FOG HORN

June, 2016
Twobirds Flying Publication

Walther Arms PPQ .45 ACP

The crown jewel of polymer frame 45s

Copyright 2016, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

WALTHER ARMS PPQ .45 ACP - The crown jewel of polymer frame 45s

2016

WALTHER ARMS PPQ .45 ACP - The crown jewel of polymer frame 45s
By: Sal Palma
My first exposure to Walthers latest addition to
their PPQ line, the PPQ 45, was at Shot Show
2016, in Las Vegas. I distinctly remember
standing in line at the range wondering whether
it was worth the wait but Walthers name and
reputation for exceptional firearms kept me
interested, and Im glad it did. This was my
inaugural experience with the first .45 ACP in
Walthers 150 year history and I walked away
from the demo thinking, WOW, what a great
shooter! So, when Walther Arms presented me
with the opportunity to review the pistol, I was
stoked.

running shoes; if you want to run well, your

running shoes must fit well and its this
interface that creates the necessary conditions
for consistency and consistency is the key to
good shooting. So, I start my review with the
PPQs grip.
Walther
understands
the
anatomical
characteristics of the human hand better than
any of its competitors. That knowledge is
demonstrated across the PPQ line and its .45
ACP is no exception.

Great shooting pistols are like a well-mixed

cocktail or excellent blended wine, they are the
sum of its parts, and if any part falls short the
gun falls short; an inescapable fact of firearms.
In writing this review what I learned about
Walthers 45 ACP is that it is nothing short of
excellence throughout. With that thought in
mind, Ill take you through the PPQ 45, part by
part, to support my assertion that its a must
have pistol.
After our test sample arrived, I spent a
considerable amount of time touching, feeling,
massaging and breaking the pistol down before
conducting any live fire testing. I probably dry
fired it 500 times just to get comfortable with
its amazing trigger.
Readers familiar with my preferences know that
I place the pistol-shooter interface above any
other attribute. Pistols are no different than

I want to start with the grips rake because it is

noticeably different from any of the competing
offerings.
To understand its effect, extend your strong
arm, make a fist and hold your clenched fist so
Copyright 2016, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

WALTHER ARMS PPQ .45 ACP - The crown jewel of polymer frame 45s

that youre not pulling up or pushing down with

your wrist. Youll know your there when your
wrist feels relaxed. Now note the angle created
by the phalanges (these are the finger bones
connecting to your knuckles), it exactly matches
the rake on the PPQs grip.
The PPQ grip has no flat squared off surfaces;
instead it features rounded contoured surfaces
that closely resemble the palmar surface of the
human hand. Im impressed with how
anatomically correct the PPQ grip is; eliminating
shooter fatigue and enhancing control.
Walther made a marketing decision a few years
ago to abandon the European style trigger
guard magazine release, designated M1, for a
grip centric pushbutton style mag release
designated M2.

2016

shooters. The extended slide lock is also fully

ambidextrous so our southpaw brethren are in
Fat City with Walthers PPQ .45.
In addition to elements of grip geometry,
Walther textured the grip using what the
company describes as a non-slip crossdirectional surface to enhance shooter control.
Interestingly enough this is an area that has
drawn some criticism with 50% of reviewers
saying that its too subdued and the remaining
50% saying that its just right. My own
preference lies with the camp that likes a bit
more aggressive texturing. I have clunky
calloused hands so I like the feel of a more
aggressive texturing a la Glock Gen 4.
Walther has also provided interchangeable
backstraps, in medium and large sizes, to
customize the PPQ grip to the shooter. Installing
the backstrap is a very straight forward
procedure, you simply push out a single roll pin
using a 4mm punch and youre in the money.
A final point to touch on is the extended grip
foot which functions to streamline the grip with
the magazines floor plate. I found this feature
very useful in performing magazine changes
especially while performing a tactical reload. It
seems to work extremely well as a guide similar
to beveled magazine wells.

I prefer the M1 style magazine release over the

M2 for a couple of reasons. First, it reduces the
possibility of an unintended magazine release.
Second, and more important to me than the
latter, the M1 trigger guard mag release can be
operated with a heavily gloved hand, a task that
is much more difficult with the M2. However,
the M2 magazine release is by far the more
popular style in the U.S. market. Walther made
the M2 mag release fully ambidextrous and
provides the appropriate button for left-handed
Copyright 2016, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

WALTHER ARMS PPQ .45 ACP - The crown jewel of polymer frame 45s

Breaking down the PPQ is Glock like with one

exception. Rather than using a tinny take down
catch like the Glock pistols, Walther took a
much more shooter friendly approach
accommodating all hand sizes and a gloved
hand. The pictures below clearly illustrate those
differences.

Like the Glock, taking down the PPQ requires

that you drop the striker on an empty chamber
in order to separate the slide from the frame,
and like all Glocks, ensure that your pistol is
clear before performing the take down
procedure.

2016

Transitioning from the Glock to a Walther PPQ

requires platform familiarization and nothing
more.

The PPQ 45 features a 4.25 polygonal rifling

barrel that accounts for much of the pistols
impressive accuracy. A visual inspection reveals
a nicely polished feed ramp and beveled
chamber throat making this pistol not a finicky
eater. Most .45 ACP pistols exhibit some degree
of ammunition sensitivity this is not the case
with Walthers 45 ACP, the pistol will feed
everything from 230gr military ball to the very
aggressive hollow point defensive loads from
Winchester, Federal, Liberty Ammo and others.

