The Walther P1, a variant of the P38, is a 9mm service pistol that was designed fairly soon after WWII to serve the newly-formed Bundeswehr to help combat the spread of the Soviet influence in the east. 

Like its predecessor, these service pistols offer a lot to love and in some cases, incredible value, especially if you can find them in good shape, and at good prices, in collections of military surplus guns. Here are a few things you should know. 

What’s Good About the Walther P1 

One thing you’ll notice about the Walther P1 is that it’s a lightweight gun. That’s not just you imagining that it’s lighter than the P38s you’ve handled; one of the big changes made in the design between the P38 and the P1 was the adoption of a lighter alloy frame instead of steel. 

A lot hasn’t changed though, and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Like its predecessor, the P1 is a double-action pistol and has a slide-mounted safety and decocker, as well as a heel-mounted mag release. It also feeds from a single-stack 8-round mag. 

The safety/decocker is easy to engage even from a fire grip, and fairly ergonomic and intuitive; as for the slide release, that’s also easy to get too, improving the handling of these pistols. 

Another thing that’s been observed more than once about the Walther P1 is that it has excellent sights, especially for a relatively cheaply manufactured service pistol. They’re large, tough and easy to see, especially under less than ideal conditions. 

The pairing with the 9mm, though far from unique to this pistol, is also something that you’ll appreciate. It’s always easy to find 9mm ammo, and it’s a solid cartridge given its all-around performance. It produces serviceable stopping power without producing too much recoil, making it a highly accessible sporting and defensive cartridge. 

It also gets relatively high marks for a service pistol with respect to accuracy. It’s about as good as anything else in its class, and for close-range competition or even defensive applications, doesn’t leave very much to be desired. 

All of what’s been mentioned, paired with the fact that so many have been produced, means that you can often encounter these as military surplus guns, and not infrequently at prices that aren’t impossible to stomach. If you can find one that’s been kept in good condition, you may have found a winner. 

What’s Not So Good

Considering the availability and the generally approachable prices of these military surplus guns, there are not a lot of things you won’t like about one, assuming you get it in good shape. 

Two gripes are fairly basic. Some shooters have commented that the heel-mounted mag release slows down reloads. There’s also the observation that the single-stack mag is somewhat limited in capacity. 

There is a point to the latter argument, because there are other double-stack 9mm handguns that have twice if not more the capacity. Still, all things considered, it’s just something you’ll have to take that comes with the territory. 

All in all, these can be very serviceable military surplus guns that perform and hold their value well. 

Where to Explore These and Other Military Surplus Guns 

Want to learn more about these military surplus guns and see what else is available? Visit SARCO. Not only do they carry a wide range of military surplus rifles and handguns, they also carry an exhaustive inventory of parts, so if you buy something that needs to be fixed or updated, there’s a good chance you can get what you need from them as well. 

For more information about Gun Parts and 1911 Accessories Please visit : Sarco Inc.