Few questions...new to this

thestaleness · Post by **thestaleness** » March 4th, 2010, 11:52 pm

EDIT: I just bought the p64 earlier this week and its my first pistol. Although I have and still own plenty of rifles/shotguns, I've decided to get my ccw and thought this gun would be a good fit.

Well, I've been reading around the site and seem to get myself lost more times than not. I've got a few questions and hopefully you guys can help me out.

1) After reading a lot of the stuff about the DA being pretty tough and some people talking about how the recoil can be a bit rough, I purchased a 22 lb recoil spring and a 19lb hammer spring. Some people had said the 17lb was way to light so I went in the middle. I've read that the 22lb needs to be altered to fit onto the gun too. Is this true? and how difficult is the hammer spring to replace, and if i'm planning on using it as a ccw, should I even bother replacing the hammer spring?

2) When looking for a holster, do the walther ppk holster and the russian makarov fit about the same in regards to the p64? Really dont want to wait 10 weeks for a holster, even tho the ones one here look amazing.

3) Where can I get custom plastic or rubber grips? The wood just doesn't appeal to me and I want something a little better than the stock grips that come on it. Looking for something with at least a thump grip.

thestaleness · Post by **thestaleness** » March 5th, 2010, 12:32 am

clarification on question 1, i havent actually taken the gun to the range, snow is just starting to melt around the local gun range and so in the next 2 days i will be. i actually bought them springs for the reasons i stated and because i know it never hurts to have extra springs laying around. (learned the hard way with my muzzleloader when its spring snapped). but being a bigger fella with some big paws i was a bit concerned that with the small grip that the recoil might be a bit much if shooting at the range. also, looking to get my wife involved a bit with shooting since she always says she wants to shoot a pistol (everything else "scares" her ha) and i was concerned that she wouldnt like to shoot it if it was too rough for her. So I figured that i could get a different spring that might feel better for her and be able to interchange the two. Im assuming that this is possible?

halljt3 · Post by **halljt3** » March 5th, 2010, 2:16 am

Congrats on your on your new purchase and your first pistol!

1. First thing I would suggest is to go try your new gun out, it seems to me that most of these guns vary... In my case the recoil was a little snappy but I felt as if it was reasonable for this size gun, and the d/a trigger pull was also reasonable a little tough but I feel as if it adds to the safety of the firearm (I carry 6+1 safety off) and for me CC is the primary purpose of my gun so the stock hammer spring was fine. I have heard of some on this forum who were barley able to pull the trigger so if your in that category, then yeah you would prob want to change the spring...

As for the difficulty of these changing the springs out, Obviously I cant talk to you from experience but I have read what other people have said about it, and I have read how to do it and it seems pretty straight forward and simple. You may not be able to put the slide back onto the frame with the 22lb spring. If you cant, you simply do a little bit of grinding on a bench grinder and your good to go.

Here are links for changing the hammer spring....

http://www.p64resource.com/fixes.php

2. For the most part I think your good to go with a PPK holster, they pretty similar in size, Im not exactly sure what kind of holster you looking for you might want to check out one of these http://cgi.ebay.com/3113-Belt-Holster-M ... 45ef5d2024
They sell them on Gunbroker too, I actually just ordered one tonight.

3. As for grips there are not to many options, you have you stock grips (you could try painting them if you just want a different look)

You have Zee grips you can get them off this site on the buy sell page (you have access to it when you have 10 posts) PIC's of zee grips viewtopic.php?t=3213

You have Marchal grips which are wood and you already said you dont want those.

And last there is a grip sleeve im not familiar with maybe some one can chime in who was them...

I hope this helps you out a little...

thestaleness · Post by **thestaleness** » March 5th, 2010, 7:17 am

that helps quite a bit actually. thanks for the ideas...i like those holsters too. Itll probably end up buying one of those or a vega one.

