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Location: Approximately 50 miles from Missoula MT/38 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
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I am almost 85 yrs old and have been been shooting various brands and types of handguns for approx 65 years. Regarding "pistols" in say the last 10 years,. My question is this:
Why aren't Walther pistols as popular as many of the top 5 or 6 pistol brands that we all can name immediately.
To my way of thinking, they have:. an excellent reputation for accuracy, reliability, price point, state of the art engineering and quality and "comfort-in-the-hand".
I now have, or have had in the past: ..Colt, S&w, hi standard, Sig, Ruger, Remington, Kimber, Beretta and Walther.
If I had to choose to keep just ONE pistol....... I would keep the Walther P99 AS, In my opinion, the AS trigger system is the best DA/SA with the decocker feature available in a striker fired pistol.
Any constructive, intelligent and respectful opinions and comments are welcomed. Thank you.
I think popularity is often primarily due to marketing.
Look at what's probably one of the most popular handguns in the USA - a Glock 17 or a 19. Very nice design, to be sure, but their marketing is what made them what they are.
I'm a fan of CZ's, and Browning designs in general, but I've still got several Glocks in my safe. Cost is yet another factor, there's a reason HiPoints are all over the place.
Plus, you've gotta face the fact that the vast majority of gun owners aren't really that knowledgeable about weapons. Many of them are led to a specific design either by a friend (who's probably not that knowledgeable either), or a gun shop clerk who's more concerned about moving stock to get his bonus at the end of the month.
Now, if the US Military adopted the Walther P99AS, you'd be seeing them all over the place. But that's not going to happen. The countries that do run it as part of their military firearm selection probably don't have liberal civilian firearm rules either, come to think of it.
I am almost 85 yrs old and have been been shooting various brands and types of handguns for approx 65 years. Regarding "pistols" in say the last 10 years,. My question is this:
Why aren't Walther pistols as popular as many of the top 5 or 6 pistol brands that we all can name immediately.
To my way of thinking, they have:. an excellent reputation for accuracy, reliability, price point, state of the art engineering and quality and "comfort-in-the-hand".
I now have, or have had in the past: ..Colt, S&w, hi standard, Sig, Ruger, Remington, Kimber, Beretta and Walther.
If I had to choose to keep just ONE pistol....... I would keep the Walther P99 AS, In my opinion, the AS trigger system is the best DA/SA with the decocker feature available in a striker fired pistol.
Any constructive, intelligent and respectful opinions and comments are welcomed. Thank you.
.
Price could also be a factor, as most real Walther's and not the Smith & Wesson Walther's can be on the same price page as Sig Sauer or Heckler & Kosh firearms. They are excellent but they are not on the cheep end.
And I am sure part of it is personal preference. I gravitate closer to Sig Sauer, Heckler & Kosh, Kimber; and Smith & Wesson. But that is just me.
I like and own several Walther pistols. I think that their issue in the U.S. market is a marketing issue... Sig, Glock, S&W-M/P and HK are very visible brands in all the firearms magazines and on many of the popular gun forums on the internet.
Also, in most of the stocking gun shops in my area, Seattle/Tacoma area, I've noticed that Walther pistols are often displayed on the very bottom self... Along with CZ pistols, which is another fine brand of pistols... Also, I feel that the early Walther P-22 pistols did some damage to the Walther brand image.
I am almost 85 yrs old and have been been shooting various brands and types of handguns for approx 65 years. Regarding "pistols" in say the last 10 years,. My question is this:
Why aren't Walther pistols as popular as many of the top 5 or 6 pistol brands that we all can name immediately.
To my way of thinking, they have:. an excellent reputation for accuracy, reliability, price point, state of the art engineering and quality and "comfort-in-the-hand".
I now have, or have had in the past: ..Colt, S&w, hi standard, Sig, Ruger, Remington, Kimber, Beretta and Walther.
