Walther PP

[Petrol & Powder]

I enjoy my Walther PP in 32 ACP very much. It mostly gets Lyman #311252 at 850 FPS, which is Euro-level ballistics minus about 5%-7%. It doesn't go in harm's way now that the Glock 43 fills that niche, but a well-placed 32 caliber round or three could prompt a ne'er-do-well back into civilized and genteel behavior.

I'm shooting a 76 grain bullet from an Accurate 31-075H mold. Sized .311” and White Label 50/50 lube. Seated to an OAL of roughly .965” over 2.2 grains of Bullseye with a little taper crimp.

Runs like a Swiss watch in both the Beretta 81 & the Walther PP.
Couldn't be happier.

 

[RicinYakima]

P&P, had to wait four months for my two spare mags a couple of years ago. However, they are very high quality and it isn't cheap to get them here. Used magazine run about $39 and some are very rough.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

P&P, had to wait four months for my two spare mags a couple of years ago. However, they are very high quality and it isn't cheap to get them here. Used magazine run about $39 and some are very rough.

It's been a while since I ordered Model 81 mags from Beretta (probably a year + ? ) but they arrived in less than 1 week.

25 years ago, I wouldn't pay that price for a factory magazine but 25 years ago the dollar was worth more and gun stuff was readily available.
In the overall scheme of today's climate, I’m not sure $46 for a genuine Beretta 81 magazine is a horrible price. Sure, they were less in the past, but I don’t have a functioning time machine. That’s more money than a spring and some folded sheet metal is worth, but it’s not bad for a genuine, New, Beretta magazine.

Some time back I also ordered some 15 round, Made in Italy, Beretta 92F mags that were sold as “unpackaged” magazines. They were brand new Beretta mags perfect in every regard. I considered that a good deal and purchased several just to put away as spares.

 

[Dimner]

I got all mine during the surplus surge a couple years ago. I got my first 81bb and it came with just the one mag. But about 9 mo later another wave of Beretta 81 imports came in, this time with a bunch of mags.

There was a 2 mag limit per order at the place I bought from. However, at that point the 81s now came with a spare mag. So it just seemed like good sense to order another 81 and 2 spare mags. Now I got the 5 mags I wanted on hand

Oh and the mags were $34 each I think.

 

[Rushcreek]

Perhaps accuracy (for me) was the deciding factor in the .32 vs. .380 contest. In my experience, the .32 is more accurate. I started with a FN1922 and it was a squirrel killing machine; hanging with my friends fat barreled Rugers and Hi Standsrds on hunts.
I always wanted a Remington 51 .32 but it never happened. I owned a Walther PP .32 and a couple of Other FEG similar pistols. They also were accurate and I used Outpost 75's data and bullets that he sent. Up the game for the .32, for sure!
Long ago, I folded my right thumb back to touch my wrist in an accident. When popped back in place it healed ok except for a few oddities. One of which is that the grip shape of the PP style autos cause strong felt recoil in my hand. I shoot 1911 .45s, .41 magnum, with no problem. My Shield. 40 gives me no problem.
So, I enjoyed the Walther. Except for that.
If I get another .32, I'll probably grab one of those Beretta 81s.
And yes, that brass gets lost easily!

 

[RicinYakima]

Before the guns shows went away in WA, there were a couple of dealers who picked up brass at various ranges. The cheapest was always 32 ACP because no one reloads for it. Going price was $5 for a gallon plastic bag where 9MM and 40S^W was $10.

 

[Walks]

When I bought My french PP about 30yrs ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it came with six magazine's. All factory mags made same time as the pistols were.
I use the same load as P&P. Works great in both pistols.
Now if I could only find another 10rd mag for My Savage 1907.

 

[JustJim]

The Vz50 and Vz70 are reliable and accurate enough if you don't put multiple thousands through them. I found spare original mags scarce in the US and Triple-K are spotty in reliability unless tweaked. Spare parts also spotty, so other than brief testing I didn't hold onto them. The Vz27 is a better pistol if you like single-action.

The Savage pistols are accurate and sturdy, the design interesting, but have the same issues regarding difficulty in finding mags and repair parts.

Thanks. Knowing how--and how much--I shoot, I think I'll probably keep looking. Those two shoot well for me, better than any other pocket auto I've found, but I get irritated when my handguns are sidelined due to parts availability.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Just going to toss this out there:

You can get selection of reduced power mainsprings (hammer springs) from Wolff that will work in several Walther pistols. The springs in this kit will work in Walther PP, PPK, P-38 and probably a few more. They run about $9 for the pack of 4 but the lower weight springs are not useful, IMO.

