Walther 99
- Thread starter guess_kto
- Start date
With Steyr M9-A1 for comparison. Both have factory 106mm barrels for import to Canada.
You are probably about to get a bunch of "do a search" comments from the regulars, but I don't mind this post. I always love to play the defender of my beloved P99 and P22.
I have a P99 AS in 9mm and I am almost completely satisified with it - and I am picky to say the least. For similar guns, I have a Glock 17 and a Steyr M9-A1 as well, both of which I have a few small reservations about (although both are definite keepers), but not so much with the P99. It's a solid piece of hardware. I'll post some pics of it this weekend when I get a chance.
On the positives: I would say accuracy is #1. Becasue it is SA/DA it is "cheating" a bit to compare it with DAO pistols on accuracy, but the fact remains that, in my experience, this gun easily outshoots a Glock or Glock-type gun. It should more properly be compared against SA/DA USP's and Sig's for it to be a fair competition. The "Quick Action" model is the one that should compete with the Glock. I believe the Montreal PD uses the P99 QA, as does the NRW Police in Germany (which is some kind of regional police force - North Rhine, Westphaelia - or something like that). Cop guns are almost always DAO, though.
At the range, I like using these paper targets that I just run off with a photocopier. Each 8 1/2 x 11 sheet has 2 big circles on it that are about 5 inches across. Each of the 5 inch circles has a 2 inch circle inside it. I'll set up 6 sheets of paper like this on "stand up" target about 10-15 yards back (depending on how well I'm doing that day
) at the outdoor range. So what you have is 3 rows of circles, 4 circles across on each row. With my Glock or Steyr I usually just try and get all 10 shots inside one of the 5 inch circles firing fast, or maybe double-taps or some other game. With the Walther P99 I generally have no problem putting my first shot inside the 2 inch circle, and can just work my way across the target rows: one shot on each circle...across the row... 1, 2, 3, 4... all inside the 2 inch circle, ...next row, same thing. On all 12 tagets, I might miss the 2 circles once or twice. If I try this same game with my Glock or Steyr I will hit outside the 2 inch circles at least 60% of the time, and outside the 5 inch circle on some of the shots.My point is, the P99, at least the DA/SA version, is in a whole different category for accuracy than many of the guns it is compared to. Alot of my example, I'm sure, has to do with my own shooting style than the gun (I believe the Steyr would produce the smallest group in a controlled bench-rest type experiment), but I'm just saying... the P99 is a real nice piece of kit that doesn't take a backseat to any other pistol.
Some other things I like about it:
The grip is very comfortable. Walther has come closest to my idea of an optimal ergonomic grip.
The interchangable front sites are a cool idea that works great and will save you time and money with the gunsmith.
It has both a cocking indicator (which is only really necessary because it is a striker fired, not hammer fired, SA/DA) and a loaded chamber indicator. It also has that de-cocker which is cool and useful (in Casino Royale... when Bond does his "click, klak, slap, bang" function check on his P99 in the car, notice that he pushes the decocker at the end of it all
). If we lived in a carry jurisdiction you could carry it around with a round in the chamber and a long heavy DA pull, but if you move the slide back half an inch or so it will switch to SA without disturbing the round in the chamber, and if your "condition red" emergency situation ceases, just hit that decocker button and you are back to heavy-pull safe mode. Also unlike a Glock-type gun, if the first hit from the striker fails, you can keep pulling the trigger in DA mode and the striker will keep hitting the round - and hopefully firing it. I always thought that was a weakness of some of the DAO pistols. Once you pull that trigger, if the round doesn't go off, the action is dead until you manually pull the slide back, and in an emergency situation that may not be easy - or even possible. SA/DA seems like a great thing for life-and-death situations (assuming that the damn round will fire at some point if you hit it enough times!). All of this stuff is common to Sigs and USP's and Beretta's and other SA/DA guns, but is unusual for a striker fired polymer gun.The insides of the frame are very wide open and it is easy to clean everything without taking it apart (beyond field stripping). On the downside, these same insides seem to dirty up more than other guns (like a Steyr M9-A1, or even a Glock) where the "guts" of the gun are relatively shielded from the gunpowder residue. I do not believe - and have had no reason to believe in my use of my P99 - that there is anything "weak" about the guts of this gun, as some people seem to think. It is just somewhat unusual that you can see so much of the trigger mechanism when you take the slide off.
On the down side:
The striker-fired SA/DA trigger is a little different from most hammer-fired SA/DAs. In single action mode, the trigger doesn't move back by itself. When you go to SA mode, the trigger starts from the DA postion but then travels back to the SA position (by the push of your finger) with almost no resistance. I find that when you are shooting, you don't really notice this very much, but when you are playing around with it in your hand - with snap caps or whatever, it seems kind of weird. I think I would prefer it to be like the (hammer-fired) P22 and other hammer-fired SA/DAs and the trigger move back by itself.
