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TheWombat

Walther PPQ

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I've now also acquired the Viridian X5L Gen 2 in addition to the Viridian C5L I have previously posted in this thread.

 

Once again I will update photos with better quality ones when I have the chance to.

 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

 

BEAM INTENSITY/WAVELENGTH: 5mW peak, 532nm, Class IIIa, Continuous wave

LASER BEAM DIVERGENCE/SPOT SIZE/RANGE: 1.2 mrad, approx. 0.5" at 50 feet. Up to 100 yards daylight, 2 miles at night

DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT/CONSTRUCTION: 2.84"L x 1.37"H x 1.45" W, 3.3 oz. (including battery), primarily 6061 Aircraft Grade Aluminum, front and rear covers in high strength Zytel® polymer

USER ADJUSTABLE: Easy to use windage and elevation adjustments on laser

POWER SOURCE/BATTERY LIFE: 6+ hours of constant laser runtime, 10+ hours of pulsing laser runtime, 60 minutes of laser and light runtime. Unit runs on one CR123A 3v lithium (included).

TACTICAL LIGHT OUTPUT: 154 lumens on continuous, 187 lumens on strobe mode

ACTIVATION AND MODES: Ambidextrous activation and infinite amount of custom operating modes (user can customize laser pulse rate, tactical light strobe rate and light output).

UNIVERSAL MOUNTING SYSTEM: Modular rail set included with unit allows quick mounting to virtually all railed handguns and rifles

 

The X5L Gen 2 supports the same 6 modes that the C5L does and cycles through them in the same order:

  1. Laser On & Light Off
  2. Laser On & Light On
  3. Laser On & Light Strobe
  4. Laser Pulse & Light Off
  5. Laser Pulse & Light On
  6. Laser Off & Light On

 

In addition the strobe frequency, pulse frequency and light brightness can be adjusted, and there are ambidextrous controls to support both right and left handed shooters which act as both constant and momentary on/off.

 

FEEDBACK

 

Build quality remains on par with the C5L i.e. good, however there is one big improvement which is the battery cap. On the C5L this is a potential weak point and requires careful use when replacing the battery. The X5L Gen 2 has a much more robust battery cap (it is actually the housing where the LED bulb fits) and is much easier to use.

 

In addition to the Battery Cap improvement, the X5L Gen 2 is also brighter and uses the CR123A batteries often found in tactical flashlights. It is however longer in size and so depending on the firearm you are fitting it to you may prefer to use the C5L. For my PPQ I will continue to use the C5L as the light brightness is sufficient for my needs and the overall smaller size of the C5L is preferred to keep the light from protruding past the muzzle.

 

The Kaluban Cloak holster that I ordered specifically for the PPQ/X5L Gen 2 also works fine in retaining the PPQ with no light attached AND also with the C5L attached to the PPQ.

 

PHOTOS

 

Here you can see the X5L protrudes past the muzzle, the housing where the LED bulb is unscrews to allow the battery to be replaced. The ambidextrous circular switch to the rear of the X5L is easy to operate using the weak hand thumb. These are both a momentary and a constant on/off switch.

 

P1060666.jpg

 

P1060667.jpg

 

P1060669.jpg

 

P1060670.jpg

 

P1060671.jpg

 

For these last two photos I have, purely for comparison purposes, placed the C5L on top of the X5L Gen 2 unit.

 

This first photo shows the difference in length and the similarity in the overall design of the housing

 

P1060672.jpg

 

This second photo shows the difference in the battery comparment and also the significant difference in size of the LED light reflector.

 

P1060673.jpg

 

Both the C5L and X5L Gen 2 seem to work well. If you are looking at using a PPQ as Home Defense firearm then I can highly recommend fitting a weapon mounted light (& laser) in addition to having a standard flashlight handy. The recent Low Light/No Light firearms course I attended clearly demonstrated the benefits (and pros/cons) of a weapon mounted light.

 

I will personally be keeping the C5L on the PPQ as it meets my requirements.

