Question:

I am looking into getting my Concealed Carry Permit and after looking at a few guns and was wondering if you could give me your opinion on the quality and reliabilty of these guns.  I live in New Orleans and there are plenty of ranges here so the gun would be for enjoyment as well as protection. The Guns are Walther PPK Sig-Sauer P232 Baikal IJ 70 (the one I looked at was chambered with 9×18).  Thank you for taking the time to look at this.

Thanks,

Casey

Answer:

Casey,

Thanks for your question.  If you are looking for my opinion of the best overall choice of the three you mentioned, I’d go for the SIG P232.

Here is my reasoning.  In my own experience, the SIG P232 functions flawlessly, is easy to conceal, has easily available ammo and accessories and is manufactured by a well known, broadly supported manufacturer.  This means that if your gun ever needs work, you’ll have no problem finding a gunsmith that can work on it or finding parts for it.  I know at least 2 other owners of the P232 and they absolutely love their guns.  The fact that they are extremely reliable is a very important factor for concealed carry.  You want your gun to work every time.

As far as the other two you mention, the Walther PPK is a decent gun with an enduring design.  The design is fundamentally unchanged since the 1930s.  Here is my issue with the Walther PPK.  First, there are reliability issues with many Walthers.  I had a student in a recent class who experienced jam after jam.  He finally switched to a different gun to complete the course.  There are also some issues getting parts for older style Walther pistols.  It is a gun that is more popular with collectors due to its history and the association with the old ‘James Bond’ character.

The Baikal is essentially a Russian made knock off of the Walther.  Some often refer to this gun generically as a Makarov.  They are very similar pistols in many ways.  There are some differences in operational design, like the fixed barrel on the Baikal.  While I have not personally shot this gun, from the research I did it seems to have reasonable levels of reliability, at least after running a few hundred rounds through them.  It is not unusual for some guns to require a ‘break in’ of a couple of hundred rounds before they loosen up enough to be reliable.  I would suggest that any type of accessory or parts will be pretty hard to come by.  Also, the 9×18 ammo is non-standard.  I would stick with either .380 acp or 9×19.  Non-standard ammo is expensive and hard to find in some places.  That fact alone would eliminate the Baikal for me.

If you are open to looking at some  more modern designs, the Glock 19 and Springfield XD 4″ barrel in 9mm are tough to beat in terms of price, reliability and ease of operation.