Yes, the grip does look more "plasticy" than other polymer guns. This has more to do with the texture of the finish than anything else, but it is not the pistols finest feature.
The P99/USP style mag release is not everyone's cup of tea. I guess this is how the German police and military want it
confused. It seems like no one else does it that way and, I don't think the mag can really be released without loosening your grip and shifting your hand somewhat. The rails seem to be very small. This doesn't seem to have had any effect on my gun, but I like the look of very robust rails - like on a Steyr (which I use again as an example becuase i know it well). Psychologically it is appealling to me to have big burly-looking rails.
Over all, this is an incredibly cool gun that is unique and is just pure quality and engineering all the way through. Walther hasn't been around this long without learning a few things about how to make a gun. I do agree that it is a little overpriced though. Here in Vancouver, they usually go for $1,199 - which is $200 to $300 more than what I think it should be.
The P99, along with the P22, is one of my favorite guns of all-time. It's not everything to all people but, for what it is, it is a very, very good pistol.
Last edited:
- Location
- Calgary, AB
They got a bad rap at the beginning of the product launch because of a few problems like feeding; which Walther worked out. People who say theya re garbage are generally living in the past. Little pricey but nice.
I personnaly like it. I have one in .40. I have won matches in IPSC, USPSA and IDPA with it and done fairly well in others. Its light weight and some what compact. I like the location of the mag release as I do not have to pivot the pistol to release. It is my CCW pistol of choice and I forget it is even there till I hit the rack or make a head call. The wife likes the small backstraps it has to fit her small hands so we bought her one as well to shoot and carry.
- Location
- Calgary, AB
The trigger is a little different and the unique position of the mag release is either loved or hated. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think it looks ###y!!!vitriol said:I don't like the trigger at all, and it's ugly
The interchangeable backstraps are a real plus.
safeguardguy said:
Maybe it's the "little different" part of the trigger I didn't like
And like you say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder...and that's really what makes life interesting it's probably the only reson why some girls find me attractive vitriol said:Maybe it's the "little different" part of the trigger I didn't like
You look like your avatar?
FWIW:
I've mentioned before on this forum my appreciation for the Walther P99 series of pistols and it seems I generally get heat from some Canadian folks who think they are crap..
We all have opinions, and I certainly don't mind folks having one different from mine, but what confuses me is that when you research the firearm forums in the US you find almost universal appeciation for the Walther P99's.
You can go to the dedicated Walther forums (www.handgunforum.net/Walther, or www.waltherforums.com) and be hard pressed to find much criticism from P99 owners. The www.thehighroad.com, www.thefiringline.com and the www.Sig.com/other pistols.com all seem to receive mostly positive comments about these pistols.
I bought my P99c/AS just on the recommendation of one Walther fan (Shipwreck) and it is without a doubt the best pistol in an overall package I've ever owned. I was so pleased with my compact P99c/AS that I purchased a new full size P99/AS. Both pistols are unbelievably accurate, and are right at the top of the heap with my Sig P239 (w/Crimson Trace Lasergrips).
I can't say if Walthers are prone to "break down" at a zillion rounds. I just don't know. I do know the German government has a reputation for exhaustive testing on any firearm they accept, and the P99's passed the tests, and indeed are in use by some of the leo's of that nation. The truth is that, for most Americans, we simply don't run 40-50,000 rounds thru a firearm. Walther firearms has been in business for over a century, and I have a surplus P1, a surplus P5, and now a compact, and full-sized P99 and all have had zero problems. In the past I even had a surplus PP and it too was excellent. So, my personal history with Walthers is excellent, and I recommend them to anyone.
If there is a more accurate 9mm pistol right out of the box than the Walther P99's, excluding the fine, expensive, H&K P7M8, I simply have never fired one. I think almost any quality name pistol is capable of much greater accuracy than most of us are capable of taking advantage of. All I can go by is that when I fired my first magazine thru my P99c/AS, and then my P99 all of the rounds went into the black. I've had other "name brand" firearms in the past that cost a pretty good bit of money that didn't do that.
I have heard some folks aren't too fond of the QA/DAO versions, but I think the "AS" versions are fantastic.
Waiting for incoming.
Best Wishes,
J. Pomeroy
I've mentioned before on this forum my appreciation for the Walther P99 series of pistols and it seems I generally get heat from some Canadian folks who think they are crap..
We all have opinions, and I certainly don't mind folks having one different from mine, but what confuses me is that when you research the firearm forums in the US you find almost universal appeciation for the Walther P99's.
