Walther PPS

Pete85

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Last week I bought a brand new Walther PPS. Today was the first chance I had to take it to the range...with less than impressive results. I setup my target, loaded the magazine and racked the slide. Aimed at the target and squeezed the trigger - BANG!! Then nothing. The gun failed to return to battery after the first shot. So I follow the normal procedure, remove the magazine, eject the round in the chamber and inspect the gun and make sure nothing is broken etc. Everything appears to be fine so I reload the magazine and try again. Second shot fails to eject, third round jams behind it...

After clearing the second jam, the gun performed fine for the remainder of the day, about 150 rounds. Is it normal for a new gun to require some break-in period? Is this a common thing with PPSs? Or did I just get really really unlucky?
 
My guess is there was just some factory crud in there or it was just manufactured extra tight. Some recommend break in periods, others don't.

I would just keep shooting it with a few +P rounds thrown in there occasionally until I was comfortable enough with its reliability to carry it.

If it continued to happen I would send it back. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Keep us posted. I was planning on purchasing one in the near future. I thought a few members here owned them. Maybe they will chime in with a little NES wisdom.
 
So you had a break-in period of two rounds?

It sounds like there was some crap in it from the factory. Did you clean it before you took it to the range?
 
Probably just needed to be broken in. I'd keep pounding the crap out of it, clean and lube it, and pound the crap out of it some more. [laugh]

I once had an SW99 9mm compact I once owned that jammed up a few times in the first 100 rounds or so, after that, I was never able to get it to do that ever again.

-Mike
 
I have one and love it. The first time I took it too the range and shot it was a bit odd. The first shot hit to the right by about 10 inches. The next one a tad to the left of that. Each consecutive shot, while still aimed at the same point, moved a tad bit more to the left.

My the end of the first mag, it was dead nuts on, and has continued to operate flawlessly.

I'd chalk it up to junk in the barrel and keep shooting it.

That said, I am not an expert...
 
So you had a break-in period of two rounds?

It sounds like there was some crap in it from the factory. Did you clean it before you took it to the range?

Exactly what I was thinking.

I will bet dollars to doughnuts that the OP did not clean and lubricate it
 
I did not clean/lube it before taking it to the range. It's a 9mm. Like I said, after those first two rounds, it was flawless. Hopefully as it's been suggested, there was just still a little junk in it from the factory. If that's the case and the gun performs like the last 148 rounds did, then I have nothing to complain about.

I did clean and lube it after getting home.
 
My P99c had a couple FTE's in the first 200 rounds or so but since then it's been perfect. I think they just make them tight.
 
Check your grips.

I had the same issue with mine on the first time out. The wood grips weren't tightened properly and the force of the recoil cause them to dig into the metal frame. This caused the gun not to cycle properly. You may want to pull them off and make sure they are in good shape.

edit: Scratch that: I thought it was a PPK/s...
 
I did not clean/lube it before taking it to the range. It's a 9mm. Like I said, after those first two rounds, it was flawless. Hopefully as it's been suggested, there was just still a little junk in it from the factory. If that's the case and the gun performs like the last 148 rounds did, then I have nothing to complain about.

I did clean and lube it after getting home.

Many semi-autos need a break in period and it's always a good idea to clean and lube a new gun before firing it for the first time. Kahr, for one, recommends a 200 round break in period for new guns.
 
Remington practice ammo- 115gr, ball is probably the cheapest, softest 9mm you can buy. Not full power by any means.

Yes- guns do need some break in before working sometimes... and clean and lubed is good.
 
Remington practice ammo- 115gr, ball is probably the cheapest, softest 9mm you can buy. Not full power by any means.

Yes- guns do need some break in before working sometimes... and clean and lubed is good.

FWIW, someone from Sig told me to break in my 229 9mm with 200 rounds of 147 grain rounds. They also said to lube the crap out of it during break in.
 
Lots of people say some guns like to run wet (like Sigs) and some like to run dry (like Glocks). I run everything fairly wet. Clean lube is never going to cause problems IMO. The only guns I don't run real wet are my carry guns.
 
I'm suspicious of any gun which requires "breaking in" to function properly. It should function properly right out of the box - no ifs, ands or buts...

Looks like you learned a lesson" Always clean and prep your gun when you get it home. The factory generally doesn't. They build it, test fire it, (some each gun - some batch test), box and ship. The guns could sit in a warehouse for days, weeks, months - even years. The converse can be true as well - they can be saturated with lube. Springfield Armory M1A's are a good example of this. Many first-time M1A shooters report problems with their rifles. Much of the time, it's because they did not prep their rifle prior to shooting. The gas cylinders, bore and chamber are often loaded with oil and M1A pistons and gas tubes are supposed to be dry - chambers as well...

If you were shooting Remington UMC, you were also shooting some pretty underpowered ammunition. I find it to be the softest shooting 9mm out there - at least in my experience. I don;t shoot it out of my Uzi anymore, as it just barely ejects...

Enjoy your new PPS. I wish they fit my hand. I really liked EddieCoyle's - great little carry piece...
 
Just to pile on to the "Clean and Lube" thoughts. Most guns come with a preservative oil on them, as many have suggested. They are not cleaned or lubed from the factory. They are preserved. A new gun should be cleaned well and lubed according to the manual before heading to the range. Taking them out of the box and going straight to the range is inviting FTE's. I'm going to bet that after a good clean and lube that beauty will perform as expected.
 
I just picked up a used PPS and fired it today. No problems at all. I did buy a Para Hawg 9 new and still have some jambing issues. It does seem to get better with each use.
 
I know two people who each own a Walther PPS in 9mm. Both pistols were purchased new, within a few weeks of each other, from the same gun shop. One guy cleaned and lubed his PPS before his first trip to the range. His pistol performed flawlessly and was very accurate. The other fired his without cleaning it first, and he did have some accuracy problems and instances of FTE, etc. YMMV

Both of these people would really like to have Crimson Trace laser grips on their PPS, but there isn’t a model currently available for that gun. The PPS has a replaceable backstrap, and that would probably be a feasible place to mount the laser grips. For anyone else who would like to be able to buy Crimson Trace laser grips for a PPS, you can help make that happen. Just click here to request that they add it to their lineup:
http://www.crimsontrace.com/Home/Support/RequestNewModels/tabid/170/Default.aspx
 
After a through cleaning and lube job, the gun performed flawlessly. 150 rounds without a problem.
 
So what is the deal with the PPS Trigger Disconnect I can not seem to find the replacement parts for the MA trigger. Does anyone know of a website that sells them?
 
Lots of people say some guns like to run wet (like Sigs) and some like to run dry (like Glocks). I run everything fairly wet. Clean lube is never going to cause problems IMO. The only guns I don't run real wet are my carry guns.

This...
 
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