Walther PK380 vs. the World

9mm has never been that hard to find at WalMart in my area, but the shelves are finally starting to fill up with it. Can't tell you the last time I EVER saw 380 on the shelf. 9mm practice ammo is going for roughly half of what 380 is going for, and from what I hear, my area is better than many on 380 ammo prices. A 50 round box of 9mm Federal @ WalMart is under $10-WWB is slightly higher. You'll have to dig to find 380, and you'll be lucky if it's only twice the price of 9mm.

AFA the safety being "backwards"-the only SD gun I have with a safety that operates like the Walther is a 4013TSW S&W-nice gun, but I truly despise the safety design. I much prefer to knock it off by flipping down like a 1911/HK USPC, etc. Mebbe it's because I grew up on 1911s, but flipping a safety down is much more intuitive than flipping it up-and after you flip it down, your hand is in/closer to the firing position than having to reposition your thumb after flipping it up. Either way, I'd still also prefer the pivot point be in front of the lever instead of behind, just to make it easier to reach/operate. I also prefer frame mounted safeties instead of slide mounted.

And to the OP-AFA ammo, I have better luck with practice ammo prices @ WalMart (unless you're really buying in bulk), but for SD ammo, you might try Ammunition To Go, and also visit police supply shops in your area? The police supply shops in my area range from cheapest prices I've found to outrageous (for SD ammo).
I avoid the 20/25 round boxes of SD ammo shops are pushing these days-I buy the 50 round boxes from the previously mentioned 2 sources often for the same price as shops are selling the 20/25 round SD boxes.

All of this aside, how does this gun compare the the Walther PPS?

(Also, hi all, long time lurker, first time poster)

If you reload, .380 Auto is a cheap and easy round to work with. I reload for my Beretta 84 and Bersa 95 for less than $.09 per round (95gr lead round nose bullets). That's only $4.50 for a box of 50. But if you don't reload, I'm not sure if I would recommend the .380 Auto because the commercial ammo is so expensive. And with the profusion of .380 handguns being sold, I don't see that changing in the near future.

If this is your first gun (for the practice range, carry, and home defense), then I'd recommend something comfortable in 9mm Parabellum. Commercial ammo costs won't eat you alive, and that means you'll be able to practice more with it. And the only way to become a better shooter is to practice...

^ Then just buy it, as long as you can get the ammo to shoot do what you want.


Any gun is better than no gun.

Life is too short to fret over something as small as this.

+1 to going to a 9mm P99c or even going P99. I carry a P99AS no issues keeping it concealed even though it is a *full sized* gun. If you're worried about that, drop it down to the P99c!

Is CheaperThanDirt.com a good spot for online ammo?

Click to expand...

You should have checked last week. All they had in stock for .380 ACP were Glazers, 6 rounds for $10.00, and some kind of mall ninja super-ammo that is $33.89 for a box of 50.

I have a LGS that's selling .380 PMC for $14.00, for reference. But it's still pretty rare to see. None of the big chains have any, right now.

There is plenty of it online. I bought a bunch of both JHP's and FMJ's from ammunitiontogo.com like 2 days ago to feed my PPK.

Yeah, I bought some there, too, before I found a small amount, locally. But $18.00 a box plus shipping for Privi Partisan (however you spell it) FMJ makes it as expensive as .45 ACP bought locally.

If you are considering a PK380 vs. the world at present, take the world and leave the PK380 behind. It's a Umarex product to start with, it has far more in common with the P22 than it does with the P99, and it's also got some issues that need to be worked out (see the Walther Forums for a good look at some of them).

The folks here who recommended the P99C had it exactly right, without even considering the ammo availability question -- and that's also worth considering.

Get the full size 99. Yeah its a bit big, but its easy to conceal with a good holster, and its a terrific gun. I prefer the standard trigger action on the 99, over the QA trigger.

The price difference is what ever the stores in your area have them for.

I had a PK380, one of the first ones shipped, I had it for a month, kept trying to create reasons to keep it and failed, I sold it.

Issues, its too big for the .380. its a larger gun than several pocket 9 mill guns. Had they kept the same dimensions as the p22, they would have had a winner, even if it only held 8 rounds. I have a hard time carrying a gun that big for a cartridge that weak. It shot well, and it worked, but it was a let down.

If you are a new shooter, which is sounds like, the 9 mm ammo will be about 2/3rds the price of 380, real good defensive ammo is available, and cheap shooter stuff is coming back

I have taught several people how to shoot handguns prior to them getting their carry permits, and I would say 70-percent have decided that after trying several of my guns, that the p99 is the one they want to carry.

GETxSOME said:

I'm going to keep an eye open for .380 at some of the local stores.. If anyone has a tip on a spot in southern Michigan let me know!

Click to expand...

Cabela's

I picked one up a couple of months ago.





Pretty much an impulse buy, I had a P22 and liked the look and feel and the PK380 has the same look and an even better feel in my hand.

I may wind up carrying it occasionally but I've got other guns for that so that wasn't my primary concern.

As I was hoping it's a great little shooter with almost no felt-recoil and with the great ergonomics and very good accuracy it's a real pleasure to spend an afternoon at the range with.

Yeah there's definitely better guns for killing people but the PK380 is hard to beat for just the pure joy of shooting and plinking and if necessary it can be pressed into service for self-defense.

$20 per half hour! Jeez my local range is $10 for as long as I feel like staying...1 hour or 10.

You might want to look into the S&W line.

M&P 9c is close to the P99c.

Here is their new .380 with built in laser. Don't know if they are in the shops yet.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...4_750001_750051_757892_-1_757752_757751_image

I just bought a P99AS. It fit me better ergonomically than any other mid to full sized semi's. The P99C and P99 go for the upper $600 range. I bought mine from Buds.