Walther PPQ M2 Air Pistol Review .177 Caliber

VALUE FOR MONEY

The Walther PPQ M2 air pistol is a relatively new introduction from the Walther/Umarex company. At a Street Price of $109.99, it’s attractively priced in the current market. Interestingly the original  – first model – PPQ air pistol is still on sale at $69.99.

The main specification differences between these two models are listed in this table. We’ll discover performance differences during this review.

All-in-all, it’s fair to say that the original PPQ airgun remains a valid performer and great value in the market. It also is able to fire BBs, which the M2 is not.

However the PPQ M2 air pistol offers a big step forward in performance. It’s definitely worth the additional cost and is also great value at its current selling price.

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Walther PPQ M2 CO2 Pellet Pistol, Blowback 0.17

REALISM – LOOK AND FEEL

As expected, the Walther PPQ M2 air pistol is a very close copy of the Walther PPQ firearm in 4-inch barrel configuration.  The size and looks are close to identical.

At a loaded weight of exactly 2 Lbs 0 Oz, the PPQ M2 airgun is close to the same weight as the firearm loaded with 9mm ammo. It’s also about 8 Oz heavier than the original PPQ airgun (that was about the same weight as the unloaded firearm).

Although the airgun version incorporates the trigger blade safety configuration of the powder-burner, the Walther PPQ M2 air pistol makes one concession to the lawyers by converting the right side of the ambidextrous slide release into a safety.

This manual safety pulls down to engage. Pushing forward on the lever takes the safety off.

Another aid to realism is that the inevitable “Warning not a toy” message that’s a legal requirement for replica air pistols is printed in a small font in light gray on the underside of the pistol grip. Yes it’s there, but it’s about as inconspicuous as you can get!

ACCURACY AND POINT OF IMPACT

Accuracy of the Walther PPQ M2 air pistol tested by HAM was certainly good enough for use as a plinker. At 6 Yards, every pellet fired by HAM tester Doug Wall was a hit on the Soda Can target.

Best accuracy was achieved by the 8.64 Grain H&N Field Target Trophy pellets. However, out at 10 Yards, accuracy trailed off somewhat more than anticipated, as can be seen from this test target.

Point of impact was good straight out of the box. The gun shot where it was pointed!

However the PPQ M2 has the unusual – and welcome – sophistication for a CO2-powered replica of a rear sight that’s adjustable for windage. That makes it a cut above many other replicas at this price that typically have completely fixed sights.

(The Umarex USA website claims that the rear sight is elevation-adjustable, but that’s obviously a simple error. It’s not.)

This is a welcome feature, even if the rear sight notch itself is a little too wide for accurate shot placement in the HAM Team’s opinion.

COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS

Umarex USA claims that the Walther PPQ M2 air pistol has an authentic look and feel that makes it an excellent training tool for owners of the powder-burning version. Check!

There’s a little confusion over the magazine capacity. The Umarex USA website says that the capacity is 20 pellets. The clamshell packaging says it holds 20. The owner’s manual says 21. The magazine in the HAM test pistol holds 21.

Maximum Muzzle Velocity for the PPQ M2 is claimed to be 400 FPS. The highest achieved in HAM’s testing was an average of 387 FPS for 10 shots at 64 degrees F.

However we know by experience that the velocity of CO2-powered airguns increases by about 2 FPS per degree F increase in ambient temperature. This means that shooting in a warmer environment will give higher numbers than the cool HAM test range.

By simple calculation, it’s clear that the Walther PPQ M2 air pistol tested by HAM would attain the manufacturer’s 400 FPS claim at 71 degrees F. Should the gun be fired in temperatures as high as 90 degrees F, the Muzzle Velocity would climb to no less than 439 FPS!

It’s interesting to note that the manufacturer is very honest, too, about the action. Yes the slide blows back when the gun is fired, as claimed. Some other companies would claim that this makes the PPQ M2 a semi-auto, however Umarex does not do so.

Indeed, the gun is not a semi-auto as – despite the moving slide – pellets are moved into battery through the action of pulling the trigger, as described below, not due to the movement of the slide.

Umarex, thanks for your honesty!

CONSISTENCY

The Walther PPQ M2 air pistol tested by HAM demonstrated good consistency.

