PPQ Navy and IDPA CCP Division

Canuck44

Canuck44

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Terrace, B.C.
I have indicated on a number of threads my interest in obtaining a pistol for the Compact Carry Division of IDPA. My initial quest centered around the Beretta M1A1 Compact and the M&P line.

The Beretta I have was just about 1/16th inch to wide for the Division. I could have filed down the Slide stop lever and been golden. I may yet do that to have a 2nd gun available should my primary go down.

The M&P Compact would have been perfect IF I could convince S&W to sell their Compact in Canada with an extended barrel. After several phone calls to S&W it became clear they were not prepared to make a model for Canada. They could have built an M&P pistol using the Compact frame and a FS 4.25" slide. This I guess was not on the table but in the end they now ship a suppressor ready version of the M&P Compact. This gun with a retail value of $989Cdn was exactly what I was looking for. I would have to cut the barrel to =<4.25" to meet the CCP Division rules. No other modification would have been necessary. I would have to buy an additional two Compact mags.

After some thought and realizing I now shoot the Walther PPQ 5: Match in IDPA Competitions as well as club IPSC matches I thought why not look at the PPQ line to see what I might find as a project gun. Well the PPQ Navy had all the features I was looking for plus the grip size was the same as my PPQ Match and I had five mags on hand.

As it happened Thatguy67 has a PPQ Navy listed for sale on the EE. After some discussion a deal was struck and the gun arrived this week. I contacted my gunsmith and arranged to have the barrel cut to 106MM. Here are the before and after pics of my new IDPA CCP pistol.

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After trimming the barrel:

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I have only dry fired the gun to date. I intend to take the gun out to the range tomorrow. The gun as a typical striker fire trigger pull. It is not quite as crisp as the Match version but it certainly is adequate for me. The reset is short like my other two PPQs so life is good. The gun fits nicely in my PPQ Match holster. I may order an IWB holster from Soley Canadian but for now the Match holster will do.

I will file a range report after tomorrow's session.

Take Care

Bob
 
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Bob, I believe I understand why you wanted the S&W M&P compact 2.0. It's about the only compact pistol that is almost the exact size as the G19. Walthers, HK's, Sigs, CZ's in that size range tend to have taller and wider slides than a G19. The G19 was the most size efficient 15 round 9mm that was only recently dethroned by Glock 48 with Shield Arms 15 round magazines.

I would argue that out of the bunch, the Walther is the most accurate.
 
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OK I took my PPQ out to the range today. I put about 50 rounds down range at a distance of 10 yards. I just wanted to get a feel for the gun. I have no concerns about accuracy. I have two other Walther's and they both shoot where the gun is aiming. Sometimes that is where I wanted the gun to be aiming as well. Two things are worth mentioning. My 147gr bullets were about an inch high from point of aim which was expected and I continue to dislike the feeling I get from the trigger safety. The M&P design is so much more comfortable on the finger. Other than that I had no issues with the gun other than I have to move the mag release to the right side. If I leave it on the left side my support hand had a habit of pushing the mag release. It happened enough times to know it will be an issue in competition. My other Walther's do the same thing. It may just be a early spring issue so I may wait a bit on the change.

The sights that came with this PPQ Navy are night sights. I placed on my bed stand last night. I turned off the lights and found myself starring at three bright green dots. Bonus I guess. For me an my lifestyle the night sights are not something I need or would have bought but they are there and I have no plans to remove them. The night sights work well in complete darkness. If it is that dark I would not be able to see the BG vs say my wife so what advantage do they provide for a civilian? Just saying..

Gundoggy the Walther's all have a shorter grip than the CZ and S&W offerings. The M&P FS when inserted into the IDPA box will not meet IDPA's height requirement for CCP in stock form. The PPQ fits no issue other than the barrel length - hence the trim. My experience mirrors yours as regards to accuracy. For a striker fired pistol the Walther's punch above their weight class when it comes to accuracy. I think the stepped chamber might have something to do with their accuracy. Just a guess. In practice freestyle I still do a bit better with my M&P. I suspect because of the time I have on my Pro. M&P Compact with a FS slide resting on it would sell up here. No pimple barrel to deal with for starters. It would be a real challenge to the G19 up here. The PPQ does give me about the same affect though. I didn't know about the Jarvis barrel. My 'smith did not charge me anything for nipping by PPQ's barrel so i likely would not have gone the Jarvis route anyway. We will never see suppressors up here so the loss of threaded barrel was a none issue.

For the Canadian IDPA shooters nipping the barrel of a PPQ Navy will provide you with a great little pistol to play CCP with. The PPQ line is an excellent platform. You get exactly what they advertise. The PPQ's have an excellent well deserved reputation for accuracy. I got my PPQ Navy for $700 + $20 towards sellers shipping, My gun had no been shot hardly at all as evidenced by the mags showing no signs of wear.

Other guns I know will work with simple mods are:

M&P FS with magazines with sanded down bases.

M&P Compact with the threaded barrel. You will have to cut the barrel down to => 4.25" barrel. You might be able to buy a 4.25" barrel to fit the gun. I did not explore the latter option.

Beretta M1A1 Compact. This gun is about 1/8" to wide and will not allow the IDPA Box's lid to close. You need to Dremel off that amount from the slide stop lever and remove the right side decocker lever. The latter is easy to do using a sewing needle to push the pin that holds the lever in place.

The Glock 19 should fit in the box in stock form. CV32 you might be able to answer this for us.

To sum up this PPQ is a shooter. I am confident I can make SS shooting the short form classifier using this pistol. I might not win to many club shoots with the gun but I will have a blast shooting CCP Division.

Take Care

Bob
ps The guys I shoot with seem to have taken up foot racing over the past 10 years as they are moving faster than they once were. :>)
 
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Phat Eagle said:
I have a sweet Jarvis barrel for my PPQ m1 Navy. I have MANY pistols, but this one rules them all...
Click to expand...

I am somewhat surprised the Jarvis barrel is as sweet as you suggest. A 1 in 16 twist rate and no stepped chamber would not be my recipe for improving the PPQ. S&W came out with their M&P line initially with a 1 in 18 twist and suffered for it. Most of the European guns come with a 1 - 10 twist. S&W switched to the 1 - 10 twist and stories of lack of accuracy died almost immediately. Just an observation. It may be a case where the practical difference was negligible.

Take Care

Bob
 
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