AyyDudee30
Member
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2017
- Messages
- 16
Many say the Walther P38 was the precursor to the modern service handgun; double and single action trigger, decocker/safety lever, relatively lightweight for the time and a locking breech to contain the 9mm luger cartridge. While the pistol itself is rooted in infamy it still stands to say it was known for its ruggedness and reliability as well as being inexpensive to produce. That all being up for debate the simple fact is that it was a phenomenal handgun and in my opinion still is to this day, while it may not be the latest and greatest high capacity high strength handgun it can still be a great shooter for someone looking for a more simple and traditional approach to handgun marksmanship and use.
My story with the P1 began with a trade. My 1911 for my good friends Manurhin marked P1. I had shot it a few times before the trade and always found it enjoyable, he wanted to try a 1911 so we made the deal. I got it with a black leather holster and a couple spare mags. My particular example began as an early P1 with a thin slide, no reinforcing pin and marked for the West Berlin Polizei. After 10 painstakingly long days I picked it up and did plenty of research for wartime and post war 9mm luger load specs for handguns. In my time researching my conclusion was the CCI Blazer 124 gr FMJ was the closest approximation to standard 9mm loadings at the time of the guns production, don't want to make the old gun work too hard with nato loadings or anything too hot and cause any sort of wear on the old aluminum frame. With this information I picked my ammo up and headed to the range.
First thing I noticed and I particularly enjoyed when handling the gun was the thin handle believe it or not. The gun was designed with one handed firing in mind much like many of its contemporaries and in fact it does this very well, you can apply modern grip techniques but that comes with its own set of caveats. The controls of the gun are all easily used with the thumb, slide release and decocker safety are efficiently and easily actuated by the users thumb (even if the user doesn't have particularly big mitts, looking at YOU 1911 slide release) the heel style mag release is about the best one I have felt and not as big of a hinderance as I though it would be. the slide itself was a little different of an issue for me. Yes it is big and easy to get your hands on for charging the piece but the absolute lack of serrations led me to using the safety lever to get a positive grip to bring it to the rear so I addressed this later. The trigger is a military handgun trigger, nothing to write home about in double action but a pleasant single action once you learn its quirks. Plus it has a loaded chamber indicator, cool but just leaves this thin little pin sticking out the rear of the gun.
Taking my first few shots with it off the bench one handed met me with a rather muzzle flippy yet soft recoil impulse. The gun did its job and I was met with a pleasant ring of a steel plate, awesome! Next I took both hands on and after a full mag through the slide failed to lock open. Forgetting what time this pistol was designed in my high grip I'm accustomed to with my Glock and CZ's I was holding the slide lever down do I had to adjust my thumb into the spot specifically designed to place your thumb in (who would have thought) and then I proceeded to put the next mag through and great it held the slide open but the takedown lever up front was giving my left hand thumb a run for its money! The gun itself though felt extremely controllable and a few rounds later I picked up my beloved P01 and it felt like I went form driving a stick shift work truck to getting into a well tuned paddle shifting coupe. After my range trip had ended and I put all my brass on the floor and lead into the dirt I was at home cleaning it and looking at spare parts for this relic which led me to a new rabbit hole to jump in.
After reading a bit and watching a few videos and handling the gun and dry firing I figured I like the slide but I need to get something perhaps stronger so I sourced a Walther marked unissued "fat" slide for a screaming deal. I figured after reading plenty about these old Walthers the slide is the weakest link it was a wise move to make the gun more of a shooter. This is where I remembered it is no totally modern handgun so it may need parts fitting but after getting my new slide in the mail and getting some oil on it everything came out of the old slide and into the new one perfectly. the only setback was the decocker seemed spotty at best for function. Thankfully the slide was a little heavier and had plenty of serrations for my modern handgun requirements and felt like a million bucks.
A week later and back to the range now drawing from the leather holster obviously draw was slow and mag changed were a little more tedious than a button release but the gun felt smoother to shoot and handling the new slide felt fantastic. rapid firing was a breeze with the new grip technique and the trigger pull was to me easier to work with. After 300 more rounds it had smoothed out and the decocker was working perfectly.