If I had to choose to keep just ONE pistol....... I would keep the Walther P99 AS, In my opinion, the AS trigger system is the best DA/SA with the decocker feature available in a striker fired pistol.
Any constructive, intelligent and respectful opinions and comments are welcomed. Thank you.
.
I really like Walthers. I bought a P22 for my lady, as its ease of operation and suitability for small hands, (she is quite tiny) and her hand strength also requires ease of operation. 10 rounds of CCI Stingers is in the mag well and will persuade any bipred to seek easier prey. The PP series has lines and ergos I find quite pleasing and quality is beyond question. My personal firearms are a custom 1911 and a SW mod 66 4 inch, I don't have a Walther myself, but would like to. My next pistol will be a Browning HP, but if a Walther popped up for a good deal, I'd consider it seriously.
I believe the Walthers are not as looked at so much as other makes is that people are hung up on "combat" and what the military and police use. If it's military issue it just HAS to be the "best", which is fallacious at best. The Walthers are excellent personal defense pistols, especially for CC use, and as I said, quality is beyond question. They just don't have the notoriety of pistols like Glocks and Sigs because they aren't used oftn in military and police applications and don't have the ubiquitous "tactical" monicker that many seem to think matters so much.
As I've gotten older, my choice in pistols has changed too. My first was a Glock 23. Reliable, accurate, decent ergonomics...and cheap (I bought it as soon as I turned 21). I'd been shooting since I was about 7 and went through the gamut up through a 357 Mag, so recoil wasn't so much an issue. I liked the performance of the .40 over the 9mm, though I own both calibers now.
Now that I'm older and have more disposable income? I find myself buying nicer guns - namely Walther and H&K. I'd say less people buy Walthers because they're not cheap. My P99 was over $500, and that was after shopping around. I bought my Glock for around $440 at the time. My H&K's....My P30 was $700, my P2000 got me for almost a grand (bought it after Conn.). I tend to shop around before buying and don't mind waiting, but H&K's are rarely found on the cheap around here.
I've since bought a PK380 for the wife, which she loves, and I sold the Glock and bought a CCP - I love the ergonomics of Walther and H&K, so much to the point that most other manufacturers feel funny. My Taurus just sits in the safe and will probably be the next to be sold. My Beretta Px4 Compact is in the middle of the group - I still shoot it, but not my favorite. Good for the bedside. I wouldn't touch a Glock with a 10 foot pole right now - not because it's a bad weapon, they're not by any means...but I hate the ergonomics.
I don't own one but my brother has 2 Walthers. One is the P22 which is a handful of crap. You can shoot a box of any brand, any type of ammo thru it and yer done regardless if you want to or not. You'll have to clean the thing as it won't run any longer until you do clean it. He also has a Walther 99AS, 9mm. While his seems to be well made, fit and finish are great, you're lucky if you can hit your truck with it at 50 yds with a full 15 round mag. It would be an odd hit for sure. We generally shoot steel plates at 25 yds with pistols. The plates are 16" square and are hung from chains that has the plate tilted towards the ground so rounds end up in the ground. With a full mag, you might be able to hit the plate 3-4 times out of 15 rounds. One of the worst shooting pistols I've ever had in my hand. Like most folks, I always consider Walther to be a premium gun, at least, they were at one time. I wouldn't buy one, not after shooting my brothers 2 Walthers.
20 years ago I walked into a local gun store wanted to buy a Walther PPK but they convinced me the Sig P230 was a better gun. I have not regretted since.
To answer your questions, at the current Walther price point, there are just too many good qualities guns to choose from. I've read good reviews about the trigger on the PPQ and Walther good customer service. But I am a Sig and CZ guy so I stayed with them. Recently I joined the "plastic-fantastic" club for carry and I settled on S&W Shields. I haves handled & fired Glocks. They are fine as utility guns but they just don't bring out the passion in me. So everyone has different tastes.
I would have no aversion to buying a Walther, I've just never seen one that got my attention. The closest I came was a Bersa Thunder 380, which is a PPK clone.
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