TargetTalk

http://www.visier.de/walther.html

Looks very nice.

/Axel

Yes!! it looks good. Let's hope the ssp will have the good quality and function of the gsp.

Hi,

It appears to be a significant departure from the about 40 year old SP platform. More Pardini, FAS or Unique like than OSP/GSP. From the text, it has a top loading mag which may meet with some resistance. (Thoughts of the Broomhandle come to mind) They may have gone to that style to make it more in line with the polititions idea that forward mounted mags are a bad assault weapon thing. Let's not forget that with every revision of a product, there are cost saving measures taken. That is the nature of business. However, at the same time, revisions to design, most of the time, bring better performance.

It looks nice, rear sight looks a bit cheezy. Wonder if it's a mech or elect trigger and if it has ring groves for mounting optics in the NRA style matches? Guess this may also mean the end of the GSP rifle as slapping a stock and a long barrel on the new one may be difficult.

My 2 cents,

Tom

It was officially published at IWA yesterday http://www.iwa.info/main/dg1vzgt5/e4foj89d/page.html

With the discontinuing of the OSP & GSP's and thereby relegating them to history their follow-up pistol has some rather unenviable flaws that have not been well received. I have a close friend who purchased this model and being a machinist and a gunsmith he was able to solve the weak spring issues and poor design in the recoil system. Mebbe this new SSP has solved those problems and we may now finally see a well made Standard Pistol hit the ranges all over the world. Remembering that these pistols will also be the new Rapid Fire guns of the future, we hope their innovations will be long lived and not frought with Morini-like problems and poor engineering. I am quite anxious to see how this gun is received and what the current economy will dictate the tariff for it. I learned a lesson with the MG-2 and will not buy this gun until it has had a chance to make it around the various venues and the true feedback makes it back to us, the ultimate consumer. Even Pardini ( my personal favorite) bit the weenie on their latest version of the SP & HP with a poorly engineered rear sight height problem---so it ain't just Morini. What happened to old adage " if it ain't broke, don't fix it" ??????

While the early models of MG 2 had faults I believe those have been addressed and it is fairly trouble-free now.............I hope so as I sold my Pardini SP for the MG 2 (haven't had enough time with it to know for sure)......there's alot I like over the Pardini such as the weight distribution and adjustable rear sight width to name a few

I have done the same selling a Pardini for a MG2. So far I find the Mg2 so much better with the recoil over a Pardini. Yet to shoot it in a Rapid fire match, but would think it will be very good with no bounce from target to target. Only problem is with the front loader with a jam, can be a pain to clear.

Guest wrote:It was officially published at IWA yesterday http://www.iwa.info/main/dg1vzgt5/e4foj89d/page.html

If you click on the second link on that page (the bigger PDF file), on the last page, there is a close up of the SSP.

And looking at it, I noticed a few things:

1. there looks to be a little bit of space between the body of the pistol and the grip, so maybe it will allow small rotational adjustments of the grip like on the MG2? that'd be nice

2. there appears to be a safety on the pistol, you can clearly see a level with one position marked S, and the other marked F.

3. and the front of the pistol, does anyone else think that hole looks awfully big for a 22? Maybe that's a 32 version showing? humm... I wonder if the SSP is still going to be convertable between 22 and 32. Maybe that safety isn't a safety afterall, but a lock like on the GSP.

Nice looking pistol nonetheless.

That hole where the muzzle should be looks to be much larger than .32 cal. It almost looks like the weight which wraps around the barrel is extented almost like a false muzzle. The further out you can get that weight the more recoil reducing effect it should have(so long as it still fits in the box). I've toyed with the idea with my MG2(since the barrel protrudes from the factory weight) but so far have just made weights to fit under the factory side plates/weights. If you like a slightly muzzle heavy gun (as the GSP was) thats great. Matter of choice.
Shouldn't have any trouble with all the room to outfit it with a CF option which would be a real plus.
Hope they built in that Walther quality. For the moment, given whats out there and how reliable and great my Matchguns shoots, I'm sold on my MG2. I plan on shooting it a lot this season. That's not to say I wouldn't pick up a SSP and give it a wirl too. Keep your options open boys, Bejing is a long way away and there are things more important hurtles than what world class pistol you shoot.

Hold center,

Alex

A couple of other thoughts / things I've noticed...

1. They have pinched Hammerli's idea from the SP20 of having a triangular shaped foresight which can be rotated to give three different user selectable sight widths.

2. The two images on the two links above (one the Visor website, the other the image in the IWA News Daily 18/3 pdf) might show two different triggers (OK - I might be wrong here because of the angle). One looks very broad, the other seems to be mounted on a stem like some AP triggers.

3. It looks like they have adopted a grip made out of a material similar to Hammerli's "Hi-Grip" compound (otherwise known as "plastic").

4. At only 970 grams (over 200 grams less than the GSP), it is likely to have a high proportion of aluminium in its construction. I wonder if those sloping chunky sections below the front of the barrel can be replaced with steel barrel weights? More weight out front would be needed for RF, but without them it will be a junior / women friendly pistol (more so than the GSP was).

5. I agree with Trinity in that it looks like the pistol's position in the grip can be adjusted (that's the "3D-Griffverstellung" bit I think)

6. No images of the magazine yet. If the top-loading design means that they have adopted a mag similar to FAS's, these tend to be quite delicate and care must be taken not to launch it in a graceful arc into the ground when releasing it.