Whatcha think of the PPK

[carleb]

Okay, I'm not asking about the .380 cartridge, just about the PPK specifically. Good for concealed carry? Reliable? Anyone here use it as a primary?

Is the S&W version okay?

I'm thinking about it for my twenty something step-daughter. She is not really a gun person, but I will make sure she becomes competent with it. She is average height, but rather slim.

I know there are lots of other possibilties, but at this point just the PPK, okay?

 

[inactive]

I think the PPK is a bit large and heavy for the cartridge it shoots. That size gun could be a 9mm; the .380 is available in a much smaller and easier to conceal package.

The weight does not help with recoil either, since the PPK is a straight blowback action pistol. In that size and price range, I would recommend a Kahr CW9 or Walther PPS for a slim single stack. For a .380, a LCP, TCP, p238, or Keltec would be more easily concealable and this more likely to go where your daughter goes.

This chart should help demonstrate the relative size of weapons compared to one another; however it is no replacement to actually handling them:

http://www.mouseguns.com/PocketAutoComparison.pdf

 

[JD8]

I think the PPK is a bit large and heavy for the cartridge it shoots. That size gun could be a 9mm; the .380 is available is a much smaller and easier to conceal package.

This.

 

[Nightops]

Test it thoroughly with whatever carry ammunition and magazines will be used. There seem to be as many people claiming theirs runs without a hiccup, as people complaining of of receiving a lemon.

If it hasn't been purchased yet, and there is still time to re-consider, the Sig p230 is a similar size package that has much better reliability reports. There are smaller and lighter .380 pistols, like the kel-tec and Ruger.

If you are just absolutely in love with the PPK look, and want something reliable without shelling out for a real Walther import, the Polish p64 in 9x18 is pretty nice once you install a Wolff spring kit to fix the DA trigger pull.

 

[carleb]

Thank you for the excellent points. I guess I'll keep looking. Small autos are just not anything I've previously considered.

The LCP does look like one to check out.

Small size is a prime concern so she will wear it. She's a young, slender, pretty girl and dresses like young, slender, pretty girls. She's a good girl, just happy with how she looks.

I guess I was way off with the PPK.

 

[bulbboy]

The PPK is an excellent gun - but there are so many better options out there. I love mine and still wear it occasionally. But it is so heavy compared to everything newer.

Try the PPS, LCP, Sig P238, etc


Good luck with your search

 

[bratch]

Has she expressed an interest for carrying on her body? I have no problem dressing around a gun but I know others who have no desire to.

 

[carleb]

No Nightops, it's not been purchased yet and I will see that she knows exactly what she is getting.

I know it's easy to pick it out for her, but that's a sure way to get her something she won't shoot well and carry.

I know many think the .380 is marginal, but I really think she won't like a 9mm. Plus, she asked for a .380 and you know daughters get almost anything they ask their daddy's for. But, when it comes to her safety.....

 

[carleb]

Bratch, she's got it in her head that an ankle rig is what she'll like best, but I just don't see that working out like she thinks. It doesn't look like the best choice to access in a crisis. Maybe a BUG, but not a primary. I'll let her pack one around that way in practice until she's sure.

 

[inactive]

I know many think the .380 is marginal, but I really think she won't like a 9mm.

I just want to clarify I didn't mean for it to sound as if I was criticizing the choice of cartridge. I myself have an LCP and would not carry it if I did not have confidence in the .380.

I just wished to point out that the PPK is as big as a 9mm, and if you are carrying a .380 blowback that pistol that size, you could be carrying a 9mm locked-breech armament that shoots a larger round and does so more comfortably.

If she's set on a .380 concealed piece (no reason she shouldn't be, it makes for a perfect-sized carry gun), she should definitely look smaller, and locked-breech (which most offerings are). That all-metal PPK would be hell strapped to an ankle all day.