they weren’t top-notch. No tool marks inside or out. Slide was a little stiff. Trigger is unbearable in double action for my stubby fingers, but I have read some speculation that is to avoid light primer strikes.

          When I first fired it at the range, nothing would cycle except CCI Mini Mags or Super-X HV. And even then, the Super-X would fail to eject after firing when it was dirty and warm, and I’m speculating that’s less of a pistol problem and more from a slightly larger case than normal, since the PPK/S has a match chamber. Federal would fail to eject every single time in any velocity. I also have ran 50 rounds of the hot CCI Copper-22 through it with zero issue. It would not cycle CCI Standards, either. It did cycle Remington Golden Bullets, although those were filthy, dirty rounds.

          The only real issue I had with mine was a small burr at the base of the feed ramp, which was easily fixed with a spent case and 600 grit sandpaper in two slow, light passes for polishing.

          The slide has started to loosen, which has actually reduced my number of fails to feed or stovepipes from the last round not fully ejecting. I have also coated lots of moving parts with dry lube. That helps a lot.

          For me, the pistol cost $320.00 and is a well-finished pistol internally, but it’s not perfect….but it’s not horrible, either. I’ve seen more expensive pistols with far worse finish work (or lackthereof). If you read the literature with it, it discloses that some .22LR loads will not adequately cycle the action and recommends CCI HV ammo, Mini-Mag specifically.

          I don’t like FTE/FTF on new weapons either, but if the recommended ammo from the factory is High Velocity, that tells me it’s designed for High Velocity charges, not Standard and on a blowback design, stovepipes are to be expected with less than high velocity. For comparison, my 10/22 would eat anything, and the manual recommended Standard loads, but HV would work fine at the expense of accelerated wear…and said specifically not to use Stingers.

          The Walther P22 is a totally different animal from the PPK/S. The only resemblance they bear is caliber and barrel threading. Also, the P22 is cheaper than the PPK/S. After shooting both, it’s like comparing a Yugo to a Honda.

      • The P22 is made t the Umarex factory in Cologne where they also make airsoft guns. The PPK is made at the real Walther Ulm, Germany factory and is much better qualitty.

    • HELLO my name is MS. Sarah live here in Eastern WA. STATE (YAHOO) I have a piece of shit 22lr auto so I am looking at the pk222 ! I do carry a V10- 45 auto this is going to be my backup ! +it is so much cheaper to shoot ! OK you cant RELOAD for it THANKS everyone for your input !

    • HELLO my name is MS SARAH I live in ESTREN WA. (YAHOO) I have a piece of “SHIT” 22lr auto no more said with what everyone has said the ppk222 is not “bad” for a back up and much cheaper to shoot ! carry a V10-45 ACP sure it no match for my 45 ACP! I well thank everyone for there input LOOKS like I well buy one

  1. If I had a PPK I would buy one as training tool. As a 1911 fan boy I have the GSG/SiG 22 version for that reason. Back in the days when I could get a brick of golden bullets for $20 it was a great training pistol. (My 1911-22 hates Winchester bulk as does my Nano) However, unless that is your reason there are other 22lr pistols that are better choice just for shooting.

  2. How can you compare this to other pistols without even mentioning the Bersa Thunder .22? At least a hundred dollars cheaper and twice the gun: better trigger, manual slide release, alloy frame, steel slide, click adjustable rear sight, etc. The double action trigger pull is about half the pull weight of the Walther!

    • Good question! Mostly, I forgot about it. Some of that may be that I actually have precisely zero experience with Bersa, whereas I have handled and shot most of the other pistols I listed near the end as competitors. I don’t know how the Bersa would stack up. Maybe that makes sense for a future back-to-back comparo. There is a nickel version for about $300.

      Of course, if you’re a James Bond fan something that looks mostly similar still isn’t a PPK. From a purely functional standpoint, sure, maybe the Bersa is an alternative but then so is just about any other pistol. If you want the PPK look, there’s no substitute for a PPK!

    • Have to agree with Leadbelly. I love me some Thunder .22.

      If you want cachet and wow factor, definitely go with the Walther. If you want a gun that is basically the same layout, with quality materials and manufacturing, and a great (some even say better) trigger, at a big savings, get the Bersa.

      Personally, I have the Bersa. But, some people want “the James Bond gun”. As nice as the Bersa is, 007 never had one.

