A couple of years ago Walther quite surprised me when they showcased the Q5 SF, an all steel match version of their PPQ line. Solid metal framed striker fired guns remain quite uncommon even today with only a few exceptions. As someone who likes all metal handguns the idea had intrigued me but I wasn’t looking for the competition focused Q5. Some time later Walther came out with a four inch version called the Q4 SF which at first glance I thought was downright stunning. At last, I’ve had a chance to spend some time with one.
I’ve gushed about the PPQ series on more than one occasion and I genuinely do really like these Walthers. Having all of what makes the PPQ so great in my eyes but wrapped up in a milled steel frame seems like it could only further elevate the platform’s greatness. Where the Q5 SF had speed holes galore and an extra long extended beavertail which never looked right to me, the Q4 SF has a more subtle beavertail while retaining the standard PPQ’s lines. To me the Q4 looks mean but refined, exquisite yet industrial. The machining is immaculate, the fit and finish impeccable. The slide rides as smoothly as a hand-fit custom 1911. Nearly every small detail looks spot-on.
Then there’s the weight. The SF series are certainly at the top of their weight class for striker nines, particularly the Q4 which is in a class of compact guns often associated with concealed carry use. Having a nearly forty ounce carry gun seems pointless when you could have the exact same gun at nearly half the weight (around 24 ounces for the P99/PPQ/4″ PDP) and half the cost. Why would you go with steel?
The best answer: Competition. This dives into a bunch of classes, rules and regulations which I am largely unfamiliar with but as far as I know so long as a gun “fits in the box” for its class then weight is open for interpretation. I see things more from a collector’s standpoint, one of longevity. An all steel handgun seems more like heirloom quality, a gun which will easily outlive you, your next of kin, and the apocalypse. The Q4 SF might look and run like a Ferrari but it’s built like an Abrams tank. It doesn’t matter how many polymer framed handguns I pick up, the moment I reach for a solid chunk of steel something clicks in my brain. It feels RIGHT.
The Q4 SF series was originally offered both optics-ready and without for those who are happy running straight-up irons, though at the time of writing Walther’s website only shows the optics ready version as an option. For most people this won’t be an issue, perhaps a logical step in handgun evolution. For me, I lament the loss of the smooth, clean profile of iron sight only slides. Not needing the extra milling and parts for an optic mount also helps keep the overall price down and the SF series are already not the most affordable of handguns out there.
Speaking of iron sights, I gotta say I really like what Walther did here. The standard PPQ sights were always kind of terrible, cheap plastic bits with painted white dots. Despite this they did have what I believe is the single best method for installation and adjustment of any rear sight on the market. The Q4 does away with this built in adjustment for the rear sight but swaps out the low quality painted plastic version for all steel “phosphoric” sights which both look great and have a useful trick. Introduce them to some daylight even on an overcast day and the green dots on these sights will glow like tritium. How practical this might be I couldn’t say but they’re pretty freaking neat.
The grips on the steel framed series show some real consideration rather than being slapped together. The rather attractive looking grip texture is both comfortable and effective without being too aggressive. Overall the SF does feel a bit wider than a standard PPQ or PDP grip but not by a huge margin. Additionally, the general shape and texturing of the SF series has set the path forward for the newer PDP series which share an identical grip texture and very similar feel save for the PDP-F which I think is the best grip Walther has ever designed.
A quick side note here, while I haven’t yet tried them LOK Grips makes a thin set of G10 replacements which have been getting rave reviews.
Magazines are exactly the same as what the PPQ M2 (and the compact PDP) takes, coming with a standard flush fit 15 rounder with extended 17 round options available. I believe the 18 round PDP mags will fit, however the baseplates on these mags are angled differently and I don’t think any sleeves exist to cover up the space between.
One detail I remain curious about is the large roll pin at the heel of the grip. In the PPQ this pin is used to hold the swappable backstrap in, a feature which the steel framed models don’t have. What is that roll pin doing there, then? The bottom of the frame has an inlet milled into it which makes me think more like it could be possible to attach a stock or a brace to this frame like an old military pistol. (That’s not what it’s for but how cool would it be?) More likely they left these elements in the design for magazine funnels, being competition-oriented and all. The Q4 has no funnel, though. Left plain Jane it looks out of place.
A less poignant detail, is it me or are some guns just fun to handle off the range? There’s a certain something about firearms, some of them are just satisfying to run the action or eject and load an empty magazine. It’s a small detail but the Q4 SF is my new favorite pistol for mag manipulation. They drop free and lock in so amazingly smoothly and with just the right amounts of clicks… Somehow it’s all so very, very satisfying.
