WALTHER Porn

Occam said:

... Here's Herr PP, by way of Interarms. I've never done the homework to see what year it was made, but it's in very nice shape.

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Vurry nice!
The "70" and the "antler" on the barrel chamber are the commercial proof date for 1970... assuming that's a "70".
(A 1974 proof on a P38 for comparison).

somd_mustangs said:

Vurry nice!
The "70" and the "antler" on the barrel chamber are the commercial proof date for 1970... assuming that's a "70".
(A 1974 proof on a P38 for comparison).

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Hey, thanks!

Always wanted a P5 but refuse to put myself thru the GB BS to get one. It was designed for German polizei, who were seeking to replace their existing 7.65mm pistols with something chambered in 9mm. A subsequent bid resulted in the Walther P5 being introduced into service alongside the Sig P225 (designated P6 within the West German Federal Police) and Heckler & Koch P7. We shared a range in Berlin with the polizei who were always glad to let us try-out their stuff and of those three pistols, I liked the P5 the best.

This wasn't real high on my must-have list but I ran across a very good deal on a pristine un-fired P88C and decided to go for it. Should be here next week.

Sweet!

Zzzzz_man said:

This wasn't real high on my must-have list but I ran across a very good deal on a pristine un-fired P88C and decided to go for it. Should be here next week.

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Very nice I remember those from back in the day.

Jimbob2.0 said:

Very nice I remember those from back in the day.

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Thanks! Yeah, the P88C was kinda Walther's last hurrah for all-steel guns. I remember wanting one pretty bad back in 1993 but not being able to justify the price.

Zzzzz_man said:

Thanks! Yeah, the P88C was kinda Walther's last hurrah for all-steel guns. I remember wanting one pretty bad back in 1993 but not being able to justify the price.

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Me too............ended up with a CZ75 instead excellent gun but lacks the "pizazz? of the Walther.

Jimbob2.0 said:

Me too............ended up with a CZ75 instead excellent gun but lacks the "pizazz? of the Walther.

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The early-to-mid 1990's was the peak of the Sig Sauer era for me. As much of a Walther fan as I was, though, I still couldn't see what made the P88/P88C cost $300-400 more than a P220/P226. Those old West German-built Sigs were tough to beat. I think at one time, I was up to 5 or 6 of them, including a P228 and one of the first P229's to be released in that funky new cartridge called .40 S&W. LOL

Very nice Walther. I got a P1 police trade in years ago, but the trigger pinches sometimes. The PPQs are worth looking at.

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54rndball said:

Very nice Walther. I got a P1 police trade in years ago, but the trigger pinches sometimes. The PPQs are worth looking at.

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Hmm, wonder if it’s a difference in how I pull the trigger or larger hands or something, but mine doesn’t pinch me. Actually it has a really nice trigger on mine. Late 60s west German military for mine. One of my nicer shooting guns and I like it has to be different and ejects out the left.

Picked up a P99 AS today, taking it to the range this coming week. Have to get used to the paddle mag release.

One of the things I soon discovered after arriving in Berlin from Fort Benning, GA in 1977 was that we shared our range with the Polizei and they were always eager to let us shoot their stuff in exchange for letting them shoot our stuff. They were crazy about our M-16's and M-60's and thoroughly enjoyed using the 300 yard pop-up silhouette range. They didn't have any Lugers for us to shoot but, they always had plenty of postwar-built Walther P38's/P1's, PP's, PPK's and their newly-issued (Walther) P5's, (Sig) P6's and (HK) P7's. Every now and then, they'd let us do a few mag dumps with their MPL's, too.

Well, I had never been all that impressed with 9mm. None of the pistols I had previously fired in 9x19 seemed anywhere near as accurate as my issued Colt 1911A1 but the P5 ended-up completely changing my mind. It was the first 9x19 pistol that I could actually shoot as well as my 1911.

But I didn't start seeing the first imported commercial P5's available for sale until I had been back home for about a year (1983) and after being spoiled by Rod & Gun Club prices on base, I was downright aghast when I saw what my civilian price was for a new P5. I put it on the back burner. I was more about S&W N-Frame revolvers and shooting IHMSA matches at that time.



It's not like finding a preowned P5 is difficult. There's usually plenty of well-used LE trade-ins from Dutch and German police forces available on GB but finding a lightly used commercial model, like this one, in such fantastic condition (for a decent price) had been such a challenge over the years that I had all but given-up on the idea.

When I saw that Matt at United Gun Shop had posted a P5 out of his own personal collection for sale in the consignment guns thread, curiosity got the best of me and I went down to check it out.



Walther built the P5 from 1977-1993 and this is a Generation 6 variant from 1987-1988, according to my research. I'm sure the Walther collectors here will correct me if I'm wrong.

Like a lot of Walthers, the P5 was in a constant state of evolution during its life cycle. Every production run they'd make minor modifications to improve performance and durability and by the 5th or 6th production run, Walther had gotten downright anal to the point of allowing their lunches to get eaten by Sig and HK on production costs. The P6 and P7 had been such tremendous successes that when the P8 and P226 came out to replace the P7 and P225, Walther got caught with its d!ck in its hands. They finally came out with the P88 a year or two later but by then, the P5's and P88's fates were sealed.



I think the 80's were the golden era for German service pistols. They were over-built and overpriced to the point of being ridiculous and far more accurate than they ever needed to be. Ask anyone who owns a West German-built Sig P220, P226 or P228? They can tell ya. So can the HK owners. They're just...sick.

Such an exquisite piece. What a nice addition to the collection. Enjoyed the write-up with the history.

So, it ejects to the left? Is that a P5 thing, or a Walther-wide thing (my 380 has the familiar port-on-the-right design)?

Occam said:

So, it ejects to the left? Is that a P5 thing, or a Walther-wide thing (my 380 has the familiar port-on-the-right design)?

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The P38 and its progeny do that, the idea being that it makes it easier for a right-handed shooter to clear a jam/malfunction. It also makes it nicer for southpaws to shoot, too.

fidelity said:

Such an exquisite piece. What a nice addition to the collection. Enjoyed the write-up with the history.

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Thanks! Walther's history is pretty fascinating, especially how fast they went broke in the early 1990's. I think the greatest contributing factor was that they didn't pay attention to what HK and Sig had in development and it cost them dearly.

In 1993, Walther was acquired by Umarex Sportwaffen (now part of PW Group) of Arnsberg, Germany. They continue to manufacture under the Walther name in Ulm and Arnsberg but it's a shadow of its former-self. I still hope that someday they'll re-release the P5 and P88 but, I'm not gonna hold my breath.

Supposed to pour rain for the next couple of days so I decided to take the P5 and CZC Bull Shadow SP-01 over to the range for a little old school/new school cabin fever therapy while I had the chance.



Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to make a video today since, technically, I was on my lunch break but, I had enough time to shoot 50 rounds thru each and not be in a great big hurry about it.



No big surprises here. The P5 was more than capable of holding its own against the Bull Shadow, in terms of sheer accuracy. I loaded 8 rounds in each pistol and proceeded to casually time myself on the six-plate rack. The P5 beat the Bull Shadow four out of six times. Not bad for a 33 year-old no-frills service pistol.



Today was just for fun practice and shaking the cobwebs loose. I wasn't expecting any major revelations but, if the P5 can run with one of the most accurate pistols in my safe, I think it's safe to say it'll run with almost anything.

I used to have a P88, a PPK/s, and a TPH (.22lr) but I sold those awhile ago. The only ones I have now are a PPK (RFV marked) and wartime P38 and an old Olympia that's been modified (barrel shortened). I like the Olympia a lot, just wish it were more 'as produced' but shoots good. Also a Luger but made by Mauser.

toppkatt said:

I used to have a P88, a PPK/s, and a TPH (.22lr) but I sold those awhile ago. The only ones I have now are a PPK (RFV marked) and wartime P38 and an old Olympia that's been modified (barrel shortened). I like the Olympia a lot, just wish it were more 'as produced' but shoots good. Also a Luger but made by Mauser.

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First handgun I bought when I turned 21 was a LE trade-in PPK built in 1971(?) and looked like it, maybe, had been fired once or twice. I followed that with a P1, PP and PP Super before getting into Sig Sauer P220's and 225's. Always wanted to own a P5 and P88 but never had the $ for either one. I'm on the prowl for a P88 if you know anyone who has one they'd like to sell?