    • Haha 😉 …the vast majority of the PPK’s made in .380 auto or 9mm corto or 9×17 or whatever you want to call it were exported to the U.S. market. A rose is a rose, right? By any name, at least for much of the PPK’s early few decades, Europe wanted it in .32 (and sometimes .25, apparently). A .32 cal PPK worked for Hitler in his final moment.

      • 9×17 is .380 acp. Kurz(unsure of proper spelling) is german for short. 9 short is .380 acp also. As is 9 korto, again my spelling may be off. Korto is Italian I believe.

        For generations the .32 acp was pretty much standard as a police caliber all thru Europe. It was also used heavily by various militaries around ww2. The official pistol caliber of the Italians during ww2 was the .380 acp.

        • Officers in European armies carried pistols more as a symbol of authority than for military effectiveness. Outside of airborne or other special troops even platoon and company grade officers didn’t carry long guns. A .32 or a 380 was considered sufficient for that purpose. Officers in the US Army through First Wrold War also didn’t carry long guns but they were given a real combat pistol either a Colt SAA or later on a M1911. Platoon and company level infantry officers in the US Army in WWII carried the same infantry weapons as their troops. This practice became standard in all western armies after the war.

  3. Such an elegant-looking gun. I have to admit to a fondness for PPKs and other similar designs (Makarov, CZ-82, Bersa .380, Sig P232, etc). They just look so much more refined than the chunky black “tactical” pistols. Yeah, they’re generally chambered in underpowered rounds, but damn, that whole family of guns sure looks nice. It’s no wonder they chose it for 007’s sidearm.

    • There’s something to be said for pleasing the eye. I only own 2 semi auto pistols. A Makarov, which I truly enjoy, and a Sigma. The Sigma is a fully reliable pistol and I trust it. But it has the appeal of a brick.

  4. Great review and very cool looking gun… for whatever reason I’d still have trouble plunking down more than $300 for a .22 pistol. Maybe I’m just being unrealistic.

  5. I have a Walther PP in ,22, from Interarms, that I bought in the 70’s would the magazines for this gun fit it.? In the first picture what is the round with the grey bullet looks like two bullets on a 22 short case . It is also in the thrid pic just ahead of the muzzle.

    • looks like a 60 grain sub sonic load. In order to keep the overall length of the loaded cartridge in spec they shorten the case. I wouldn’t think it would work the Waltther reliably. I could be wrong.

    • No, the magazines with this gun are apparently specific to it. Same with the grip panels. From what I have heard, no other mags fit in it.

      That’s an Aguila Sniper Subsonic (SSS). Just picked up 500 of ’em a few weeks ago. It’s a 60 grain (!!!) .22 long rifle! I think they use a .22 short case and they still manage a pretty standard powder charge. Most subsonic .22 LR is slower because they reduce the powder charge, so it’s also weaker. This stuff is *nearly* full power and is slow mostly because of how heavy the bullet is. It did not reliably cycle the PPK/S .22 but did no worse than the Winchester bulk stuff. They both worked fine with the suppressor though! However, I have the SSS for shooting through my .22 rifles. The vast majority of .22 LR is already subsonic from a pistol (the fps stats on the box are for rifles) anyway so it doesn’t make sense to use it. The CRACK from the bullet going supersonic in a rifle though hurts the point of suppressing it to some degree, so the SSS is great since it packs a normal punch but doesn’t break the sound barrier.

  6. Having never read a Bond book, but recalling O’s numerous attempts to get Bond to carry a real pistol with a bit of oomph, perhaps someone could enlighten me as to why this macho man carried such a ridiculously underpowered .32 caliber firearm? As powerful as a brick though a window? I think not.

    • Because Ian Fleming worked in British Intel during ww2. His experience of pistols was what they were using at that time. Like most Europeans he felt that the small autos were perfectly adequate for the job. And the majority of the time they were. In one of his books, located in the Bahamas or Bermuda bond actually carried a S&W .38. To hear the description you would have thought he was packing artillery.

      With a few exceptions horsepower in handguns is an american thing. Even when the Europeans use the .45/11mm handguns they usually use a short case with a fairly low muzle velocity. I think the .455 webley was at the 650 fps mark with its 265 grain bullet.

