Please educate me on the Walther PP 32acp

[osteodoc08]

Dad had one and kept it in his sock drawer along with his 41 as his HD guns. I have his 41 but his Walther PP has gone missing. I recall it being pleasant to shoot and that he picked it up in Germany in the early to mid 80's. I want to say it was a post war gun.

What can anyone tell me about these pocket pistols. Any common problems to look out for? I'd like to find one for nostalgia sake.

[Captain O]

They are now relatively rare and hard to find. Don't believe everything you read about the .32 ACP. It is an effective personal defense cartridge when using Buffalo Bore's +p 75 grain load. These are a Hard Cast Lead load with a flat meplat. If you shoot the Fiocchi FMJ ammunition it is identical to the European loads.

These are some of the finest small bore pistols ever manufactured.

Penetration is key when shooting any cartridge slower than the 9mm Parabellum.

[osteodoc08]

I wouldn't use it personally for HD/SD but have many fond memories growing up and dad letting me shoot his Walther. That and his Beretta 87 (unsure of the model, it was a target 22) were my favorite to shoot.

[dubber123]

I have a late war one, surprisingly accurate, Trigger is no treat, but not horrible. The .32 is what it is as far as defense.

[Outpost75]

West German police agencies used the Walther PP in 7.62mm until 1972. The postwar guns were actually manufactured by Manhurin in France, but final assembly and proofing was done in Germany and guns of that period would bear Ulm proofs. These pistols are well made, accurate and reliable. I have two and they are among my favorite pocket automatics for "woods loafing" and recreational use.

166804

[osteodoc08]

I remember it having Ulm on it so it must have been from that era.

[Char-Gar]

The post-war proof house was at Ulm, so that will date your pistol as made after WWII. I have a PP and PPK. About 20 years ago, a load of PPs in 32 ACP which were West German Police turn-in came into the country and could be had for a reasonable price, but that source has dried up.

They are very accurate and reliable small handguns. One in 380 with good ammo makes a satisfactory home defense pistol.

[FergusonTO35]

The Bersa Thunder 32 makes a very good substitute, I never should have sold mine.

[Virginia John]

I had a PPK in .380 and found it to be very accurate and with very little work the trigger was excellent in SA and doable in DA.

[Mike in Reedley]

In the mid 80's the market was flooded with Euro police trade ins. I remember them coming onto a starved Walther market. The distributor sold the lesser quality ones first for over $200 as quickly as they could. Later on the higher quality ones were released. I remember the 32s being more reliable than the 380s. In fact after owning several 380 PPKs and one pre 68 PPK, only one stainless PPKs was reliable for me. I have an early post 68 PP .22 that is one of my favorite plinking .22s.

[Frank46]

I have one of the French made Manhurin Walther PP's in 32acp. Fun to shoot and suprisingly accurate. All steel and has a nice heft for something so small. Fortunately for me it fits my hands well and did I mention fun to shoot. Have a few boxes of Federal ammo and functioned reliably and no problems with accuracy. Not selling this one anytime soon. Frank

[quail4jake]

Walther PPK, 7,65...Mr. Bond.

[prsman23]

Great pistols. Check Simpsonltd.com
I have about a half dozen. All in 32. Very pleasant and fun shooters.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rintinglen]

I had one for a bit and regret letting it go. They were importing them from West Germany back in the mid to late 80's and they were on sale for 169.00, including a pare magazine and a full flap duty holster. I did not reload 32 auto at the time and ammunition was more expensive than 38's or 9 mm's. For a poorly paid father with a wife and two children to support, the cost of ammunition was a significant consideration. I had little enough to spend on my shooting to squander it on high priced factory ammo so I had to let it go, but I wish I still had it. I bought a PPK/s 380 to replace it, but the 32s are more reliable in my experience. I'd buy another PP in short order if I could find one at a reasonable price.

[Bigslug]

Pretty much the same cautions apply as when buying any used gun - , run some function tests, field strip it and look for anything ugly or damaged. Since you're dealing with a low-power round in an all-steel gun, in a class of gun that are typically low-volume shooters, there usually isn't much to worry about. If the double action trigger seems impossibly heavy - roughly 12 pounds - that's normal.

It is one of the all-time classics. Figure if the French agree to make them under contract after four years of German occupation, they must have had a good thing going. In this age of plastic, it's one of the few all-steel automatics still being milled out.

[Gus Youmans]

I bought one while stationed in Germany in the late 1980s. After returning to the US, my brother asked me to put down one of his dogs that had become aggressive toward his children. The .32 ACP hollow point failed to penetrate the dog's skull on a frontal shot from about five feet. I traded the gun shortly thereafter. In hindsight, it was a nice gun and I should have kept it because they are more valuable now that what I got for it in trade.

In summary, the guns are nice but the cartridge leaves a lot to be desired for any serious purpose.

Gus Youmans

[bouncer50]

Another great gun in 32 acp is a cz50 or a cz 70 for the money a great buy not to many years back a 100.00 dollar bill would buy you a nice one.

[quail4jake]

Yes, Mr. Youmans, it is a very poor defensive cartridge. .25 ACP and .32 ACP FMJ are infamous for penetrating the scalp on a headshot then following fascial planes around to rest between the scalp and skull completely on the other side, never penetrating into the braincase! The dog story is one more to add to my collection. Thanks.

[FergusonTO35]

I don't think the failure was due to the gun or cartridge. Most .32 Auto hollow point loads are woefully underpowered to begin with, and often times the actual velocity is way below what is published. A friend of mine chronographed some Hornady XTP factory ammo in his Beretta Tomcat. Velocity on most rounds was in the 500's whereas it was advertised at above 1000 from a short barrel such as the Tomcat has. He contacted Hornady about it and they replaced his ammo, still it is good this was discovered on the range and not in an emergency.

[Outpost75]

...I bought one...in the late 1980s...my brother asked me to put down one of his dogs that had become aggressive...The .32 ACP hollow point failed to penetrate the dog's skull on a frontal shot from about five feet. I traded the gun shortly thereafter...In summary, the guns are nice but the cartridge leaves a lot to be desired for any serious purpose.
Gus Youmans

.32 ACP hollowpoints which are fragile enough to expand will lack adequate penetration.

American ammo is also notoriously underpowdered compared to European stuff.

I tested WW2 German, steel cased, Berdan-primed 7.65 Browning (.32 ACP) ammo, from the estate of a WW2 vet. All of it went bang! And hit the 6" gongs on the dueling tree at 10 meters. Velocities were quite impressive compared to today's wimpy US manufacture "lawyer" ammo, especially considering it was loaded with a 5 gram (77- grain) FMJ bullet.

166909166910

Velocity from the Nazi-marked CZ27 pistol it was packed with, was 981 fps, 17Sd over an 8 shot string. Velocity from my Beretta Model 3032 Inox Tomcat with 2.4" barrel, was 907 fps, 14 Sd. These velocities compare to modern RWS 73-grain hardball, and do so with a slightly heavier 77-grain bullet.

My shooting buddy “ER Doc” says that many patients have come across his operating table who have been shot with .32s. He says that FMJ rounds "bounce around inside the body cavity like a billiard ball" and do damage out of proportion to their energy, because they typically tumble, making a 180 degree flip and then continue base-first, as illustrated here:

http://mousegunaddict.blogspot.com/2012/11/clear-gel-terminal-testing-sellier.html

The light recoil of the .32s makes accurate double or triple taps possible in 2 seconds or so, which partly compensates for lower kinetic energy. Reliable “rat, tat, tat” feeding, easily controlled, repetitive shot placement or “burst on target” with confident deep penetration of Euro hardball inspires more confidence to him than light-weight JHP “Jam-O-Matics” which dissipate their energy in penetrating a sternum or defensively positioned arm, lacking further resolve to bounce around inside the body cavity a couple times......."

Chronographed velocities of typical .32 ACP ammunition fired in Beretta Model 3032 INOX with 2.4" barrel:

Geco WW2 steel cased 77-gr. FMJ 907 fps, 14 Sd, -- 981 fps, 17 Sd from CZ27 with 3.9" barrel
Privi Partizan 73-grain FMJ 902 fps , 26 Sd
RWS 73-grain FMJ 919 fps, 23 Sd
Fiocchi 73-gr. FMJ 917 fps, 14 Sd
Norma 74-gr. FMJ 894 fps, 23 Sd
Western, old blue & yellow box, rounded nickel plated primer, WW2 era 923 fps 18 Sd, -- 1001 fps, 15 Sd from Walther PP with 3.9" barrel

US recent production factory loads:

Federal 71-grain FMJ 762 fps, 20 Sd, three failures to eject out of ten rounds, -- 832 fps, 42 Sd in Walther PP, 4 failures to EJ
Remington 71-grain FMJ 822 fps, 49 Sd, one failure to eject out of ten rounds, -- 900 fps, 57 Sd in Walther PP, 1 failure to EJ
Winchester 71-grain FMJ 770 fps, 45 Sd, two failure to eject out of ten rounds, -- 862 fps, 49 Sd in Walther PP, 2 failure to EJ

HANDLOAD

Accurate 31-087T, RWS case, Federal 200, 5.6 grains Alliant #2400 compressed, OAL 0.955"
825 fps, 17 Sd from Beretta 3032 INOX with 2.4" barrel, 939 fps, 18 Sd from Walther PP with 3.9" barrel.

166911

Here is how a heavy, hard-cast bullet which does not tumble performs:

http://mousegunaddict.blogspot.com/2012/06/buffalo-bore-32-acp-75-grain-hcfn.html

[Ballistics in Scotland]

They are extremely well made pistols, and most "improvements" since their introduction have only been production economies. It always puzzles me that with CNC machining capable of doing such good work, manufacturers seem to shun milling from the solid as they didn't in days of yore. James Bond has a lot to answer for, since the PP is easier to shoot accurately than the smaller PPK, and the difference in portability or concealment is of little significance.

[MtGun44]

Lots of recoil for caliber due to blowback. Locked breech designs have much less
recoil, although it is just a .32 ACP. Also really, really heavy for that cartridge.

Bill