The 6-Yard test targets (at the foot of this review) show that it’s reasonably pellet-tolerant. All of the standard HAM test pellets gave tolerable accuracy – none was terrible.

In addition, the average Standard Deviation (the statistical measure of consistency) for this gun was 8.35 FPS. That’s a good figure, well-up with the pack for CO2-powered replica pistols.

Trigger pull weight varied between 6 Lbs 13 Oz and 7 Lb 11 Oz on the test gun. This might sound like a large variation, however it’s not really noticeable in use.

REALISM – TRIGGER AND ACTION

That relatively heavy trigger pull – about a Pound above the firearm’s – is required to rotate the pellet belt in the magazine. You can see the magazine belt drive in the photograph below.

Most of the external controls operate in the same way as the powder-burning PPQ. However, the slide travel under blowback is somewhat less than we had expected.

It’s there and – particularly with a new CO2 cartridge – can feel quite snappy. However the travel is not as extreme as can be found in some blowback semi-auto CO2-powered pistols.

As mentioned above, the only real deviation from firearm operation is that the right side slide release lever has been changed to the safety.

Overall, the trigger functions similarly to the firearm. The trigger blade safety is functional while the trigger itself has a long, somewhat gritty pull.

This is clearly a plinker-grade, double/single action trigger. However this is not meant as a demerit. The PPQ M2 is not intended to be a 10 meter target pistol, after all!

SHOT COUNT

The Walther PPQ M2 air pistol tested by HAM demonstrated a very strong shot count. We recorded 100 shots from one 12 Gram CO2 cartridge before the Muzzle Velocity fell to 200 FPS at 64 Degrees F.

After that point the gun would still fire weakly but the blowback was no longer operational, although the slide could be operated by hand.

At any rate, 100 shots per CO2 cartridge is the highest count HAM has found from any blowback CO2 pistol. The only other pistols matching or exceeding this number have been revolvers.

MUZZLE VELOCITY

The peak Muzzle Velocity for the Walther PPQ M2 air pistol tested by HAM was 387 FPS, attained with the 5.56 Grain H&N Field Target Trophy Green pellets.

This is a strong performance for any blowback CO2 pistol, although it is partially the result of the relatively limited blowback the offered by the slide. As always, you can’t have everything, as this HAM story demonstrates.

APPEARANCE AND FINISH

Appearance is first class! The Walther PPQ M2 air pistol has superbly-molded and finished exterior plastic parts. Indeed the molding is so good that in some cases it’s difficult to see the edges of the parts.

Metal parts are also well formed and finished. Overall, the PPQ M2 gives a strong appearance of quality.

The CO2 cartridge wrench is very cleverly concealed in the removable backstrap of the pistol grip. This makes for a perfectly-concealed wrench. However that backstrap is quite tough to remove for the first few times. Watch out for your finger nails!

In addition the base of the magazine has a sliding cover than completely conceals the CO2 cartridge puncture screw. Very neat.

BUYING AND OWNING

The Walther PPQ M2 air pistol is widely available both online and in box box physical stores. It’s supplied with the usual multi-lingual Umarex owner’s manual that does a good job at explaining the gun’s operation with clear explanations and illustrations.

As usual with Umarex replicas, the warranty period is a short 90 days. However customer risk is reduced as the magazine includes the valve. This means that – in the unlikely event of a malfunction – it can be corrected by simply replacing with a new magazine, rather than having to have the pistol itself repaired.

One disadvantage is that the Walther PPQ M2 air pistol is undoubtedly slow to load.

The flexible rubber belt has to be rotated carefully by hand in small increments, as only two pellets can be loaded at a time. It has to be said that this is a somewhat fiddly process and much slower than loading a BB-firing replica.

This is not an ideal magazine for the fat-fingered or ham-fisted among us.

One solution to this issue is to buy additional magazines. Although this will not make loading any faster, at least you can load multiple magazines to allow longer shooting sessions…

SAFETY FIRST. Due to the realistic appearance of this product, handle it as you would a firearm. Do not display it in public or in any place where it could be mistaken for a cartridge firearm.

6 YARD TEST TARGETS

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Walther PPQ M2 CO2 Pellet Pistol, Blowback 0.17

This entire article including scoring, test targets etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.