Walther released their CCP compact 9mm pistol at SHOT Show this year. Richard and I were able to put our hands on one at the Industry Day at the Range. Unfortunately, they were only allowing reporters to fire one 8-round magazine each, so our personal experiences were limited. However, we were able to make some interesting observations about this new compact pistol.
The new Walther CCP (Concealed Carry Pistol) comes in 9mm only, and does offer good ergonomics, size, accuracy and concealability. The Walther CCP incorporates the company’s SOFTCOIL gas-delayed, blowback technology in an effort to make the CCP a shooter’s choice for concealed carry firearm.
The Walther CCP’s SOFTCOIL gas-delayed blowback system uses gas pressure from the ignited cartridge directed through a small port in the barrel in front of the chamber. This capture slows down and delays the rearward motion of the slide. This delay process is accomplished by using a piston contained inside of a cylinder located under the barrel that opposes the rearward motion of the slide until the gas pressure has declined after the bullet has left the barrel. Once this occurs it allows the slide to end its rearward motion, opening the breech, and ejecting the empty cartridge case.
Benefits claimed by Walther for their SOFTCOIL Technology:
- Allows the slide to be easily manipulated to chamber a round
- Barrel rise is reduced up to one-third less than similar pistols
- Decrease barrel rise helps the shooter accurately hit the target shot after shot
- Size & Features.
Walther CCP Specifications
- Slide Finish – Stainless steel or Cerakote black
- Sights – Interchangeable front white dot; adjustable rear sight, 3-dot combination
- Frame – Polymer with high grip surface
- Action – Gas delayed blowback
- Caliber – 9mm only
- Overall Length – 6.41″
- Barrel Length – 3.54″
- Width – 1.18″
- Height – 5.12″
- Weight – 1.39 lbs. (with empty magazine)
- Trigger Weight – 5.5 lbs. SA
- Trigger Travel – 0.27″
- Capacity – 8+1
- Features – Reversible magazine release for RH or LH operation,
- MSRP – $469.00 Black; $489.00 stainless steel.
Additional safeties include a slim manual thumb safety, and an internal safety that acts as a firing pin block. The CCP has an ergonomic grip with a unique non-slip surface, like other Walther pistols.
Other key attributes of the CCP include an easy access slide stop, loaded chamber indicator on the user end of the slide for added safety, and aggressive serrations (front, rear and trigger guard) to provide additional safety and control during operation.
The gas delayed blowback design is supposed to reduce muzzle rise during recoil and offer light resistance when manually manipulating the slide. During firing on the range I found the Walther CCP to be a little snappy even though it is a 9mm. The slide was easily manipulated, but the supposed reduction in muzzle rise wasn’t quite what I would expect.
At the Industry Day at the Range event prior to the SHOT Show, Richard and I had a chance to shoot the CCP pistol, and we were able to observe others shoot as well. See Richard’s post for TheFirearmBlog for additional pictures:
Author’s Shooting Experience
By the time we arrived at the Walther booth, the available test guns had already been shot quite a bit and had plenty signs of use and excess carbon build up. Despite the use, the Walther CCP was reliable and had no malfunctions during our opportunity to test fire the weapon.
The Walther CCP felt good in my hand, though my pinky finger was at the edge of the CCP grip. Richard was able to get a complete grip on the CCP, and found it to be very comfortable. The trigger reach was fine, and the trigger pull was smooth and crisp, however the pull was a little longer than I would prefer for a CCW firearm. In addition, the CCP had a long and subtle reset. A shooter would have to practice the trigger pull often to become familiar with the reset. Otherwise, the CCP would require a complete let off of the trigger before firing repetitive shots.
Finally, the recoil of the Walther CCP did not live up to its advertised claims, in my opinion. Though the SOFTCOIL system seeks to reduce muzzle flip by delayed recoil, I still found the CCP to be snappy during firing. I chalked that up to the CCP being a compact handgun, but still, it’s 9mm!
Like several of the latest Walther handguns, the CCP is still worth a serious consideration for a compact 9mm handgun. The grip is one of the best on the market, and despite a snappy recoil the Walther CCP was still very accurate. Ultimately, I have to recommend each shooter handle and test the Walther CCP for themselves, to determine if this compact 9mm pistol fits your individual needs.