Walther GSP 500

[Jerome]

A pretty pistol; are new owners happy with it?

[David M]

Yep

[Jerome]

It will be interesting to see whether top notch ISSF shooters will embrace it in preference to the holy grail gun (Pardini).

[David M]

Results so far, I think it is a better pistol that the Pardini.

[Rover]

It will be interesting to see whether top notch ISSF shooters will embrace it in preference to the holy grail gun (Pardini).

It depends entirely upon which company gives free or heavily discounted guns to the top shooters.

Please don't be naive enough to tell me "it ain't so."

[David M]

My Walther notes to date

Walther Notes_GSP500.doc

(17 KiB) Downloaded 435 times

attached.

[Jerome]

A good point Rover, but do massive German companies like Walther need to give away product in order to increase sales a wee bit more? I don't believe so; they're going to sell thousands of guns from their arms portfolio regardless. When the SSP didn't appear that often in competition finals, Walther shareholders didn't lose any sleep.

[Grippy]

I get the impression the GSP 500 is doing really well already. Which is not that surprising given how stale that market has become. Every other current model is 15+ years old and the Pardini SP is the only one that gained any real traction. Multiple people at my club that had issues with some old pistol but didn't feel inspired by the current crop (or their price) jumped on the GSP 500. Also every new member this year seems to have bought one.

[Dcforman]

Anyone have an idea of when they might be available stateside?

Dave

[robjob]

They've been approved by the atf. Now walther can get an import liscence...

[Jerome]

Has anyone discovered any teething problems with this pistol? Also, what's the muzzle-jump like?

[David M]

No problems for the last 6-7 months.
Love the pistol.

See notes in earlier post.
Early problem is inherited from the 280/SP20 mag case, a round misfeed with over length
rounds a.k.a. CCI ammo with the 4th round dragging the nose on the front of the mag and mis-feeding.
A rub with a rat tail file on the inside front of the mag (top 10mm) and problem fixed.

[KFinke]

I was really excited about this pistol because I currently use an SP20 for international and bullseye and absolutely love it, but it's getting harder and harder to keep them running. I shoot a lot and wear out parts. I've had to resort to buying used pistols to get parts.

But now that Washington State has made this an assault pistol, I won't be able to get either old SP20's or this new GSP 500.

Lawmakers suck!!!

[BobGee]

But now that Washington State has made this an assault pistol, I won't be able to get either old SP20's or this new GSP 500.

An assault pistol! Jeez! It’s not the lawmakers that will keep the GSP500 out of the hands of shooters down under - it’s the price! A reputable dealer here is spruiking the .22LR pistol for A$3,995 (US$2,740). With a .32 conversion unit it totals A$6,760 (US$4,640). Even the mags are outrageous: .32 mags for A$245 (US$170). At those prices I'll stick with my venerable early 1980s GSP and GSP-C until I win the lottery. They are, after all, still pretty good, reliable pistols which are easy to strip and clean.

Bob

[j-team]

...he .22LR pistol for A$3,995 ...

Bob

How does that compare to the price that the Walther SSP used to sell for? Here in NZ the SSP was about $1000 more than a Pardini. Hardly anyone bought them! How much is the Pardini in Aus?

[Jerome]

I was offered a new Pardini or SSP for $AUD 3,000 by an Australian dealer back in October 2020, so I purchased the SSP.

[BobGee]

Good indicator of Aussie pistol prices:
https://www.rpgfirearms.com.au/pistol.html

Pardini Stnd pistol with .32 conversion: $4,565 (US$3,110).

Bob