Posted the same review over at PF, be interesting to see if others’ experiences here mirror mine.
Been debating picking one of these up for a while. Finally dropped the hammer and laid out the money for one earlier, followed it up with a range trip.
First I just want to say that my overall impression of this gun is that it is the cat’s ass.
It came with 2 mags, a test target and the usual assorted junk. As is typical with most German handguns the test target consists of one ragged hole at 15m. The magazines are steel with plastic baseplates and are very well made. They are coated and drop free easily. The bodies are VERY sturdy, no flex at all and the followers are very slick- you can load right up to 15 and it feels like you could fit 5 more in. Much easier to load than Glock mags. Additional mags are pricey, around $40-50 a piece but that’s nothing new to HK and Sig guys.
It has probably one of the most comfortable grips I’ve ever laid hands on. Much more ergonomic than the M&P (to me). It “points” very naturally, much like a 1911. I don’t find myself having to slightly break my natural wrist position at full extension like I do with a Glock. All the controls are very accessible and are mirrored on each side exactly which is a boon for those of you that are lefties. The slide release is a little stiff but I think that will change with some more range time. Some people have reported finding it difficult to not hit it while shooting but I didn’t find that to be a problem at all. I’m loving the paddle style mag release, very easy to engage with my trigger finger or thumb. I’ve used button releases all my life but after using the PPQ’s I don’t think it will take much convincing to convert.
The sights are the plastic 3 dot variety but adequate. Had no trouble putting 10 rds into the 10 ring of a B8 at 15 yards, got rained out before I could go to 25. I will say it is noticeably more accurate than my 19, I think I’ll easily be able to beat the 256/300 I shot on the last DOTW with it. People have reported any sights that work on the P99 work on the PPQ so steel night sights are available but nothing cool like Heinies, Hacks, Sevignys, etc.
One of the big gripes I’ve seen people have with the PPQ is the recoil. Shooting it and my 19 side by side it does have more muzzle flip but it’s a very brief, fast impulse that settles down quickly. I don’t have a shot timer so I couldn’t tell you what the difference in splits is but going by “feel” (yeah, I know) the PPQ sure doesn’t feel any slower and may in fact be a hair quicker shot to shot. Ejection is consistent as clockwork and strong, ran 200rds of Tula and Federal Champion 9mm through it with no malfunctions.
The trigger is… interesting. Think a fairly smooth 3ish pound takeup that suddenly turns into a glass rod 4.5-5lb break with very little overtravel. The reset is phenomenal, it’s so short that by the time you’ve realized you’ve started to let the trigger forward it has already reset itself. Very positive and strong reset. It is a very workable trigger, the take up and break are close enough in weight that it isn’t difficult to press it all the way through without disturbing the sight picture. Didn’t have any problems with snatching during pressouts and while doing a couple hundred dry fires later.
Overall if I can run another thousand or so through it without any issues I’ll have no trouble whatsoever throwing my Glock under the bus for the PPQ. It’s much easier to shoot accurately, has better ergos, a better mag release, a better trigger and is just as easy to hide. I look forward to putting more rounds through it and seeing how things turn out.
Stock pic for reference