I'm NOT a big fan of reducing hammer spring weight by significant amounts but occasionally a small reduction in spring weight is OK.
Reducing hammer spring tension comes at the cost of potentially reducing the reliability of primer ignition and increased lock time. And, on a simple blowback pistol, the hammer acts in conjunction with the recoil spring to delay the opening of the slide. So, for those reasons, I don't think it is wise to significantly reduce the weight of the hammer spring.
However, the PP hammer spring is fairly heavy to start with (Wolff claims the factory Walther hammer spring is 20#). So, there may be a little wiggle room for a slightly reduced weight hammer spring.
I went with the 19# spring and that will be as low as I will go with this 32 ACP pistol. It did improve the DA trigger pull slightly (there is lots of room for improvement there!) and the gun is still 100% reliable.

That leaves me with 3 extra reduced power hammer springs that I’ll likely never use. At least not in this pistol.

If I intended to shoot heavy loads in this pistol (And I don’t intend to do that), I would follow the advice of Outpost75 and install a 380 Auto recoil spring and return to the factory 20# hammer spring.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I had a little time the other day and put about 70 rounds through the Walther PP.

Seen here wearing a new set of rosewood checkered grips with a new Mec Gar magazine.



Sometimes we forget about the fun of just plinking. At about 8 yards I was consistently hitting empty 12 Gauge hulls. It brings a smile to one’s face.

I am very happy with the bullet and the load.

Accurate 31-075H, a plain base bullet that with 50/50 lube runs right at 77 grains with my alloy.

2.2 grains of Bullseye from a #0 Little Dandy rotor provides the propulsion.



A NOE expander, and a taper crimp die help to put everything together.

With an incredibly “diverse” assortment of mixed brass [read that as absolutely no sorting by headstamp] the pistol just trots along. I had one failure of the slide to go fully into battery and that was clearly due to beat up casing that I should have tossed out before loading it.

Nothing serious about this pursuit, just having fun.

 

[Thumbcocker]

Sometimes I go so far down rabbit holes chasing the last bit if accuracy that it stops being fun. If all I am doing is looking through a spotting scope and cussing I am not having fun. Long live plinking.

 

[Walks]

Ya just can't knock a PP, in any caliber.

 

[Mainiac]

Geez,,after reading threw this post,now i have to go look at 81 berretas,thanks alot fellers!!
I have a bersa 380,and that thing is surprisingly accurate.it will hold 3-3.5 inches at 25 yards,with 242 lyman,and 3 grs of 231.
100 rounds though,and the little cuss peels the hide off the top of my thumb.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Geez,,after reading threw this post,now i have to go look at 81 berretas,thanks alot fellers!!
I have a bersa 380,and that thing is surprisingly accurate.it will hold 3-3.5 inches at 25 yards,with 242 lyman,and 3 grs of 231.
100 rounds though,and the little cuss peels the hide off the top of my thumb.

The Beretta Model 81 (chambered in 32 ACP) and its brother the Beretta Model 84 (chambered in 380 Auto) are cool guns.

They are both a little big to be considered pocket pistols and there are better cartridge choices these days for SD pistols in about the same size package. However, as just plain fun pistols, they have a lot going for them.
The Beretta 81/84 pistols are well made. They have aluminum frames with steel slides. They are DA/SA designs with double stack mags. The surplus 81/84 pistols really are a lot of quality for the money.

 

[Mainiac]

I went looking,,,same ol story,,day late/dollar short!!!!
Seems 4-5 years ago,was when all these were on the market.now,they want 5-6 hundred for them.

 

[CZ93X62]

One Walther PP that I truly miss was the example I had in 22 LR.

 

[oscarflytyer]

LOL on the Berettas! Recently bought an 82BB in 32. Then bought a 380 bbl and 'upgraded.' not a huge Beretta fan, but I do like the 82/85 in 380.

 

[RicinYakima]

One Walther PP that I truly miss was the example I had in 22 LR.

The first 32 ACP I ever had was a WW2 German police pistol. I was amazed at the accuracy compared to any .380 I had ever shot. Never looked back at .380's again.

 

[Walks]

I like my West German Police Walther PP in .32, But I Love My Savage 1907. It's a pleasure to shoot, but a pain to take down.

 

[Thumbcocker]

One Walther PP that I truly miss was the example I had in 22 LR.

Accurate enough to squirrel hunt with. Hit dead on top of the front sight at 15 meters with Remington high speed hollow points.