Czechnologist
Concerned Citizen
- Mar 9, 2016
- 6,531
It had been well over a year since I bought a new handgun. I did pick-up a lightly-used, 1991-vintage West German Sig P220 back in May but, I hadn't purchased anything new-new since June 2020. That's a record dry spell for me but, going to gun shops in 2020 (and most 2021), seeing all the long lines, panic-buying, price-gouging, lack of inventory and no ammo on the shelves pretty much sucked all the fun out of it.
And handgun-wise, there just didn't seem to be much going-on, either. The factories were all backlogged on a year's-worth of production and the priority for them was (and still is) optics-ready-everything. Walther released the PDP back in February to great industry fanfare and claims of being the greatest thing since sliced bread but I already had a PPQ 45 and a 5" PPQ 9mm. The last thing I really needed in my collection was another 9mm with a voracious appetite, yet, I always wondered how good the PPQ could've been if Walther had paid as much attention to making the rest of the gun as great as its trigger?
Enter the PDP - Performance Duty Pistol. So its basically the next generation of PPQ with some significant upgrades in grip texturing, slide serrations and fully-adjustable iron sights. It's optics-ready (but the mounting plate isn't included) and the trigger is supposed to be slightly improved. Honestly, I can't tell if it is? I won't get to shoot it until next weekend but, just dry-firing it a few times it feels exactly like my PPQ's, which is to say, it's outstanding. Full-size models come with two 18 round mags but, its available with 10-rounders for poor unfortunate schmucks who live in states like Maryland.
Couldn't find a PDP locally but Euro Optic has been my go-to for just about everything lately and they shipped it free to my FFL. I don't think I really overpaid hideously: $599 + tax seems to be the going price for Walther PDP's in any configuration right now.
Walther provides potential buyers a lot of choices. The PDP comes in two frame sizes (full-size and compact) and three barrel lengths (4, 4.5 and 5"). There is quite a bit of backward compatibility with the PPQ. It uses the same mags and the PDP's slide can be made to work on the PPQ's frame.
The biggest appeal of the PDP is probably its optic-readiness (to an extent). Walther will provide owners with one free optic mounting plate for their new PDP's. All you have to do is let them know what optic you're gonna use. I hear that turnaround time from Walther is 2-3 weeks right now? I'm leaning hard towards a Holosun 507/508 but need to look at others to compare.
And handgun-wise, there just didn't seem to be much going-on, either. The factories were all backlogged on a year's-worth of production and the priority for them was (and still is) optics-ready-everything. Walther released the PDP back in February to great industry fanfare and claims of being the greatest thing since sliced bread but I already had a PPQ 45 and a 5" PPQ 9mm. The last thing I really needed in my collection was another 9mm with a voracious appetite, yet, I always wondered how good the PPQ could've been if Walther had paid as much attention to making the rest of the gun as great as its trigger?
Enter the PDP - Performance Duty Pistol. So its basically the next generation of PPQ with some significant upgrades in grip texturing, slide serrations and fully-adjustable iron sights. It's optics-ready (but the mounting plate isn't included) and the trigger is supposed to be slightly improved. Honestly, I can't tell if it is? I won't get to shoot it until next weekend but, just dry-firing it a few times it feels exactly like my PPQ's, which is to say, it's outstanding. Full-size models come with two 18 round mags but, its available with 10-rounders for poor unfortunate schmucks who live in states like Maryland.
Couldn't find a PDP locally but Euro Optic has been my go-to for just about everything lately and they shipped it free to my FFL. I don't think I really overpaid hideously: $599 + tax seems to be the going price for Walther PDP's in any configuration right now.
Walther provides potential buyers a lot of choices. The PDP comes in two frame sizes (full-size and compact) and three barrel lengths (4, 4.5 and 5"). There is quite a bit of backward compatibility with the PPQ. It uses the same mags and the PDP's slide can be made to work on the PPQ's frame.
The biggest appeal of the PDP is probably its optic-readiness (to an extent). Walther will provide owners with one free optic mounting plate for their new PDP's. All you have to do is let them know what optic you're gonna use. I hear that turnaround time from Walther is 2-3 weeks right now? I'm leaning hard towards a Holosun 507/508 but need to look at others to compare.