Walther P99 .40

[MLB]

Well, we have apparently lost our resident P99 expert, Mr. Bond, so I'll give it my best...

The picture above is the titanium coated P99 in 9mm. The only difference in appearance with the .40 cal reviewed here is the lack of the front milling. I kind of like the milling, but I liked the .40 cartridge more.

I've had mine for a few months now and have about 600 rounds through it. I've had a fte or two, but nothing extrordinary. Reported accuracy is in the 2.5-3in range at 25 yards. I'm still in the 5-6 inch range at that distance though.

The P99 has a composite frame, a carbon steel slide (titanium coated in this case, tennifer coated otherwise), adjustable rear sights, and a front sight that is adjustable by replacing it with one of the variable height ones supplied. The backstrap is replaceable with a larger or smaller one to fit your hand better.

Slide to frame fit is nice. No rattle at all. The frame has 4 embedded steel tabs that engage the slide rails.

Action is DA/SA, striker fired, with a loaded chamber indicator, and a striker position indicator at the back of the slide. The decocker is in the form of a button that is flush mounted at the top-left of the slide. It is accessable for me to activate one-handed, but I have to adjust my grip somewhat.

The trigger pull is something you have to get used to. The initial DA is a bit stiff at 9 lbs, a little stacking at the end, but the unique thing is the SA trigger. Slide open, slap in a new magazine, and drop the slide into battery. Unless you now hit the decocker, you are in SA mode with the trigger full forward. When you pull the trigger, there is a bit of (mushy) resistance, and the trigger clicks back halfway to the "real" SA position. From here, there's a bit of resistance and take up, and it stacks a bit before it lets go. The trigger stays at the half way back position until the end of the magazine.

I'm not a big fan of this trigger setup after getting a bit more experience with a few nice crisp 4lb SA triggers. It's not bad at all, just a bit springy for my taste.

The ambi magazine release is integrated into the rear of the trigger guard. Odd, but after getting used to activating it with the second finger of my shooting hand instead of the thumb, it is easy to use and becomes second nature.

The only truly negative thing I have to say about the P99 isn't about the pistol itself, but the Meg-Gar mags supplied as OEM. Although it appears to be localized to the .40 mags, the plastic floorplate material cracks and eventually (sometimes as soon as 30 rounds) breaks off spewing rounds, spring, follower, and plastic about the floor. Walther replaced my first set with another defective set, and then with SW99 floorplates that seem to be holding. We will see. (I carry with aftermarket mags for now)

Overall, it is a fun pistol to shoot, I'm glad I bought it, probably a bit overpriced at $600 though.

As a side note, Walther has changed the stlying a bit for '04. The slide serrations are a bit more sig-like, and the integral rail is changed to a more standard style ala glock & Springfield XD.

[MLB]

After using this pistol for over a year, I thought I might add a bit of a follow-up:

The trigger has smoothed out a bit. Still some stacking of course, and still too mushy for my taste, but not uneven or gritty at all.

Durability of the Ti slide is teriffic. No noticable wear, even with a molded leather holster (Galco Fletch).

Walther replaced the defective magazine floorplates with similar ones made for the S&W99. No more cracking or breakage issues.

I do not like the plastic guide rod supplied with the handgun. It flexes noticably until it is fully supported by the frame and the plastic flange gets worn easily. I replaced mine with a stainless one made by sprinco (see pictures below). Much better (although a bit stiffer.)







One last note. Due to my initial problems with the floorplates breaking, I picked up some aftermarket ProMag magazines. While these have no durability issues, they do have FTF issues often and they often fail to lock the slide back at the end of a magazine. Not a big deal at the range, but no good for carry.

Overall, very happy with the handgun, once these issues are addressed.

[BlackDog]

Hey MLB,
Where'd you end up getting that spring? I see Brownells has them for about $75. Is that about right or did you do better? I've never liked that flex in the plastic guide rod either. I'm always afraid it's going to go flying everytime I disassemble for cleaning.
Did it change perceived recoil at all?

edited for typo.

[MLB]

Hi there BD,

The rod is a Sprinco "recoil reducer" that I paid about $70 for. I posted a review of the recoil rod over at the walther forum around the middle of December that I'll reproduce here:

The Sprinco Recoil Reducer came in a couple of days ago, and last night I had the chance to try it out. I put about 200 rounds through it. Mostly WWB 165 grain and a few magazines of Federal Hydra-Shoks.

Below are pics of the rod itself and installed:




The rod itself is well made, highly polished stainless steel, and chrome moly spring stock. Probably not $70 worth, but nice nonetheless.

The range report was a bit less satisfying though. This spring setup feels significantly stiffer than stock. My plain old WWB often failed to feed, due to short cycling IMHO. I had the same issue with the Federals though. I'm going to contact Sprinco to see if they sent me the "Cor-Bon" (stiffer spring) version by mistake.

As far as reducing recoil, the P99 in .40 kicks a bit as you know. It's a light gun. While it may be a bit lighter, I didn't notice a big difference.

As far as the "catching" goes, I'm starting to think that due to the worn flange on the plastic rod, I may have not seated it well on the barrel occasionally. This would explain it's occurance only upon reassembly.

later on I posted a follow-up:

I took 88's advice and picked up a box of 180 grain ammo. This time I used only the factory magazine. Fed and locked back flawlessly. Got me thinking though, so I loaded up some 180's in the ProMag. No dice. FTF twice in one mag. Using my regular 165 grains in the factory magazine I had no problems either.

Looking closer at the magazines, the promag has a bit lower cut at the front of the magazine. Only about an eigth of an inch, but with the stiffer Sprinco, it hangs up at the feed ramp. Despite my previous posts, I must admit that the Promags aren't made well enough for the P99. The Springo is a keeper though.

You can read the entire thread over at www.waltherforum.com in the p99 section if you are interested in other's comments. It's not a bad resource if you're interested solely in Walther firearms.

Safe shooting...