By: Andy Budnik
The Walther PPQ Q5 Match pistol combines German engineering and ergonomics with a crisp match trigger that oozes class and is highly accurate. While it makes a few curious decisions for a competition-driven gun, the result is one of the best striker-fired options available.
Overview
To be honest, Walther is outside of my purview for the most part. I have heard nothing but great things over the last several years since the company re-entered the mainstream with its PPQ, PDP, and Q4 options, but aside from the James Bond ties of the PPK (which I own) and the P99 (which I’d like to), these guns have eluded my interest.
I have Walther PPK in my collection because of the James Bond lore, but that was about the limit of my experience with Walther guns until Guns.com sent me this PPQ Q5 Match to review.
That is mainly because I was focused on curating my own collection – from my circa-2018 infatuation with customizing Glocks and carrying slimline pistols to my interest in DA/SA and 1911-type pistols from 2020 to present. I have neutral feelings on the Walther brand; I just never really had time to try its products.
So, when I was offered the chance to review the Q5, the intrigue grew. Walther pistols carry quite the lore when it comes to their triggers. Ask anyone that prefers a PDP or Q5 what they like most, and the first thing they’ll mention is the trigger.
The Trigger
Upon my initial inspection, I racked the slide and tested the trigger. Despite this being a striker-fired gun, it differs from the Glock, being an internal pre-set striker mechanism. The main difference is that in Glocks and other strikers, pulling the trigger partially loads the striker, which results in some “mush” and resistance stacking before the wall.
This is one of the best striker-fired triggers I’ve tested.
The Q5 Match trigger feels crisp, light, and consistent. It doesn’t completely do away with the pre-wall movement, but there is less. Overall, it feels nicer than most other options out there, with no springy, mushy feeling.
The blue is a nice touch and adds some flair with the Walther logo colorway.
I just received a Glock 19 COA with the Glock Performance Trigger, which made a natural comparison. As far as striker triggers go, the Walther feels smoother and lighter than the GPT by a slight margin. Another advantage for the Walther is plentiful spring kits and trigger kits to tune the feel and weight to your preference.
Look and Feel
The next thing you’re likely to hear from a Walther fan is about ergonomics. The P99 pioneered this early for Walther, and over the years has been improved further. The Q5’s shape seems like it was molded to blend into most palms, and the gun comes with three backstraps to fit the grip to your hand.
I’m not a big fan of the “squiggly” aesthetic on the grip texture, and it’s a big smooth for my liking.
The only knock is that the grip texture is a little smooth for my liking, and the alternating “squigglies” detract from the overall aesthetic. I can totally see the allure of the steel frame version with changeable grips and checkering though, which is more up my alley.
The main thing that stood out to me is that this is one beautiful pistol. Polymer typically doesn’t scream classy, but the Germans buck that trend a bit. The rounded grips for better ergos paired with the blocky slide just looks good. The Q5 reminds me of the P30 from H&K, with similar lines and design cues.
Note the top slide serrations…
…and optics cut. The gun comes with three optics plate for mounting your favorite red dot.
The slide is perfectly machined. Eight lightening cutouts on each side merge with a smooth, slightly rounded slab. Wide serrations provide good traction for racking either in the front or the back, and the slide cycles smoothly. The satin tenifer finish is well done, and in typical Walther fashion, the machining work is impeccable.
Import marks are an unfortunate legal must-have that diminishes the beauty slightly, but overall, this is a fine-looking pistol.
The sights are an LPA adjustable rear combined with a fiber-optic red front. This combo is one of my favorite iron sight setups. I find it easy to place shots quickly, since the red stands out against the blacked-out rear. The gun comes standard with three different optics plates, but they replace the rear irons, with no option to co-witness. My certified used model did not come with any plates and only one magazine, so I wasn’t able to test an optic.
Specs
The “Q5” signifies the 5-inch match barrel. Out of the box, it is ready to compete, with three mags, three optic plates for your red dot of choice, match barrel, tuned trigger, and slide lightening cuts to ensure faster cycling. Three grip inserts are included to fit various hand sizes.
You can swap out the backstrap to one that better fits your hand.
The one head-scratching feature here is that the magazines have a 15-round capacity. My hands are on the medium-large spectrum and fill the entire grip on this Walther quite comfortably. As most competition shooters are looking for an edge in capacity to limit reloading, I’m surprised the grip is a little short. The capacity is not quite up to par with most full-sized pistols.
Range Report
I expected a fun range day after dry-firing the Q5, and I was correct. I brought four boxes of various cheap target ammo from Remington, Belom, Federal, and Fiocchi – all 115-grain brass. I set up a target at 10 yards, loaded the one 15-round mag I had, and shot a group at a cadence of a “bit faster than planned.” All shots landed within the 8-inch circle. Six were touching, with one outlier a bit left.
I immediately noticed that the recoil feels minimal, the trigger is smooth and crisp, and the reset is nice and short.
My first mag, far left, compared to groups shot at 5, 7, and 15 yards, respectively.
I moved to 15 yards and shot at a 3-inch circle on the top left of the target. To my amazement, the first and second shots were on top of each other. I fired a group of 10, and four were just outside the circle, while the two groups inside were touching. This is great shooting for me on any gun, let alone with irons on one I just took of the box.
Next, I moved to 7 yards for a group, and then to 5. Unsurprisingly, these were each tighter. The gun is extremely accurate, which makes it a ton of fun to shoot.
All my ammo fed smoothly with no issues.
I tried a couple of Bill Drills as well, and this gun will run fast. I did not pull out my timer due to others shooting around me, but this will light up a target. Recoil is easy to manage, and I found that I really didn’t have to think much about it. When I did bear down a bit more to take some longer or more accurate and slow strings, the sights were dead-on. My misses weren’t wild, so the groups felt tight for my standards. I experienced no failures with any of the ammo in 200 rounds.
Pros & Cons
This pistol surprised me a bit. While it remained under my personal radar, many have been singing its praises for years. I was extremely impressed by how easy it was for me to pick it up and shoot accurately – no extensive dry fire, no learning curve, no need to slow down.
Directly after shooting the PPQ Q5 Match, I shot my Glock 19 COA to compare and was amazed at the groups. The GPT feels similar to the Walther, so fans of Glock will find the PPQ Q5 just a bit more refined. I was also reminded just how much tighter things get while using a dot, so I can only imagine what the Q5 is like with the aid of an optic.
The only issue I had with the Walther was that I held down the slide lock a couple times and got no lockback.
The slide lock lever is easy to release with one hand, but it does extend pretty far back to where either my support hand or firing hand could come in contact.
I had a little bit of discomfort under the left side of the beavertail, similar to what I feel on a Smith & Wesson M&P. It is not painful, nor does it cause blisters or redness; it is just something to note if you were to shoot a ton of rounds.
Pros:
Cons:
Final Thoughts
If the good looks of this gun appeal to you, the Q5 Match Steel Frame is another option with a bit more texture on the grip.
The PPQ Q5 Match is a handsome gun that performs as advertised. The SF (steel frame) version has piqued my interest, as its aggressive checkering promises to eliminate the only big con for me: the not-sotactile feel of the grip.
This gun would make a great competition rig out of the box or a fun range companion. I don’t see any reason this can’t be a defensive gun, either, due to its Pic rail and reliability. The recoil is tame, the accuracy is extremely high, and the included bundle gets you to the range without a ton of additional spending. This pistol carries a lot of value, especially on the used market.
0 Comments