As for the grips, I was wondering where the buy sell page was on here after it was mentioned on a thread somewhere but now it makes sense why i couldnt find it.

thanks again

EDIT: Just bought one of the holsters off ebay. Any ideas on where to get a matching mag holder?

boomer · Post by **boomer** » March 5th, 2010, 9:01 am

Hello and welcome to the world of the P 64. Permit me to point out that the P 64 was not designed as a range gun. It is a compact self protection pistol and ideal for a CCW. If a range toy is what you are after, you might want to try the Cz-82 Makarov. It is a larger pistol and much more pleasurable to shoot. The P 64 is going to kick like a rented mule as it is a small fixed barrel, blow back design and the Makarov 9x18 load pushes this design to it's limits. Changing springs can affect the pistol reliability dramatically so use caution.

The Cz-82 is a double stack with a much larger magazine capacity and griping area and it beaver tailed to prevent slide bite. In fact a .380 is till in production today known as the Cz-83.
It is far better suited to sport shooting on the range. Plus it holds 13 rounds.

After you have 10 postings you will have access to the Buy,Sell forum and there are many valuable accessories and parts available there from the Senior Members.

Enjoy as I have.

Boomer

mellisallen · Post by **mellisallen** » March 5th, 2010, 3:13 pm

as far as grips go some of us have used a bicycle innertube cut and slipped over the grips. it helps alittle with recoil, mostly because it makes the grip alittle bigger and its easier to hold on to.
i did the 22# spring change. its pretty easy to taper the ends.
the hammer spring wasnt bad either, use the tutorial and read it twice befor you attempt it.

thestaleness · Post by **thestaleness** » March 5th, 2010, 3:49 pm

boomer, thanks. thats what i figured. as a range shooter, i meant only a few rounds at a time. granted i will shoot the necessary rounds to practice and get rdy but for the wife it would only be a clip. no more. as for the cz-82, ill be keeping my eye out at the local gun store to see if he has any or can get them.

mellisallen, i was thinking about doing that as i saw it in another thread. might be a good short term, possibly long term, adjustment for the gun. i know i want to get plastic grips for it so maybe this will work til then, being that inner tubes are cheap.

thanks again

jglass4763 · Post by **jglass4763** » March 5th, 2010, 6:07 pm

The Hogue Jr is a perfect fit for around $7.00.

texhealer · Post by **texhealer** » April 7th, 2010, 7:22 am

I picked up a Don Hume JIT holster for a PPK at the local gun show a couple of weeks ago and it fits great. Pretty tight but I assume it's supposed to be. I wear it on a Wilderness Tactical belt so it's not going anywhere.
I ordered this Galco as well but it's not even close, it fits my .25 pretty well but I don't see it ever stretching enough for the P-64.

http://www.waltherpistols.com/item/6273 ... S_RH_.aspx

daytonaknight · Post by **daytonaknight** » April 7th, 2010, 9:01 pm

Recoil spring is no problem. If the new spring is too long, you just can't get the slide back quite far enough back to get the slide back on the frame. Just file the end of the 'wire' off so the metal tapers to a point like the original spring instead of ending blunt. Then slip it on the barrel, smaller end first. I compared a resprung (20 lb) P64 with one with an original spring side by side and really didn't notice much difference in recoil. Try it first with the original springs.

Hammer springs are a little awkward to replace but not really a problem.

P64 is approximately the same size as a PPK. If a holster is specifically molded for a PPK, it will probably fit but not have the same retention since all the little grooves and bumps on the gun will not line up with the corresponding grooves and bumps molded into the holster. A generic holster with PPK in the 'fits' list will probably fit a P64 just fine.

I use a Don Hume open top for a PPK. It was a little tight at first but I did the old "put a gun in a sock, force it in the holster, and leave it overnight" trick. Fits like a glove now. Only complaint is the lack of a layer of leather between the back end of the slide and my skin.

robalan · Post by **robalan** » April 8th, 2010, 7:03 pm

I didn't change my springs. Let us know how your wife does with the gun. I have noticed my friends with small hands seem to have less trouble with the gun.

longboat · Post by **longboat** » April 28th, 2010, 11:29 am

A Fobus molded paddle holster, Model PPK1, for Walther PPK/PPKS/PP is way too small for the P-64. Will not fit a Bersa Thunder either. Have one if anyone needs it for a Walther.

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