Proper Ammo For A Walther PPK/S .380

PPK

Hi, I will be picking up a used Walther .380 (9mm short) this week.It's a West German model PPK/S. I would like to know what (in your opinion)would be the best ammunition to use in this handgun. I will mainly be using itat the range, but may also have it as a home defense handgun. I'm hopingsomeone out there has experimented with different brands and can recommendone or more that will feed properly and work well for what I need.Thank you in advance,Barry

competentone

Barry,I don't have any significant first-hand experience with the PPK/S, but have heard and read that they are reliable no matter what ammo you feed them. I'd suggest trying an inexpensive FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) for practice and using a good major brand of hollow point for defense (practice with the hollow point to be sure it does work well in the gun).Remember with the 380, stopping power is limited, so if you're practicing with self-defense in mind, practice by firing two or three shots in quick succession--to hit a person with a number of shots is the only significant way to use a relatively low powered round in a self-defense application. Practice as you might need to use the gun in an emergency.Joe

gap1916

The Glasser Safty Rounds work very well. A little costly but for home or self defence you can not beat them. For day to day shooting the winchester brand 90 grain worked well for me. my 2 cents

bsebast

I have owned several PPK's and PPK/S's in .380 caliber. A few of them worked flawless but many didn't. The biggest problem was reliability, that is, they had tendencies to jam. Changing magazines corrected the problem some of the time. But I never did get a few of the guns to feed ammo consistantly.I had one stainless PPK that fed every type of ammo I could find. The only problem with that gun was it shot a foot high at 20 feet. I've also owned several PPK's and S's in both .32 and 22LR caliber. All worked perfect.Good luck with your Walther.

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Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 bsebast@airmail.net

leeblackman

I don't know to much about the PPK/s but in general if a gun has a barrel with a feed ramp, its pretty safe to shoot anything from SWC's, HP's, and FMJ's. But if it doesn't have a feed ramp, I'd stick with FMJ's.Don't ever carry ammo your not sure will absolutly positively function in your gun.Most of the ammo I've seen for .380 is 90-95gr.I personally shoot Semi-Wadcutters or Turnicated Flat Nose in most of my handguns do to reliable feeding and accuracy. I don't believe or rely on the "One Stop Shot." I do however trust my ability to shoot, and good shot placement. But most important, the gun must shoot...Don't carry cheap ammo, your life may depend on it.

PPK

Thanks Guys...I should have it tomorrow (saturday)...I'll see what happens.Just picked up a box of cheap UMC .380 Auto to try it at the range...then I'll try someJHPs and see how they feed. Thanks Again...you always have an answer Barry

luger01

CorBon +P for defensive use. Any other ammo for plinking. I have found that Winchester USA or Remington UMC are good for practice and plinking, and both are reasonable cost-wise.Watch the slide when shooting. It has a tendancy to want to slice your hand if you hand gets too high.