In SEP2012 I purchased my first handgun, a Walther PPQ in 9mm. Having shot pistols since the age of six, I have been exposed to pretty much every striker-fired handgun there is. Personally disliking the ergonomics and grip angle of Glocks and passionately hating the grip safeties of XDs, I originally set out to purchase either a P99 or a used USPc. I love the feel of both guns and was looking for a mid-sized polymer frame in the $700 or less range. Going to the nearest large sporting goods store, I took a look at the PPQs on a whim. I have to say, I don't think had or have picked up a more comfortable handgun in my life. The trigger is a dream for out-of-the-box, the reset so crisp and short you can "bumpfire" it with a loose grip if you're not careful. It felt like it was molded perfectly to the shape of my palm and I had never shot a handgun so well.
About that time I also decided it was necessary for my sanity and well being to own a silencer, as they were recently legalized for civilian ownership in MI. The trouble was, suppressing my PPQ, I soon found, was going to be difficult (a giant understatement). Unless a person had an 1st Edition (which were being sold for exorbitant prices) or wanted to cough up the $400 to get a threaded P99 barrel from Earls you were out of luck.
A company I came upon in my searching was Jarvis. They make match barrels for a variety of pistols, among which the PPQ. As far as I know they are the only company that makes an aftermarket PPQ threaded barrel. $300 and two months waiting for the run of barrels to be done and I had my threaded barrel. Quality is absolutely top-notch, much better than the already-excellent factory barrel. Accuracy was about 1.5" from a rest at 25 yards which I consider more than excellent with the high-speed "combat" sights on the PPQ.
Now with a threaded barrel and Form 4 in the system, I began searching for suppressor-height sights for the PPQ. I don't know if the situation has improved, but at the time it was LITERALLY impossible. Nobody made them. Nobody. Could not find any compatible sights at all.
Enter Mark Housel at L&M Precision. Mark specializes in milling and mounting for red dot sights on handgun slides, especially Glocks. I emailed Mark about my quest for tall sights for the PPQ. His response was "Never done one, we'll figure something out." So I sent him my PPQ slide and the diameter of my silencer.
What Mark came up with was to custom-mill a set of sight bases which he would attach Glock suppressor sights to. It would allow me to swap the sights out for the original ones and make no permanent changes to my slide. For a grand total of $145 which I thought was quite low. Mark's response was "It may not look perfect as your slide is a guinea pig. If it works I could get more business and charge more. If not it should be a pretty fun little project."
My experience with Mark was nothing short of spoiling. He sets a standard for quality work, excellent turn-around time (3 weeks for this), and the ability to think outside the box. It has made every other gunsmithing experience of mine a little dimmer. A huge thanks goes out to him for the work he did.
This May I got my GEMTECH Multimount and am just now getting around to posting this. This was an extremely expensive system as you can imagine but oh, so worth the hassle and monies. Shoots like a dream (it's a PPQ after all), zero blowback, no feeding issues.
Here are the results. If you're looking to suppress your PPQ and are stuck, fear not! A little (or lot) of pocket change and a few months time and you'll be good to go!
Cheers!
Brian
About that time I also decided it was necessary for my sanity and well being to own a silencer, as they were recently legalized for civilian ownership in MI. The trouble was, suppressing my PPQ, I soon found, was going to be difficult (a giant understatement). Unless a person had an 1st Edition (which were being sold for exorbitant prices) or wanted to cough up the $400 to get a threaded P99 barrel from Earls you were out of luck.
A company I came upon in my searching was Jarvis. They make match barrels for a variety of pistols, among which the PPQ. As far as I know they are the only company that makes an aftermarket PPQ threaded barrel. $300 and two months waiting for the run of barrels to be done and I had my threaded barrel. Quality is absolutely top-notch, much better than the already-excellent factory barrel. Accuracy was about 1.5" from a rest at 25 yards which I consider more than excellent with the high-speed "combat" sights on the PPQ.
Now with a threaded barrel and Form 4 in the system, I began searching for suppressor-height sights for the PPQ. I don't know if the situation has improved, but at the time it was LITERALLY impossible. Nobody made them. Nobody. Could not find any compatible sights at all.
Enter Mark Housel at L&M Precision. Mark specializes in milling and mounting for red dot sights on handgun slides, especially Glocks. I emailed Mark about my quest for tall sights for the PPQ. His response was "Never done one, we'll figure something out." So I sent him my PPQ slide and the diameter of my silencer.
What Mark came up with was to custom-mill a set of sight bases which he would attach Glock suppressor sights to. It would allow me to swap the sights out for the original ones and make no permanent changes to my slide. For a grand total of $145 which I thought was quite low. Mark's response was "It may not look perfect as your slide is a guinea pig. If it works I could get more business and charge more. If not it should be a pretty fun little project."
My experience with Mark was nothing short of spoiling. He sets a standard for quality work, excellent turn-around time (3 weeks for this), and the ability to think outside the box. It has made every other gunsmithing experience of mine a little dimmer. A huge thanks goes out to him for the work he did.
This May I got my GEMTECH Multimount and am just now getting around to posting this. This was an extremely expensive system as you can imagine but oh, so worth the hassle and monies. Shoots like a dream (it's a PPQ after all), zero blowback, no feeding issues.
Here are the results. If you're looking to suppress your PPQ and are stuck, fear not! A little (or lot) of pocket change and a few months time and you'll be good to go!
Cheers!
Brian
