srfl
10-30-2006, 00:20
Posted elsewhere in cyberland....
I recently won a Gunbroker.com auction for a boxed, police surplus Walther P5, three magazines (two OEM, one aftermarket), surplus police holster and magazine pouch, extra recoil springs (installed by the seller prior to my picking up the gun), installed Hogue OEM grips, and manual. I did a FTF pickup of the guns in Port Saint Lucie (FL), whereupon I got lost. The seller felt bad for me and tossed in 180 rounds or so of CCI Blazer 115 grain FMJ ammunition for my trouble which was very nice of him. (Bklynshu is the seller's Gunbroker.com username...look him up!)
The gun had it's slide recently reblued, but is a BMI "cross out" police gun with "2/84," staghorn, and "IE" stamps.
I took the P5 to the range on 10/23/06 with the CCI Blazer and Winchester (white box - WWB) 115 grain FMJ (USA9MMVP) ammunition.
It was obvious that the seller keeps his guns clean and lubricated as I did not have to do my typical cleaning/lubrication new/used gun routine.
At the range, I set up my targets between seven and ten yards away and fired at a one round-a-second cadence (for the most part). I fired 100 problem-free rounds of the WWB, but only 24 rounds of CCI Blazer. My local range prohibits the use of CCI Blazer ammunition as several other indoor ranges I have frequented over my shooting life. I fired those rounds to function test my gun.....but I didn't press my luck with the range personel....and I policed my brass....er.....aluminium.
This ten yard, two-handed, unsupported 15-round target fired with WWB exemplified my typical results:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/srfl/Walther/WaltherP5-1.jpg
Some points regarding the P5's characteristics; some positive, some negative (for me at least). The gun is an ergonomic joy. The fact that it is a single-stack, eight-shot 9mm means that I can engage the first-shot DA trigger properly using the distal joint of my index finger. When I first saw the Hogue grips on the gun while it was up for bid on Gunbroker.com, I was sure I would have to remove those grips and re-install the OEM grips. I had to replace a set of Hogue grips on my S&W 1066 10mm semi-automatic pistol with OEM grips to be able to properly engage the trigger. I thought I would have the same problem with the P5/Hogue combination. Happily, that was not the case. While the Hogues made for a slightly larger grip; it wasn't by much and they are very comfortable.
Recoil is with these grips installed is well managed; not that 9mm recoil is of great concern. The gun came back quickly on target between rounds.
The sights were nice and blocky, with ample amounts of light on either side of the front sight blade when I had proper sight alignment. I did shoot slightly right of the point-of-aim. I think it was due to the sights.
Ejection, which is very positive in this gun, is the from the left side.
The DA/SA trigger pull was very smooth. The DA/SA point-of-impact were very close to one another. Further, getting a surprise trigger break was easy and trigger reset was very positive which is something I value in any gun.
The P5, like the majority of Euro-made guns of that generation, had a heel-mounted magazine release. That, to me, is a blessing and a curse. Blessing: there is no possibility of the magazine being accidentally released whether in a very tight holster or in your hand in the dead of winter while wearing very thick gloves (and you with numb fingers). The curse(s): the gun is slow to reload. Practice makes perfect (and you smoother) so perhaps with training, you can pick up reloading speed. However, it is slower to insert a fresh magazine in the magazine well since it is not beveled and the magazine release button has a "tab" that is in the way. You have to force the fresh magazine to move that tab (which is under spring pressure) essentially "out of the way."
Now don't get me wrong, I have several other period Euro-nines similarly equipped with heel-releases: HK P7 "PSP" and P9S Combat. I find my PSP and P9S are marginally quicker to reload than the P5 due to the "tab" issue described above. One thing I also noted that some Euro-guns, such as the PSP and P5, will forcibly eject a magazine when you hit the release button; however you need two hands (the weak hand thumb) to manipulate the button. However, my the weak hand usually blocks a clean release of the magazine, thus slowing down the process.
On to the next "plus/minus" of the P5: the left-side "dual-function" (slide release/decocking) lever and "slide catch" (to lock and hold open the slide) lever which is left of the prominent dual-function lever as seen here:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/srfl/Walther/DSCN0579.jpg
The former control lever is a joy to use; fast to release the slide and then decock the weapon. The latter control lever, the slide catch lever, is not so good. In my hands, have to cant the gun so that the muzzle is pointing close to my elbow (actually, not so pronounced, but you get the picture) as I push that lever up with my strong hand thumb, simultaneously holding the slide back with my weak hand. I don't like this. Perhaps a fellow (and more experienced) P5 aficionado/owner knows of another way of locking the slide back while manipulating this lever?
While firing the 124 rounds through the P5, I had one failure-to-eject malfunction with the CCI Blazer which is a first for me; I've never had CCI Blazer cause a malfunction in a gun. I have had CCI Blazer Brass malfunction in my Ruger P345 .45 ACP though. In fairness, I might have been loosely gripping the P5 at the time. Further, I'm not sure if the malfunction occurred with the aftermarket magazine; I suspect that particular magazine was in the gun when the malfunction occurred.
All-in-all, this is a good gun which, regrettably, I cannot carry during my off-duty LE hours as my agency mandates carriage of our issue SIG .40 S&W's if we elect to carry a gun during off-duty hours. Bummer. If it wasn't for that, I'd consider occasionally carrying this gun, provided it was reliable with good standard velocity hollowpoint ammunition, which I did not have on hand at the time.
These guns are still available, I believe, through SOG for under $450. OEM Magazines are not cheap: approximately $60 or more. Ouch. Some custom leathersmiths also make leather for this neat gun.
