YouTube personality Graham Baates gives us a video review of the Walther CCP M2 Pistol.
The original Walther CCP offered reduced recoil and an easy-to-rack slide in the world’s most popular handgun caliber, 9mm. The CCP had the potential to serve anyone looking for the common availability and wide load variety of 9mm but who might be more sensitive to recoil or struggle with the slide on smaller handguns.
The CCP encountered trouble because takedown required a tool. Unfortunately, those looking to conserve hand strength were also unlikely to want to need a tool for disassembly. If Makarov could make a fixed-barrel pistol with tool-less disassembly, why couldn’t Walther? In 2019, they did.
Walther CCP M2 Pistol
The Walther CCP M2 Pistol has been updated with a simple takedown that any engineer would appreciate. The challenge comes from having a fixed barrel. the slide either needs to split in half (done by no one I know of), or it has to come back, up, and forward to get free of the barrel. The Glock-like field strip that we have all become accustomed to works with the Browning tilting barrel system, not a fixed barrel.
So why does the Walther CCP M2 Pistol have a fixed barrel? The answer is the trick to a softer-recoiling blowback system. Just beyond the chamber, the barrel has a small port that vents some of the expanding gasses into a cylinder occupied by a piston attached to the slide. So long as the pressure is high slide is locked closed. Once those pressures drop the recoil energy can overtake the light slide spring and the slide operates. It’s an intelligent design. The CCP wasn’t the first gun to try this feat and I like to think that with time comes improvements so I was eager to get the gun on the range and try a variety of different rounds.
Just like the challenge any semi-auto firearm has, each load generates its own recoil impulse both in dwell and peak energy. It’s safe to assume the CCP M2 was calibrated to work with 124gr NATO loads and the softer 115gr we enjoy in the US, but what about the other loads? In classic GBGuns style, the “What’s for Dinner?” test was a smorgasbord of load options. The tests included a range from 165gr to 65gr. Aluminum, brass, and steel cases. The loads tested came from American Eagle, Federal, Fiocchi, Freedom Munitions, Gecco, Hornady, Liberty Munitions, Remington, TulAmmo, and Winchester. To see how they did, watch the video below.
I must clarify that the initial full-mag +1 test failure could not be replicated later. I also had a significantly better grouping later after spending more time with the gun. What’s seen in the Shooting Impressions video was the absolute first try with a handgun that had not been broken in or even oiled.
For the numerophiles out there, the specifications are taken directly from Walther’s website. Those of you familiar with the original CCP may be pleased to see that the specifications remain the same:
Walther CCP M2 Pistol
- Caliber: 9mm
- Barrel Length: 3.54″
- Trigger Pull: SA 5.5lbs
- Trigger Travel: 0.27″
- Capacity: 8+1
- Overall Length: 6.41″
- Height: 5.12″
- Width: 1.18″
- Weight Empty: 22.33oz
As you can see, the dimensions, weight, and trigger pull of the Walther CCP M2 Pistol are all very new-shooter-friendly. The size fit both my large and model Gretchen’s small hands comfortably. While I may be too accustomed to shooting a variety of handguns, Gretchen was new to them. In an experiment, I had her shoot the CCP M2 and PPS M2 back to back. She preferred the CCP M2, noting that the recoil felt softer in her hands and that she felt more secure with the more generous grip size.
Live Inventory Price Checker
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L.A.G. Tactical Liberator MK II Ambidextrous OWB / IWB Holster for Walther CCP M2 Pistols | GunMag Warehouse | $ 44.99 |
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Walther CCP M2 9mm Pistol, 3.54" Barrel, 3 Dot Sights, Black, Silver - 5083501 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 512.99 $ 457.99 |
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Walther CCP M2 9mm Pistol, 3.54" Barrel, 3 Dot Sights, Angel Blue, Silver - 5083512 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 498.99 $ 368.99 |
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Walther CCP M2+ 9mm 3.54 8+1 Compact Pistol" | Ammunition Depot | $ 558.49 $ 465.49 |
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About Graham Baates:
“Graham Baates” is a pen name used by a 15-year active Army veteran who spent most of his time in the tactical side of the Intelligence community including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Post-Army Graham spent some time in the 3-Gun circuit before becoming a full-time NRA Certified defensive handgun instructor and now works as an industry writer while curating a YouTube channel on the side. Visit Graham on Youtube .
I’m concerned that the CCP is too complicated for the “average” shooter who likes the 9mm cartridge. Take down seems too labor intensive, and that trigger reset distance is also a problem. I’ve watched two of your CCP videos now and throughout I was thinking that a Glock is ultra simple in comparison to the CPP. I do like the ergonomics and the small size, however, but I remain skeptical about ammo performance as well.
Excellent test of a new gun. Thanks very much.
I’ve been shooting the CCP 1 in idpa ccp division and it’s been fairly accurate and shoots better than I do. I did have one match shooting PMC 115 gn where I had consistent failure to extract problems, constantly removing the magazine to clear the gun to the point of leaving the match early. Apparently Walther uses a stepped chamber to get a good seal for the gas system and it’s not very forgiving to out of spec Ammo. I have found loads that work well and both my wife and I find it to be a very comfortable gun… Read more »