Just bought a PK380 today - Photos added
I've been interested in the Walther PK380 ever since they announced it last year and I finally found one today. So, I ended up taking it home and, while it's nice, I'm not so sure buying it was the right thing to do. I'll take it out to the range tomorrow, and can give a range report after, but from a feature standpoint, I'm not impressed.
The pros so far are that it feels great in the hand. I currently have a Bersa Thunder 380 that I like a whole lot. At the gun store, I held both the Bersa and the PK380 and the PK380 felt much better in the hand. I also like the fact that it's a whole lot like the P22 and so practice with my P22 will pay dividends in competence with the PK380.
The cons so far are that it only ships with one mag. Not a big deal, but still, it would be nice to have seen two, like how my P22 came. The slide release is not what I'm used to. I have a 1911, BT380, Bersa 9UC, Bersa 45UC, and P22, all of which have a slide release on the left side of the frame. The PK380 requires the slide to be pulled back to release and it will not release if there is an empty mag in the gun. That's an awkward action that will take practice to get used to.
The biggest thing I don't like is that you cannot take it down for cleaning without a special tool. The left side of the frame has a small hole like the lock hole on the P22 that needs a tool inserted and rotated 135 degrees CCW before the take down latch can be lowered. The tool is cheap plastic and almost did not last the first attempt at cleaning. Once the was inserted in the slot, it would not rotate the cam to allow take down without a lot of coaxing. Then, the take down latch could not be opened without a lot more coaxing. Once apart, the latch and cam were worked many times to loosen them up and it works better now. Still, I don't like needing a cheap plastic tool to take the pistol down for cleaning.
Tomorrow will be range day and I'll let you know what I find there. Maybe it will be sooo sweet at the range, I'll forgive the rest of the issues. Otherwise, this may end up being the shortest lived pistol in my safe.
Oh, and before any of you wonks point out that you get what you pay for, the Bersa's I've bought make me question that thought. The 9UC Pro has been fantastic from day one and only ran $359. I'm hopeful that the PK380 will shine at the range. I'll let you all know how it comes out.
I've been interested in the Walther PK380 ever since they announced it last year and I finally found one today. So, I ended up taking it home and, while it's nice, I'm not so sure buying it was the right thing to do. I'll take it out to the range tomorrow, and can give a range report after, but from a feature standpoint, I'm not impressed.
The pros so far are that it feels great in the hand. I currently have a Bersa Thunder 380 that I like a whole lot. At the gun store, I held both the Bersa and the PK380 and the PK380 felt much better in the hand. I also like the fact that it's a whole lot like the P22 and so practice with my P22 will pay dividends in competence with the PK380.
The cons so far are that it only ships with one mag. Not a big deal, but still, it would be nice to have seen two, like how my P22 came. The slide release is not what I'm used to. I have a 1911, BT380, Bersa 9UC, Bersa 45UC, and P22, all of which have a slide release on the left side of the frame. The PK380 requires the slide to be pulled back to release and it will not release if there is an empty mag in the gun. That's an awkward action that will take practice to get used to.
The biggest thing I don't like is that you cannot take it down for cleaning without a special tool. The left side of the frame has a small hole like the lock hole on the P22 that needs a tool inserted and rotated 135 degrees CCW before the take down latch can be lowered. The tool is cheap plastic and almost did not last the first attempt at cleaning. Once the was inserted in the slot, it would not rotate the cam to allow take down without a lot of coaxing. Then, the take down latch could not be opened without a lot more coaxing. Once apart, the latch and cam were worked many times to loosen them up and it works better now. Still, I don't like needing a cheap plastic tool to take the pistol down for cleaning.
Tomorrow will be range day and I'll let you know what I find there. Maybe it will be sooo sweet at the range, I'll forgive the rest of the issues. Otherwise, this may end up being the shortest lived pistol in my safe.
Oh, and before any of you wonks point out that you get what you pay for, the Bersa's I've bought make me question that thought. The 9UC Pro has been fantastic from day one and only ran $359. I'm hopeful that the PK380 will shine at the range. I'll let you all know how it comes out.
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