VALUE FOR MONEY
At a Street Price of $65, the Walther PPQ air pistol is an excellent value for money.
It’s very realistic looking and well finished. The capability to accept both BBs and .177 caliber pellets gives the power of choice to the user and it’s certainly accurate enough for most replica pistol shooters. The high shot count of around 75 useful shots from one CO2 cartridge also makes for economical shooting.
| HAM Test Rating | 78% |
|---|---|
| Value For Money | Realistic looks and good performance. Great value for money. |
| Firearm it Copies | Walther P99Q. (Slightly different to the PPQ). |
| Best Pellet Tested | RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol. |
| Street Price at Time of Test | $65.00. |
| Ammo Type | BBs and .177 caliber pellets. |
| Power Source | 1 x 12 Gram CO2 cartridge. |
| Useful Shots per Fill | About 75. |
BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Walther PPQ / P99 Q Air Pistol![]()
BUY FROM AMAZON
Walther PPQ Pistol (Black, Medium)![]()
REALISM – LOOKS, FEEL
The Walther PPQ air pistol has very realistic looks. PPQ stands for “Police Pistol Quck” and this gun has accurate Walther markings, as you would expect for an officially-licensed replica.
But this air pistol is actually a replica of the Walther P99Q – an earlier but very similar model. Indeed the printed packaging in the rear of the retail “clamshell” shows the same pistol marked as a P99Q. Maybe Umarex feels that the “PPQ” name has more recognition among buyers than “P99Q”?
At any event, HAM tester Doug Wall felt that the Walther PPQ air pistol had a very realistic weight, feel and looks.
The PPQ’s weight of 1 lb 8 oz is just about the same as that of the empty firearm it copies, although the addition of a full magazine of ammo would make the P99Q rather heavier.
Many of the internal parts in the PPQ are manufactured from alloy and these – together with the high grade exterior synthetic shell give a good heft and realistic feel.
There’s a slide release catch on the left side of the Walther PPQ air pistol, this balances the very similar catch on the right that is actually a manual safety. Operating the slide release causes the slide to move forward with a satisfyingly solid feel. Unfortunately it also causes the rotary clip to fly out of the gun no matter how hard we tried. HAM recommends that you invest in some spare clips!
The magazine release of the firearm is not functional, but this is not a great loss in an air pistol at this price point.
A short Weaver/picatinny accessory rail is provided ahead of the trigger guard. This can be used to mount a laser for aiming, should you choose, just like the original firearm it copies.
REALISM – TRIGGER, ACTION
As a non-blowback design, the action of the Walther PPQ air pistol deviates from the firearm original. In fact the PPQ is not a semi-automatic pistol at all but actually a double action-only revolver using a rotary 8-shot clip! So the action is very different in style and functionality from the firearm version, although this is understandable at this price point.
Yes the PPQ’s trigger is heavy, requiring a long pull and about 10 lbs of effort to fire.
HAM tester Doug Wall points out “The trigger on the PPQ is similar in trigger pull to the first DA shot with a P99Q (10 – 11 lbs). However the second and subsequent shots with the P99Q are single action at about 5 lbs. The PPQ stays at about 10 lbs.”
So, the PPQ provides a much lower magazine capacity than the P99Q firearm (at least in 9mm caliber) and the trigger pull weight is similar only to the first shot fired from a P99Q.
ACCURACY AND POINT OF IMPACT
Accuracy of the Walther PPQ air pistol tested by HAM was good with the tested range of pellets.
Using the HAM “Soda Can Target”, the PPQ demonstrated that it’s capable of 100% accuracy when shooting at soda cans at 6 yards with pellets.
HAM tester Doug Wall recorded groups of around 1-inch CTC with four out of the five standard HAM pistol test pellets. This is very acceptable accuracy for a pellet-firing air pistol in this price range. However, this was easily surpassed by the accuracy of the RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol pellets – these shrank the group size to an excellent vertical CTC of 0.9-inches with a horizontal CTC of 0.6-inches.
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RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol .177 Cal, 7.0 Grains, Wadcutter![]()
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RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol .177 Cal, 7.0 Grains, Wadcutter, 500ct![]()
Straight out of the box, the point of impact was either ‘dead on” or very slightly to the left at 6 yards – depending on the pellets used. Again, that’s good performance.
Doug then shot the Walther PPQ air pistol at 10 yards with the most accurate pellets – the RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol pellets. At this range, the group opened up somewhat – as expected – to 1.9 x 0.9-inches CTC. Still very acceptable.
It was only at 10 yards range that the point of impact moved far enough to the left to score two misses on the soda can. But this could have easily been corrected by using the PPQ’s screw-adjustable windage adjustment on the rearsight. With just this slight tweaking by the user, 100% “minute of soda can” performance is clearly achievable at 10 yards range too.
This HAM review tests accuracy with pellets as the Walther PPQ air pistol has a rifled barrel. However it can shoot BBs using the plastic clip also supplied with the gun. Accuracy with BBs was not so good – as you would expect – although most groups also showed the “minute of soda can” accuracy at 6 yards that air pistol users expect.
Probably the greatest hindrance to accuracy with the PPQ is the very heavy, double action only, trigger. The 10 lb trigger pull weight tends to have a detrimental effect on grouping, but it can be controlled, as HAM tester Doug Wall’s test targets show.
COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
Umarex claims that the Walther PPQ air pistol gives a muzzle velocity of 360 fps.