      • My observation on Europeans and handguns is this:

        In general, Europeans don’t know jack about handguns. They’re more of a status symbol to Europeans. When their police want to impress people that they “mean business,” they start packing sub-guns. The Europeans might know how to make a handgun or two, but they don’t know jack about using them. Watching a European on a shooting range in the US with a handgun is either like watching an old lady holding onto an oversized sex toy, or watching some Appalachian preacher handle snakes while jabbering in some alien tongue. Neither act inspires confidence.

        The Europeans have never had the likes of men like Elmer Keith or Jeff Cooper in their midst, men who looked at the handgun and said “OK, it certainly isn’t a rifle or other long-arm, but odds are pretty high that when the first crap hits the fan, this will be the gun I have on my person at that moment. How then, do we maximize the effectiveness of what we have at hand?” Hence Keith’s fascination with the .357, .44 and .41. Cooper turned to the .45 ACP and 1911 and made it go for all it was worth, inventing a whole mindset of pistol combat shooting – shooting to win, not draw.

        • This comment made me laugh, modern pistol shooting originated from Fairbain and Sykes, two Brits.
          The Walther PPK was, and probably still is a British service issue handgun XL47E1.
          This guy probably thinks the only pistol is the 1911 in 45ACP.
          I like my PPK, and High Power, but nowadays carry a Glock, in 9mm

      • “Its the damn Baretta again!”

        “In a lady’s handbag.”

        “007….just leave the Baretta.” (As Bond tries to swipe it.)

  7. If .22 ever stays on the shelves again, I’m buying a .22 revolver and semi auto for practice and funsies. And maybe using it to teach my wife to shoot. This looks like a good option

    • it sounds ridiculous to even be saying this, but I remember my last few summers fondly. at least once a week I would ride my Honda Trail out to the nearby lake and dump a half a brick or more through my Sig Mosquito, then take a swim.

      this summer, I don’t think I shot more than a single box of CCI. when I first looked at it, I could’ve sworn that it was a bar of gold, then it faded away like a Warner Bros. cartoon mirage.

  8. While this pistol says ‘Walther’ on it, it is still just a “replica” as you put it because it is farmed out to Umarex hence the three crowns printed on the barrel. The slide is possible made out of pot metal. I was highly disappointed when I figured this out.

    Ironically, the Walther PK380 is actually recoil operated whereas the PPK .380 is blow back.

    • With Walther and Umarex owned by the same company I don’t know who makes what or if it’s all Umarex. The barrel itself doesn’t have that proof mark on it (it has the Walther logo and “cal. .22 l.r.” on it) but the Umarex proof mark is on the frame. I don’t know if some of the small parts like controls and hammer and whatnot are actually identical to the PPK and get sent to U by W or what… amended the text of the review, though, so it doesn’t make it sound like the gun is made on the same line as the centerfire versions.

    • It still runs reliably for me with quality ammo and with Blazer bulk box. Have not experienced a single stoppage with nice stuff from CCI or with that Blazer in a couple hundred rounds. The other stuff is just barely not strong enough and I see like one stoppage per magazine.

      It may be made of some sort of zinc alloy. Hopefully it’s more than strong enough for a .22. Time will tell, I guess. My plastic guns have been fine.

  9. I wonder if anyone can ever review a PPK without the tiresome and unoriginal references to James Bond – very boring.

    • Yeah, sorry. That crossed my mind before writing it up but I feel like it’s the primary reason somebody would buy this gun over an alternative like, say, the Ruger SR22. LOTS of options in .22 LR pistols, including many in the same size range with standard controls for teaching new shooters that are at least as reliable and often less expensive. Despite being more expensive, I wouldn’t be surprised if this gun outsold the similar looking Bersa .22. Why? It’s a PPK. Why do people care? Because Bond. Maybe I went too far in that direction but it would be a true oversight if it wasn’t mentioned.

    • Product placement of the PPK in the James Bond movies was probably one of the greatest marketing achievements in movies. I bought a PPK and will buy one of these. They are still great guns.
      If I had the money I would buy an Aston Martin, Ok maybe two, do they make a cheap training car?

  10. Have you ever heard of a SIG, Glock or lowly Ruger that needed “breaking in?” What a crock of crap this is from gun reviewers, always trying to rationaliz

  11. ..oops…rationalize malfunctions as something else. Look, folks, this imitation Walther isn’t even made of steel. Probably die cast in a toy factory by people who would rather be making cheese. Get a Ruger, a Buckmark, or a .22 conversion kit for your 1911 but at least get a real gun. Who cares if it looks like something James Bond would carry? He wasn’t real either.