 

TheWombat

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I've now also acquired the Viridian X5L Gen 2 in addition to the Viridian C5L I have previously posted in this thread.

 

Once again I will update photos with better quality ones when I have the chance to.

 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

 

BEAM INTENSITY/WAVELENGTH: 5mW peak, 532nm, Class IIIa, Continuous wave

LASER BEAM DIVERGENCE/SPOT SIZE/RANGE: 1.2 mrad, approx. 0.5" at 50 feet. Up to 100 yards daylight, 2 miles at night

DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT/CONSTRUCTION: 2.84"L x 1.37"H x 1.45" W, 3.3 oz. (including battery), primarily 6061 Aircraft Grade Aluminum, front and rear covers in high strength Zytel® polymer

USER ADJUSTABLE: Easy to use windage and elevation adjustments on laser

POWER SOURCE/BATTERY LIFE: 6+ hours of constant laser runtime, 10+ hours of pulsing laser runtime, 60 minutes of laser and light runtime. Unit runs on one CR123A 3v lithium (included).

TACTICAL LIGHT OUTPUT: 154 lumens on continuous, 187 lumens on strobe mode

ACTIVATION AND MODES: Ambidextrous activation and infinite amount of custom operating modes (user can customize laser pulse rate, tactical light strobe rate and light output).

UNIVERSAL MOUNTING SYSTEM: Modular rail set included with unit allows quick mounting to virtually all railed handguns and rifles

 

The X5L Gen 2 supports the same 6 modes that the C5L does and cycles through them in the same order:

  1. Laser On & Light Off
  2. Laser On & Light On
  3. Laser On & Light Strobe
  4. Laser Pulse & Light Off
  5. Laser Pulse & Light On
  6. Laser Off & Light On

 

In addition the strobe frequency, pulse frequency and light brightness can be adjusted, and there are ambidextrous controls to support both right and left handed shooters.

 

FEEDBACK

 

Build quality remains on par with the C5L i.e. good, however there is one big improvement which is the battery cap. On the C5L this is a potential weak point and requires careful use when replacing the battery. The X5L Gen 2 has a much more robust battery cap (it is actually the housing where the LED bulb fits) and is much easier to use.

 

In addition to the Battery Cap improvement, the X5L Gen 2 is also brighter and uses the CR123A batteries often found in tactical flashlights. It is however longer in size and so depending on the firearm you are fitting it to you may prefer to use the C5L. For my PPQ I will continue to use the C5L as the light brightness is sufficient for my needs and the overall smaller size of the C5L is preferred to keep the light from protruding past the muzzle.

 

The Kaluban Cloak holster that I ordered specifically for the PPQ/X5L Gen 2 also works fine in retaining the PPQ with no light attached AND also with the C5L attached to the PPQ.

 

PHOTOS

 

Here you can see the X5L protrudes past the muzzle, the housing where the LED bulb is unscrews to allow the battery to be replaced. The ambidextrous circular switch to the rear of the X5L is easy to operate using the weak hand thumb. Unlike some other brands, this is purely a constant on/off switch.

 

P1060666.jpg

 

P1060667.jpg

 

P1060669.jpg

 

P1060670.jpg

 

P1060671.jpg

 

For these last two photos I have, purely for comparison purposes, placed the C5L on top of the X5L Gen 2 unit.

 

This first photo shows the difference in length and the similarity in the overall design of the housing

 

P1060672.jpg

 

This second photo shows the difference in the battery comparment and also the significant difference in size of the LED light reflector.

 

P1060673.jpg

 

Both the C5L and X5L Gen 2 seem to work well. If you are looking at using a PPQ as Home Defense firearm then I can highly recommend fitting a weapon mounted light (& laser) in addition to having a standard flashlight handy. The recent Low Light/No Light firearms course I attended clearly demonstrated the benefits (and pros/cons) of a weapon mounted light.

I will personally be keeping the C5L on the PPQ as it meets my requirements.

 

TheWombat

 

Holy crap!!! I can see the bullet!!! J/K LMFAO!!!

