Revisiting the Walther PPK

As the story goes, James Bond’s Beretta failed to fire during one of his cloak-and-dagger adventures. As a result, he was given a Walther PPK before undertaking his next crusade against a master criminal out to ransom the world. Thanks to the Ian Fleming books, the PPK, along with the vodka martini (shaken, not stirred), attracted a great deal of public interest. This interest was enough to encourage the gun-control wackos to lobby against the PPK’s importation.

The wackos won and the gun was banned in 1958but only in .32-caliber. A slightly smaller version was produced to circumvent the ban. Thus evolved the gun under discussion here, a "legal" PPK with twin grip panels and chambered for the short 9 millimeter (.380). T from Century Arms but Walthers are no tributed in the U. S. by Smith & Wesson. I believe, in fact, they are manufactured by Smith & Wesson in Holton, Maine.

In a moment, you’ll notice that in addition to the usual schematic drawing (on page 4) there is a small section of another schematic on page 5. The larger drawing is the P-Series Walther I’m working with here. The smaller drawing shows a pertinent area of some other P-Series pistols and their clones that I’ll address as it comes up. The main drawing shows a hammer strut pin (#22). The secondary drawing does not, but it’s in there anyway.

Neither drawing indicates the possible presence of two studs that may be present in the frame as retainers for the cocking piece. If these studs happen to show up in a Walther P-Series that comes your way, either one can be dislodged from inside the magazine well. Once that’s done, insert a punch through the frame in the justvacated hole and push out the remaining stud. Bottom line: If I refer to apart number you don’t see on one parts list, look for it on the smaller drawing.

Believe me, if there weren’t so many variations on the P-Series I’d never have considered doubling up on you this way. I felt, however, inconvenience in reading would be forgiven, while any confusion on the bench would be avoided. Field Stripping Eye protection on, chamber checked, and magazine out as usual? Good. Get a firm hold on the pistol with your index finger extending forward along the side of the triggerguard.

Use your It can be decocked by rotating the safety lever downward, which blocks the hammer and releases the trigger forward. The pistol can then be safely carried until the need arises to discharge it. free hand to pull down the front of the guard and press it sideways so it misaligns with the frame. Keep it misaligned and ease it upward to contact the frame. More often than not, the guard will make every effort to reenter the frame, giving any flesh in its way a serious pinch.

I’ve found that two small strips of duct tape placed parallel to the frame slot upon which the end of the guard can come to rest

1 Slide 2 Recoil Spring 3 Barrel 4 Frame 5 Trigger Spring 6 Trigger 7 Trigger Pin 8 Magazine Catch 9 Magazine Catch Spring 10 Triggerguard Hinge Pin 11 Ejector Spring 12 Ejector 13 Triggerguard 14 Triggerguard Plunger Spring 15 Triggerguard Plunger 16 Hammer Pin 17 Spring Plug Pin 18 Magazine 19 Hammer Spring Pin 20 Hammer Spring 21 Hammer Strut 22 Hammer Strut Pin 23 Hammer 24 Sear Pin 25 Sear Spring 26 Sear 27 Cocking Piece 28 Trigger Bar 29 Hammer Block 30 Hammer Block Spring Walther P-Series Semi-Auto Pistol (Specifications subject to change without notice) 31 Hammer Block Plunger 32 Hammer Release 33 Safety 34 Firing Pin Spring 35 Firing Pin 36 Loaded Chamber Indicator 37 Indicator Spring 38 Safety Detent 39 Extractor/Safety Spring 40 Extractor Plunger 41 Extractor 42 Grip Plate 43 Grip Plate Screw greatly reduces this painful possibility.

Any adhesive residue the tape leaves on the pistol can be removed with mineral spirits. Now grasp the slide by its grooves with your free hand. Retract it fully until you can lift its back end off the frame. Now ease the slide forward, controlling any desire of the recoil spring to rip it from your fingers, and remove it. Slip the spring off the barrel.

