A press conference with subsequent shooting range jamboree we recently attended at the Carl Walther factory in Ulm confirmed that the prestigious German weapons manufacturer has whole reams of interesting new products to surprise even industry insiders at the upcoming major trade fairs like the SHOT Show in Las Vegas or the IWA in Nuremberg.
Among them, the Walther PPQ M2 in the traditional US calibre .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) is unlikely to be all that ‘surprising’, as all4shooters has already written about this new release. The polymer pistol is 18.8 cm long, 14.7 cm tall and 3.3 cm wide. It weighs 793 grams when empty, with a magazine inserted.
The .45 calibre striker-fired pistol with Quick Defense trigger system and 2500-gram pull, short reset and 4.25”/108 mm barrel with polygonal rifling comes with a 12-round magazine. Other features include three internal, automatic safeties, ambidextrous controls (with magazine release button on the side instead of a rocker between the front of the frame and the trigger guard), three replaceable backstraps, polymer sights with white-dot target acquisition system, an MIL-STD-1913 mounting rail in the dust cover of the frame, grip serrations on the front and rear slides and a durable TeniferTM nitride surface finish. Contrary to initial plans by the manufacturer, however, the PPQ M2 in .45 auto will be launched on the European market, including Germany. Price: €949.
Single-stack scion
Carl Walther unveiled the modern successor to the legendary Walther PP/PPK pistols in 7.65 mm Browning and the snub-nosed 9 mm short from the 1930s back in 2007: it came in the guise of the subcompact pistol PPS (Police Pistol Slim) in the substantially punchier calibres 9 mm Luger and .40 S&W. The ultra-slender, striker-fired pistol with polymer frame and pre-tensioned DAO trigger system has a single-stack magazine with enough space for 6, 7 or 8 rounds in 9 mm Luger.
It is practically predestined for concealed carry. All the same, the polymer receiver makes the handgun even lighter than the all-metal classic, the PP/PPK, despite the more powerful calibre and shortest-ever magazine. The Walther PP (Polizei Pistole) and PPK (Polizei Pistole Kriminal) from 1928 and 1931 rewrote handgun history as the world’s first modern double action pistols to harmoniously blend safety with rapid deployment. Now Walther is launching the PPS in M2 engineering with redesigned receiver and slide to suit the current Q-line. The ambidextrous magazine release lever integrated on the lower side of the trigger guard has been replaced with a push button positioned on the left of the receiver, which is particularly popular among international shooters.
The Ulm-based manufacturer always uses the suffix ‘M2’ to indicate this feature. Indeed, the receiver has been given a general overhaul to make it more ergonomic, adjusting the grip circumference to suit the most standard hand sizes and therefore eliminating the need to provide replaceable backstrap inserts. The M2 trigger and the fully integrated trigger safety now come in a more attractive design that also feel better, especially when discharging several shots in quick succession.
The standard metal sights are equipped with a non-fluorescent, three-point phosphorus target acquisition system. In future, the PPS M2 will only be available on the international market as a ‘Police Set’ in 9x19 with 3 magazines for 6, 7 and 8 rounds. The version for 6 shots is the most compact PPS design, and the longer magazines add better comfort for larger hands. Older PPS models will no longer be available, and the new magazines will only fit PPS M2 pistols owing to the repositioned magazine push button. Price: €749.
Rhapsody in blue
The new Walther Q5 Match is likely to be the most interesting new product, at least for the civilian market in Germany. It is a full-size, large calibre sports pistol chambered in 9 mm Luger with a 5”/127 mm barrel length as a consistent upgrade to the PPQ M2. But unlike this popular 5” sports pistol, the Q5 Match has a newly designed slide that looks just the ticket for competitions, as the rear slide serration helps with rapid, safe loading. The grooves in the front section of the slide cut back on weight and therefore ensure particularly rapid firing cycles in dynamic shooting sports.
The brand-new Walther Q5 Match (like the Glock M.O.S. models or the Smith & Wesson M&P9 Pro Series C.O.R.E. and others) gives a nod to the zeitgeist by coming with replaceable adapter plates to mount typical red dot sights on the slide. The three adapters are designed for red dots made by Trijicon, Leupold and Docter Sight/Meopta. A height- and laterally-adjustable LPA rear sight with matching LPA fibre-optic front sight is fitted to the neutral adapter plate. The striker-fired, polymer pistol with pre-tensioned DAO trigger system is immediately recognisable owing to its blue trigger, which together with the blue AFC coating on the trigger bar is intended to ensure particularly outstanding trigger characteristics.
The pistol comes with not one but three 15-round magazines for use in competitions along with an Allen key to replace the adapter plates. Price: €1,199.
More news of SHOT Show 2016 you'll find on all4shooters.com / all4hunters.com.
To the website of Walther Arms.