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Ok I am curious. I have a friend who had a pps that was sent to walther numerous times. It never got fixed. Finally they old I'm to speak to the ballistics dept. he was old the pps was not meant to shoot anything over 115 grain. Needless to say he sold that gun. I shoot 147 gr hp ammo because it's free. Any restrictions on the ppq ammo type

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Ok I am curious. I have a friend who had a pps that was sent to walther numerous times. It never got fixed. Finally they old I'm to speak to the ballistics dept. he was old the pps was not meant to shoot anything over 115 grain. Needless to say he sold that gun. I shoot 147 gr hp ammo because it's free. Any restrictions on the ppq ammo type

 

OK - are you saying that you heard "the PPS was not made to shoot anything over 115gr?" If so, that is complete bull. I have a PPS with over 1K failure free rounds. It's one of my favorite 9mm's. All I shoot is 124gr. This is how "internet myths" start. There may have been something mechanically wrong with the gun, but I highly doubt it was ammo over 115gr. The manual suggests that using +P ammo may affect wear characteristics, but nothing about bullet weight. It does say not to shoot +P+ loads because the ammo may exceed industry standards.

 

What does the PPQ manual say?

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I am going by what my friend was told by Walther. This is not some ".I Heard on the Internet story". This guy is a gun guy and ex military and I have known him most of my life. Like I stated he contacted walther numerous times and had them perform repairs. This is what he was told

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BFL

 

No offense and I don't mean to sound like I'm jumping on you. I didn't say it was an internet story that you heard. I was saying that's how they start. I have read numerous threads and have personal experience with the PPS. This was the first time I heard anything about "larger than 115 gr ammo" is a problem in the PPS. I find it hard to believe that the gun wasn't made to shoot larger than 115gr ammo when it's also made in 40 cal. Like I said, My PPS has over 1K 124gr. failure free "normal pressure" rounds with no signs of wear or tear.

 

Most likely the tech meant not to use high pressure ammo which is stated in the manual. It has nothing to do with bullet weight itself There are many shooting 124gr and 147gr HP normal pressure ammo with no problem. You can create high pressure with 115gr bullets although the bullet weight is less. For the most part, pressure mostly depends on powder charge, case volume under the bullet, and crimp. I'm a reloader so I have some knowledge about ammo pressure.

 

I don't mean to go off topic since this is a PPQ thread. I just wanted to point out that "as far as I know" the PPS can handle larger than 115gr normal pressure ammo. The PPS is a fine handgun and great CCW piece. If the PPQ is built similar to the PPS, it should be a great shooter. I may have to check one out.

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This is all I could find in the PPQ manual (obviously they tell you to use the correct caliber, as indicated on the barrel)

 

“Plus-P” (+P) ammunition generates pressures in excess of the pressures associated with

standard ammunition. Such pressures may affect the wear characteristics of your PPQ pistol or

exceed the margin of safety. Use of “Plus-P” ammunition may result in the need for more frequent

service.

“Plus-P-Plus” (+P+) ammunition must not be used in WALTHER firearms. This marking on the

ammunition designates that it exceeds established industry standards, but the designation

does not represent defined pressure limits and therefore such ammunition may vary significantly

as to the pressures generated.

Some brands of ammunition may cause difficulty in extracting spent cartridge cases from the

chamber. If this situation occurs, thoroughly clean the chamber with solvent. If this condition

persists, we recommend changing to another brand of ammunition.

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Wombat,

 

Some questions....

 

Regarding the light, which looks like a nice setup....

 

Where did you purchase?

How much $?

What is the run time for flashlight only? I looked at the specs you provided and the runtime isn't listed for light only. Is light only even an option?

 

Regarding the pistol.....

 

I had picked up a PPQ just before Thanksgiving and was in an motorcycle accident the day after Thanksgiving. I've had one opportunity to shoot the pistol and was less than impressed w/ my ability to shoot the pistol well, even after 1000 or so dry fires. I mostly shoot Glocks and can shoot them decently. I usually grip the Glocks w/ thumbs high, or rather, strong hand thumb sitting on top of weak hand lower thumb, and weak hand thumb riding the frame. Using this same grip on the PPQ, I wind up always laying the strong hand thumb on the slide release.

