I had the opportunity over the Christmas break to really put my Manurhin-licensed Walther PPK/s in .380ACP through it's paces. Those of you even remotely familiar with firearms in literature and film will no doubt recognize the Walther PPK as the original pistol issued to James Bond, 007 of MI6 fame, in the Ian Fleming book/movie "Dr. No" by the armorer, Major Boothroyd, better known as Q. The PPK hits like "a brick through a plateglass window". Fleming couldn't have said it better.
During the shooting session out at the ranch I showed my 2nd Dad, Richard, a seasoned gun collector in his own right who wasn't familiar with the PPK, just how different the iconic weapon is from it's literary and celluloid perception established by Ian Fleming and the Eon Productions. One session on a range though, and you will quickly establish that the PPK of Fleming fame, a wise choice for the 1958 novel and 1963 film, has its limits.
In the films in particular, James Bond is capable of one-handed flawless execution at ridiculous distances with a seemingly never-ending amount of spare magazines. If you watch the films, you'll see each of the 7 actors who have played James Bond has a different grip. In my opinion, Lazenby and Connery use the most convincing grip. This is no doubt legacy from their military service. Connery had served in the Royal Navy and Lazenby served in the Australian SAS, an outstanding commando unit. I think Brosnan and Moore displayed the worst grips throughout. I don't know what to attribute that to because Moore served his national service in the Royal Arms Service Corp? Anyway, I can site specific examples of both actors limp-wristing, trigger pulling, and using that feeble 'left hand under wrist' support move that does nothing for practical targeting and would send a stray bullet flying dangerously more erratically than intended.
Some of the drawbacks of a PPK:
It has a very long and tight trigger.
It's not an easy pistol to get a good solid grip around.
It has a tendency to 'bite' the webbing of the hand.
It's a small caliber vs. more formidable 9mm sub-compact offerings.
Sights are minimal
Limited rate of fire, 7 rounds, with magazine changes feeble at best.
In its favor, the PPK does offer many benefits:
Size is perfect, concealment is effortless.
Very lightweight.
Caliber to pistol size ratio is good mating a heavy .380ACP to this small frame.
Fixed barrel makes it extremely accurate even out to 20 yards.
Aftermarket grips and the Hogue 'Hand-all' rubber grip enhancement make it easier to grip.
Extremely tough and proven design that has been in service and production since 1929.
So, during this shooting session I set out to show Richard just what the PPK is capable of. I have to say that the PPK impressed me at distances I believed were too far away (20-35 yards). We were both hitting 8 and 9-rings on the target. This is probably attributed to the fixed barrel and strong .380ACP ammunition.
The magazine release button is perfect but the magazines are tight and don't drop with ease to aid in reloading. Richard found it really small in his hands. I had to warn him about 'slide bite' several times.
The 2-handed grip and Weaver stance seemed to work best for target shooting. Target acquisition was good despite being small sites. Once we mastered the DA/SA trigger system it was pretty easy to stay on target. DA/SA means double action/single action which translates to the mechanism that will cock and release the hammer when the hammer is in the down position but on each subsequent shot, the trigger will function as a single action (hammer already back).
We both fired the PPK one-handed for the Hollywood effect and found the PPK to be a very good one-hand shooting weapon! It's easy to see now how Connery could effect many one-hand draw/shoot scenarios with accuracy because the size of the PPK is perfect for it (WITH PRACTICE!).
Once you've identified its faults and embraced its advantages, the PPK is an interesting and exciting weapon system with plenty well-deserved merit. It's interesting to note, however, that Bond was presented with 2 choices to replace his Beretta M71 in .22 calber in "Dr. No". The Smith & Wesson Centennial .38 Special revolver with its internal hammer and heavier caliber was the other competitor to the PPK. It was actually a solid choice proposed by Fleming but apparently 007 favored the Walther, presumably because the CIA was carrying the Walther PPK and PP (examples procured from leftover WWII caches and allocated to the Agency for many years). Just think, had James Bond chosen differently, the immortal weapon could have been an American Smith & Wesson revolver?!?!
Perish the thought.
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