Walther PK380

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Dirty_Harry

New member
I am looking for a Handgun for my Wife's birthday present. I am looking for a "smallish" gun with light recoil. The PK380 (I am not a huge fan of the 380 but my wife cannot handle recoil) looks really nice especially for the price. I have heard a ton of mixed reviews on them. Any owners here?
 
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zukiphile

New member
I spent a bit of time with one.

Very low recoil and a nice grip for small hands. Trigger was reasonable. Accuracy was sufficient for self defense within 20 feet, but it was no target pistol.

The single disconcerting feature of the example I handled was the slide mounted safety that would engage after the first shot, needing to be flipped off again before continuing the string. For a defensive tool, that was a significant drawback.

I have no idea whether that is a common problem with that item.
 
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kcub

New member
It's a umarex gun with a walther name on it. I wouldn't have a umarex gun. They are made of zinc and known to be crap.
 
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Dirty_Harry

New member
Thanks for the heads up, but what is a umarex gun?

Based off of my requirments, low recoil, smallish any other recommendations?

9mm would be ideal, but I think anything that size would be too much for her.
 
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DT Guy

New member
Based on our experience with a P22, I would pass. It works, but that's the most one could say for it.

Constant loosening of the front barrel weight, various screws, etc., along with some genuinely frightening reports of slide failures, would make me look elsewhere.

Larry
 
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bedbugbilly

New member
I'm looking for a .380 as I reload and have a friend that has one - would be nice to shoot the same ammo when we shoot. Anyway, I was interested in the Walther as well - but have read a number of mixed reviews. Some very complimentary and some not so complimentary. My advice, is if you can, go to a range whee you can rent one so you can try it. They are claimed to be easy to rack the slide and have a reduced recoil due to the design.

That said, I had a Bersa Thunder CC that i traded off a couple of years ago - wish I'd kept it as it ate anything and was a good shooter at SD ranges. I'm probably going to go that route - based on the previous experiences I've had with Bersa.

Good luck with your quest - let us know what you end up going with. :)
 
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CajunBass

New member
My wife is starting to have the same problem. Her arthritus is getting worse, and she started to find 38 in a small frame gun to be too much. Not so much in a full sized K-frame, but she didn't want to carry anything that big.

So we got her a Walther PP in 7.65 (32 acp). Not the most powerful cartridge in the world, but better than crying and begging please don't hurt me. Much better than a 38 she won't shoot because "It kicks too hard."
Very little recoil with the Walther, which is a steel frame gun.

And it looks like a million bucks.



 
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carguychris

New member
Dirty_Harry said:
Thanks for the heads up, but what is a umarex gun?
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Umarex is a German company that started out making airguns, blank-firing replicas, and starter pistols, and subsequently branched out into inexpensive .22LR firearms. They bought Walther in 1993 and have branded a number of their products with the Walther name. In addition to the Walther P22, PK380, PPK/s [.22LR version only], and SP22 [which is apparently no longer marketed in the USA], they also make a wide variety of .22LR replicas of well-known semi-auto pistols and rifles.

Walther enthusiasts regard Umarex Walthers as cheap and inferior compared to "genuine" Walthers from the Ulm plant. Umarex guns come from a plant in Cologne (Köln) and wear a 3-crown Cologne proofmark rather than a stag's-horn Ulm proofmark.

FWIW I dislike the PK380 for reasons that have been well documented in past threads, and that I don't feel like rehashing. :)
 
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farmer1911

New member
I own one, and use it for my carry. The biggest draw back that I have is the location and the way the safety is shut off (to fire). It has to be pushed up, not in a natural down motion and also is towards the back too much for me. The pluses, it fits in my smallish hands very well, very fun to shoot because of the low recoil. Also, if anyone is saying that it is inaccurate, I would have to disagree. I can keep 1 1/2" groups at 12 yards. I think that is pretty decent for the size of the gun. The finish on it is a little light and wears off easily, but maybe that has to do with the way I carry? IWB in leather. All in all, it is a good starter gun, and goes bang every time I have pulled the trigger. It has very low recoil, decent sights, and fits the hand very well. The gun came with two magazines, and a holster in my kit. My girlfriend absolutely likes to shoot it, and I would not be scared to recommend it to you for your girl to try out. Go rent before you buy. That is the best way to figure it out.

Major run down for me:

Pros: Easy recoil, fits in hand very nice, decent trigger pull with crisp break, two magazines from factory, non glare black finish, easy racking of the slide, decently accurate to 20 yards for the size of the firearm.

Cons: Safety in an awkard spot, hammer sometimes bits into the side when IWB carrying, finish quality is ok, magazines are expensive, kind of oversized for a 380.
 
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Fishbed77

New member
Umarex is a German company that started out making airguns, blank-firing replicas, and starter pistols, and subsequently branched out into inexpensive .22LR firearms. They bought Walther in 1993 and have branded a number of their products with the Walther name. In addition to the Walther P22, PK380, PPK/s [.22LR version only], and SP22 [which is apparently no longer marketed in the USA], they also make a wide variety of .22LR replicas of well-known semi-auto pistols and rifles.

