Walther PP: The Return of a Legendary Pistol

I’m going to write about the Walther PP without mentioning James Bond. Well, fine, but I’m not going to mention him again. The point is that, thanks to popular culture, many Americans are familiar with the Walther PPK. Fewer among us are aware that the PPK is the little brother of the PP, one of the most successful handguns in history.

The Walther PP Polizeipistole (Police Pistol), the brainchild of Carl Walther’s son Fritz, was the first successful double-action semiautomatic handgun. Sure, other designs pre-dated the 1929 PP, but none of them came close to the level of popularity this pistol reached.

Many of the features we commonly associate with double-action handguns—particularly the manual safety that doubles as a decocker—were first seen on the PP. This was a handgun that forever changed history, and even today we see its DNA in cutting-edge handguns.

Millions of PPs were produced over the decades, with various markings and nuances that make collectors salivate. Some PPs were built with aluminum frames, and rare nickel-finished versions exist. The PP was the mainstay of worldwide law enforcement for much of the 20th century and can still be spotted in the holsters of police and security personnel across the globe.

Popularity

Thanks to their sleek looks, excellent finishes and compact dimensions, Walther PPs were favorites among Nazi Party bigwigs during the pre-war and wartime eras. PPs were popular war trophies during World War II as well, and a pile of them made their way to the U.S. in the duffel bags of returning soldiers.

Walther produced the PP from 1929 until the 1990s, and several other makers—Smith & Wesson and Manurhin among them—produced the more compact PPK variant under license throughout the decades. As larger and more powerful handguns became popular with law enforcement, the PP’s star faded. Walther discontinued German production of the PP some time ago.

In 2024, Fort Smith, Arkansas–based Walther USA decided that the original PP design was too good to die and has resumed manufacturing the handgun. Walther Arms is producing the PP right here in the U.S., and what made it great nearly 100 years ago will likely make it relevant once again.

The first PPs were chambered in 7.65x17—also known as .32 ACP—although other chamberings were offered over the years. Current production PPs are available in both .32 ACP and .380 ACP. My test sample was chambered in .380 ACP.

Faithful Reproduction

Unlike some of the throwback handgun designs on the market that pay tribute to vintage guns aesthetically, for the most part the new PP is a faithful reproduction of the original, albeit with modern materials and manufacturing techniques. The Arkansas-made PPs are constructed from stainless steel, and while many stainless steel PPKs were produced over the decades, I’m not aware of any PPs that were so manufactured.

The frame is smooth, with no checkering or other textures you might expect these days. The tang has been extended slightly, which protects the web of the hand from hammer bite. The grips are checkered polymer with the Walther scroll logo.

The Walther PP is, to me, one of the most attractive handguns ever designed. The combination of flats and sweeping curves gives it an almost Art Deco look.

The fit and finish on my Walther PP sample were excellent. The majority of the pistol was brushed stainless steel, while the top and forward edges of the slide were satin bead blasted. The slide-to-frame and overall parts fit were consistently very good. I spent many hours fondling my dad’s 1960s-vintage PPK/S as a kid, admiring every detail, and the Arkansas-built PP is befitting of the Walther name.

Design

Like early single-action Walther handguns, the PP is a simple blowback design. The barrel is fixed to the frame, and the recoil spring rides outside of the barrel. In addition to its traditional duty of sending bullets downrange, the barrel doubles as a recoil spring guide. Only the 20-pound recoil spring’s tension keeps the slide in battery.

The PP uses an external ring-style hammer that can be manually cocked to place the handgun in single-action mode. There is a slide-mounted external extractor and a frame-mounted ejector. The magazine catch is located on the left side of the frame, a bit higher than we are accustomed to seeing these days.

The slide has vertical cocking serrations at the rear of each flat. The top of the slide is attractively milled with a wavy, serrated pattern that is similar, though not identical, to vintage PPs.

The sights are integral to the slide so they can’t be replaced, but they’ll never fall off or come loose either. There is a small front ramp with a red dot painted on the blade and a rear square notch with a dab of red at the bottom of the U. The sights are tiny by today’s standards, but they allowed for a surprising level of precision when I was bench testing this handgun.

Safety and Trigger

The PP features a slide-mounted manual safety. The safety lever doubles as a decocker which, to the best of my knowledge, was a historical first.

A clever loaded-chamber indicator uses a steel pin that extends from the breech face to the rear of the slide. If the pin is extended, which can be both seen and felt, there is a round in the chamber. There is even a cutout milled into the serrated hammer spur to ensure it is visible regardless of the hammer’s condition.