You can go to the dedicated Walther forums (www.handgunforum.net/Walther, or www.waltherforums.com) and be hard pressed to find much criticism from P99 owners. The www.thehighroad.com, www.thefiringline.com and the www.Sig.com/other pistols.com all seem to receive mostly positive comments about these pistols.
I bought my P99c/AS just on the recommendation of one Walther fan (Shipwreck) and it is without a doubt the best pistol in an overall package I've ever owned. I was so pleased with my compact P99c/AS that I purchased a new full size P99/AS. Both pistols are unbelievably accurate, and are right at the top of the heap with my Sig P239 (w/Crimson Trace Lasergrips).
I can't say if Walthers are prone to "break down" at a zillion rounds. I just don't know. I do know the German government has a reputation for exhaustive testing on any firearm they accept, and the P99's passed the tests, and indeed are in use by some of the leo's of that nation. The truth is that, for most Americans, we simply don't run 40-50,000 rounds thru a firearm. Walther firearms has been in business for over a century, and I have a surplus P1, a surplus P5, and now a compact, and full-sized P99 and all have had zero problems. In the past I even had a surplus PP and it too was excellent. So, my personal history with Walthers is excellent, and I recommend them to anyone.
If there is a more accurate 9mm pistol right out of the box than the Walther P99's, excluding the fine, expensive, H&K P7M8, I simply have never fired one. I think almost any quality name pistol is capable of much greater accuracy than most of us are capable of taking advantage of. All I can go by is that when I fired my first magazine thru my P99c/AS, and then my P99 all of the rounds went into the black. I've had other "name brand" firearms in the past that cost a pretty good bit of money that didn't do that.
I have heard some folks aren't too fond of the QA/DAO versions, but I think the "AS" versions are fantastic.
Waiting for incoming.
Best Wishes,
J. Pomeroy
Last edited:
I agree with Laserlips. I think the "QA" and "DAO" versions seem to be more of just a standard Glock competitor, but the SA/DA "AS" models are really something special.
And, let's not get into this durability debate again. There is no durability issue with these firearms. Despite what the usual chorus of "plastic gun" haters say, these guns are tough as hell and will keep shooting till the cows come home. Remember folks: polymer has "give" to it, metal tends to bend and stay bent. That's one of the reasons why polymer guns from HK, Glock, XD and others are the grand champions of torture tests. It's also why polymer guns thoroughly dominate the law enforcement market. They will keep going bang long after the shiney metal guns with the exotic hardwood grips have called it a day.
And, let's not get into this durability debate again. There is no durability issue with these firearms. Despite what the usual chorus of "plastic gun" haters say, these guns are tough as hell and will keep shooting till the cows come home. Remember folks: polymer has "give" to it, metal tends to bend and stay bent. That's one of the reasons why polymer guns from HK, Glock, XD and others are the grand champions of torture tests. It's also why polymer guns thoroughly dominate the law enforcement market. They will keep going bang long after the shiney metal guns with the exotic hardwood grips have called it a day.
ghostie said:
First of all, P99s are competitively priced in the US, not 30% more than Glocks as here. Secondly, if you think the durability issue has anything to do with the plastic frame, you are not paying attention. The internal parts (ejector, slide stop, extractor), slide and barrels are are subject to breakage long before the same parts ona Glock, SIG or even HK.
I had one of the first P99's in 40S&W...VERY SNAPPY..and the recoil spring rod lasted 18 rounds! I had a gun I couldn't shoot for 6+months...not happy!
I have since had two units in 9MM...much more pleasant to shoot...adjustable backstrap makes individual fitting a snap...###y as hell to look at and hold!
In the end, it didn't have the 'long term appeal' and so both found new homes...
I have come to love and respect my Glocks, for all their foibles and 'limitations', and have recently been impressed by the newer Steyr A-1 and the S&W M&P...
Just my $0.02 worth.....
I have since had two units in 9MM...much more pleasant to shoot...adjustable backstrap makes individual fitting a snap...###y as hell to look at and hold!
In the end, it didn't have the 'long term appeal' and so both found new homes...
I have come to love and respect my Glocks, for all their foibles and 'limitations', and have recently been impressed by the newer Steyr A-1 and the S&W M&P...
Just my $0.02 worth.....
If there is one part of the P99 that is NOT going to have any problems it is the extractor. Have you had a look at it? The whole slide assembly on a P99 is built like a tank. The parts of the P99 that give me pause are the rails and the trigger group - but I'm well over 6,000 rounds now and have had no problems. Certainly nothing with the extractor, the ejector or the slide stop.redleg said:
All firearms need replacement parts at some point. Even Remington 870 shotguns! Check back with me in 5 or 10 years and I'll tell you which is the first part to go on a P99. That way you can take renting the firearm out of the experiment - so you'll know what is actually component failure and what is "rental failure".
Last edited:
