SW99 vs. P99

[Dudemeister]

I've owned a Walther P99 for a while, and while it was one of my "grail" guns (think James Bond), it was never one of my favorites to shoot. I guess I got spoiled by 1911 triggers. The trigger on the P99 is nothing compared to any revolver I own or any of my 1911's.

So yesterday, I was at an estate sale and bought a couple of guns (well I have yet to take possession, you know California laws), but one of the guns was a S&W SW99.

I had previously heard about these P99 clones, but never seen one in person. The gun has a few ergonomic differences from the P99, like the trigger guard shape, and the rounded edges on the slide, but otherwise seems to be a straight up P99 duplicate, down to the frame marking that says it's made by Walther. The mag release is the short type like the original P99, and even though the trigger guard is not the squared up type like the original , it does have the little hump/ramp inside the finder well.

One of the reasons I went and "pulled the trigger" and bought it, is because I did pull the trigger, and it's considerably better than my P99, smoother, good break, and much, lighter than the 5-6 lb of the P99.

So once I get it out of the FFL jail, and assuming I can find an open shooting range I plan on putting it through the paces side by side with the Walther.

So what are the experiences here with the SW99.

 

[Hangingrock]

I have a SW99 in 45ACP, which to my understanding was the least produced variant in the joint venture relationship with Walther and Smith & Wesson. With that said I've kept that particular model because of its limited production status. My reply is not much help to your question thus I apologize.

 

[Shipwreck]

I used to have a SW99 and a couple of P99s.

The SW99 was 'okay", but it was not quite as acurate as my P99 A/S.

The trigger on it was equal to my P99. Walther actually made the frame for S&W - S&W made the upper 1/2.
Itw as okay, but I liked the real Walther bette.

But, mess with enough specimens of ANY particular gn,a nd some will be better than others. Sounds like you may have an issue with your P99's trigger

 

[gc70]

Since S&W only made the slide and barrel, the performance of an SW99's trigger is on Walther.

I have had a first-generation Walther P99, S&W SW99, and Magnum Research MR9; the triggers on all three were essentially equal.

 

[Reinz]

I have no complaints with my SW99 in 9mm. I prefer 1911s and had no issues adapting to the SW99 trigger.

 

[Dudemeister]

I'll have to reserve further comments on the trigger until I get the gun and compared it side by side with the P99

 

[herrwalther]

The only SW99 I considered hunting for was the 45ACP model. This was well before Walther made their PPQ45. I have a P99 second or third generation in 40S&W. It was my first handgun and it is a favorite, even if I don't carry it much anymore.

 

[Waveski]

The trigger on the P99 is nothing compared to any revolver I own or any of my 1911's.

Of course it isn't. While the P99 does have a sa/da function it is still a striker fired pistol.
Comparing any striker fired trigger to a true sa hammer fired pistol - especially a 1911 - is way beyond apples and oranges ... I'd say more like apples and potatoes. Both of those are edible , but you'll never mistake one for the other.

That said , I would expect the P99 ans SW99 trigger to be comparable , given the fact that they are essentially the same mechanism.
They are , right?

 

[Dudemeister]

We'll find out when I get it.

 

[Dudemeister]

Today, I finally got a chance to go to the gun store and pick up my two PPT purchases, including the SW99. So Got the P99 out as well and started to do a quick comparison.

The guns are nearly identical, and feel the same. Regarding the trigger, they are the same, I can't feel a difference between them. I used a Layman Digital trigger pull gauge, and the average for the P99 was 4lb 11.5oz, while the SW99 was 4lb 10.7oz. In DA the P99 was 8lb 2.8oz, and the SW99 was 8lb 2.5oz.



So where did I get this thing in the back of my brain about a crappy trigger pull? And then I spied my M&P 45, grabbed it and pulled the trigger. Then the memories started flooding back. The Layman gauge averaged 6lb 14.05oz. and the feel is "creepy".

So now that the trigger pull issue was out of the way, I did a few more comparisons. First, weight. The P99 is 23.88oz, the SW99 is 24.54oz, all the difference is in the upper (slide/barrel assembly). The frames are identical at 5.7oz. While both frames and slides look nearly identical, they are not interchangeable. Trying to put the SW99 slide on the P99, it slides on until it's about 1/2" from the back of the frame, then it binds. The P99 slide goes on the SW99 all the way, and locks in place, but cannot be racked, it binds after about 1/4" travel. The barrels are not interchangeable either Their shapes are different and do not fit.





I don't know about the internal parts, they look similar but I didn't try to remove and swap them. The only thing I found that could be interchanged were the magazines. They fit fine, but that's not to say they will work flawlessly without FTF or FTEs.

Next comparison will have to be at the range.

 

[Dudemeister]

One other thing that puzzles me. Last night and this morning I tried another experiment. With one gun in each hand, I slowly pulled the trigger simultaneously on both guns, then the SW99 breaks a fraction of a second before the P99. I tried this quite a few times, and every time it broke first. I then switched hands, same thing, the SW always breaks first.

I don't know if I can attribute that to the difference in trigger pulls, maybe the SW99 is "smoother", even though the 'terminal pull" is the same. But there it is.

 

[Ignition Override]

Dudemeister: I know nothing about the SW version.

But compared to the HK USPs and P30 which have more stacking in the DA trigger, my P99 was a pleasant surprise, and I had never handled any before ordering this gun.

 

[Dudemeister]

The M&P 45 is SA only, and it's not good. IIRC, the M&P trigger is not truly SA, it actually has do do some partial cocking or something like it before it disengages the sear, but there is no "DA" action either. Suffice it to say, that it's not my preferred trigger.

I may have to unload it one of these days.

 

[gc70]

Next comparison will have to be at the range.

Thank you for the interesting comparisons; keep it up!