First Impressions
My first look at the Walther PPS M2 left me with the impression of a rather handsome-looking firearm with loads of modern features. From deep front and rear slide serrations to the optics-ready slide, easy takedown levers, Glock-style trigger, and the finger-grooved grip with texturing, I knew it would be a platform familiar to my hands from the start.
When I actually got the gun in the grip of my hand, I really got excited. This pistol certainly fits Walther’s legendary ergonomics. My first thought when I got my fingers around this affordable red-dot-toting pistol was, “I’m prolly gonna buy this thing.”
The grip is dramatically different from the first-generation PPS pistols, which had a box-like grip adorned with a handful of grooves and raised bumps and a modular backstrap. The PPS M2 has comprehensive, though shallow, texturing with finger grooves that fit fantastic in my hands.
Related: Home of the PDP and PPK – Factory Tour of Walther's German Plant
It reminds me of the grip on Walther’s PPQ line of double-stack 9mm pistols but with a trimmed-down waistline. It just feels right, but more on that later.
Pistol Specs & Function
The Walther PPS M2 is essentially the same internally as the original striker-fired, tilting-barrel, single-stack, locked-breech Walther PPS. The real upgrades are in the gun’s external ergonomics and controls.
Of obvious note, this gun has a cut in the slide that makes it optics-ready. That brings it in line with modern red-dot pistol trends, and this one came already equipped with a Holosun HS507K X2. I really like this dot, and it’s a huge value-add in my book. I’ll give you more deets on that in the section below.
Related: Does the Walther PPS Classic Still Stack Up?
A steel chassis rides inside the polymer frame. This helps give the gun a very solid feel. Another notable feature is the slanted ejection port. The back end of this slant acts as a hood that minimizes the unnecessary open space above the port. After 520 rounds, I did not find this caused any issues or malfunctions.
This gun came with two magazines that held six and seven rounds between them. There’s also an extended option that can bump it to eight rounds. The seven-round mag has a grip extension for your pinkie, and the six-rounder is flush for concealability. Capacity is one of the downsides, but that puts it on par with single-stack pistols like your Glock 43.
Here’s a quick look at the specs for the Walther PPS M2:
- Weight: 1.2 pounds (1.3 pounds with red dot)
- Height: 4.3 inches (4.94 inches with red dot)
- Thickness: 1 inch
- Length: 6.25 inches
- Barrel Length: 3.07 inches
- Sight Radius: 5.36 inches
- Trigger Pull: 5.6 pounds
- Capacity: 6, 7, or 8 rounds depending on extensions
The trigger is a bit stiff with a smidge of mush to it. Travel to the wall is short and provides a positive, spring-like resistance that I like on a self-defense pistol. Total travel is still just 0.3 inches, and the reset is 0.25 inches.
All in all, it’s a quick trigger that still lets the shooter really feel how they are engaging it in the shooting process. Again, that’s something I like in a self-defense gun, and it’s easy to stage this trigger before breaking your shot. Pulling the trigger back to the wall before the break also pushes out the striker indicator. That final break came out to a 5.6-pound average after 10 pulls.
The highlight for me was the grip that Walther claims “provides the most grip surface in its class.” This gun fits my hands great, and the grip angle works with the finger groves to drive the heel into my palm for a very positive hold.
I find the texturing to be comfortable, but it’s not overly grippy. It’s nothing like the sandpaper-like texture on your SIG P365. Without adding any downward pressure, I would almost call it slick. However, the relatively shallow textured waves bite in more when you compress your hand.
This would make the Walther PPS M2 a comfortable gun to carry with little abrasion. The front and rear slide serrations are angled, relatively deep, and very positive.
Related: Comfortable, Concealable Sub-Compact – Walther PPS M2 507K
The textured non-ambi magazine release is a huge improvement over the original PPS, which had a European-style paddle release on the bottom of the trigger guard. It spits out empty magazines with plenty of gusto. It’s also protected by a shallow bottom wall that prevents it from being accidentally hit.
All these features blend well with a gun that is very much designed as a go-to option for comfortable daily concealed carry. That includes the slide release/stop that is slightly reset into a mound along the top of the frame. This makes it a bit harder to use, but it also makes the gun almost completely snag-free.
Finally, we come to the original three-dot iron sights. These are a very basic, white-painted affair. They do not co-witness through this Holosun dot.
Holosun HS507K X2 Specs
Holosun’s reputation as a maker of budget-friendly, feature-rich optics that flat-out perform has been on the rise over the last several years. I’ve tested several Holosun dots on everything from handguns to tactical scatterguns, and they’ve held up well.
This HS507K X2 hosts shake-awake technology that is probably my favorite feature. Essentially, your red dot remains in the off position until you touch the gun. The slightest movement shakes it awake, and then it will remain on for an extended period of time before automatically shutting itself off.
