Walther PK380, I finally got one!

[cidcolada]

After reading about this pistol on Walther's website, I have been on a seemingly endless search for one. I went to all of my local gun shops with basically the same result at all of them. "I don't think that they have released that yet, I saw one at the SHOT Show, but not since".

I went to the gun show today to find some 5.56 and some reloading supplies. I started at the first table in and was working my way around when I saw it. Lying among a slew of P22's, a lone PK380. Bought it right away.

This thing is great. It really is almost the same size as a P22, and it feels just as nice in the hand. Only complaint so far is that there is no external slide release and it has the funky "flip forward for fire" european safety lever, otherwise it is awesome.

Here are some pictures.





P.S. The dealer said that he ordered 50 of these at the SHOT Show, and this is the first of them he has received. He got it Tuesday.

 

[MICHAEL T]

Enjoy your find . Myself I will keep my PPK/S I am not in to square plastic pistols But then I am a old man and perfer the older steel guns to plastic

 

[sfc_mark]

If you're going to show off, you should mention that you paid almost $30 BELOW MSRP.

AND we found primers.

 

[searcher451]

I picked one up late last week and, despite being an unabashed Walther fan, am unimpressed thus far. I was hoping for a reduced-in-size P99 (a truly fine firearm, by the way) and instead found a slightly beefed-up P22 (a toy on steroids). The first tip-off was the exterior screws that hold on the ambidexterous safeties. The second was the fact that you need some sort of funky key to field-strip the thing. I won't get a chance to fire it until next weekend, at the soonest, but I'm not optimistic at this point. I was hoping for a real Walther. Instead, we've got another Umarex product, I'm afraid. Umarex may make a fine air pistol, but -- given the P22 -- Walther's parent company should stay away from real firearms, IMO.

 

[nwilliams]

Let us know how it works. I hear they have very little recoil.

I had my heart set on one when they were first announced but my local shop got one in last week and after looking at it I decided to pass. I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a slide release button and it felt too much like a P22. The grip felt really nice however.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Does it have a threaded/shrouded barrel like the P22?

 

[wally]

I saw one at yesterday's gun show. Looked about as big and only a bit lighter than the new Walther 9mm & .40S&W sub-compacts which are about the size of the Kahr CW40, although both are a tad heavier than the Kahr.

I can understand the high interest in super small .380s like the P3AT or LCP, but once you get to the size/weight where you have several 9mm or .40S&W to consider I have to ask why .380? even ignoring the fact that currently both 9mm and .40S&W are cheaper and easier to find than .380 ammo.

--wally.

 

[jhallrv4]

I have a P22, (well, okay, my wife has a P22), and I have and carry regularly a PPS 9mm. The PPS is small, narrow, and very concealable. However, it isn't the same size, or as concealable as the P22. So, now you can get a .380 essentially the same size as a P22. This is a good thing. My wife doesn't carry her P22, but she would carry the PK380. Isn't that a good thing? Yes, it isn't a .45, and it also isn't a BMG50. That's hardly the point. I carry a .45 Dan Wesson 1911 on the weekends and in the evening, but I can't dress around one of those at work, where I'm forbidden (what they don't know wont hurt them) to carry in the office or in my company car. The more concealable the better. It's a niche gun. That's all it was intended to be. I'd much more likely fork over cash for one of these than a Kel-tec or (God forbid) Kahr. I've heard complaints about the finish of one part or another of the PK380...for crying out loud, it's concealed!!! Like I care how it's finished. It's less than 400 bucks. You want gold plated, get gold plated.

Jeff

 

[cidcolada]

As soon as I get to the range I will post a range report. I also don't like that it has no slide release.

No there is no threaded barrel (much to my dismay), and I don't think anybody is going to make one either. Unlike the P22 which is a direct blow-back, this is a short recoil design.

Jeff, you are exactly right. It is very concealable even under just a t-shirt, and this will probably mostly be carried by my wife, who is about 5'1" and petite.

There are many appropriate defensive loads available for .380 without the recoil of a sub-compact 9mm or .40, so all said this gun is exactly what I was looking for at the right price.

 

[Mad Magyar]

If you're going to show off, you should mention that you paid almost $30 BELOW MSRP.

AND we found primers

How do you know? Unless you were.....BTW, How big is a SHOT show?

