The Walther PPK/S is a pistol we owe entirely to the Gun Control Act of 1968, which prohibited the importation of guns that didn’t meet a certain “point” requirement. The minimum number of points required to pass the test was 75, and was determined by assigning various attributes of the gun, such as height, a certain number of points. After all the measurements were counted, the Walther PPK fell just short of legal at 74 points.
However, the existing Walther PP frame, which dates back to 1929, successfully met the height requirement, so the idea to match that pistol’s frame with the short slide of the PPK was born. That handgun became the PPK/S, which is still in high demand today.
Watch the above “I Have This Old Gun” segment from a recent episode of American Rifleman TV to learn the complete history of the Walther PPK/S.'
To learn more about Walther pistols, please enjoy the following articles:
Walther. Carl Walther.
Walther PP Pistol
Walther PPK/S .22LR Review
Walther PPX Review
