Walther’s new PPQ Sub Compact packs a lot into a small package.
After spending time shooting the PPQ SC (Sub Compact), I find it a lot like a medium-size Labrador: stoutly built, tough and ready for anything—and of the firm opinion that it is a big dog.
The Sub Compact has all the attributes of the new Walther PPQ line. The slide is contoured for ease of grasping to actuate it. The slide serrations are angled so they will dig into your hands as you work the slide. The pyramidal shape of the slide acts to give the slide the maximum purchase on your fingers and the heel of your hand.
The PPQ SC barrel is Tenifer-treated, as is the slide, and features the pistol’s serial number, caliber and German proof, as well as the Walther logo. Up on top of the chamber is a viewing port that serves as a loaded-chamber indicator. The serial number and proof continue onto the slide and the frame. (An interesting sidenote: The serial numbers are applied via laser after the pistols are assembled, inspected and test-fired.)
The barrel geometry is efficient in locking the barrel to the slide, and as a result the force needed to retract the slide is not nearly as great as I’d have expected for a subcompact pistol. Usually, the recoil spring has to be beefed up so much to deal with the lighter slide that getting a round chambered can be an ordeal—especially for those who might have decreased hand strength. With the PPQ SC, the slide effort feels the same as a full-size pistol.
The ejection port is a huge exit portal for empty brass or, should the need arise, to clear out a loaded round. At no time during testing did
