First Look: the Rimfire version of Bond’s classic sidearm

This is the Walther PPK/S 22 with Gemtech Outback IID.  Some longtime fans of the James Bond franchise seemed to have cringed a bit when 007 relinquished his trademark PPK in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies for the larger and more potent Walther P99.

Nearly a decade later the PPK would briefly reappear in the Franchise's reboot, Casino Royale, but in the latest film, Spectre, it makes a full blown comeback in the poster art — with a silencer.

Clearly one of the most iconic handguns of all time, Walther released a new version in 2013 and chambered it in 22lr.

The PPK/S is made in Germany.

Technically, it is called the PPK/S (the S stands for “Sport” by the way)  and represents a design change from the original version to meet the handgun points system of the Gun Control Act of 1968. These changes included lengthening the grip frame in order to make the handgun compliant with US import laws, subsequently adding more weight (1.8 oz), but gave an additional magazine capacity of 1 round.

Forget 7 or 8 rounds of 380, because this newest iteration of the PPK/S holds 10+1 rounds of 22lr.Threading a PPK or any fixed barrel semi-auto where the muzzle is nearly flush with the slide is more difficult than say swapping a threaded barrel out on a Sig, Glock or 1911. The barrel needs to be removed from the frame, sleeved or threaded for a thread adapter, etc.

Imported via Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Luckily the PPK/S in 22lr makes this easy by way of a retrofit thread adapter designed for the Walther P-22.

So, is this another glorified range toy, dressed up airsoft pistol for rimfire or serious business?

The latest Walther PPK/S can accept a silencer courtesy of a thread adapter.

Catch our full review by the end of the year!

Full disclosure – it will be written by Mike Searson, not anyone affiliated with MI6 or any other intelligence organization.

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