How to verify PPK/S manufacture date

[Gawernator]

A dealer I know of has a PPK/S they will sell me if we can verify it is curio and relic eligible, and the barrel has the 74 stamping for 1974 which would make it C&R due to the 50 year rule and thus roster exempt. However he said barrels can be swapped so he isn't comfortable going off of that. Is there no way to know when the frame was made?

 

[drinktothat421]

Wouldnt the serial number help with its manufacturer date? Is it a interarms?

 

[Gawernator]

Wouldnt the serial number help with its manufacturer date? Is it a interarms?

How? Ask Walther?
It is a West German made one with INTERARMS/ALEXANDRIA VIRGINIA

 

[drinktothat421]

How? Ask Walther?
It is a West German made one with INTERARMS/ALEXANDRIA VIRGINIA

Possibly? I mean they will have date ranger for serial number. I guess the better question is the dealer going to believe whatever proof you have for the c&r sale.

 

[Gawernator]

I guess I can try to ask if nobody knows

 

[30tokens]

Quick search have some useful info… I’m sure you saw it, but just in case.

• 1968–1985 (European/Manurhin): Manufactured in France and Germany. German models feature date codes on the barrel (e.g., A=0, B=1, C=2). [1, 2, 3]

• 1979–1999 (Interarms/Ranger): Produced in Gadsden, Alabama. Dates can sometimes be found on the test target included with original boxes, or by cross-referencing serial number tables. [1, 2, 3]

• 2001–2012 (Smith & Wesson): Manufactured in Houlton, Maine. [1, 2]

• Present Walther Arms: Produced at the Fort Smith, Arkansas factory.

Question about Interarms Serial numbers

My PPK/S has a serial number that ends in S. It is preceded by a six digit number with S stamped on it on the frame. The slide only has the six digit number. I got a chart today from Walther that lists the interarm dates of manufacture and the serial numbers. All begin with a letter then...

www.waltherforums.com

 

[Gawernator]

Quick search have some useful info… I’m sure you saw it, but just in case.

• 1968–1985 (European/Manurhin): Manufactured in France and Germany. German models feature date codes on the barrel (e.g., A=0, B=1, C=2). [1, 2, 3]

• 1979–1999 (Interarms/Ranger): Produced in Gadsden, Alabama. Dates can sometimes be found on the test target included with original boxes, or by cross-referencing serial number tables. [1, 2, 3]

• 2001–2012 (Smith & Wesson): Manufactured in Houlton, Maine. [1, 2]

• Present Walther Arms: Produced at the Fort Smith, Arkansas factory.

Question about Interarms Serial numbers

My PPK/S has a serial number that ends in S. It is preceded by a six digit number with S stamped on it on the frame. The slide only has the six digit number. I got a chart today from Walther that lists the interarm dates of manufacture and the serial numbers. All begin with a letter then...

www.waltherforums.com

Well fk. It just has that date code on the barrel afaik and the FFL is scared it isn’t correct

 

[MattB]

Your FFL doesn’t know much about the Walther PP-series pistols. The barrel on these pistols is fixed and swapping them is not an easy job. The odds of one being replaced are very low. I had a PP shipped in to an FFL here in OC and had no problem using the date code on the barrel to verify C&R status. The guys at WaltherForums may have a serial number chart that could help you pin down year of manufacture.

 

[Gawernator]

Your FFL doesn’t know much about the Walther PP-series pistols. The barrel on these pistols is fixed and swapping them is not an easy job. The odds of one being replaced are very low. I had a PP shipped in to an FFL here in OC and had no problem using the date code on the barrel to verify C&R status. The guys at WaltherForums may have a serial number chart that could help you pin down year of manufacture.

If this chart is right the gun must be new...? doesn't make sense since West Germany didn't even exist at that point https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...YtJyu6PBBuvMxPg_JXim7s/edit?pli=1&gid=0#gid=0

serial is 177935

 

[MattB]

If this chart is right the gun must be new...? doesn't make sense since West Germany didn't even exist at that point https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...YtJyu6PBBuvMxPg_JXim7s/edit?pli=1&gid=0#gid=0

serial is 177935

I would guess that between Ulm, Ranger, S&W, and now Walther Arms that serial numbers have been reused. I’ll pull my Interarms PPK/S out of my safe tomorrow morning and check my serial. IIRC mine dates to the late 1980s.