I'm glad I purchased this gun......
I recently won a Gunbroker.com auction for a boxed, police surplus Walther P5, three magazines (two OEM, one aftermarket), surplus police holster and magazine pouch, extra recoil springs (installed by the seller prior to my picking up the gun), installed Hogue OEM grips, and manual. I did a FTF pickup of the guns in Port Saint Lucie (FL), whereupon I got lost. The seller felt bad for me and tossed in 180 rounds or so of CCI Blazer 115 grain FMJ ammunition for my trouble which was very nice of him. (Bklynshu is the seller's Gunbroker.com username...look him up!)
The gun had it's slide recently reblued, but is a BMI "cross out" police gun with "2/84," staghorn, and "IE" stamps.
I took the P5 to the range on 10/23/06 with the CCI Blazer and Winchester (white box - WWB) 115 grain FMJ (USA9MMVP) ammunition.
It was obvious that the seller keeps his guns clean and lubricated as I did not have to do my typical cleaning/lubrication new/used gun routine.
At the range, I set up my targets between seven and ten yards away and fired at a one round-a-second cadence (for the most part). I fired 100 problem-free rounds of the WWB, but only 24 rounds of CCI Blazer. My local range prohibits the use of CCI Blazer ammunition as several other indoor ranges I have frequented over my shooting life. I fired those rounds to function test my gun.....but I didn't press my luck with the range personel....and I policed my brass....er.....aluminium.
This ten yard, two-handed, unsupported 15-round target fired with WWB exemplified my typical results:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/srfl/Walther/WaltherP5-1.jpg
Some points regarding the P5's characteristics; some positive, some negative (for me at least). The gun is an ergonomic joy. The fact that it is a single-stack, eight-shot 9mm means that I can engage the first-shot DA trigger properly using the distal joint of my index finger. When I first saw the Hogue grips on the gun while it was up for bid on Gunbroker.com, I was sure I would have to remove those grips and re-install the OEM grips. I had to replace a set of Hogue grips on my S&W 1066 10mm semi-automatic pistol with OEM grips to be able to properly engage the trigger. I thought I would have the same problem with the P5/Hogue combination. Happily, that was not the case. While the Hogues made for a slightly larger grip; it wasn't by much and they are very comfortable.
Recoil is with these grips installed is well managed; not that 9mm recoil is of great concern. The gun came back quickly on target between rounds.
The sights were nice and blocky, with ample amounts of light on either side of the front sight blade when I had proper sight alignment. I did shoot slightly right of the point-of-aim. I think it was due to the sights.
Ejection, which is very positive in this gun, is the from the left side.
The DA/SA trigger pull was very smooth. The DA/SA point-of-impact were very close to one another. Further, getting a surprise trigger break was easy and trigger reset was very positive which is something I value in any gun.
The P5, like the majority of Euro-made guns of that generation, had a heel-mounted magazine release. That, to me, is a blessing and a curse. Blessing: there is no possibility of the magazine being accidentally released whether in a very tight holster or in your hand in the dead of winter while wearing very thick gloves (and you with numb fingers). The curse(s): the gun is slow to reload. Practice makes perfect (and you smoother) so perhaps with training, you can pick up reloading speed. However, it is slower to insert a fresh magazine in the magazine well since it is not beveled and the magazine release button has a "tab" that is in the way. You have to force the fresh magazine to move that tab (which is under spring pressure) essentially "out of the way."
Now don't get me wrong, I have several other period Euro-nines similarly equipped with heel-releases: HK P7 "PSP" and P9S Combat. I find my PSP and P9S are marginally quicker to reload than the P5 due to the "tab" issue described above. One thing I also noted that some Euro-guns, such as the PSP and P5, will forcibly eject a magazine when you hit the release button; however you need two hands (the weak hand thumb) to manipulate the button. However, my the weak hand usually blocks a clean release of the magazine, thus slowing down the process.
On to the next "plus/minus" of the P5: the left-side "dual-function" (slide release/decocking) lever and "slide catch" (to lock and hold open the slide) lever which is left of the prominent dual-function lever as seen here:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/srfl/Walther/DSCN0579.jpg
The former control lever is a joy to use; fast to release the slide and then decock the weapon. The latter control lever, the slide catch lever, is not so good. In my hands, have to cant the gun so that the muzzle is pointing close to my elbow (actually, not so pronounced, but you get the picture) as I push that lever up with my strong hand thumb, simultaneously holding the slide back with my weak hand. I don't like this. Perhaps a fellow (and more experienced) P5 aficionado/owner knows of another way of locking the slide back while manipulating this lever?
While firing the 124 rounds through the P5, I had one failure-to-eject malfunction with the CCI Blazer which is a first for me; I've never had CCI Blazer cause a malfunction in a gun. I have had CCI Blazer Brass malfunction in my Ruger P345 .45 ACP though. In fairness, I might have been loosely gripping the P5 at the time. Further, I'm not sure if the malfunction occurred with the aftermarket magazine; I suspect that particular magazine was in the gun when the malfunction occurred.
All-in-all, this is a good gun which, regrettably, I cannot carry during my off-duty LE hours as my agency mandates carriage of our issue SIG .40 S&W's if we elect to carry a gun during off-duty hours. Bummer. If it wasn't for that, I'd consider occasionally carrying this gun, provided it was reliable with good standard velocity hollowpoint ammunition, which I did not have on hand at the time.
These guns are still available, I believe, through SOG for under $450. OEM Magazines are not cheap: approximately $60 or more. Ouch. Some custom leathersmiths also make leather for this neat gun.
I'm glad I purchased this gun......