    • I had a $3,000 1911 that required a break-in. A lot of high end guns do and a lot of those manufacturers tell you that and even recommend a specific break-in schedule. I don’t know how else to explain it when my first couple magazines through the gun were a sh*t show and the next couple were much better and then from then on it was running pretty well. It isn’t meant to be an excuse (I’ve put up some really bad reviews on TTAG before, like the ZiP 22, and I would not have held back in this case either). I think I might have avoided the “break-in” if I took it apart and cleaned and lubed it right away — but I knew I was going to review it so I chose to shoot it straight out of the box. Still not sure if that’s the right choice for gun reviews or not…

      I generally agree with you, anyway, on the ‘real gun’ front. I have a 22/45 and a CZ Kadet Adapter (.22 conversion kit for CZ 75’s, and it’s REALLY nice) that aren’t going anywhere. But some people DO care about a gun that looks like James Bond’s and might want to buy one. Does it work? Is it any good? Does it shoot straight? I believe this review is honest and indicative of what most people can expect from it. So, for people considering it, it could push them one way or another depending.

    • I just want to say the ppk/s .22 is a good gun. They are made to shoot HV ammo.
      This explains why they don’t always cycle well with cheaper ammo. If you want to shoot cheaper ammo go to wolf’s springs website and order a lighter weight hammer spring. It will lighten the trigger pull and allow the slide to cycle better. Its up to you to decide what weight works for what you want to shoot. Walther made the gun to stand up to hv,and it does. You should never talk bad about something you don’t fully understand. It doesn’t help people that are looking to learn about something. 22 hand guns are pickey . Learn how they work.

      • If that comment, RG, is directed at me, you’ll notice that in the review itself and in some of my comments here I specifically stated that a lighter main spring (hammer spring) should allow it to run reliably with less powerful ammo. BUT… don’t be fooled into thinking that .22’s have to be designed this way. There are PLENTY of .22 pistols that will run with a full range of ammo power levels with NO changes necessary and will be 100% reliable right out of the box. The 22/45 and CZ Kadet Adapter that I mentioned in my comment above are perfect examples. One reason they are able to run light ammo without having to swap springs out is because they’re actually made of steel. There isn’t a concern for the slide hitting back too hard so they don’t have to overspring it. With a significantly weaker zinc alloy frame and slide, this would cause wear and maybe even breakage. So it has to be sprung to be safe with HV ammo (limiting slide/frame impact to a bare minimum) at the expense of working with lighter loads. What you suggest as “normal” is actually a compromise. And NO, I don’t mean to suggest that the PPK/S 22 is a bad gun because of it. I liked the gun. But if you’re forced to go to the aftermarket to buy replacement parts in order to get it to function with a certain type of completely standard ammo then it IS a limitation that this gun has and others do not. Since there are many .22’s that are very ammo-sensitive, like you did suggest, I don’t consider it a huge deal and didn’t knock it many points because of it. I’m also used to that compromise and it isn’t a big deal. Well… it’s more of an issue these days w/ .22 so darn hard to find… nice to have a gun that’ll cycle just about anything.

  12. Color me not impressed. Great looking gun, looks light and compact but the FTE on a new gun is inexcusable. Its kind of like the Ruger SR9C FTF issue which in my opinion is a striker pin that is .010 to short. Give me a Browning Buckmark or a MK III anytime. On this one I’ll give them a year. Its not my job to reengineer their gun. I own several 22 walther target barrels. (big thumbs up) but it appears they dropped the ball on this one.

    • Yeah I think the mainspring is too stiff and it provides too much resistance, but only just, to reliably cycle a lot of the cheaper plinking ammo. I’ve had 100% reliability from hotter ammo and the weaker stuff functioned properly with the bit of additional backpressure that the suppressor added. Without that, it still has about one failure per magazine with the cheap stuff (except Blazer, which it likes a lot) — currently that failure is usually the slide not cycling far enough back to strip the next round out of the mag on its way forwards.

  13. I just paid for a new Walther 22 ppk/s , then was told it cannot be sold in New York State because of the threaded barrel, and cannot put on a fix kit, Illegal under NY Safe Act 2013. I had not registered yet. Anyone else from New York comments.

