Walther SSP

Last updated
Walther SSP
Walther-SSP-Target-Pistol.jpg
Walther SSP Right M-Grip
Type 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol
Place of origin Germany
Production history
Designer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen
Designed2000s
ManufacturerWalther
Specifications
Mass970 g (34 oz)
Length230 mm (9.1 in)
Barrel  length153 mm (6.0 in)
Width50 mm (2.0 in)
Height135 mm (5.3 in)

Cartridge .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR)
Feed systemdetachable magazine, 5 rounds
Sights iron sights

The Walther SSP is a precision target shooting pistol made in Germany by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. The SSP was created in response to ISSF rule changes to the 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol in 2005 which effectively rendered the Walther OSP obsolete. The new rules precluded use of the .22 Short cartridge as well as wrap-around grips and light trigger pulls (pressure required to pull/activate trigger).

Contents

Although the new pistol rules for the rapid fire event were now identical to those for 25 m Standard Pistol, to allow competitors to compete in both competitions using the same pistol, manufacturers like Walther still designed new pistols like the SSP to perform optimally in the rapid fire events.

See also

Related Research Articles

Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen, or simply known as Walther, is a German firearm manufacturer, and a subsidiary of the PW Group. Founded by Carl Walther in 1886, the company has manufactured firearms and air guns at its facility in Germany for more than 100 years. Walther Arms, Inc. is the United States Walther business unit and is based in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ISSF 25 meter rapid fire pistol</span>

25 meter rapid fire pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events and is shot with .22 LR pistols. The event has been a part of the Olympic program ever since the beginning in 1896, although its rules changed greatly before World War II, after which they were only slightly changed until the two major revisions of 1989 and 2005. The latter restricted the event to sport pistols, thereby banning .22 Short cartridge as well as encircling grips and low trigger-pull weight. This caused a decline in results, as evidenced by a comparison of the world records under the pre-2005 rules (597) and post-2005 rules (593).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-automatic pistol</span> Type of pistol

A semi-automatic pistol is a handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridges in its chamber after every shot fired. Only one round of ammunition is fired each time the trigger is pulled, as the pistol's fire control group disconnects the trigger mechanism from the firing pin/striker until the trigger has been released and reset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther P99</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Walther P99 is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting market as a replacement for the Walther P5 and the P88. The P99 and its variants are also made under licence by Fabryka Broni Radom.

25 meter center-fire pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events, and is normally a men-only event. Its origin lies in competitions with military-style service pistols, and as such its history dates back to the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson SW99</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The SW99 rendition of the popular Walther P99 was the product of a joint collaboration between Smith & Wesson and Walther. The modified receiver used in the SW99 is supplied by Walther and is manufactured in Germany. Smith & Wesson manufactures the slide and barrel of the SW99 in the United States. Though there are slight variations in aesthetic design, the function of the SW99 is identical to its German-made counterpart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther P38</span> Type of semi-automatic pistol

The Walther P38 is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the comparatively complex and expensive to produce Luger P08. Moving the production lines to the more easily mass producible P38 once World War II started took longer than expected, leading to the P08 remaining in production until September 1942 and copies remained in service until the end of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ISSF 50 meter pistol</span> Sport shooting event

50 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often called Free Pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It is one of the oldest shooting disciplines, dating back to the 19th century and only having seen marginal rule changes since 1936. It is considered to provide some of the purest precision shooting among the pistol events. The target of this event has not changed since 1900, and the 50m distance has remained the standard since 1912. The sport traced back to the beginning of indoor Flobert pistol parlour shooting in Europe during the 1870s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther P88</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Walther P88 is a semiautomatic pistol developed by German company Walther. Its main feature is a double-stacked magazine designed for military and law enforcement use. The P88 was succeeded by the Walther P99 in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trigger (firearms)</span> Mechanism that activates a gun

A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a trap, a power tool, or a quick release. A small amount of energy applied to the trigger leads to the release of much more energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Service Small Arms Program</span> American weapon standardization coordination program

The Joint Service Small Arms Program, abbreviated JSSAP, was created to coordinate weapon standardization between the various United States armed service branches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther GSP</span> Target pistol

The Walther GSP, Gebrauchs Sportpistole, is a semi automatic, precision targetshooting pistol with an unlocked breech action made in Germany by Walther Sportwaffen. It has the same technical base as the Walther OSP and thus is almost identical in outward appearance, albeit slightly longer and heavier than the OSP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson M&P</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Smith & Wesson M&P is a polymer-framed, short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistol introduced in the summer of 2005 by the American company Smith & Wesson. It uses a Browning-type locking system. While targeted at law enforcement agencies, the M&P is also widely available on the commercial market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther PPS</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Walther PPS is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for concealed carry for civilians and plainclothes law enforcement personnel. It is available in either 9×19mm Parabellum or .40 S&W chamberings. It was first shown in 2007 at the IWA & OutdoorClassics and is a slim polymer framed weapon of similar size to the Walther PPK pistol. The PPS is however technically much more based on the Walther P99 pistol.

The Walther OSP is manufactured by Walther, it is a pistol chambered in the .22 Short caliber. The OSP was designed for the Olympic 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol event and became the perennial winner of the event. The pistol features a Morini grip, which places the bore at a lower level to reduce recoil. The barrel is weighted and ported, and felt recoil is virtually none. It comes with either a 2.2 lb (1,000 g) or 3 lb (1,400 g) trigger.

The Walther Model 1936 Olympia II is a single action semi-automatic handgun manufactured by Walther. The first version was the M1925, formally known as the Automatic Walther Sport Pistol cal. 22 LR, and was introduced in 1925. It was followed by the M1932, the Olympia Pistole I, and used to good effect in the 1932 Olympic Games. The final development Walther made was the M1936 Olympia II that won five gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and effectively ended the Olympic reign of the Colt Woodsman Target model. The pistol continued to be manufactured up until 1944, but no major changes were made during the war. In 1952 the pistol was reintroduced under license by Hämmerli-Walther. In 1957 Smith & Wesson introduced the Model 41, based on the Olympia-Pistole. The Norinco TT Olympia is a Chinese copy of the Walther M1936 Hunter made sometime after 1980. Most variants were chambered for the .22 Long Rifle but the Schnellfeuer version used the .22 short, produced to equip the German team for the Berlin Olympic Games of 1936 for the rapid fire events. The Olympia pistol is a fixed barrel, internal hammer, open-topped slide design and had a large contoured wooden grip which extended well below the bottom of the butt frame causing the necessity of the magazine bottom plate to be fitted with a wooden block extension. Once World War II started, the need for weapons quickly shifted from competition and sport to the military, thus Olympia production slowed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport pistol</span>

A sport pistol or standard pistol is a type of handgun used in several shooting sports, including the Olympic 25 metre pistol event and 25 metre standard pistol. Since 2005, the 25 metre rapid fire pistol rules also require the use of sport pistols, with a few extra requirements. Other sports to make use of this gun are women's 25 metre military rapid fire pistol, bullseye, and a variety of other national shooting sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther PPQ</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Walther PPQ is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting market as a development of the Walther P99. It is available in 9×19mm Parabellum, 9×21mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP chamberings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther PPX</span> Walther semi-automatic handgun

The Walther PPX and the Walther Creed semi-automatic pistols were developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm as low-cost duty handguns. The PPX was available in 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W. Its successor, the Creed, was available only in 9mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther PDP</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Walther PDP is a 9×19mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistol designed in 2021 by Walther Arms as a replacement for the Walther PPQ. The PDP has been designed to be more modular than previous Walther handguns, and has been described by Walther as their flagship handgun.

References