On Friday I picked up the PPQ that my LGS found for me ($525 +tax). Nice gun. I took some measurements with my Lyman electronic trigger gauge:
- M&P 9L w/DCAEK (stock trigger return spring) - 4 lb 6 oz
- Glock 19 with LW 3.5 conncector (about 1000 rounds) - 5 lbs 9 oz
- Stock PPQ 9mm (50 dry fires) - 5 lb 7 oz
Some observations:
- The grip on the PPQ makes the G19 grip feel kind of blocky. It makes the M&P feel even more so.
- I find that with my normal grip, my thumb rests below the slide stop lever. That seems to worry some people because it extends farther back and they're afraid it will get inadvertently pressed.
- Takedown of the PPQ is conventional, unlike the M&P which is a little wonky.
- The PPQ "feels" like a more substantial gun than either the Glock or the M&P. Very subjective, but related (for me) to how much it rattles, smoothness of action...stuff like that.
- The PPQ does indeed have a nice crisp let-off. The Glock is quite a bit creepier by comparison. Neither one is as good as the M&P with the DCAEK. That pistol has a lighter trigger because I elected not to install the heavier trigger return spring that came with the Apex kit.
PPQ without magazine weighs 1 lb 5.2 oz. My Glock 19 weighs 1 lb 5.4 oz. The M&P (long slide) weighs 1 lb 9.2 oz. This kind of surprised me. The PPQ feels like it would be heavier than the Glock.
I found a nice De Santis Speed Scabbard at Amazon for $52, no tax or shipping. It fits the PPQ well, retains it well too, for a leather holster. I'll probably make a Kydex holster for it this weekend.
The gun comes with two magazines and some kind of hokey loader that looks like the one that came with my Glock. It will have to work pretty damn well for me to throw away my MagLuLa. I have a couple of 17-round mags on the way.
I got out to shoot the PPQ today. I shot it with my Glock 19 (5.5 lb trigger pull) and my M&P 9L (4.5 lb trigger pull). By no means should anyone consider this any kind of "review". They're just my non-expert observations.
After some slow fire with the PPQ to warm up, I found it to be extremely accurate from 7 yards and easy to keep within a 4 inch circle. I put it on par with the G19 and slightly better than the M&P. I attribute that largely to the crappy stock sights I have on the M&P.
Others have mentioned that the PPQ has a higher bore axis than either the M&P or the Glock. I tried to pay close attention to muzzle flip with each of the three guns.
Maybe I could perceive a little more with the PPQ, but I didn't find it in any way intrusive. I found it easy to control, comfortable grip. A lot has been made of the pre-travel and reset on that gun -- too short to be a safe carry gun. I noticed nothing but I don't feel for the reset when I shoot, I just let it out to the end of its travel trying to remember to not let my finger come off the trigger.
I tried some (relatively) rapid fire strings. Below is representative of what I (inexpertly) achieved. 7 yards, 6 shots from low ready. Timed from Surefire app on iPhone.
PPQ -- 2.85 seconds
M&P 9L -- 2.75 seconds
Glock 19 -- 2.39 seconds
