Walther TPH

TPH

Had one years back,made in USA of stainless steel,good shooter! My only regret is that I sold it. Kind of hard to find & much more expensive. One wierd thing,I had a left handed friend that could not get this to cycle,it would fire 3 times & jam ,just like clockwork! Each & every time ! Still haven't figured that one out?It was ALWAYS reliable for me, go figure? K.R.

gunsnrods,

I'm kind of hot and cold on the TPH. I've had three different ones (all USA stainless). One functioned only with Stingers, one fed anything including standard velocity ammo, the last was an unreliable piece of junk. It had a manufacturing defect in the frame near the thumb safety that also was a problem, it was milled clear through the frame and made the safety a non-functioning appendage. It was one of the last ones manufactured.

My hope is that S&W will start producing them again (they manufacture the PPK series for the US market) with better quality control. It is a dainty little .22 that can be very accurate. I think Novak was doing some work on them for reliability at one time.

A great little gun with a few reservations.

Regards,
JB

I have yet to shoot mine, mine is blue, not stainless. Any idea on how to determine date of mfger??

gunsnrods,

This is what I know, others may have better information.

The earliest US versions came in a small cardboard box with one magazine. The pistol was in a cloth pouch.

The later versions came in a molded plastic hard type case with two magazines.

I have not seen a blued TPH in quite a while, the blued ones are a little rare, so my advice would be to hold on to it. It should be a bit smoother than the stainless versions. I have been looking for a .25 acp in blue for a number of years, no luck yet.

Good shooting,
JB

Mine is in the hard plastic case with an extra mag, I also looked at a stainless in the cardboard box exactly as you described...dealer wanted $450.00 for it, I would have rated it NRA 90% due to some scuffing on the slide.
I have never seen a TPH in .25...that would be a find....

I have a USA made stainless TPH purchased in 1991. If the trigger is cocked and you put on the safety the hammer will not fall sometimes. although the gun is on safe due to the firing pin block moving into place as it should. It came with a plastic box and one mag. MY dealer called 3 wholesalers and found one gun which I ordered for about $370 if memory serves.
My gun is reliable with high speed ammo although the manual says use standard velocity. I like this flat little gun. It will give hammer bite! I carried it a lot until I got a Seecamp .32. The front sight is not high enough but overall the gun has good sights for its size.

alnico357,

The Seecamp is what replaced my TPH. No slide cuts! I had an older one and now have one of the newer CNC ones. Great pistols, I want a .380.

JB

JB, The Seecamp is in my back pocket as I write this; it is an easy gun to carry and I like the DAO as opposed to the DA of the TPH.
I guess I'll just stick with .32 caliber although I guess I could put my name on the waiting list for a .380 and in 2-3 years----.

Earlier I posted a question about dating my TPH. I just looked at the molded plastic case that is the factory original, it is date stamped 1996....my TPH is blue, serial number is 000xxx, still would like to know when Interarms quit making these things.

Interarms is/was an importer and distributor of Walther products (and a lot of other arms/munitions). To my knowledge they never actually manufactured any guns. The US made TPH/PPK series was contracted under license from Walther to an outfit that went out of the manufacturing business. The GCA of '68 basically stopped the importation of the TPH (except to LE), therefore the US production.

I don't remember the details as to why or when the manufacturing in the US stopped, or the original location of the business. I do remember an incident involving the damage or destruction of one of the investment casting molds (very expensive to replace).

There was an extensive thread concerning this subject on the now defunct TFL forum. Your date of 1996 is pretty close to the end of US production. You might try the corporate Walther (German) forum for more information.

The story of Sam Cummings, the ex-CIA operative who founded Interarms, reads like a William F. Buckley novel.

I have had a TPH for six years. I love it but it had to go back to the manufacturer twice before it was reliable. That pistol goes where no other firearm can. Small enough for the shirt pocket or concealed anywhere you want. When firing, its fast and accurate. While mine doesn't like Stingers, it will eat Mini Mags just fine. If someone is interested in getting a new or used German manufactured one, contact Earls Repair Service at www.carlwalther.com or [email protected] They are the place for any German Walther, not cheap but they do have the stuff.

I've got one of these

bought it in the late 80's - it has the paper box. I sent it back to the factory once for some work and bought an extra magazine for it. Haven't had it out in probably 10-12 years. It's stainless and 22 rimfire caliber. It's like new - what would it be worth?

Larry,
I saw a used one similar to the one you describe at a gun shop for $450.00. I would rate it 90% with slight wear near the muzzle. I have a blue version made in 1996 NIB, I plan on shooting it, just haven't gotten around to it yet, too busy shooting "sportin clays".
Some of the online gun auctuions will ask $600. plus for them, I said asking, haven't seen one move at that price.

gunsnrods

Thank you for the reply. Guess I should either use mine or sell it. Sounds as though they are in some demand.

I just got my second Stainless TPH.
First one was not such a good deal as it never worked reliably.
I had some work done and it got worse, etc.
Unloaded it and found another.
Did not fire at first but a bit of polishing at strategic points and I think I got it.
I think it was just a bit to much friction and old main spring.
Time will tell.
But I love them, a friends of mine gives me grief as he does not recognize anything under "45" and then only "colts"
But I have mine in my pocket and his is in the car
Next is a German Alloy with NO import marks

Darn I looked at it and thought I could spell better then I did

Tph

I have two, one blue and one stainless, love em. Good shooter; more accurate than that POS P22. I wish they'd make them again.

Sopwith

I would love them to start making them again.

I finally got to test mine.
Works great with Aguila super maximum
but will not feed anything else.

At least it likes the hot stuff

Perhape a bit more polishing here and there will help