 

How do you grip the pistol?

Have you tried the smaller grip insert? If so, how did you like it?

 

Thanks!!!

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Ok I am curious. I have a friend who had a pps that was sent to walther numerous times. It never got fixed. Finally they old I'm to speak to the ballistics dept. he was old the pps was not meant to shoot anything over 115 grain. Needless to say he sold that gun. I shoot 147 gr hp ammo because it's free. Any restrictions on the ppq ammo type

 

I've shot 115, 124 and 147 FMJ through my PPQ as per the earlier posts. Never had any problems. I've also not heard of any issues with 124 or 147 with the PPS, at least o recent posts on the Walther forums.

 

The only HP ammo I've shot in quantity is Speer Gold Dot 124gr. I'm happy to try some 147 HP but don't have any.

 

TheWombat.

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Wombat,

 

Some questions....

 

Regarding the light, which looks like a nice setup....

 

Where did you purchase? - A: Impact Guns however only because they were one of the few places with one in stock

How much $? A: $289.99

What is the run time for flashlight only? I looked at the specs you provided and the runtime isn't listed for light only. Is light only even an option? A: you can download the PDF manual from the Viridian website. The C5L cycles through 6 modes including laser only, light only, light and laser, strobe light and laser, light and pulsing laser etc. I don't have the manual to hand at present to check the run time however it is a few hours, more than enough. I originally thought the switch was just on/off however if you keep the switch pressed for about half a second it changes into a pressure switch and will switch off whenever you let go. I usually operate it with the thumb of my 'weak' hand.

 

Regarding the pistol.....

 

I had picked up a PPQ just before Thanksgiving and was in an motorcycle accident the day after Thanksgiving. I've had one opportunity to shoot the pistol and was less than impressed w/ my ability to shoot the pistol well, even after 1000 or so dry fires. I mostly shoot Glocks and can shoot them decently. I usually grip the Glocks w/ thumbs high, or rather, strong hand thumb sitting on top of weak hand lower thumb, and weak hand thumb riding the frame. Using this same grip on the PPQ, I wind up always laying the strong hand thumb on the slide release.

 

How do you grip the pistol? A: thumbs forward, not over each other. The only time I rode the slide lock was when switching from my Ed Brown to the PPQ while at the range, apart from that I've not had any issues. I do find if at an indoor range that is warm that my hands may get sweaty and I'd prefer a slightly rougher grip texture.

 

Have you tried the smaller grip insert? If so, how did you like it? A: I removed the pin and switched between all three grip inserts for a couple of weeks before reverting back to medium and reinserting the pin. I found small meant I didn't get much of my weak hand palm on the grip.

 

Thanks!!!

 

Answers above for the Viridian C5L (the smaller light/laser). Overall the PPQ is a good choice, the Viridian C5L is a good match for home defense with its only weak point being the battery cover. Take care when fitting or removing the battery cover or you risk cross threading it. Viridian customer support was phenomenal.

 

HTH

 

TheWombat

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Answers above for the Viridian C5L (the smaller light/laser). Overall the PPQ is a good choice, the Viridian C5L is a good match for home defense with its only weak point being the battery cover. Take care when fitting or removing the battery cover or you risk cross threading it. Viridian customer support was phenomenal.

 

HTH

 

TheWombat

 

Appreciate the info. Thanks!!!

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I finally picked my PPQ up today from Paul, I headed straight to the range with 300 rounds of various ammo, I have to say all the hype is true!! The gun shoots fantastic, I was hitting tight groupings from 15 yards with ease, not a single failure to feed stove pipe nothing,I didnt notice any grit in the trigger like some have reported during break in, the short reset trigger feels great! I am a big 1911 fan but I have to say this gun is every bit as fun to shoot and will get a lot of use! If your on the fence, buy it, its a gem.

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