The Walther P99

    This is the newest edition to the Walther line up. A polymer framed pistol chambered in either 9mm or .40 S&W, which is designed to compete with companies such as Sig Sauer, Beretta, and Heckler and Koch.

    If you just bought a P99, the first thing you'd notice when you open the box is probably the pistol. Also in there are three back straps for the grip on the P99. These come in three sizes, large, medium and small. The medium is standard equipment, which should fit most hands just fine, but it does give you a good feeling to know that Walther is thinking of the smaller and larger-handed people. The grip itself is very pleasant, the pebble-like texture gives a positive feel, and the finger grooves are well placed.

    Also included in the box are two magazines, a cleaning rod, and perhaps the most intriguing, is a small plastic bag containing three front sight blades. These can be changed out to adjust for elevation. The rear sight is adjustable for windage. The sight picture is a pretty standard three-dot. Target sights are available, as are Tritium sights by a variety of mfrs.

    The Magazines are metal, which, while sturdy, do tend to chew up the release (which happens with any polymer frame vs. metal magazine). Mecgar produces the magazines, and so far, I have been unable to locate any magazines produced by another company. Which also creates a problem, Walther P99 magazines are hard to come by, in my case, I went to Smith & Wesson to get a SW99 magazine (incidentally, the P99 and SW99 are the same gun). Both the 9mm and .40 hold 10+1 rounds; LE is able to get 16+1 for the 9mm model, and 12+1 for the .40.

    The magazine release is located on the trigger guard, in a similar position as an H&K USP. This ambidextrous lever-type release is slimmer than the H&K one, therefore won’t catch on your holster or clothing.

    The P99 has a very distinct two-stage trigger. The pistol has a very normal DA/SA transition, but with somewhat of a twist. Load the magazine, and then chamber a round… you will see a small red dot sticking out the rear of the pistol, this is the striker, and represents the pistol being in single-action mode. Push the decocker (located just behind the ejection port on the left side of the slide) and the striker falls into Double-action mode. But leave it in SA mode, and squeeze the trigger and you will hear a click about halfway back. This is actually where the SA trigger pull begins. Every subsequent shot will begin with the trigger in this position. To reset from DA bak to SA, you only need to retract the slide about an inch or so.

    The polymer frame has an accessory rail on it, but don’t get too excited, it only works with a certain laser… and that’s it. There is a flashlight attachment, but that must be attached to the laser module. The frame is available in two different colors, black and olive drab. The slide is either black or stainless.

    Disassembly of the Walther is similar to a Glock, but a tad more refined. Make sure the gun is unloaded, then remove the magazine and decock the pistol. Above the trigger are the disassembly "buttons" simply pull these down, and pull the slide off the frame. That’s all there is to it. Then pull out the spring, which you’ll notice is flat, and remove the barrel, and you’re done.

    The gun, however, is pleasant to shoot, I put over 2000 rounds through it and only had one jam, but that was actually an ammunition defect. It puts nice tight 2" groups at 25 yards with no rest. It's recoil is sharp, which should be expected with a light pistol, and if your firing the .40, you'll miss the weight of the rounds once the magazine begins to empty.

    One problem I’ve encountered is that DA pull is very heavy and very long; the trigger almost seems to be on the horizontal plane when the gun actually fires. But that you can get used to. The only other place where you can run into trouble is in your grip… the slide release is positioned poorly and you can inadvertently push it up when firing your P99, causing the slide to lock back.

    Otherwise for about $650 new, it’s an excellent pistol, shoots nicely, and fairly accurately for a service pistol. The downsides are easy to workout and while difficult to find, magazines don't run much more than any other.
    For the fashion-minded, Walther also makes the P99 QPQ, there are three engraved variants of the QPQ, and a fourth which is a black frame with a stainless slide. Two other variants of the P99 exist, the P990, which is designed as a constant-pull DAO (Double Action Only). And the P99 QA (Quick Action), which takes out some of the trigger problems with a shorter DAO pull.