Like all CO2-powered air pistols, the PPQ’s muzzle velocity is dependent on the actual temperature of the gun (primarily determined by the ambient temperature where it’s used) and how fast it is fired. This is because CO2-powered guns shoot faster in hot temperatures than in cold. Also, as the gun is fired, each shot uses CO2 and this cools the gun, reducing muzzle velocity.
HAM tester Doug Wall allowed the gun, together with the 12 Gram CO2 “Powerlets” to season to the constant 60 degrees F range temperature for these tests.
The highest average muzzle velocity for a string of 8 shots – 351 fps – for the Walther PPQ air pistol tested by HAM was achieved using H&N Field Target Trophy alloy pellets. As 60 degrees is at the lower end of the temperature range for CO2 gun use, this is very creditable and means that the 360 fps claim is achievable in warmer environments – say 80 degrees F.
The other claim made for the Walther PPQ air pistol is that it can be used to fire BBs as well as pellets. Indeed, there are two rotary clips supplied with the gun. The metal clip is for pellets, the black plastic one holds BBs.
Although this HAM test review focuses on the Walther PPQ air pistol as a pellet gun, HAM tester Doug Wall also shot it extensively with a wide range of BBs. He reports that there was no jam or failure to fire using either BBs or pellets. Accuracy is better when using pellets – as is to be expected – but overall the claim is correct, the Walther PPQ air pistol is equally suitable for use with BBs and pellets.
Finally, as noted above, this air pistol is actually a replica of the Walther P99Q – an earlier but very similar model. It’s not really a PPQ at all, although the similarity is very close.
CONSISTENCY
The Walther PPQ air pistol tested by HAM demonstrated good consistency.
The trigger was consistently waaay too heavy! But the point is that it IS pretty consistent, enabling the shooter to work out the best technique for shooting with it. Pull length and weight are consistent and the release – if not exactly glass-like – is fairly consistent, too.
As you can see from the test targets, muzzle velocity dropped with each shot fired. (See the COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS section above). But this drop in fps was actually quite well controlled at an average on only 6.8 fps across the complete pellet test. This is good!
As Doug Wall remarked in his test notes: “Best velocity and consistency will be with slow fire. Some velocity will be regained by resting the gun between strings”, thus allowing it to warm up. Again, this is very typical for a CO2-powered air pistol.
Accuracy was also quite consistent across the range of pellets tested. Yes, the Walther PPQ air pistol shot best with the RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol pellets, but it achieved “minute of soda can” accuracy with all the pellets tested – along with many of the BBs also.
SHOT COUNT
The Walther PPQ air pistol tested by HAM gave about 75 shots at 60 degrees F with a muzzle velocity of above 300 fps from one 12 gram CO2 cartridge.
300 fps was the minimum “useful” muzzle velocity for fairly accurate shooting. Once below that number, the muzzle velocity fell off rapidly and the point of impact with it.
MUZZLE VELOCITY
Muzzle velocity was typically in the 320 – 350 fps range for the Walther PPQ air pistol tested by HAM at 60 degrees F.
| Pellet | Average Muzzle Velocity | Average Muzzle Energy | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| H&N Field Target Trophy Green 5.56 Grain | 351 FPS | 1.52 Ft/Lbs | Good. |
| RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol 7.0 Grain | 344 FPS | 1.84 Ft/Lbs | Very Good. |
| RWS Hobby 7.0 Grain | 319 FPS | 1.58 Ft/Lbs | Good. |
| Crosman Premier HP 7.9 Grain | 331 FPS | 1.92 Ft/Lbs | Good. |
| H&N Field Target Trophy 8.64 Grain | 312 FPS | 1.86 Ft/Lbs | Good. |
APPEARANCE AND FINISH
The polymer (plastic) exterior of the Walther PPQ air pistol looks realistic and is very well executed. There are no visible mold lines and the overall finish gives a high quality appearance to this gun.
The grip replicates the “hi-grip” finish of the P99Q firearm original and is also nicely molded, with just the right amount of sharpness to the swirls that give that grippy effect.
Some cast and machined metal parts are visible with the slide open. These also give the appearance of good quality for an air pistol of this price.
BUYING AND OWNING
The Walther PPQ air pistol carries a 90-day limited warranty from Umarex USA. To benefit from this warranty, the user has to register his/her new air pistol with Umarex within 30 days of purchase.
As the Walther PPQ air pistol uses many pins in assembly, this is clearly not a gun for the average owner to repair. If there is a malfunction, you will need to send it back to Umarex for repair or – at this price – just buy another one!
Umares are to be congratulated on making the rear sight of the Walther PPQ air pistol adjustable. This allows adjustment to the point of impact and is a feature not present on many air pistols.
The owner’s manual supplied with the PPQ is well written – in both English and French – and quite comprehensive. However, it’s important to know that this manual is incorrect where it describes how to load BBs. BBs must be pushed into the black plastic clip from the side WITHOUT the ratchets, not as described. This is an unfortunate error, but owners will soon learn from experience, if nothing else!
HAM would also prefer to see an automatic safety instead of the manual one provided on the PPQ. If the safety is off, the Walther PPQ air pistol is “live” as soon as the slide is pushed back into battery.
It would be better if the safety engaged automatically and had to be released after closing the slide. But, like the lack of blowback action, it’s difficult to fault the PPQ at the price being asked.
6 YARD TEST TARGETS
10 YARD TEST TARGET
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Walther PPQ / P99 Q Air Pistol![]()
BUY FROM AMAZON
Walther PPQ Pistol (Black, Medium)![]()
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