At first glance you would think the Walther P99 and PPQ are the same gun, but when you look closer, the only things they really have in common are the way they fire (with a striker), their basic profile, and their weight, 1 lb., 8.3oz. The rest is different.
If your inclination is “Yawwwwwn” when you see a review of a modern polymer striker fired pistol, you aren’t alone. All but a few go bang every time, feel great in your hand, and don’t seem to break ever. They even mostly look the same. But there are differences, even major differences, and PPQ and P99 are two guns that deserve a hard look. Most of us think of Walther as an old time manufacturer of WWI and WWII pistols, and for the current PPK/PPKS, but both the PPQ and P99 are standouts in the polymer pistol world and should be taken very seriously.
The P99 is a totally unique pistol in the striker-fired world, and if given a chance by police armorers, could take a lot of law enforcement sales away from other brands. The PPQ will eat your Glock for breakfast at an MSRP of $729 and street price under $600. I was so impressed with both guns that I decided to put them in one article together in hopes that people would read about them both, rather than have to click two articles. Elite is the word that came to mind, and both pistols are truly elite in the handgun world.
Both the PPQ and P99 employ a unique Walther ambidextrous magazine release that is a part of the trigger guard. It is a little hard to get used to, but once I did, I liked it. The downside to it is that you have to alter your grip on the gun to drop the mag (or have really long thumbs), but the upside is that you won’t accidentally drop the mag in a gunfight because you whacked the button, or because the bad guy pulled a Jackie Chan and dropped it for you. I have accidentally pushed mag buttons my whole life so for me it was a welcome improvement.
The other features they share are an effective three dot sight, with a windage adjustable rear (nice feature), a standard 15 round magazine (17 available from Smith & Wesson), and loaded chamber indicators on the side of the gun. They both have interchangeable backstraps for different size hands, a front rail, and both come in a 9mm and .40S&W configuration.