Related: Holosun 507Comp Review – The New Sheriff of Red Dots
I’ve lost count of how many batteries I’ve burned through over the years because I forgot to shut off the optic illumination. This extends battery life and requires no manipulation of the user to turn the dot back on.
The open nature of the optic gives shooters a wide field of view, and I’ve tested it even at the height of day. The dot is still ready to pick up even under the noon sun, though you will have to increase your illumination setting.
Normally, the pistol red dots I’ve seen only offer an option for a simple dot, circle, or circle-dot reticle. The HS507K X2 can easily switch between a 2-MOA dot, 32-MOA circle with a dot in the middle, and a 32-MOA cycle with no dot. The gun also has a lock mode that allows you to lock the buttons so they don’t get bumped. It can be had with either a red or green reticle.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the basic specs:
- Footprint: Holosun “K” footprint
- Dimensions: 1.6x0.98x0.95 inches
- Weight: 1 ounce
- Reticles: 2-MOA dot, 32-MOA circle/circle with dot
- Battery Life: Max 50,000 hours on setting six
- Brightness Levels: 12
- Battery Type: 1632
- Waterproof Level: IP67
- Adjustments: one click = 1 MOA
- Max Adjustments: ±30 MOA for windage and elevation
Built around a 7075 T6 aluminum frame, I’ve found Holosun’s 507 and 407 lines to be robust (relative to the cost). I’m haven’t tested them enough to call them bombproof.
Another feature I don’t so much love as demand is that the battery tray is on the outside of the frame. I just hate the idea of pulling a zeroed dot off a gun to replace the battery underneath. The buttons for illumination adjustments are on the left side, and I found it easy to manipulate them with my left thumb while shooting on the range.
This dot is a huge value add to the PPS M2. At the gun’s current MSRP of $479 (without an optics cut), you’re basically getting a $300 optic with a cut slide for the additional cost of a single portrait of Benjamin Franklin.
Range Time & Accuracy
The first thing I noticed when I started to present this pistol on targets at the range was the grip. I want to say that it was a positive thing, but it wasn’t. Wrapping my hands as I normally do over my personal EDC gun, which is normally a fatter double-stack, I found that my support hand kept leaving a gap between the base of my palm and the heel of the grip.
This led to some unwanted pulling, with many of my initial shots flying clearly to the left via user error. It’s a comfortable grip, but it’s as wide lengthwise as a full-size grip despite being only an inch thick. That takes a bit of getting used to when shooting. My other complaint was the trigger.
Just mucking about at home with the trigger for dry fire didn’t prepare me for the range. Once I started shooting real bullets, I found the break of the trigger to be a bit stiff. That led to some pushing on my part.
Of course, these were all user issues. After 520 rounds of testing, I got the hang of it and the gun proved it could hold its own on the range.
I had a bunch of targets I tossed away at the end of each range visit. I should have saved them in hindsight, because these warm-up targets would be really informative. I don’t shoot red-dot pistols often, and my initial groups were easily double the size of what I shoot with a similar-sized pistol boasting only iron sights.
Suffice it to say, it took me quite a bit of shooting to get used to the dot. It just takes some range time and ammo to fix that. Speaking of ammo, I put 520 rounds of various 9mm FMJ ball and hollow-point ammo through this gun for testing.
That includes 250 rounds of budget ZSR 124-grain FMJ, 150 rounds of budget steel-cased Winchester USA Forged 115-grain FMJ, and 50 rounds of Federal Syntech Range 115-grain synthetic-coated FMJ. For self-defense ammo, I dipped into my limited stash to test out two boxes (50 rounds) of Hornady Custom 147-grain hollow-point XTP and a 20-round box of Sierra 115-grain hollow-point ammo. The PPS M2 ate all of it with no issues regardless of bullet type or case material.
I found the recoil was predictably snappier than a full-size gun yet very manageable for follow-up shots. At first, I even found I shot better with the flush magazine because my hand connected better with the whole grip given its small width.
Pros & Cons
Here’s my short list for the pros and cons of the Walther PPS M2 running the Holosun HS507K X2:
Pros:
- Reliable and accurate
- Affordably priced even with a red dot
- Easy-to-use controls
- Easy to conceal carry
- Manageable recoil
- Excellent ergonomics
- Easy disassembly and cleaning
- Thin and relatively lightweight
- Included Holosun HS507K X2
Cons:
- Low capacity
- Red dots take practice if you’re new to them
- Red dot adds height for concealed carry
- Grip texture is not overly aggressive
-
Trigger is a bit stiff
Final Thoughts
I can’t say my testing has me ready to add this gun to my safe just yet. That has nothing to do with how the gun performed, which was fantastic, and a lot more to do with the fact that I don’t need a new sub-compact replacement pistol in my EDC rotation just yet.
I’m still tempted, and we have some more testing in store for this Walther PPS M2 later this summer. Regardless, after 520 rounds, I would say this is an excellent option for anyone looking for a single-stack pistol that is budget friendly and already comes with a quality red dot installed.