Nearly 100 years after the PP’s introduction, DA/SA handgun manufacturers are still trying to lessen the gap between the heavy initial double-action trigger pull and lighter subsequent single-action pulls. That gap was significant in 1929 and, even on today’s PP, it remains so.

The double-action pull is smooth but heavy, breaking at more than 12 pounds. It takes real discipline to make a precise shot in double-action mode. The single-action pull is far more civilized, breaking after some take-up at 5.25 pounds.

Magazine and Function

The PP fires from a seven-round detachable box magazine, and two magazines ship with the gun. One magazine fits flush with the bottom of the frame and is ideal for concealment. The other magazine uses a polymer base pad that serves as a grip extension. With this magazine in place, I was able to get a full-fisted grip on the PP.

There is no manual slide stop, but the slide locks back on an empty chamber and remains locked back when the magazine is removed. This is something we expect these days, but it wasn’t universal a century ago. Pulling back slightly on the slide and releasing it on a loaded magazine, or with the magazine removed, puts the slide back into battery.

Disassembling the PP is simple once you’re familiar with the protocol. With the pistol unloaded, pull the trigger guard downward while the slide is retracted. Once the slide is fully to the rear, lift the back of the slide upward until it clears the frame. The slide can then move forward and off the barrel. The recoil spring can be removed, but the barrel is semi-permanently attached to the frame. Reassemble the pistol by reversing this procedure.

As I mentioned, my dad had a PPK/S. It was gorgeously finished but refused to feed, so my view of these handguns has always been tainted by that experience. I fired three types of ammunition through the new PP, including two defensive loads with hollowpoint bullets. Reliability was 100 percent.

Accuracy

Accuracy was good, which was not surprising given the fixed barrel; there are simply fewer variables to making such a handgun shoot well. Given the weight of the pistol, recoil was very manageable. There isn’t much real estate on the frame, so I had to be careful not to let my support hand thumb ride on the slide.

Although the PP is accurate, it is not designed to be a target pistol. At its core, the PP is a defensive handgun. While civilian concealed carry was probably not front of mind for Fritz Walther when he designed the PP, it is ideal for that purpose.

With this in mind, my range time with the PP focused on shooting steel targets up close and fast. I didn’t break out the shot timer, but I found I could repeatedly empty the magazine into a six-inch steel target at 10 yards as quickly as I could get a flash of the front sight. I would have no qualms about carrying this handgun for self-defense.

While the 24-ounce all-steel PP isn’t light, its thin, flat profile makes it comfortable and easy to conceal. Though it’s probably too big and heavy for pocket carry, it is ideal for concealment inside the waistband. The heavy double-action trigger pull would make it an attractive option for those who like the comfort of appendix carry but have safety concerns. For deeper concealment, the more compact PPK is the answer.

Vintage Staying Power

There aren’t many products from 1929 that are still appropriate for daily use. I don’t know of anyone who commutes to work in a Ford Model A, rotary phones are out of favor and I’m not writing this article on an Underwood typewriter. That said, I wouldn’t feel overly disadvantaged if carrying a Walther Arms PP for self-defense. That fact is a great testament to the original design and present-day manufacturing expertise of Walther Arms.

While researching this piece, I found several recent examples of people knocking various aspects of the PP and the PPK. Sure, one can find fault with any gun—particularly one that was designed nearly 100 years ago and has been tweaked only slightly over the decades.

The heavy double-action trigger aside, I think the PP is a fine handgun that still has a lot to offer. It is also a well-built pistol that its owner will value long after the latest fad gun is swept aside by the next trend. To use an overused term, the PP is a classic.

I’m happy to see Walther Arms paying tribute to its roots by building an honest-to-goodness PP handgun. It is well-made, attractive, accurate and reliable. You can’t mount an optic to it, it doesn’t have a compensator and you can’t customize the frame with a wood-burning kit. What you can do, though, is slip this handgun into a holster and carry it comfortably, knowing that you have a functional slice of firearms history at your side.

Walther PP Specs

• Type: double-action/single-action semiauto
• Caliber: .32 ACP, .380 ACP (tested)
• Capacity: 7+1
• Barrel: 3.9 in.
• OAL/Height/Width: 6.9/4.3/0.97 in.
• Weight: 24 oz.
• Construction: stainless steel slide and frame
• Grips: polymer panels
• Sights: integral fixed; red dot front and rear
• Safeties: manual thumb/decocker
• Trigger: 12.4 lb. (DA), 5.25 lb. (SA)
• MSRP: $1,149
• Manufacturer: Walther Arms; WaltherArms.com

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