Walther PPK/S jamming problem...

[indianjack]

theres been alot of complaints about the walther ppk/s in .380 caliber, problems with the trigger and sear.

Exactly the problem I had (after the warranty was up of course) and the sear was the problem. Best to get it to a good gun smith

[zachomega]

I thought Smith and Wesson was taking them back regardless of year and warranty so long as it fit into their serial number bracket (which spanned something like 10 years of production) to repair the hammer/sear problems (which you can find videos of on Youtube).

While a lot of people I know had issues with Smith and Wesson taking forever to get their gun back, I had mine back exactly 1 month later. On the other hand, I also waited to send my gun back until they started sending guns back to other people.

I wasn't too pleased with the condition they sent the gun back to me in, but I assume at least the hammer/sear problem was fixed. Too bad they dinged up the frame (to mark the modified guns) on my limited edition PPK/S Aristocrat and left the feed ramp "polished" with all kinds of rough tool marks.

All of this is moot of course if you are talking about an Interarms PPK/S...but I guess if that was the case, you probably would not be even mentioning the warranty.

-Zach

Exactly the problem I had (after the warranty was up of course) and the sear was the problem. Best to get it to a good gun smith

[ambidextrous]

I think you're confusing this with the recall last year....
I'd like to think any serial number that fell under the recall was taken off the shelves and returned to S&W for service.
Sent mine back still under warranty (thankfully) 6 weeks ago.
Back to my original question...Is this gun reliable? Ramp, Slide. Sear. Mags. Ammo. ....??? I like this gun. (when I get it back) ...but so far, all I've experienced and heard are finicky querks that will restrict it to the range. It's disappointing because I research and try before I buy...must've slipped on this one, as it's been toted as a great choice for concealed carry...maybe in size.

[Freebird]

I had an Interarms PPK/S years ago, purchased second hand from a gunshop. It used to stovepipe about 1 in 50 rounds. Finally the safety went flying off. It went back to Interarms who "fixed" it and test fired 5 shots, stole the extra mag from the box and the darn thing still still jammed. Dumped it. I think they have a bit of a reputation for jamming.

I wish you better luck with S&W.

[Mity2]

I have been considering a new small .380 gun as back up between walther PPK/S and beretta 84FS, and was leaning towords walther, but I guess I have to seriously reconsider this.
My grampa had old Nazi marked PPk, and that thing was very reliable. Shot any and all ammo(and some were straight garbage ammo he shot with it) without any issue. He sold it to pay for a heating oil few years back(wish he didn't - I'd gradly pay for his oil if he'd asked me for it)
I think any metal framed gun(specialy some tightly fitted guns) needs at least 400~500 before it's considered broken in. I know it's frustrating when you buy a new gun, and it doesn't work right, but I'd keep shooting until about 500 before I pass judgement on it.

Do keep up posted

[Manyclunkers]

Zachomega, I had purchased a new Walther PPK/S about ten years ago, and it too would fail to feed sometimes in the manner just as you had described. I tried all sorts of ammo out of it, and still never got it to act with a reliability that I felt comfortable with. What poured a little salt into the wound is that I had a Makarov at the time, which cost about a third of the PPK/S, would eat just about anything, and I was more accurate with it. While I really liked the Walther I eventually sold it due to its reliability issues. However for me, today I probably would have stuck it out and tried to figure out what was wrong, for they really are a nice design. Whatever you decide to do with it, best of luck.

[ak0ngppks]

Mine too...

What is wrong with my 2010 walther (s&w) PPK/S .380?

It keeps jamming...
have tried new 2 mags aside from 2 that came w/ gun
shooting different fmj - S&B, winchester, remingston, blazer, magtech, fed

sometimes mag does not come out when a round is chambered

I am really disappointed with this gun - if only I have known about Princess Anne bodyguad I would stay away from this James Bond junk

what does limp wrist? is it bending you wrist when shooting? instead of let it raise up?

[GonzoGeezer]

I, too, have heard that mags can affect the feed, something to do with the lip on top that holds in the cartridge. But a friend's PPK/s also jammed regularly on truncated cone FMJ. Switched to round nose and it worked like a champ.

Good luck.

[xtrmn8tr]

just so you know...i had all these problems early on too...but i just kept shooting the crap out of the pistol and after maybe 300 to 500 rounds latter i suddenly realized that i wasn't having any problems any more...also make sure you keep that little bugger well oiled...it really seemed to help my gun...

[kipper]

I have both a PPK and a PPK/S. Bought the PPK new, and never had any issues with it, other than when I'd shoot straight Blazer ammo and used non-manufacturer mags. Blazer Brass would feed, straight Blazer wouldn't. It was my carry gun for 4 years, until I finally pimped my PPK/S with Crimson Trace laser grips, and I carry that. I've not had any issues with jamming or feeding, although, I did buy it used, so I don't know how many rounds were fired through it before I bought it.

I agree with xtrmn8tr about shooting it. Keep shooting it, and put 500 rounds or so through it. Having handled lots of new PPK/S's, from S&W, they are very tight when NIB, and need some use to stop having hiccups.

I did also find that the generic mags that you can pick up at gun shows didn't work well in mine, but the manufacturer mags, while far more expensive, worked very well.