Question about Walther PPK/S Magazines

[EOD Guy in VA]

I have two magazines for my Walther PPK/S that are identical except for the marking of
-A- on the front (rounded) side of the mag about ½ inch up from the base. One has this mark … one doesn’t. What’s the difference?

 

[denfoote]

You should have one with the finger guard and one that fits flush. That is the only difference that I know about.

Mine is chambered in 9mm kurz/.380 ACP. These are the only markings on the mag in the place you describe, other than the Walther banner. The "9mm kurz" is on one side and the ".380 ACP" is on the other. There is no "A" anywhere on the magazine!!

 

[EOD Guy in VA]

Both of these are finger-guard mags.

 

[EOD Guy in VA]

Come on guys ... someone must know

 

[Dfariswheel]

I'll take a stab:

Unless it has the Walther banner stamp, and is marked 380 ACP on one side, and 9mm Kurz on the other, it's probably NOT a genuine Walther magazine.

Therefore the -A- stamp would be whatever after market company actually made it.

I've never seen a genuine Walther mag with a mark of any kind in that area.

If your gun is factory new, and came with these magazines, the factory is marking them different than they ever did before.

 

[EOD Guy in VA]

Both of the mags that have the -A- are the original factory mags that came with the pistol NIB.

 

[Dfariswheel]

"One has this mark … one doesn’t." ??????

"Both of the mags that have the -A- are the original factory mags" ???????

Which is it?

I'm assuming that the newer Walther mags are being marked differently than the old ones.
The -A- may just be an inspectors mark, or could be the code of an outside supplier who makes the mags for Walther under contract.

No big deal, as long as they are factory.

 

[EOD Guy in VA]

Let me try this again ...
I have two mags with the finger extensions, one came with the PPK/S, one I bought later. The only difference in them is that the one that came with the pistol has an -A- on the front (rounded) side of the magazine about 1/2 inch up from the base.
The non-finger extension mag that came with the pistol also has the -A-.
I'm trying to find out what the -A- means because that mag seems to work better in the pistol.

 

[Dfariswheel]

Ok understood.
Again, the -A- is either an inspectors mark (which Walther never used on mags) OR it's the ID mark of a contract company that made the mags for Walther.

Many, if not most gun companies don't make their own mags, they contract them out to companies like Mec-Gar.

In the past, the Walther/InterArms guns magazines had NO such mark. Now that the guns are being made by another company for S&W, they may be adding an ID mark.

If this is a recent gun, look for contact info in the manual, and call or write them for spare mag sources.

As a matter if interest: Did the mag you bought later come in a Walther package, or does it have the Walther banner on it?

If not, it's almost certainly not a genuine Walther, and that's why it isn't reliable. A lot of people are complaining about after market mags for the PPK/s that don't work well.

 

[EOD Guy in VA]

The mag without the -A- was bought at a gun show & not in a wrapper. But ... it does have the Wather logo and all other ID features.
Guess it will remain a mystery. No biggie anyway, just curious.

 

[Dfariswheel]

Sounds like you got an earlier make of the Walther mag. What you often find in these cases is somebody had a problem with the mag, and dumped it.

A faily large percentage of used mags from gun shows are somebody else's rejects.

You might try disassembling the mag and checking it against the good ones. Look for bent, short, or corroded springs, damaged followeres, or bent/dented mag body, and bent/damaged feed lips.

I'd just use it for practice, or...........sell it at a gun show!!!!!

 

[RoyP]

The wifes ppk/s came with 2 stainless mags.One has the finger rest one doesn't.They both say Walter 9mm kurts on one side and Walter 380 acp on the other side.BOTH have the -A- marking.She has one blued one that has the same walters markings but does not have the -A- marking on it.I still have no Idea what it stands for though.

 

[Jesse H]

Guess I'll give my 5 mags a looksie when I get home. They all work except the one w/out the finger extension...the slide won't lock back when empty unless I manually nudge the mag firmly into the mag well.