Law_Abiding_Citizen
Suppressors = Hearing Protection Safety Equipment
Happy New Year Texas Gun Talkers!
Recently, I became interested in the Walther PDP-F (3.5” barrel version) after seeing so many positive reviews online and the praise that the Walther brand received from a gun range employee. My smaller hands seemed like a good fit for the PDP-F too. When I found one at a local range, I had to try it and compare it to my slightly modified Glock 43X MOS.
Ergonomics:
The PDP-F’s grip shape felt great for my hands, especially with the wider base (felt like a smooth magwell @ the grip bottom). The PDP-F’s grip curves filled the palm area of my hand better than the Glock 43x grip’s flat surface. Although the Shield Arms magwell combined with the Talon Pro grip tape improved my purchase on the 43x a lot (night and day difference), the Walther still felt like a slightly better naturally-fitting grip for both my hands. The Walther’s grip is wider than the Glock without being too wide (for me).
The ergonomic grip of the Walther PDP-F is quickly ruined when I felt the overly fat, tall and blocky-shaped slide. I couldn’t help but ask myself?: “Was this blocky, unnecessarily-wide slide even made for this awesome gripping gun? Did Walther stop the engineering work of the PDP-F after the grip design was complete?”
Seriously, it feels like the fat and chunky slide does not belong on the PDP-F. Even the rail area of the frame felt wider than it needed to be.
Trigger Feel:
Dry firing the trigger, it’s a slightly crisper and more distinct trigger break compared to my 43x, but not by much. The Glock has more trigger “take up” than the Walther. However, my trigger mods lightened and smoothed out the overall trigger pull making it more predictable and easier to shoot consistent groups compared to the stock 43x. My 43x trigger consists of a custom polish job (of the stock Glock trigger bar by me) that includes rounding of the crucifix contact areas, a Ghost Edge connector, and an aluminum Serpico trigger shoe. This is a noticeable improvement over the stock Glock trigger, but not a huge difference like a customized Timney trigger could make.
Shooting Impressions:
Using 124 grain 9mm ammo, I thought…”Holy snappy batman!” The Walther PDP-F had considerably more muzzle flip and was a snappier shooter even with its awesome grip. Despite the PDP-F’s better grip ergonomics and a slightly crisper trigger break, it was not an impressive shooter (for my hands) by any means. My Glock 43x with the DPM Recoil reduction guide-rod assembly and modified ~$45 Ebay compensator was easier to shoot more consistent groups.
To make sure this wasn’t my own bias, I asked the gun range’s safety officer to shoot both guns and he came to the same conclusion, he liked the 43x’s smoother and softer shooting performance better. It was easier to shoot this Glock 43x accurately even when rapid firing.
Both guns are quite jumpy during rapid fire, but this Glock 43x felt more controllable and easier to hit that 2nd and 3rd follow up shot. In my experience, Glocks, especially these slim line models (43x and 48), feel like they vibrate when shooting fast, so I was hoping the PDP-F would be more stable. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The Walther felt like it wanted to jump out of your hands even with proper two-thumbs-forward grip. I observed this same phenomenon when the range safety officer shot the PDP-F too.
If anyone makes a threaded barrel, compensator, trigger upgrade, and recoil reduction guide rod assembly (dpm?) for the Walther PDP-F, I’m interested to see how much it will improve its shooting performance. So far, it’s sad to say I’m not impressed.
If you shot the 3.5” Walther PDP-F, what was your shooting experience like?
Recently, I became interested in the Walther PDP-F (3.5” barrel version) after seeing so many positive reviews online and the praise that the Walther brand received from a gun range employee. My smaller hands seemed like a good fit for the PDP-F too. When I found one at a local range, I had to try it and compare it to my slightly modified Glock 43X MOS.
Ergonomics:
The PDP-F’s grip shape felt great for my hands, especially with the wider base (felt like a smooth magwell @ the grip bottom). The PDP-F’s grip curves filled the palm area of my hand better than the Glock 43x grip’s flat surface. Although the Shield Arms magwell combined with the Talon Pro grip tape improved my purchase on the 43x a lot (night and day difference), the Walther still felt like a slightly better naturally-fitting grip for both my hands. The Walther’s grip is wider than the Glock without being too wide (for me).
The ergonomic grip of the Walther PDP-F is quickly ruined when I felt the overly fat, tall and blocky-shaped slide. I couldn’t help but ask myself?: “Was this blocky, unnecessarily-wide slide even made for this awesome gripping gun? Did Walther stop the engineering work of the PDP-F after the grip design was complete?”
Seriously, it feels like the fat and chunky slide does not belong on the PDP-F. Even the rail area of the frame felt wider than it needed to be.
Trigger Feel:
Dry firing the trigger, it’s a slightly crisper and more distinct trigger break compared to my 43x, but not by much. The Glock has more trigger “take up” than the Walther. However, my trigger mods lightened and smoothed out the overall trigger pull making it more predictable and easier to shoot consistent groups compared to the stock 43x. My 43x trigger consists of a custom polish job (of the stock Glock trigger bar by me) that includes rounding of the crucifix contact areas, a Ghost Edge connector, and an aluminum Serpico trigger shoe. This is a noticeable improvement over the stock Glock trigger, but not a huge difference like a customized Timney trigger could make.
Shooting Impressions:
Using 124 grain 9mm ammo, I thought…”Holy snappy batman!” The Walther PDP-F had considerably more muzzle flip and was a snappier shooter even with its awesome grip. Despite the PDP-F’s better grip ergonomics and a slightly crisper trigger break, it was not an impressive shooter (for my hands) by any means. My Glock 43x with the DPM Recoil reduction guide-rod assembly and modified ~$45 Ebay compensator was easier to shoot more consistent groups.
To make sure this wasn’t my own bias, I asked the gun range’s safety officer to shoot both guns and he came to the same conclusion, he liked the 43x’s smoother and softer shooting performance better. It was easier to shoot this Glock 43x accurately even when rapid firing.
Both guns are quite jumpy during rapid fire, but this Glock 43x felt more controllable and easier to hit that 2nd and 3rd follow up shot. In my experience, Glocks, especially these slim line models (43x and 48), feel like they vibrate when shooting fast, so I was hoping the PDP-F would be more stable. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The Walther felt like it wanted to jump out of your hands even with proper two-thumbs-forward grip. I observed this same phenomenon when the range safety officer shot the PDP-F too.
If anyone makes a threaded barrel, compensator, trigger upgrade, and recoil reduction guide rod assembly (dpm?) for the Walther PDP-F, I’m interested to see how much it will improve its shooting performance. So far, it’s sad to say I’m not impressed.
If you shot the 3.5” Walther PDP-F, what was your shooting experience like?
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