    • I know some CA folks permanently attached (as per the state’s definition of “permanent” in this regard) the little end cap that you can see me remove in the video where I shoot it suppressed. Same thing on the Walther P22 as on this gun. If you were to JB Weld, actually weld, pin, etc that cap on then it may no longer count as being “threaded.” At least this flies in CA. For most guns an easy solution is just filing the threads down until they’re smooth, but on this gun they’re actually needed to keep the barrel clamped into the frame.

  14. Just picked up the PPKS/22. Ran 300 rounds of CCI mini-mag round nose through it without issue. Nice weight and feel, really a joy to shoot. Sights were right on shooting 4″ steel plates on a Action Target Dueling Tree @ 10yds. I added a little Testers Orange model paint to the front sight. If your looking for a fun plinking option I highly recommend it. Appreciate the great review Jeremy!

  15. Your magnet must be bad because mine sticks everywhere on my PPK/S 22, except the trigger guard. This gun is exceptionally well made and the only people who seem to dislike it are the “gun snobs” who compare it to their $1200 WWII models. Very nice gun for the money.

    • Hi pugilist. Please don’t interpret my comments on the slide and frame material as dislike for it. I don’t really have anything against zinc alloy for some applications, and a .22 lr gun is often one of those applications where I believe it can keep cost down and still not cause long-term reliability problems. It’s strong enough for the application. I like the PPK/S 22 and this is a positive review. That said, this gun IS zamak / zinc alloy, not steel, and the slide and frame do NOT attract a magnet. You need to be careful, because there are plenty of steel parts on and in the slide and frame. I used a small diameter but quite strong rare earth magnet and made sure to avoid steel inserts like the breech block area and parts like screws, springs, barrel under the slide, controls, etc. With the slide off the frame, there’s plenty of real estate in front of the breech to test without steel in the way (except for the front sight). Really it’s besides the point, though. Regardless of the magnet test I have since confirmed that the frame and slide are zinc alloy. Whether it turns somebody away from the gun or not is their decision… But it’s the truth.

  16. I found that if you can find and afford the CCI Velocitor’s that they work 100% and you get a little extra kick in the recoil department plus they sound good when hitting steel plates….might even be good for a poor mans self defense round in a pinch?

  17. Greetings.
    Can you tell me how she behaves with Winchester subsonic ammunition?
    That’s the only subsonic ammunition available in Portugal.
    Thank you.
    Regards,
    Francis

  18. I bought one, and I love it. Offhand groups at 7 yards about 3″, two handed about 1.25″. Fun little plinker, and it feels just like my PPK/S in .380 auto. Now I have to buy another for the wife 🙂

  19. My daughter and I just recently got our CCW permit. We both Ibought a Walther 22. We both really love them, but both of us have had issues with them. They do not always chamber the bullet. Mine more than my daughter. In shooting both of them, I realized, using the same ammo, that my gun did not shoot the casing as far as my daughter’s did. Was thinking maybe it has something to do with the spring. Was just wondering what your thoughts might be? We did find that it made a big difference in the jamming of a casing staying in the chamber by the way we held our arms. Bending the elbow caused this to be a big problem. Was told by a friend that we were bringing our wrist back from the recoil and that was causing the distance to be shorter also. Or something like that. I have carpel tunnel in both wrists, plus am not young any more, so my strength is less than a lot of people. Having said all that it is one of only a few that I can can chamber ammo on and adore it for the fun of shooting it. We both want it to be our carry gun, but the reliability issues have to get better first. I also have a Ruger 22, but it is a heavier gun. It is okay, but I like the lightness and shooting of the walther a little better.
    Thank you for your review, as it has been helpful.

  20. My wife bought a PPK/S 22 yesterday because out of every 22 in Buds selection this was by far the one she liked to hold the most. The gun felt solid and substantial but not too heavy for her – she just liked it better than any other 22 in the store. She doesn’t know the first thing about James Bond but after she handled this gun we couldn’t find another that felt better for her. Although I had heard about the PPKS 22 sensitivity to bulk ammo – we put almost 200 rounds of federal through it last night without a single issue. Very fun to shoot, accurate and totally reliable so far. This does not mean that this is the perfect 22 or even that it’s better than some other 22’s out there – (I wanted the 22/45 lite) but in this case the Walther PPKS 22 IS the perfect gun for my wife.

  21. I too live in NY and would like to know if the PPKs can be legally owned and registered in this crappy state. If anyone has an answer, I’d appreciate a response.

