Walther PK380 No. WAP40001 380 ACP, $393
To view the Walter PK380 online, we first typed in smith-wesson.com, scrolled down to the very bottom of the page and clicked on the words Walther America in fine print. Up came the Walther page. We then clicked on the word Firearms in the upper left hand corner. Walther America lists six handgun lines and one carbine. The PK380 was first available in March of 2009 and its profile complete with polymer frame reflects the P99 pistol on a slightly smaller scale. A check of the dimensions shows an overall length and height of about 6.5 inches by 5.2 inches. Barrel length was listed as 3.66 inches. The full-size P99 pistols were listed as measuring 7.1 inches long by about 5.3 inches tall with a 4.2-inch long barrel. In both cases the polymer grip frame offered a teardrop or bird’s-head profile to fill the palm. Most noticeable of the features shared with the bigger gun was the ambidextrous magazine release hiding in the rear lower contour of the trigger guard. The polymer lower also featured a full-length dustcover with integral accessory rail and flush-fit takedown latch.
The slide on the PK380 was scored with rear cocking serrations and topped with a three-dot sight system. The sights were made from polymer, and we noticed that the rear notch was very wide. The rear unit was adjustable for windage only. Magazine capacity was 8 rounds held in a single column. The basepad added about one-half inch to the front strap and looked as though it should have been mated to a wide-body high-capacity magazine. Three such magazines were supplied.
The only way to lock the slide back the on the PK380 was to insert an empty magazine and let the mechanism react to this condition. Field stripping began with using a special key to unlock the takedown levers located in the frame directly above the center of the trigger guard. Access to the lock was from either side of the frame, and the two levers, which were more like panels, needed to be pulled down simultaneously. Requiring a key to begin field stripping is not ideal in our view, as the key can easily be misplaced. In fact, we learned that replacement keys were not always immediately available in lieu of shipment from the German factory.
A safety lever was located on both sides of the slide just below the rear sight. The lever action was forward of its hinge with safe-on at about seven o’clock. The safe-off ready-to-fire position was when the lever was swept upward in line with the bore. The hammer had a rather short stem. The spur or top of the hammer was round with grooves for grip. But these grooves were not very effective, in our view. Combined with a slick finish and an almost ball-like profile, we were hesitant to perform a manual decock as required for hammer-down carry. The routine for manual decocking was to rack the slide and fill the chamber. This can be done with the pistol on safe. With the lever still in the on-safe position, the hammer is then held back by the shooter. The trigger was pressed until it clicked. At this point the index finger was removed from the trigger. The hammer could then be safely lowered. Actually, once the chamber was loaded and the gun placed on safe, the trigger can be used to drop the hammer to a safe position without the shooter controlling the hammer. But loading the gun, putting the gun on safe and pulling the trigger is not recommended.
At the bench we noticed right away that the rear notch was so wide it was going to be difficult to regulate and compare the amount of light showing between the sides of the front sight blade and the inner walls of the rear sight notch. We took note that this overdraft of peripheral vision might pay off during our action test. But from the bench we found it very difficult to print a five-shot group that measured less than 3.0 inches across. With plenty of sight radius and a trigger free of any real detriments, we would expect 15-yard groups to measure 2.0 inches or less with little trouble. According to factory representatives the PK380 is a blowback-operated pistol with cantilever-style action instead of a fixed barrel. But our PK380 seemed to be slightly ill-timed. With debris from shots occasionally spitting back at our shooter, the gun was either firing slightly out of battery or unlocking prematurely.
To perform our action test we decided to shoot our PK380 in TDA mode only. This meant beginning with hammer down and double-action first shot. We could have fired this test with the hammer back and the pistol on safe, but discovered that we would have to change our grip to deactivate the safety each time we presented the weapon. Usually we would favor single-action-only fire for its speed and efficiency. But having to shift the gun to deactivate the safety and then shift it again to achieve an effective shooting grip was not going to help. Regarding decocking, before each run we had the luxury of being at a shooting range. This meant we could point the gun in a truly safe direction when we decocked the hammer.
Our initial runs from DA/SA were skewed as we had to learn to pick a balance between the two triggers. We found the difference between the double-action and single-action triggers to be pronounced. But once we found our grip or, as we would prefer to describe it, our platform, elapsed times became to shrink. Still, if we failed to concentrate our elapsed times would suffer. Our best runs were completed in an average time of about 2.15 seconds. Other than two stray shots well to the left of the A-zone, accuracy throughout our action tests was very good.
Our Team Said: Aside from the friendly grip profile, we’re not sure how well the mission has been accomplished. We think its single-action only capability was hindered by an awkward safety, and the limited amount of grip surface on the small hammer made us wary of decocking. The sights favored speed over accuracy, which in this application was okay by us. But the takedown procedure reflects afterthought in our view, and, again, and we’re not really sure in what condition this gun was meant to be carried.
