Q5 Match SF Design
Walther’s Q5 is based on the PPQ platform, but with a 5-inch barrel – hence the “Q5” moniker. Like the PPQ, it is striker-fired and takes PPQ M2 magazines, which are the same as Walther PDP mags.
The steel frame, though, is a totally new design. You can’t just take a polymer frame and make it out of metal. It had to be designed as steel from the ground up. Introduced in 2019, the all-steel frame increased weight to improve balance and reduce felt recoil. It tips the scale at 2.6 pounds.
Related: Home of the PDP and PPK – Factory Tour of Walther's German Plant
Walther clearly had competitive shooters in mind with this redesign. The Q5 Match Steel Frame has a relatively high bore axis, but the raised beavertail and generous undercut below the trigger guard mitigate this somewhat. The front of the trigger guard is checkered, because some shooters use it for an index point.
The wide mag release button is easy to find, but it’s not extended from the grip, so it doesn’t interfere with my support hand. I appreciate that attention to detail. The slide lock levers are extended and reachable without shifting my hand.
Lightening cuts in the slide reduce weight for less mass and faster reciprocation, but they also act as serrations, giving a great grip for front slide manipulations. A step-down ledge as the slide narrows in the front also helps with racking. The full-length dust cover adds weight to the gun to stabilize it.
Black Diamond Edition
My test gun is from the Guns.com Certified Used inventory, but it is not just any Q5 Match Steel Frame. You can tell that this Black Diamond model is a special edition. The finish is magical.
The barrel, slide, frame, and magazine base plates are Tenifer nitride-treated and polished to give this luxurious finish. Not only is it pretty, but it is super hard and extremely corrosion resistant. The rest of the parts are Diamond Like Carbon, or “DLC”-coated, which is one of the best coatings available.
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The Black Diamond edition also sports a Walther Dynamic Performance Trigger. This performance trigger has reduced take-up and reset compared to the standard Q5 trigger. It’s also flat-faced and all aluminum. Mine broke at a little over 3.5 pounds.
This special edition has a one-piece wrap-around aluminum grip with 20 lines-per-inch checkering and satin anodizing.
The standard optics cut is traded for traditional target-style iron sights: a black serrated target front sight and adjustable match rear sight. This is how bullseye guns are usually set up, whereas regular factory Q5s have a fiber-optic front sight and an optics cut.
Specs
- Caliber: 9mm
- Capacity: 15+1
- Barrel Length: 5 inches
- Overall Length: 8.7 inches
- Weight: 2.6 pounds
- Finish: Tenifer nitride treated, then Stinox coated
- Grips: One-piece wrap-around aluminum alloy
- Front Sight: Black serrated target
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Rear Sight: Adjustable match
Shooting Notes
Shooting the Q5 Black Diamond was a pleasure. I can see why so many people love the Q5 platform. The steel-framed guns are incredibly well balanced, with very little bounce on the return to zero. After the first shot when the muzzle is coming back down, some guns tend to bounce around before settling back to their original position. This can be due to a combination of weight distribution and spring energy.
The Q5 is very stable. It is easy to shoot quickly because you don’t have to wait for it stop moving. The overall weight makes it a solid shooting platform.
The excellent trigger also helps with shooting fast. The pull is short and crisp, as is the reset. I was surprised that the accuracy group was adequate but not great. It could be that it was me, since I don’t shoot iron sights as well as dots.
Walthers are also known for reliability, and this sample did not disappoint. I had no issues after a few hundred rounds. Sport guns need to run. They are pushed with high round counts and exposed to the elements, and reliability can mean a championship.
Pros & Cons
For me, the biggest quirk is the short grip. I have medium to large hands, and my hands just fit on the grip. The hump on the backstrap helps with control, but a slightly longer grip would give more leverage. The grip is short because the Q5 comes from the PPQ legacy and uses the 15-round PPQ M2 magazines. As the PPQ was designed for carry, the short 15-round capacity makes sense, but the short mags limit the length of the grip.
My special edition test gun came without the extended magazine well, but standard Q5s come with an extended magwell. This would have added a little more length and a leverage point to apply pinky pressure to help control the gun. Even with the magwell, I think a longer grip would be better, especially for users with larger hands. The Q5 is probably ideal for competitors of smaller stature.
Luckily, because of its popularity, there is plenty of aftermarket support, with many different types of grips available.
My last comment is about the Q5 Steel Frame’s cost. The standard Q5 Match SF is not inexpensive, but compared to other competition guns, it is quite affordable. However, because of the upgraded trigger and spectacular finish, the Black Diamond version is costly.