  22. Bought the PPK/S .22LR Oct. 2014. Found it to be an exceptional gun well made, tight, highly accurate, and a nice carry gun. Over a thousand rounds fired and only flaws were with some 20 year old ammo that was not high velocity. This gun loves high velocity ammo of any grain. Perfect carry gun and home defense for my needs. Would not hesitate to recommend it. PPKS 22lr; Berreta 92s; AR15.

  23. Jeremy,
    I enjoyed your review, having been a carrier/shooter/owner of three PPk pistols over the last 50 years. In the ’60s and ’70s, I was an American version of Ian Flemming’s imaginary character, working in the Far East. Some of my colleagues also favored these solid and compact pistols, in .380 ACP. The caliber is marginal but adequate, with good ammunition. The German or French manufactured guns were reliable, as they had to be. This is not necessarily true of the current S&W licensed copy. In my firm opinion, considerable work has to be done on a new one, particularly recoil spring replacement, to make it trustworthy. And one must trim and smooth the lower front of the slide, so it doesn’t tear up your hands and your clothing.

    Right now, I own two of the PPk/S versions, where the rear of the grip frame is solid, unlike the original design. The new design is far better and stronger…probably one of the few good things coming out of GCA 68 mandates for importation.

    My Manhurin manufactured .22 PPk/S is an early Interarms import of the Walther-licensed French version, with the proprietary and durable bright finish. At the time, Walther was making no .22 PPks, but their French licensee was. It is absolutely up to German standards of fit, finish, and function. If you get a chance to buy one, do. It’s quality and feel is light years beyond the current offering, but they are not common; took me years to find one, before the Internet.

    My other PPk/S is in .380 ACP, very recently manufactured by S&W. It was a major disappointment at first. S&W did not follow German design specs. The recoil spring was made of too heavy a gauge of music wire, with slide pull weight above 20 pounds. It was very difficult to draw back for loading, and slide return, during firing, was so violent, fast, and short that it sometimes could not pick up a cartridge, or cartridges could not rise fast enough in the magazine, or they would be slammed forward so hard as to cause a nose dive jam. That is not a gun I would have trusted 40 years ago, or today. I now wind my own custom springs on a lathe, of whatever wire gauge and pitch I choose, and I heat treat them. I made a “correct” one for the S&W, and it now works like an original German gun would.

    The S&W rear sight was apparently made of cheap sintered metal which broke cleanly, showing a crystalline structure, the first time I tried to move it slightly to correct for windage. S&W kindly sent me a decent blued steel replacement under warranty.

    The lower front edges of the slide were sharp, acute, and had never been streamlined at the factory. They were really nasty, and would easily cut flesh and shred clothing, should you carry one much, as I planned to do. I ground, filed, and polished my slide to the correct specs used by the French on my .22 PPk. Then I sent what I thought was a helpful and tactful letter suggesting that they do the same on the S&W production line, along with my reasons. The good folks at S&W did not feel it was appropriate to acknowledge my letter. I subsequently examined several other new PPk/Ss that were exactly the same. Maybe they have changed it by now.

    But the original mid-1930s design is a good one, and anybody considering a new carry gun would be pleased with a steel (not pot metal) PPk/S. I think $350 or more is a bit high for a light metal .22 PPk/S that may or may not last beyond a few thousand rounds. But a new steel .32 ACP or .380 ACP PPk/S from S&W would be a good bet if you or your gunsmith have the patience and skill to work the bugs out of it, to turn it into something the earlier Walther quality control people would have allowed to get out the front door. Wolff has a good selection of PPk recoil springs, and the other springs, to make one of the new S&W PPk/S pistols work fine, if you take some time to debug it.

    If only I had not casually sold or traded off my original new 1964 .380 ACP PPk, imported by the late Sam Cummings’ Interarms. (…He was, by the way,a CIA graduate.) We thought Sam, Interarms, ready availability of finely crafted pistols, and “the good old days” would last forever.

    They didn’t.

    But hey, good German and French steel ones are still on the used market, if you have fine taste, deep pockets, can convince somebody to part with his, and lean away from plastic and aluminum guns which may work just fine, but aren’t the same. I value my Glocks, but they are strictly functional. The PPk is also art.

