I have not looked closely at the Walther, but I do have an LC9, and it is a fine gun. I did have some failure-to-feed problems with the first few rounds, and some light primer strikes. But the problem with feeding was just new-gun stiffness, and disappeared after about 20 rounds.
The light strikes were caused by a faulty primer that had come apart and left a tiny circle of metal coiled inside the firing-pin hole. I only saw it because I went looking for the cause with a powerful light and strong magnification. I lifted it out of there with an X-acto knife point. The gun has had no malfunctions since then. And the gun feels good in my hand.
As to the external safety: I don't bother with it one way or the other. The long, heavy DA pull takes care of that, just as it does on a revolver.
