Ahern Under The

August 08 Blue Press 20-37 copy 6/13/08 1:51 PM Page 26 26 AhernAhern UnderUnder thethe GunGun By Jerry Ahern on the PP in .32, both accuracy and perform- Photos by Sharon Ahern ance should, logically, be better than in the In 2009, it will be 80 years since the first com- smaller vest-pocket-size pistols. mercially successful double action semi-automat- According to the Evan Marshall and Ed Sanow ic pistol ever designed was released to the mar- ballistic performance figures, 71-grain .32 ACP ketplace. The year was 1929 and the handgun Winchester solids have a 50-percent one-shot was the Walther PP, the letter designation stand- stop rating, while the Winchester Silvertip 60- ing for “Polizei Pistole.” The new pistol’s caliber grain bullet has a 63-percent rating. If you acquire was .32 ACP (which sounds much more formida- one of these superb little Walther pistols and it ble than 7.65mm doesn’t handle hollow Browning). points (I recommend The PPK of James experimenting with Bond lore is much the Winchester and more famous, to be the Federal variants), sure, PPK standing for take it to a competent “Polizei Pistole Krim- gunsmith. But, if inal,” the weapon you’re stuck with the shorter in overall .32 ACP solids, you length and overall could do a lot worse. height than the PP. Keep in mind that the The PPK was intend- longer sight radius, ed for use by under- the basic but ade- Right profile of the gently cover or plainclothes quate sights and – used Walther PP .32 ACP. personnel, the PP for usually – a smooth uniform duty. During trigger in DA and an World War II, of course, both handguns were easy trigger when fired single action all add up. used by the Nazis as belt pistols. Although the When people complain about smaller calibers, I PPK is a little smaller, the PP is not exactly huge. have this all but irresistible urge to ask them if Length overall is just over six and one-half inch- they are prepared to volunteer to be shot with one es, weight of the all-steel pistol is 23 and one- of these lighter calibers. I don’t bother, because I half ounces. Barrel length is just under four inch- already know the answer I’d get. es and magazine capacity, in its original .32 ACP The .32 Walther PP from Century International chambering, is eight rounds. Height is four and Arms is a fantastic buy. If the .32 caliber issue both- one-quarter inches, sans magazine, with stan- ers you, just tell yourself that it’s really 7.65mm dard floorplate and finger-rest extension maga- Browning! Sounds much better, doesn’t it? zines both available. Not quite as long ago as the Walther PP’s “Why are you sounding so excited about an introduction, Colonel Charles Askins first pub- eight decades old pistol in .32 Auto?” lished Texans, Guns and History. That was Good question. The PP’s a proven design, 1970. In 2007, Paladin Press (paladin- albeit a bit more complex than press.com) re-published the guns engineered these days, has work, including a new introduc- the cache of German origin tion by Askins’ son, William, as (although various firms have been The Gunfighters: True Tales of licensed to make Walthers over Outlaws, Lawmen and Indians the years), the guns tend to be on the Texas Frontier. Both accurate and – here’s the impor- Sharon and I agree that it’s a tant part – Century International sensational read. Askins was Arms (centuryarms.com) is always a great storyteller and importing German police turn-in never known for pulling his Walther PPs in beautiful condi- punches. Back in the early to tion (except for some honest hol- mid-1970s, when I was associate ster wear) which are priced to editor of Guns Magazine, I edit- retail somewhere between $425 ed a lot of Charlie Askins’ arti- and $450! cles. I found him at once fun to “What a deal!” read, obsessed with stirring up Askins’ book is an exciting You’re darn right. controversy and exceptionally read cover to cover. .32 ACP is nothing to scream literate, despite his reputation for about ballistically, of course, but it’s no better the rough and tumble side of things. This book out of my Seecamp, Sharon’s North American from Paladin, which reads like an adventure Arms Guardian, or someone else’s Kel-Tec or novel or a classic western, is something no one Autauga. Actually, with the longer barrel found …continued on Page 51.

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