Walther PPK/S won't release magazine.

[Van]

InterArms PPK/S won't drop the magazine when you press the magazine catch. Using Mac-gar magazines.

[82nd airborne]

Have you tried hitting it with a large hammer yet? If i remember right they are a spring that is v shaped with the bottome having a few curls in it. sometimes they wont release because one end of the sprind pops out.

[scrapcan]

I think Delta has the idea. Does yours have a magazine disconnect, if it does it may have to do with the magazine disconnect.

A friend said to take slide off with magazine in as you have done. He also said to take the grip panels off and that you shoull be able to see what could be happening. It sounds to me like you could have a broken slide lock spring or a battered slide lock as I think the slide lock is also the ejector, there should be an extension on that piece that kicks hits the rear fo the case after the slide moves rearwoard and the case is extracted from chamber by the extractor.

The spring for the slide lock is a hair pin looking thing, maybe one leg is broken or bent wrong, it is a fun one to get in and out.

Will be interested to hear what you find.

Also I am not sure if this pistol was designed to have a drop free magazine, you may have to pull the mag out one the mag catch is released.

[82nd airborne]

very small needle nose needed to get that spring end back in place.

[Char-Gar]

The first thing I do with a malfunctioning firearm is detail strip it, clean the parts well and reassembly with proper lubrication. Many times, it is dirt, grit, or old oil and/or grease that is the problem. Very often, this is all it takes.

If that doesn't work, then I start to look for broken or improperly installed parts.

[82nd airborne]

Sound advice from Chargar.

[Artful]

http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/Walther/upload/other/PPK_PPKs.pdf

I don't own a PPK but sounds like interference between either a slide stop lever, trigger actuator lever or disconnect lever. If it worked fine before this it could be a problem with dirt pushing it out or could be a spring pushing it out if not seated correctly. first thing I would do is disassemble slide from frame and examine the frame magazine well with and without a empty magazine in it - you should be able to visually verify what's happening when you push in on this little arm.

[Van]

I cleaned it thoroughly but the problem remained.

[Shooter]

The magazine doesn't free fall from my PPk/S. I don't think it is designed to. A free falling magazine would break the plastic finger rest on the mag.

[Van]

A friend gave me an old Walther factory mag and it kicks out beautifully when the mag release button is pushed.

[scrapcan]

measure the width of the mage at several points and compare. look closely at the area where the lips are formed. I have seen alot of new mags swollen at the base of the feed lips, I have 3 mecgar 1911 mags that found new homes due to this.

[Char-Gar]

Just for grins, I went and picked up my Walter PPK and it kicked out the mags either loaded or unloaded. It is a 1995 vintage Interarms stainless steel made in the USA product. I lost my original German made PPK, that I bought new in 1964) in the Great D-Vorce of 94. This new one has never bobbled once in the 16 years I have had it. It is my main CHL carry pistol. Both mags are factory and came with the pistol.

I don't know what the OP's problem is, but I am not going to start poking around in the innards of mine to find out.

I have not been without a PPK in 380 for 45 years and don't plan to do so now. They are reliable and accurate pistols that I can shoot as well as a much larger handgun. I am "well heeled" with one in my pocket in the Kramer pocket holster.

[Van]

Thanks for checking your PPK for me. I shot it recently and I really love it. What a well built and designed little pistol. I will measure the mags carefully and try to resolve this myself. Otherwise I will take it to a gunsmith.

...Update - I had problems with every Meg-gar mag I tried and every factory Walther US made mags worked perfectly.

[Char-Gar]

Van... I had an opportunity to check out a new Smith and Wesson made PPK yesteday and it kicked out the mag just fine. From what I gather by your prior post, your pistol worked well with a factory mag. Before I let a "gunsmith" jack with the innards, I would just buy some mags that work.

After a half century of dealing with "gunsmith", I have found very few I would trust with a gun I value. That is why I do 99% of the work myself. I have had some fine firearms badly screwed up by "gunsmiths" before I broke the code.

Anybody can call himself a gunsmith and their training, skill, knowlege and intelligence varies widly. Unless one does some kind of speciality work, they don't do enough of any one thing to do much more than guess and try and figure out what is going on. They also work with one eye on the clock.

I know of one or two really good gunsmiths in Texas. There are probably more, but I don't know who they are. One the other hand, I know many reformed key cutters and "jack leg mechanics", who like to call themselves gunsmiths.