For those interested, while there may well be some parts compatibility between the PPQ and Q4 there are also some distinct differences. Because the PPQ takes down by pulling a tab and the SF takes down by rotating a lever the barrel lugs and the cutouts within the bottom of the slides are not the same. The captive guide rods have also changed with the SF being all steel, although doing some poking around for aftermarket guide rods I read one encounter where the SF rods will fit PPQs but not the other way around. While it might be possible to persuade some of these other parts to swap between models I didn’t feel confident enough to mess around with them. The Q4 even has the name “Q4″ etched into the slide so you won’t accidentally mix them up. Swap with caution, there’s always the risk of getting something on which won’t want to come back off.
Now’s where the experience starts to slip. A quick bit of online reading suggested Walther likes to run tighter recoil springs and I’m inclined to agree. Between an extra pound or two in the spring and a slick finished slide the Q4 SF can be a more difficult pistol to rack, you really have to get a firm hold on fairly shallow slide serrations.
The frame is another place where I wish Walther would have spent a teensy bit more attention to. The front strap of the grip has a great crosshatch checkering but the very front area which measures about half an inch wide is perfectly flat whereas the rest of the grip is nicely rounded. It may not seem like much but this creates two subtle edges which I notice every time after holding the gun for a few minutes. Less for comfort and more for aesthetics, I wish they would have smoothed out the front facing edges of the Picatinny mount on the frame, as it is they are only barely broken by a subtle 45 degree cut. This makes the front seem more boxy than it should and I’d wonder what kind of holster wear might result. Long gone are the svelte angles of the pre-frame rail P99.
Shooting a Q4 SF next to a polymer PPQ, both with 4″ barrels, the differences in recoil were admittedly not as immediate as I would have expected. The added weight certainly does make itself known while trying to keep the gun on target however as I had to take more rest breaks when first getting used to it. The Q4 is indeed a HEAVY little gun! The SF has a smoother overall trigger travel but somehow this makes the trigger feel heavier to me, like by improving one area it serves to further highlight something else. As far as I can tell their pull weights are identical though and Walther does have upgraded triggers if you’re okay going with the flat face route.
Range experience proved to be interesting for me. In most cases I can pick up any gun and be shooting it fine after about five rounds but for all of the time I’ve spent with polymer PPQs there was something…”off” about the Q4. Maybe it was because this Q4 needed some breaking in? The first two range sessions had me shooting left and experiencing what sure felt like trigger slap. In fact, the very first shot I ever took through the Q4 SF had left me feeling surprisingly dismayed with how numb my trigger finger felt.
By the third trip to the range everything had shifted back. Something had clicked on a subconscious level. The slightly wider grips likely resulted in the shots hitting left but my brain had remapped itself. I was now hitting dead center. The trigger smoothed out with no more felt reverb. My feelings had immediately gone from luke-warm to adoration. My confidence had returned and the target felt every bit of this renewal. The added weight no longer felt like a burden but a companion helping to soak up the flip and get me where I needed to be that tiny bit faster, and now I was noticing it. There it was, the X-factor I knew this pistol had been hiding from me.
The Q4 SF may seem like a metal framed PPQ but these guns are not quite as similar as I had believed. They’re juuust different enough but they’re still both fantastic firearms. The SF series have competition written into their very DNA, they are guns designed to be gripped and ripped. High speed and low drag are where they shine and this darling ran like the wind.
Going into this I was fully prepared, even expecting, to love the Q4 SF. It seems like the PPQ connoisseur’s choice, the last word in the 4″ barreled striker fired market. While it may have been love at first sight it had taken that third range trip for the rest to fall into place. Now that all of the pieces are in order? I love this gun. Well and truly, the best of the PPQs. Quite possibly the best striker fired handgun I’ve ever had a chance to shoot.
However, it does remain in a kind of grey area. With the factory trigger it’s geared more toward duty use than competition while the added weight is purely for competition, thus attempting to balance itself directly between these two categories. Where it will happily shift further into the comp arena it would be far more hesitant to drift back to any sort of carry role.
Frankly, I’m perfectly happy with how it is. I’m one of those peculiar individuals who likes simplicity and over-built hardware, and so much the better when it looks as good and fits as precisely as these Walthers do. If I could only keep one striker fired pistol then the Q4 SF would be my jam. Perhaps best of all though is the knowledge that the PPQ does indeed live on, and it’s never been better.