All in all the handgun is an excellent performer and I would recommend anyone give one a try given the chance. It is a traditional handgun that helped shape the modern handguns we all know and love today and once you learn its quirks and what kind of ammo to feed it it is a great shooting experience and a good challenge to us who are used to the handling characteristics of the typical handguns of today. If you made it this far I greatly thank you for your time and interest in these pieces, and if you have had experience and or own one of these awesome little guns let us all know your thoughts!
My story with the P1 began with a trade. My 1911 for my good friends Manurhin marked P1. I had shot it a few times before the trade and always found it enjoyable, he wanted to try a 1911 so we made the deal. I got it with a black leather holster and a couple spare mags. My particular example began as an early P1 with a thin slide, no reinforcing pin and marked for the West Berlin Polizei. After 10 painstakingly long days I picked it up and did plenty of research for wartime and post war 9mm luger load specs for handguns. In my time researching my conclusion was the CCI Blazer 124 gr FMJ was the closest approximation to standard 9mm loadings at the time of the guns production, don't want to make the old gun work too hard with nato loadings or anything too hot and cause any sort of wear on the old aluminum frame. With this information I picked my ammo up and headed to the range.
First thing I noticed and I particularly enjoyed when handling the gun was the thin handle believe it or not. The gun was designed with one handed firing in mind much like many of its contemporaries and in fact it does this very well, you can apply modern grip techniques but that comes with its own set of caveats. The controls of the gun are all easily used with the thumb, slide release and decocker safety are efficiently and easily actuated by the users thumb (even if the user doesn't have particularly big mitts, looking at YOU 1911 slide release) the heel style mag release is about the best one I have felt and not as big of a hinderance as I though it would be. the slide itself was a little different of an issue for me. Yes it is big and easy to get your hands on for charging the piece but the absolute lack of serrations led me to using the safety lever to get a positive grip to bring it to the rear so I addressed this later. The trigger is a military handgun trigger, nothing to write home about in double action but a pleasant single action once you learn its quirks. Plus it has a loaded chamber indicator, cool but just leaves this thin little pin sticking out the rear of the gun.
Taking my first few shots with it off the bench one handed met me with a rather muzzle flippy yet soft recoil impulse. The gun did its job and I was met with a pleasant ring of a steel plate, awesome! Next I took both hands on and after a full mag through the slide failed to lock open. Forgetting what time this pistol was designed in my high grip I'm accustomed to with my Glock and CZ's I was holding the slide lever down do I had to adjust my thumb into the spot specifically designed to place your thumb in (who would have thought) and then I proceeded to put the next mag through and great it held the slide open but the takedown lever up front was giving my left hand thumb a run for its money! The gun itself though felt extremely controllable and a few rounds later I picked up my beloved P01 and it felt like I went form driving a stick shift work truck to getting into a well tuned paddle shifting coupe. After my range trip had ended and I put all my brass on the floor and lead into the dirt I was at home cleaning it and looking at spare parts for this relic which led me to a new rabbit hole to jump in.
After reading a bit and watching a few videos and handling the gun and dry firing I figured I like the slide but I need to get something perhaps stronger so I sourced a Walther marked unissued "fat" slide for a screaming deal. I figured after reading plenty about these old Walthers the slide is the weakest link it was a wise move to make the gun more of a shooter. This is where I remembered it is no totally modern handgun so it may need parts fitting but after getting my new slide in the mail and getting some oil on it everything came out of the old slide and into the new one perfectly. the only setback was the decocker seemed spotty at best for function. Thankfully the slide was a little heavier and had plenty of serrations for my modern handgun requirements and felt like a million bucks.
A week later and back to the range now drawing from the leather holster obviously draw was slow and mag changed were a little more tedious than a button release but the gun felt smoother to shoot and handling the new slide felt fantastic. rapid firing was a breeze with the new grip technique and the trigger pull was to me easier to work with. After 300 more rounds it had smoothed out and the decocker was working perfectly.
All in all the handgun is an excellent performer and I would recommend anyone give one a try given the chance. It is a traditional handgun that helped shape the modern handguns we all know and love today and once you learn its quirks and what kind of ammo to feed it it is a great shooting experience and a good challenge to us who are used to the handling characteristics of the typical handguns of today. If you made it this far I greatly thank you for your time and interest in these pieces, and if you have had experience and or own one of these awesome little guns let us all know your thoughts!