The recoil spring is captive and rides on a

polymer guide rod. There are also very few
parts and consequently nothing to lose.
Copyright 2016, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

WALTHER ARMS PPQ .45 ACP - The crown jewel of polymer frame 45s

Its been difficult for me to pin down just one

feature on the PPQ 45 that I like above all
others; however, forced to do so, Id have to go
with the trigger. Walther has done a
tremendous job in delivering what I consider to
be the best trigger in a polymer production
pistol.
When the T&E pistol arrived, I spent quite a bit
of time dry firing. After that exercise, I took
several measurements to verify the factory
data. Trigger take up was .36 inches; trigger pull
weight averaged 3.75 lbs. +/- .166 and trigger
reset was .12 inches. I then compared the
trigger pull weight of the PPQ 45 with the G17;
documenting my results in the table below.
PPQ 45
sd
G17
sd
3.75
5.8
3.75
5.5
3.75
6
3.5
5.75
4
5.5
3.75
6
4
5
3.75
5.6
3.5
5.5
3.75
5.25
3.751 0.166667 5.59 0.315172

The PPQ 45 averaged 3.75 +/- .166 pounds

while the Glock averaged 5.59 +/- .315 pounds.
The Glock trigger had virtually no trigger take
up and a slightly longer trigger reset than the
PPQ. I have to reflect on what virtually all Glock
shooters do to their new Glock pistol they
replace the trigger connector and striker spring
to lighten trigger pull to that magical 3.5 lbs.
With the PPQ 45 youre already there straight
from the factory. Walther publishes a trigger
1

2016

pull weight of 4.8 5.6 lbs.; however, I was

never able to duplicate those numbers in my
test sample, even with outlier measurements
absolutely acceptable to me.
Shooting the PPQ 45 is equivalent to driving a
high performance European sports car. After
the initial trigger travel or take up, depending
on what part of the country youre from, the
trigger hits a wall followed by a crisp break and
an extremely short trigger reset. If you are used
to carrying or shooting a factory Glock youll
want to spend some time adjusting muscle
memory to the PPQs 45 trigger. The cardinal
rules apply, never place your finger on the
trigger until you are ready to shoot; not as you
come out of your holster or as you extend.

The Walther slide, like the barrel and internal

action parts, is Tenifer coated for corrosion
resistance and features serrations at the front
and rear. Operating the PPQ 45 slide is
exceptional and the front serrations make a
press check very smooth.
The PPQ 45 ships with a polymer sight set
zeroed at 15 meters. The rear sight is adjustable
for wind; however, elevation changes require a
front sight post swap. A steel sight set is also
available from Walther. The sight radius is 6.5
inches and Walther included serrations along
top of the slide to eliminate glare and draw the
shooters eye to the front sight post. Finally, the
rear sight height allows for one handed slide
manipulation.

Trigger pull measured after ~500 dry fires.

Copyright 2016, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

WALTHER ARMS PPQ .45 ACP - The crown jewel of polymer frame 45s

Before getting into shooting impressions, Id like

to address what I feel is a compromise Walther
had to make in order to limit the pistols overall
length.
The PPQ 45 overall length is about to
inches shorter than your typical large full-sized
pistol and the combination of accommodating a
large trigger guard, for a heavily gloved hand,
with a slightly shorter Picatinny accessory rail
limits your choice of weapon mounted
accessories. The PPQ 45 was made for
Streamlights TLR-4 or TLR-4G and the Crimson
Trace Rail Master Pro. Full sized rail mounted
accessories place the accessory well forward of
the muzzle; therefore, reaching the operating
controls requires that you shift your support
hand. Shooters with long fingers will find this
limitation inconsequential.

Shooting the Walther PPQ 45 M2 was in every

way as I had experienced in Boulder City, simply
awesome. Its truly great shooting pistol. All of
its excellent features, like the grip, trigger and
large trigger guard contribute to what I will call
an exceptional shooting experience; although
not a target pistol, the PPQ 45 more than
carried its own weight when it comes to
accuracy and performance. I shot 5-shot groups
of white box 230 grain military ball at 16 yards
(15
meters),
unsupported,
producing
respectable groups.

2016

My best results came from the Federal Hydra

Shock .45 ACP. As I mentioned previously, the
PPQ is not a target pistol, nor was it intended as
such, but as a tactical/ military/police pistol it is
a stellar performer.

Recoil was what one would expect from a .45

ACP, very snappy, but at no time during my live
fire testing did I feel that I was losing control; in
fact, quite the opposite.
As part of my testing, I ran through 3 shots in
rapid succession, performed a tactical reload
and fired another 3 shots without an issue. That
brief drill reaffirmed my belief that the
extended grip foot works extremely well as a
magazine guide. The empty magazine dropped
free cleanly, a new magazine load without an
issue or having to slam the floorplate, the
ambidextrous slide lock was easy to operate
and the slide chambered a round cleanly and
without issue. Every aspect of its operation
worked flawlessly.
I experienced no problems with the ejection
cycle; in fact, I even used some dinged up brass
just to see if I could produce a failure to eject.
No problems encountered, and with the
expanded ejection port there were no stove
pipes, which is not unheard of with other .45
pistols.
Copyright 2016, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

WALTHER ARMS PPQ .45 ACP - The crown jewel of polymer frame 45s

In closing, Ill simply say that if youre looking

for something other than a 1911 .45 then the
Walther PPQ 45 M2 deserves top billing on your
list. Nothing is extraneous or stylistic; its all
functional and everything on this pistol
performs dependably well. The PPQ 45 M2 is a
great carry or tactical .45 that you can count on,

2016

and just as importantly it carries a very modest

$699 M.S.R.P. Walthers PPQ 45 is without
question a tremendous value for what is the
Patek Philippe of polymer .45 pistols. Get one!

-SP

Manufacturer Specifications

Copyright 2016, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved