r/RetroGats

Specifically the Walther PPK, Beretta M34, and M70/70s.

Before we go any further, let’s break the ice hard- the Walther PPK is only known as well as it is and has only been in continuous production solely due to a certain British spy by the name of Bond- James Bond, to be exact. By any other metric, it falls by the wayside along with every other pocket pistol of yesteryear, with its only notable exception being its DA/SA capability and decocker function. Is it a capable gun ? Yes. Is it a beautiful gun ? Yes. Outside of that, you constantly see reports of slide bite, beaver tail bite, razor sharp machining in places any user doesn’t want it, and unreliability in general at a timing absolutely unacceptable for a defensive handgun. Now let’s move on.

After having one of both a Beretta ‘34 and PP, as well as a Radom P-64 and Makarov; I must admit that I am truly baffled. This arsenal refurbished ‘34 is carry melted all over- only sharp and defined edges are internally where you would expect them, and even then; the edges are chamfered. My new Walther PP was absolutely atrocious- a chef would’ve loved its multiple razor sharp edges, but a 50rd box left me bleeding and bruised like Hannibal Lector had gotten hold of solely my firing hand (and what’s more, Walther refused to even look at my new production gun).

The ‘34 has none of these issues, anywhere you look- the only hiccups you ever hear tale of are those normally associated with 50yo+ surplus handguns- general wear and tear. Beretta’s M70 and M70/s were (in my opinion) attempted “modernization” of the 1934’s ideology, but fell flat on it’s face when the 80 Series came on the scene- nothing wrong with the platform- an absolutely spectacular gun from everything I’ve found… it just didn’t quite make the cut in Beretta’s lineup.

I firmly believe that if Bond had carried a Beretta M1934, or if Beretta had pulled a S&W and brought back a “Classic” M1934 or even an updated M70s at an affordable price with slightly updated modern features (useable SIGHTS !!!), I do believe they could’ve had the pocket .380 market by the family jewels in a vice grip. Heck, they could’ve used the M34 or M70 design in place of the fiasco that is the Tomcat and still came out on top.

I’d like to hear your thoughts.

I’ve been sickly of late, and have been musing over things… the handgun (in my mind) is not a primary weapon… it’s what you carry to break contact with a threat or to get to your long gun to make the threat cease being a threat. Absolutely no handgun is as suitable for serious social work as a long gun- by long gun I am referring to properly loaded repeating or multi-barrel 12ga/20ga scatterguns, and repeating centerfire rifles of common use, be they pump, lever, or automatic.

Having said that ⬆️, it is seemingly becoming more and more common that citizens involved in “emergency domestic defense”, an active shooter situation most commonly, putting down an armed and dangerous threat to society are often armed with only a handgun (in such case the handgun has been shoehorned into a role it was not intended for and generally fails miserably at) and at times- the individual is not carrying much of a handgun. I will be the first to admit that my daily carry is a S&W Mdl 49, occasionally backed by a Beretta 1934, Zastava M88, Makarov; any number of single stack compact older automatics or snub Smith’s. None of the above are suitable for anything more than a carjacking or holdup in a back alley- but then again… what pistol really is ? Also… one must ask the comparison statistics-wise of being involved in a holdup compared to an active shooter scenario… one is far more common than the other; but both are relatively small in the grand scheme of things.

So… how do we remedy this issue ? Continue training and hope for the best ? Add a folding carbine or SBS/SBR in a sling bag to our daily carry ? The answers will range from mild to wild, and I’m open to all suggestions.

Alright y’all jackanapes and vigilantes… here’s a hypothetical for you…

If you could have Smith & Wesson bring back any one platform (new or old) in any production format; what would it be and why ? For the sake of the question, we’ll pretend that Smith’s QC and QA is their peak again, and I’d ask that you limit your choice to something that has been already produced in factory configuration, in one format or another- though current production is not a requirement (or even encouraged).

One-off customs are discouraged as an answer- we’re looking for production run revolvers.