 

[cidcolada]

MSRP is listed on the Walther website.

The SHOT show is the big firearms trade show every year, and it's BIG.

 

[sfc_mark]

How do you know? Unless you were.....BTW, How big is a SHOT show?

I was there. It wasn't the SHOT show, just a small (200 table) show at the local Nat'l Guard Armory.

 

[searcher451]

I suspect that the real market for these will come from the folks who own and love the P22. Put a lot of women in that category. It wouldn't surprise me much, in fact, if Walther/Umarex introduced a pink version fairly quickly.

 

[Kiddo]

Got my PK380

I like the way it feels in the hand.

But I have a problem with releasing the take down lever. Any suggestions?

I've got the key, and I'm turning it, but it doesn't seem to release the take down lever.

 

[cidcolada]

The take down slide can only be pulled after the key is turned. Counterclockwise i think. I turns farther than I thought it would, and then try pushing the slide back just about an eighth to a quarter of an inch. That seems to releases the pressure on the pin.

Have you shot yours yet, I am still waiting to get to the range to try it out. (I just found some ammo) I am hoping that it will have little recoil so my little sisters can shoot it without too much trouble.

 

[Storm]

Sounds like a swell takedown system....not

 

[D!rty H@rry]

i just cant seem to work the walther mag. release.

 

[Shipwreck]

I have a couple of P99s and 3 HKs.

I love these types of mag releases... Prefer them to the traditional button.

Use your trigger finger to activate the mag release. Don't even need to change your grip.

Give it time. You will get used to it

 

[GRIZ22]

Only complaint so far is that there is no external slide release and it has the funky "flip forward for fire" european safety lever,

I don't see this as a negative as Walther has been making these safeties like this and no external slide release on the PP series for almost 90 years. I don't think they will change it now.

 

[Kiddo]

Haven't shot it yet...got ammo (was lucky, the place I got the PK380 from had some 380 ammo)...but plan on going tomorrow or Saturday.

I've read the review on it...sounds like it doesn't have the 9MM recoil. Will let you know!

Thanks for the info...hubby has to turn the key for me...I think needle nose pliers are required for a more easy turn.

 

[searcher451]

Mine worked much better after a bit of lube was applied. I'm not sure that I'd use pliers of any kind on that key; it strikes me as rather delicate -- which is also something that doesn't impress.

 

[cidcolada]

Yeah, I'm not really fond of the takedown system on it. I much prefer to be able to strip my firearms without having a proprietary tool for the job. I don't really think that the key is all that delicate, but I do think that if it is lost it might be a little difficult to replace since these pistols are so scarce as it is.

The slide release and safety aren't really a big issue. I just like the slide release to be there for quick mag changes.

I also really like the mag release lever, it was one of my favorite features of my friend's HK's.

 

[Kiddo]

Went to the shooting range tonight...wow! Loved it!!!

I've shot my husbands PPS and it felt like it was going to come out of my hand due to the recoil...the PK380 has about the same recoil but with the smaller grip I've got more control.

Husband says he thinks it's louder than his PPS.

 

[TexasBill]

I haven't seen one for sale around Houston yet, but I am on the list for a First Edition at my local gun shop. I have wanted one of these for my wife ever since I first saw them. She loves her P22 and I think this would be perfect for her.

Right now, she has a brand-new Browning BDA (I wanted the Browning but she spoke up first). :banghead: She likes it but wants something a bit slimmer. The wood grips on the Browning are beautiful but they make the pistol a bit wide for her hand.

I have been buying .380 ammo whenever I found it for months because I knew we would be getting a .380 at some time so, even after a recent fun day at the range with the Beretta and Browning, I still have over 400 rounds of various .380 cartridges which should be enough to put the PK380 through its paces. Hopefully, my wife will like it enough to trade the Browning for it.

 

[TexasBill]

Enjoy your find. Myself I will keep my PPK/S. I am not into square plastic pistols. But then I am a old man and prefer the older steel guns to plastic

Before anyone else gets the wrong impression, only the grip is polymer. The frame, slide and barrel are all steel. That's why the PK380 weighs 19.4 ounces while the P22 tips the scales at 15.1 ounces. The PK380 weighs just an ounce less than the PPK.