In this episode of TFBTV, James reviews Walther’s brand new PPS M2, a single stack 9mm (.40S&W is on the way) that is set up to compete with other single stack 9mm handguns. James compares the PPS M2 to the original PPS, and also does a hands-on comparison against the Glock 43. At an inch thick and packing 6 or 7 rounds of 9mm, the PPS M2 looks like a contender. But how does it stack up against it’s biggest competition from Glock?

Transcript …

– Hey guys, James again for TFB TV.

When I did my top five concealed carry pistol picks, I’ll put the link below right here.

You guys would not stop bitching about the PPS not being on the list.

I do not apologize for that, and here’s why.

I had a PPS.

I loved it.

I though it was an awesome concealed carry gun, slim, great trigger, great ergos, but it had this frickin, the rear grip panel, if it became dislodged, the gun was totally out of commission.

So, in my opinion, I could see something happening.

That grip becoming dislodged because you forgot to put it in correctly.

You dropping the gun on the concrete and it fails to work after that.

And one of the most important laws for carrying concealed is Murphy’s.

If you have something that’s going to screw up on your gun, chances are it probably will.

So, that’s why I don’t even consider the PPS, the first PPS to be a good carry gun.

Fast-forward to today when I pick up the Walther PPS M2.

This, gun manufacturers, this is what it looks like when a company listens to it’s customers.

As you can see, the PPS M2 has omitted the removable grip panel.

Thank God.

That is one of the biggest issues, but there are also some really good ergo upgrades.

The PPS M2 also has a lot more aggressive texturing on the grip.

Looks a little bit like fingernails, but feels pretty darn good.

As I’ve told you guys before, I don’t mind dangling a pinky to get a little bit more concealed ability out of a gun, but Walther gives you that choice right out of the box.

You can either go with the flush-fit mag or you can get an extended mag that has a finger groove and the same texturing as the grip.

So, it isn’t just a hunk of plastic stuck to the bottom of a magazine.

This actually integrates with the gun with an additional finger groove and that same aggressive texturing as on the grip.

Got a, what looks like a reversible mag release.

Very aggressive slide serrations on the front and the rear of the gun.

Good low-profile three dot sights.

Very easy take down process, nearly identical to the Glock.

For a polymer gun, it’s got quite a large slide rail on the right hand side, and the typical fore and aft slide rails on the left hand side.

So, this looks to be pretty robustly built.

There’s a little indicator on the rear of the slide that shows you if your striker is cocked.

Another thing I really like about this gun, look how wide and beveled the ejection port is on the right hand side.

With a concealed carry gun, one of the prime concerns is a failure, a failure to eject.

It could cost you your life.

So, to see Walther do a well thought out feature like this that’s surely going to reduce your chances of a failure to eject, that’s a nice touch.

I could do without the branding, the PPS branding on here.

It’s a little soft.

In fact, I’m kind of tempted to use two dots and a line to make it say ??$ instead of PPS, but maybe that’s just me.

Triple serial number, frame, slide and barrel plus proof marks, plus date code.

This one’s date code is BF.

B, being one.

A is zero, B one, C two, three D, E four, F five.

Did I get that right? This one’s got a date code of BF which means it was build in 2015.

So, let’s take it to the range and see if this BF is my best friend or if I’m going to get b…

Never mind, let’s go shoot it.

All right, this is going to be my first shot at the PPS M2.

And I’m really hoping that this turns out well.

I loved the concept of the PPS One, but again, the thing’s I said in the introduction, really prevented me from loving the gun.

So, let’s see if this is an improvement.

(gun shots) I mean, this is pretty nice.

It really handles recoil well.

That’s one thing that I’ve noticed especially when you have that plus one grip on there.

You guys didn’t just notice me put that mag in backwards.

The, when it’s got that plus one grip on there, and that’s a nice feature by the way.

The plus one, you actually get another round at capacity.

With the Glock, and I think there are some other pistols, single stack nines out there where they’ve got an extension.

They come with an extended magazine, but you don’t get an extra round at capacity.

So, you get a bigger magazine, but not a bigger magazine.

This magazine, you get, the pinky extension, an extra groove and an extra round which is a nice feature.

And of course, the PPS’s biggest competition’s probably going to be the Glock 43.

Fortunately, I have both right here.

You can kind of check them out.

They are almost identical in terms of width and length, as well as height.

Even where the trigger guards are and the triggers.

I mean, these guns are almost identical in size.

Now that I look at it, it looks like the PPS might about a tenth of an inch longer, but I mean, these guns are almost identical.

Let’s give the ??$ another shot.

(gun shots) Not bad.

What I have kind of noticed is the slide release, when you’re focusing on it, it’s really easy to manipulate, but once you’re actually under stress, and you’re trying to do a quick mag change and keep your eyes up and manipulate in your work space, it becomes a little bit harder to, it’s nice, I like having the low profile, and there’s nothing preventing you from, in lieu of, pressing the slide release, just, oh well.

It would help if I had the mag out.

In lieu of hitting the mag release, just racking the slide, but in my opinion, I generally don’t like doing that because I feel like it adds a little bit of time.

(gun shots) So, in conclusion, I would say that the PPS M2 or as I like to call it, the ??$ M2…

This is what the PPS should have been to begin with.

Same dimensions, same trigger, more aggressive texture on the grip.

It’s got the nice American-style mag release, a flared and beveled ejection port, and most importantly, it doesn’t have that damned safety for the rear grip panel.

So, I want to say congratulations to Walther, and thank you for listening to your customers.

I just absolutely love it when you get a reboot of a fairly popular gun, when you get a reboot and they just fix everything that was wrong with it.

That all said, this is a brand new gun, so it really hasn’t been on the market for a while.

We don’t know about the reliability.

I mean, I put around 150 rounds through it today, and no failures.

So, the jury’s still out in terms of reliability, but if it proves to be as reliable as the original PPS, and as well-built, this could give any single stack nine a run for it’s money.

It’s got good sights.

It’s got an excellent finish.

The front and rear slide serrations are nice.

Just very easy to get a grip on this gun.

The flared and beveled ejection port, I know I’ve said it like five times.

That’s probably my favorite feature about this gun.

I think the grip’s great.

I like the option to either use the extended mag that integrates beautifully with the grip by the way, and getting an extra round at capacity or going flush fit and getting a little bit deeper concealment.

Great job, Walther.

So, if I did another top five, would the PPS be on there, the PPS M2? I don’t know.

I don’t know what these are going to be selling for in a year.

I don’t know how reliable they’re going to prove to be.

So, there are a lot of things out there that are still unknowns that would prevent me from saying, hey, this is one of the five best concealed carry pistols on the market.

However, on paper, in terms of design, this is one of the most well-designed single stack nine millimeters on the market now.

Thanks for watching the review guys.

Thanks to the subscribers.

Thank you to Ventura Munitions, our sponsor.

I will see you next week.