Initial Impressions
Upon opening the box, my first thought was that it came with a very nice case, just like the PDP I own. It’s a welcome touch for those who want to store or carry their gun to the range this way. Picking it up, it seemed a bit bigger in my hands than I remembered at SHOT Show, but like most Walthers, it felt great. The finger grooves fit me well, and the texture was easy to grip. Walther once again nailed the ergonomics of this handgun.
It is essentially a retooled and redressed PK380 that borrows a lot of its design cues from the PDP lineup, which has been praised for its deep slide serrations and unique grip texture that seems to stick to the hand. I happen to love the “military green” color treatment that Walther sent as well.
There are a couple of noticeable differences between this PD380 and my PDP. The first thing I found different on the PD380 was the paddle magazine release. I didn’t love this feature of the gun, especially after some range time, but more on that later.
The next noticeable difference was the manual safety. Like other Walther, such as the PPK, the manual safety is the opposite of what I think of as natural. Instead of swiping down, like on a 1911, you swipe up to deactivate the safety. Again, it takes time to get used to. Finally, and maybe most noticeably in the end, there is no slide stop/release. It slims the pistol, especially when compared to the rather chunky slide release of the PDP.
I didn’t realize how much I use this feature until I spent a good bit of time with this gun on the range, but more on that in a minute. While it lacks a slide release, the slide is considerably easier to rack than other guns. With this feature, Walther aims to compete with guns like the M&P 380 EZ. Couple this with the deep slide serrations, and it’s no problem to slingshot the slide back into battery.
Learning Curve and Concerns
When I first got the gun and took it out on the range, I thought it might have been broken because you can still pull the trigger with the safety on. I was very confused. After asking the guys at the shop counter and the guys at Walther, this is not totally uncommon. A handful of Walther designs employ this rotating safety style. More suspect, in my book, is that the trigger also acts as the decocker when in double action with the safety on.
I think there are some safety concerns with training a shooter – especially a new shooter, which this gun seems to aim toward with the easy-racking slide – to decock the gun by pulling the trigger. You don’t have to let your imagination wander far to understand how this could go poorly, even for an experienced shooter, should they train to decock their gun in this manner.
I would still advocate that you safely lower the hammer while depressing the trigger to decock this gun, even if the safety is on. But that’s just my two cents. With that rant over, let’s see how this gun stacks up to some other guns I have lying around.
Comparisons
At its core, the PD380 is a single-stack .380 ACP pistol meant for concealed carry. We snagged a few similar guns from the Certified Used Collection for comparison.
The most natural connection would be to compare it to the PK380, but we didn’t have any used at the time, so I moved on to the most famous Walther: the PPK, the Bond gun. It has become a concealed carry favorite due to its solid DA/SA trigger, dependability, and history. Comparing these two Walther, the PD380 comes in almost half an inch longer. Despite its lack of a slide stop, it’s nearly a quarter of an inch wider, too.
The all-important height factor goes to the PPK at just 3.8 inches versus the PD380’s 5.15 inches, but you’re getting three more rounds with the PD380. The PD380 also tips the scale a full 1.5 ounces heavier, coming in at 20.6 ounces.
Specs
- Caliber: .380 ACP
- Capacity: 9+1
- Overall length: 6.48 inches
- Barrel length: 3.7 inches
- Width: 1.24 inches
- Height: 5.15 inches
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Weight (empty): 20.6 ounces
Range Time
When I got this gun on the range, a few things became immediately apparent. The first was that the gun was incredibly light recoiling, which shouldn’t be that big of a surprise given its weight and length when paired with the round. It shot well on the range, and of the .380s I rounded up to compare it to, it was probably the most accurate and consistent. The magazine release took some time for me to get used to.
Now, I have spent minimal time training with this style of mag release, but I struggled with it. I know all the VP9 fans out there will claim the paddle release is a superior mag release style, but the HK version seems more intuitive than the PD380, maybe because the VP9 is a larger platform. On the Walther, I ended up using my middle finger because it was a far reach for the thumb and required an awkward movement to actuate it with the pointer finger.
Related: Home of the PDP and PPK – Factory Tour of Walther's German Plant
Either way, it is an ambidextrous option, so there are many ways to skin the cat on the mag release strategy. I know with time and training it could become a more natural process, but I question how long it would personally take me to master. I hope Walther will make a version with an American-style mag release in the future.
It has good capacity for a .380 and was by far the most controllable of the .380s I had on hand for testing in terms of recoil and follow-up shots. I did consistently find myself trying to hit the slide release, which is more of a training scar I should work through rather than a knock on the gun. Because of this scar, though, I typically prefer a slide release on my carry gun.
Perhaps I’m spoiled by my PDP, which has a phenomenal trigger, or the PPQ, which I’ve also shot a bunch and has an equally great, if not better, trigger. With those high standards in mind, I thought I would love this trigger. I’m sad to say I just don’t. The double action is heavy and long, which isn’t necessarily a terrible thing, but it also has a sponginess and doesn’t have a very defined wall. In single action, there is still a bit of the same problem, but it’s a shorter pull so it’s more forgiving.
Walther advertises the single-action pull at 5.6 pounds, with double action at 10 pounds.
Hiccups
I put around 400 rounds through this gun of various ammunition including Federal Hydra-Shok, Federal American Eagle Lead Free, Double Tap JHP, and Winchester white box. I experienced a handful of malfunctions including failure to eject and failure to feed across all ammunition types.
I sent the gun back to Walther with some of these reports, and they communicated that they couldn’t replicate the issues.
Unfortunately, upon getting the gun back, I still had some of the same issues. The silver lining, of course, is that Walther has some incredible customer service and a great warranty program, so if you have to send the gun back for work, it’s covered.
Pros and Cons
