- Location
- Sault Ste. Marie
I see alot of these for sale and they are really cheap. I was wondering if they were a good 9mm to have just for fun plinking.
Walther P38 for plinking
- Thread starter TheManInBlack
- Start date
I see alot of these for sale and they are really cheap. I was wondering if they were a good 9mm to have just for fun plinking.
Wolfstrack
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Lower Mainland BC
hi, what you have here is a Walther P01 after war model with alu frame...
I suggest a better P38 made in the WWII period with steel frame, but again these are ammo picky.
I had some of these WWII P38 and sold all of them because of to many FTL or FTE problems connected with ammo, even the pistols were in as new condition and with low rounds mileage.
IMO I'll recommend you for plinking with a $400 budget a lightly used Ruger 85/89 which will eat anything and everything or for $700 an used SIG P226 or a new S&W M&P 9mm.
take care and better shoot first what you want to buy ...cheers, S.
I suggest a better P38 made in the WWII period with steel frame, but again these are ammo picky.
I had some of these WWII P38 and sold all of them because of to many FTL or FTE problems connected with ammo, even the pistols were in as new condition and with low rounds mileage.
IMO I'll recommend you for plinking with a $400 budget a lightly used Ruger 85/89 which will eat anything and everything or for $700 an used SIG P226 or a new S&W M&P 9mm.
take care and better shoot first what you want to buy ...cheers, S.
I've got 2 of these... both are P38. If you're gonna buy those, make sure they have the reinforcement screw in the frame, right under the barrel (like in your picture).
The post-war P38s (later renamed to P1) have aluminum alloy frames as opposed to steel frames of the WWII era P38's. This has led to several frames cracking if +P ammunition was loaded in the gun (more powerful rounds). The Germans have solved this problem by introducing the reinforcement screw you see pictured above. The first of my aluminum alloy P38's I bought did not have the screw; the other one did, as I specifically requested it from the dealer (TradeEx Canada, they were selling them recently at $250 a piece in a like new condition).
Overall, they're good reliable guns, but have somewhat of a big recoil. My Glock 17 is a lot more controllable than my P38... must be the old technology in those guns, lol! (they're still very fun to shoot though).
The post-war P38s (later renamed to P1) have aluminum alloy frames as opposed to steel frames of the WWII era P38's. This has led to several frames cracking if +P ammunition was loaded in the gun (more powerful rounds). The Germans have solved this problem by introducing the reinforcement screw you see pictured above. The first of my aluminum alloy P38's I bought did not have the screw; the other one did, as I specifically requested it from the dealer (TradeEx Canada, they were selling them recently at $250 a piece in a like new condition).
Overall, they're good reliable guns, but have somewhat of a big recoil. My Glock 17 is a lot more controllable than my P38... must be the old technology in those guns, lol! (they're still very fun to shoot though).
- Location
- Thunder Bay ON Canada
I've got a P1 from tradex with the aluminum frame. No problems whatsoever, a little light, and thus snappy with recoil, but great fun, and good value.
I asked the peanut gallery for opinions, and got nothing but bad ones, inaccurate, unreliable...dangerous..etc...
But I reasoned that the Germans didn't make a gun for 61 years that was all of these things, and I think I was right in buying one. My only issue is that replacement mags are 35 bucks each, and so I only bought two.
I asked the peanut gallery for opinions, and got nothing but bad ones, inaccurate, unreliable...dangerous..etc...
But I reasoned that the Germans didn't make a gun for 61 years that was all of these things, and I think I was right in buying one. My only issue is that replacement mags are 35 bucks each, and so I only bought two.
Thats actually the take down lever
I've have owned 2 steel frame P-38's, still have 1 of them. Easy to strip, shoot and reload. Once the sight is adjusted I get a full mag into a 6"x6" piece of paper at 25 yds (I don't practice with this handgun a lot). The only thing I can't get used to is the brass ejecting to the left. Excellent firearm though!
I used one for a few years; the grips are hefty, and the trigger pull was stiff so it wasn't great for my small mitts; but reliable and well made as any Walther product usually is. Plinking is fine, but any target work you will want to have a gunsmith replace the rear sight with a small adjustable one. I liked the base mag release and having to extract the mag by hand on the one I had, but it kinda took a long time to adjust to the button push drop magazine on my Colt.
I've got one too and enjoy it. But with the fixed iron sights and the grip being not quite right for my hand I tend bring out my fav's and use them. So if you just want one, I'd go for it. But you might enjoy shooting more with a gun that fits your hand better.
