TargetTalk

Hello, I was wondering what everyone thinks of the Walther GPS Expert, as far as quality, accuracy, etc. I have one on the way and I have never even seen one, except in pictures. Could be a stupid move on my part, but I have made worse decisions in my life... I have handled a Hammerli SP20, and I think it is a nice pistol, but for some reason, I prefer the GSP. I have spent hours on this site and others for the last few months trying to read as much as I can about these sport pistols. I enjoy shooting my S&W 41 very much, but I hope that my new GSP will be as good, or hopefully, better!! Please give me your honest opinions on the GSP Expert. Thanks to all.

Does this mean this pistol sucks? :(

sunbear wrote:Does this mean this pistol sucks? :(

No, it just means that it is possibly not the most widely owned of pistols.

In any event, the GSP Expert is in a different league to your Model 41.

sunbear wrote:Does this mean this pistol sucks? :(

Absolutely!
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Just kidding. :-) It's not the most popular thing around. FWIW, I've had an OSP before (a sort of related model, but in .22 short and for RF). Fit and finish were excellent. Trigger was great. Reliability was pretty crappy (mostly stovepipe jams, and some hammer following), but I attribute that more to me being inconsistent about what ammo I was using and the somewhat finicky nature of .22 shorts in general. At one point I has using some high velocity stuff, which apparently was a big no-no with an OSP. The GSPs I've seen shooting were much more reliable. FWIW, I feel the GSPs are a bit nose heavy and the grip feels more upright compared to other sport pistols.

I'm surprised to see so little feedback for the GSP... maybe we have a little less traffic due to the holiday?

I shot a 1974 GSP for about 10 years in Junior Sport and Standard - and loved it. I think Sparky's experiences with an unreliable OSP should not be any indication, he was right about the choice of 22 short ammo being critical with any RF gun, and for the most part the OSP (especially the old round barrel model) was one of the most reliable RF guns around.

My GSP also never missed a beat; of course you need to find some consistent standard velocity ammo. The couple of times I tried (stupidly) plinker HV ammo it gave some problems, of course it's not designed for that stuff.

All of the GSP variants are quite nose heavy, and that's one of the major reasons they're not too popular in this country - most standard pistols here in the US are used in Bullseye, and putting a dot on an already heavy gun makes it a big lump.

Grips have improved out of sight for GSPs since my old gun, and even though the grips are quite upright compared to other Euro guns, it's not so different to the 41 you were used to.

I think you'll find it's a big step up.

Thank you for your replies, I am very excited to receive this pistol and use it extensively! Happy New Year!!

Love/hate of the GSP.

I was allowed to testfire the Walther GSP .22 in 1967 or ´68, I was told it was a prototype. Later I used a GSP during the Sports Pistol dicipline at the Nordic Championships in Goetenburg in 1970. I was a junior back then.

I have owned two Walther GSPs, in .22 and .32. But I never realy got familiar with these guns. I fired tens of thousands of round throug both, and did reasonably well, I think. But no, I did not get to like the Walther GSPs.

First: It simply ain´t got the looks. During the first years of production the cast alu frames obviously were not polished. Just painted. Ugly. The very short barrel combined with the (in .32) big ears of the slide: very oddly looking.

Second: In my opinion he triggers of the GSP still are, and have always been, inferior to that of many other match autos. Period.
The factory have modified, and tried to improve the triggers repeatedly. But the GSP triggers are still not good.

Third: The (bad) balance. It is long, and feels too long, simply. This gun has often been nicknamed: In Germany it is referd to as "Die Rohrleger Zange", which translates to something like "Plumbers par of Pliers".
Imagine that you grab a pair of plumbers pliers by the "jaws", and then point the handle forward. Got that? It get the same feel as when aiming a Walther GSP.
(The Expert version has improved a little upon the looks, but it is still the same old clunker inside).

But I admit the GSP is fairlly reliable. When fed good target ammo, is will seldom let you down. But it has (along with the OSP in .22 short) been with us for close to 40 years now. It is time to retire it. And by launching the SSP it think Walther will do just that. And I will not miss the GSP.

There are in my opinion better .22 autos available. That have more attractive looks too.
An analogy: Imagine a parking lot in front of the clubhouse at some Golf Range in sunny California. There, among shiny limos stands a
VW "Beetle" from the 60s. It does just not fit in.

I start to get the same feel whenever I see an old GSP at the matches nowadays.

I have only seen the GSP Expert once at a competition here in Sweden. And that includes the Swedish Championship (with Skanåker and the guys) and various other big events. It's very rare here to say the least. It seems most shooters prefer the older GSP. Hämmerli and Unique are by far the most common brands here.