    And yes, my colleagues and I all loved the Bond movies, and never missed one when we were in the states. It was escapism for us, as much as for anybody else. He had so much irresponsible fun, never got hit by real bullets, and seldom got bogged down in the bureaucratic hassles, budget fights, and paperwork mountains we knew too well. So why not have a PPk, which served a real world purpose anyway, and was made of the “right stuff”, as we hoped we were? 😉

    Buy ’em when you find ’em, if you can.

  24. The slide is made from Zamak which is an aluminum-zinc alloy (AKA: Pot Metal). My PPK/S would not shoot any (6) round, loaded magazine with of any of the (6) brands of Target or HVRN ammo which I tried in it without either a FTF or a FTE (or both) from each of (4) test magazines and 500 rounds of ammo. I traded it in on a Ruger .22/45!

  25. My copy purchased from Bud’s Gun Shop two days ago functioned perfectly out of the box through 160 rounds of CCI (Mini Mags, Velocitors and Stingers). Following Jeremy’s advice I was careful with my grip from the first round, keeping my thumbs away from the slide.

    The slide, as a separate component, feels substantial compared to that of the PPQ 22LR slide, albeit the PPK/S is made of nickel plated, zinc alloy per Walther’s website. Fit, finish, function and feel, including sufficient recoil, are first rate. My copy did not come with a heavy dose of packing grease, which would have likely otherwise contributed to malfunctions.

    My singular difficulty was the astoundingly heavy double action pull! Still, workable should I choose to carry. Perhaps I’ll try several Wolfe mainsprings to lighten the pull, being aware of the trade off in probable light primer strikes. This worked for my copy of the Ruger GP100, but of course that is a revolver.

    So far I’m well pleased, including the Black Friday price break! With Bud’s brick and mortar shop in my hometown I have few reasons to be otherwise.

  26. FWIW – and some years after the original review – I purchased a PPK/S in .22 LR

    Got it home, ran through the usual familiarization routines: read the manual, field-strip and re-assemble, etc.

    Took it out today to test-fire it. The slide would not move back further than 1/4″ (fortunately before loading any rounds). Could not get it to budge, could not disassemble it, nothing.

    Going to have to ship it to Walther to have one of their gunsmiths figure out what the heck happened.

    Disappointed would be a proper adjective for me right now.

  27. Update on my comment of 20June2019:

    The folks in Arkansas got the old slide off, put a new one on, and shipped it back to me.

    So far, so good. I put a few rounds through it, found it was shooting left. I went to adjust the rear sight (windage) and ended up stripping the set screw out using just an angled hex driver and finger pressure.
    The rear sight is plastic, with an inset for the set screw. Put a little too much pressure on it and it will pop through the plastic. To quote the Walther service guy: “With hex key screws you do want to verify you are using the exact key, otherwise it is very easy to strip any of those grub screws.”

    As they instructed, I sent them the slide to have the rear sight replaced. A week after it arrived, I called to find out what was going on. (I had tried emailing them, but that seems to go into a black hole somewhere.) I was told it could be 2-3 weeks before they get to my pistol.

    I tried to find a replacement rear sight to no avail, and Walther doesn’t seem to sell replacements that I can find.

    When I was able to shoot a little, I repeatedly had stovepipes, failures to feed, and jambs. Turns out that the Walther wants High Velocity .22 LR to eat – they say that in the manual, but it is buried in the verbiage. This is not a true 22. LR pistol, it is a 22. LR HV pistol.

    My recommendation is to get another pistol if you want a .22 to shoot. Spend a little more for a Ruger, S&W, Sig – something else rather than a Walther.

  28. By late 2019, I already had a nice, blued German Interarms PPKs, when the 22 version came up in a closeout sale from an online vendor. I knew it was a zinc-alloy pistol, but the $250 sale price made it doable. So far, no problems with the HV 22LR I’ve shot through it. And hey, at least it’s not made in China! I also have the .22 Bersa version, and with it’s aluminum frame, steel slide, and nicer trigger, IMHO, it is batter quality.
    By the way, in the novel ‘Dr No’, Bond does indeed surrender a .25 Beretta. But I contacted the author of a video on Bonds guns, and he said, based on his research of movie-studio property records, that on the big screen, Bond actually surrenders a Beretta M1934 .380 for a 7,65 Walther PP. Then in one scene, later in the movie, Bond dispatches one of the bad guys with a suppressed FN !910! I’m sure the producers figured most movie-goers wouldn’t even notice.

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