Detailed Disassembly Excepting their respective sizes, whether they have oneor two-piece grips, and whether they include a mainspring plug or a mainspring-retaining bar, Walther P-Series are taken down identically. After removing the grip(s), insert a 1/16-inch punch in the rear of the slide and push the firing pin (#35) forward until it extends from the breechface. Lock onto the tip of the firing pin with long-nose locking pliers to retain it as is.

Position the safety (#33) halfway between on and off, and wiggle it out of the slide to the left. Place your thumb over the rear of the firing-pin tunnel and release the pliers. The firing-pin spring (#34) will propel the firing pin out to the rear. If you don’t like the idea of your thumb taking a hit, place a small plastic bag over the rear of the slide before releasing the locking pliers. Turn the slide upside down and clamp it between padded bench-vise jaws.

Insert a small tool between the rear of the extractor (#41) and the extractor plunger (#40). Move the plunger to the rear along with its spring (#39) and the safety-catch plunger (#38). While holding these elements to the rear, push forward on the extractor and remove it. When you take the pressure off the extractor plunger, all the components so restrained can follow the extractor out to the front. Most P-Series Walther pistols, except the .22-caliber ones, have a loaded-chamber indicator (#36).

This part has a groove or notch in its center. Place a punch in there and push the indicator to the rear of the slide. Use

The tendency of some .22 ammunition to quickly foul these pistols means the .22 versions will require more frequent cleaning than the larger-caliber Walthers. your locking pliers or smooth-jaw pliers to hold it there while you ease the indicator and its spring (#37) upward and out of the firing-pin channel. There’s nothing left to do with the slide, so move on to the frame. Remove the grip screw and grip(s). Lower the hammer but don’t let it slam into the frame.

Push the rear of the ejector (#12) and spring (#11) inward. (The ejector also serves as a slide stop.) This inward pressure should raise the stud end of part #12 away from the frame, and you can lift the ejector/spring out as a unit. Secure the frame with its back strap upwards in your padded bench vise. If the gun is equipped with a mainspring-retaining bar (#31), use your locking pliers to press the retainer down and lift it away from the frame.

On some PP models, the one here among them, the retainer isn’t present. A plug, shown in the large schematic as #19, replaces it, and is held to the frame by a pin (#17). Removal of the pin is approached similarly to removing the mainspring pin in an M1911. Depress the plug slightly by pressing it down on your bench top and drive out the pin. You’ll have to exert some control against the pressure of the mainspring once the pin is gone.

With plugs like the one in this Walther, I prepare for them by installing a permanent, 1/8-inch-diameter hardwood-dowel "nub" in my bench, and pressing the plug down against the nub. In any case, removing the retainer bar or spring plug releases the mainspring (hammer spring). Note that this spring is identified as #30 in one These are the hammer strut (#29), hammer spring (#30), and lanyard loop/ mainspring-retaining bar (#31).

Usually, these show up on pistols with a one-piece grip, but there are exceptions. drawing and #20 in the other. The hammer (#23) and hammer strut (#21) remain in the frame for the moment on retainer-bar models. The strut will come out with the mainspring on plug models. To remove the hammer and hammer release (#32), push out the hammer pin (#16) right to left, then lift out the hammer and its release. Disconnect the trigger bar from the trigger and the cocking piece (#27).

It’s easier to free the bar from the cocking piece if you free it from the trigger first. After that, address removal of the aforementioned cocking-piece retaining studs and get them both out of the way. Removing the Walther’s cocking piece can be a minor challenge. The part must be rotated so the large "shelf" at its rear faces the corresponding hammer cutout. The piece is then rotated so its right side can slide from its frame slot and be taken out of the gun to the left.

The sear (#26) is attached to the hammer by its pin (#24), and is under pressure from the sear spring (#25). Place the hammer on your bench block and drive out the pin to separate the sear and sear spring from the lower