Walther enthusiasts regard Umarex Walthers as cheap and inferior compared to "genuine" Walthers from the Ulm plant. Umarex guns come from a plant in Cologne (Köln) and wear a 3-crown Cologne proofmark rather than a stag's-horn Ulm proofmark.
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This pretty much nails it. The Umarex pistols are nowhere close to the quality of the excellent pistols made by the Walther factory in Ulm (such as the P99, PPQ, and PPS).
 
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JERRYS.

New member
sig 230s can still be had for under $500 delivered. they has a little more snap due to being straight blow back but its not that bad at all particularly if you get the all steel guns. plus the sig 230s are sexy.
 
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volkstrm

New member
Hello there,
I would try the Beretta 85f (sl stack) 8 rounds of 380acp or the 84f (ddl stack) 13 rounds of 380acp. I have the 85f s/s got for the wife much slimmer then the 84f. Its a very good gun & I think she will like it. One thing the 85f is harder to find then the 84f. Good luck.
 
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carguychris

New member
Oh heck...

...I knew I would wind up rehashing some of my issues with this pistol, so here goes. :rolleyes:
farmer1911 said:
The biggest draw back that I have is the location and the way the safety is shut off (to fire). It has to be pushed up, not in a natural down motion and also is towards the back too much for me.
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Frankly, given the fact that the pistol will drop the hammer against the engaged safety, I personally recommend NEVER using the safety levers at all, and carrying the pistol exclusively in DA/safety-off mode.

"But I like the fact that I can carry cocked-and-locked!"

I don't like the fact that a BG might take my pistol away from me while I'm trying to figure out the reason it's going click rather than BANG! when I pull the trigger and the hammer falls. :eek: With ~99% of other modern centerfire pistol designs, if you pull the trigger, the hammer drops, and the gun fails to fire, clearing it should fix the problem. With a PK380 with the thumb safety in the SAFE position, you can clear the pistol until the mag is empty, and it will never fire. :(

If you want a largish small-caliber DA/SA pistol that can be carried cocked-and-locked, IMHO you should buy a Beretta 81/82/84/85 made prior to the F and FS series (no-suffix, B, or BB series). That said, I find the slides on these pistol to be quite hard to operate due to a combination of a stiff recoil spring, limited grasping surface, and the position of the thumb safeties. In addition, nice examples are expensive.
 
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GyMac

New member
CajunBass, that's a great looking gun! I agree about the .32 and I've always preferred the PP to the PPK. But my favorite in that size range is the Makarov. I have several in 9mm Mak but one in .380. They're all great and easy to shoot.
 
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PointOneSeven

New member
I wouldn't let the "light duty" aspect of the cheaper Walthers scare me off. As long as she's not running 300 rounds a month through it, it should hold up for years before the slide starts looking bad or breaking.

If I wasn't using my P22 for plinking, it wouldn't look as bad as it does. 1000's of rounds through it and it still shoots, even if a bit tore up.
 
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RX-79G

Moderator
One could buy an older Walther PP from Simpsons in nice condition for just a little bit more than a pot metal PK380.

The Bersa, Berettas, Sig 380s and FEGs are all excellent quality .380 guns. FEG imported the PP size PA-63 at a discount, and the SMC was a steel framed PPK size gun - both of excellent quality.

A locked breech .380 - like a Colt Mustang or Llama .380, will have even less recoil, but be a 1911 style. They are easier to load, as well.
 
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carguychris

New member
RX-79G said:
...the SMC was a steel framed PPK size gun - both of excellent quality.
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Maybe I missed something, but what's an SMC? :confused:

Another potential contender in the "PP Copy" class is the Astra Constable, which is cosmetically and functionally very similar to the PP, but has a manual external slide stop- which the PP lacks- and a sliding takedown latch in place of the swing-down trigger guard. It's generally quite inexpensive if you can find a good one. Its main downside is that it's a somewhat uncommon and long-discontinued pistol from a defunct gunmaker- a trait it shares with the similar FÉG.

The Makarov is in the same boat to some degree, but the pistol, mags, and parts are more common than the others, and the gun has a reputation for being nearly unbreakable and stone-simple to fix.

Although they're generally pretty stout and high-quality, one downside of the PP family is that the pistols can be difficult and expensive to repair if/when they break. The decocking system was a novelty when the pistol was designed, and it's somewhat of a weak point; it's intricate and highly dependent on precise fitment and tolerances. Other gunmakers subsequently figured out decocker designs that are mechanically simpler and easier to repair.

As a functional carry gun for someone who doesn't like to tinker or scour gun shows for parts, IMHO the best options in the "PP Copy" class are the Bersa and SIG. As I said before, the Beretta Series 81 is also great, but it's functionally in a slightly different class.
 
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