Walther P99

[LiveOriginal]

I am looking at getting one. What do you know about them? I like the ergonomics, small size, and accuracy? I've heard varied things about the reliability, however, from excellent to poor. I want a German-made P99, as opposed to an American made or a SW99, just to clear that.

What about the P990 or the P99QA. What's the difference?

Compare to the Glock 19, H&K USPC which is the best, and what are pros/cons of each?

If anyone knows and has some free time.

Thanks!

[arawn]

LiveOriginal,

Not to be cliche, but you're comparing apple to oranges (to pears to cantaloupes).

A buddy of mine has a P99. It's a comfortable little pistol. The decocking bar is an interesting feature. I don't like the mag release lever, but that's just me.

I own a full-sized USP 9mm and used to own a Compact. I'm a big H&K fan so I'm probably biased toward their designs. The only thing I ever changed on my USP in replacing the plastic trigger with an aluminum one to get rid of the flex that prevented crisp trigger break. I've found the USP family (and I've shot all of them except the Elite) to be well constructed, ergonomically pleasing pistols. The Compact was a good shooter, still bigger than the P99 unless I'm misremembering. I actually like the USP compact in 40S&W more than in 9mm, which is interesting as 40S&W is not my favorite round.

The GLOCK23 is a 40S&W, not a 9mm. Did you mean the GLOCK19? I like Glock pistols, despite prefering other designs over them. Glocks are reliable, easy to shoot, and easier to maintain.

I'm a little confused by your inclusion of the SOCOM (or rather, the Mark23). It is not only a 45ACP but also a HUGE pistol, as opposed to the others you listed which are all compact pistols. Even without the Knight Arms suppressor it's a big pistol, easily the biggest 45 I've fired. It's also grossly overpriced due to it's limited US release and "special ops" lineage. Is it a well-made pistol that shoots great? Absolutely. Does it shoot better than my Kimber? Nope. And my Kimber is comfortable even if you don't have gargantuan hands.

Regarding the P990: I hadn't heard about it so I looked it up. It's a revision of the P99 with a few changes. They made it DAO and offer it in 40S&W as well as 9mm.

My advice? Be leary of small framed pistols that were designed for 9mm then re-built in bigger caliburs. In my experience, Glock is the only one to do this with complete success. I found the subcompact GLOCK30 to still be fun to shoot, although I didn't like the single-stack GLOCK36 as much. The USP was designed for 40S&W and shoots best (IMHO) in 40S&W and 9mm. It does fine with 45 in the bigger framed versions, though.

At the end of the day, they are all nice pistols. I would shoot as many of them as possible before buying. I also suggest you decide on a calibur and let that guide you to the options available.

Hope this helped,
B.

[LiveOriginal]

Yeah, sorry about the SOCOM and the 23. It was 6 in the morning when I wrote that post. I had been reading up on the SOCOM earlier that night and I just threw it in. P99s are available in .40 cal, however. I am probably going to get a 9mm. I want it to target shoot more so than self defense.

Thanks

[Moonduck]

Design theory is important in the 9mm/.40 choice per manufacturer. H&K's USP was designed to handle .40 S&W first, then the design was modified to handle 9mm afterwards. This is in exact reverse from the way everyone did it beforehand. As a result, the USP really does .40S&W well. The other manufacturers' mid-frame guns don't do .40 as well because all they did was modify existing 9mm's to handle .400, and this leads to some design issues.

All around, the Walther P99 seems to be getting solid reviews. I've had some issues with triggers in previous Walther offerings, but the P99 does not seem to have similar problems.

I have still not figured out why S&W thought they're restyle would sell. It isn't different enough, and offers nothing to warrant buying a S&W over a Walther. Makes no sense.

The bottom line is that I don't think you'll get burned buying anything from that list. I would go for comfort and price, as reliability, accuracy, and intended use are all similar.

[cheeterbo]

i have the p99 and love it. in fact, i just bought a p22. the H&K is heavier. if possible, buy both.