[Fitch]

I am a big fan of the PPK and PPK/s.

I picked up an East German made PPK/S at a great old gun shop in Michigan the last time I visited. It was essentially unfired (no marks at all on the mag follower, no sign of wear on the mechanism at all), in the original box with the factory test target. Its 380ACP (AKA 9x17mm). They had it as part of a large private collection that was being sold on consignment. Sometimes I get lucky!

It is surprisingly accurate for a pistol with a 3.3" barrel. I've put as many as a hundred rounds through it at a range session, but I won't do that often. It is fun to shoot.

I very much like the DA/SA action on it. The DA trigger pull is a bit stout, but the single action is glass break crisp. The bluing and finish is first class.

The beauty of the DA/SA mechanism is that it has a safe lever - AKA De-Cocking lever which prevents firing when in the safe position. When the lever is in the safe position you can load, unload, clear the chamber, do anything you want with no chance that it will fire even if the trigger is bumped. I like that a lot in a carry piece.

It is a great carry piece. In addition to the very safe but easy to operate DA/SA action, it is quite thin and flat, in a basic IWB holster it doesn't protrude much below a 1-1/2" belt so its easy to hide under a sweatshirt or untucked T-shirt. The handle on the PPK/S is one cartridge case longer than the handle on the PPK. The slides are the same for both models.

The gun was designed in the late 1920's and early 1930's so I don't use +P loads in it for any reason. For target practice I hand load or shoot WWB from Wal Mart, for defense/carry I use Federal HS.

Fitch