Walther is pushing the PDP line very hard and I’m happy with them. I’m a Walther fan, and I feel like Walther will never turn their back on their products in America. As for PDP, they have gone wild. This led to considerable success for Walther. Law enforcement agencies across the country have adopted PDP and have performed well on the competitive circuit. This success led to a number of PDPs, one of the latest being the Pro-E.
Live stock price checker
Built on a full-size or compact PDP platform, it comes with three magazines. The PDP Pro-E balances a weapon suitable for competitive shooting, mission use, and home defense. I liken it to the trim on a top-of-the-line vehicle. It’s not fundamentally different, but those who appreciate better will appreciate the effort.
Like all PDPs, this is a 9mm striker-fired pistol with all modern equipment. This gun comes with a fairly large case to house the handgun, 3 extra magazines, magazine loader, manual, lock, etc. The MSRP is $779, but the retail price appears to be closer to $700 across the board.
Pro-E features and specifications
The PDP Pro-E features a redesigned flat-face polymer trigger. The idea is to provide a more consistent trigger than the original PDP. In my experience, this was already great. The gun comes with an aluminum magazine well and three magazines covered by an aluminum baseplate. Each magazine holds 20 rounds.
Walther built the PDP series with optics in mind. The PDP series comes with optical cuts and uses a plate style system to accommodate a variety of optics. Holosun and CHPWS manufacture optical components that attach directly to cut PDP plates. Get a standard Picatinny rail as an accessory.
The PDP Pro-E is full size, with a 4.5-inch barrel and an 8-inch overall length. It weighs 26.8 ounces and is 1.34 inches wide.
ergonomics
Walther includes three grip inserts to adjust grip size. The slide lock is ambidextrous, allowing users with the wrong handedness to switch the magazine release from left to right. There are three controls: magazine release, slide release, and trigger. The magazine release and slide lock are perfectly placed and easy to engage. My thumb can jump and activate each control without compromising my shooting grip.
The PDP grip and grip texture are great. Walther has always done a great job in the ergonomics department. The texture is aggressive and sticks to your hands. This replaceable palm swell allows for a high and comfortable grip. Overall, I have one major complaint. That’s where the grip meets the trigger guard.
My middle fingers don’t fit together properly. The area where the trigger guard meets the grip is flared and wider than most guns. As a result, the part of the finger south of the second joint gets pushed into the finger and rubs when the gun recoils. It seems like I’m the only one this happens to. I took two classes where the PDP was a loaner gun, and I was the only one that cared about it.
To be honest, it was a pain, but I got used to it, and it didn’t affect my photography.
at the range
I love to take my handgun out to 25 yards and fire a five-shot group as my first shot. With the PDP Pro-E, we’ve done just that. My group hit pretty high and pretty right, but it was pretty small. I noticed that the PDP has an adjustable sight and is set to maximum to cause right and high hits. Adjustment was easy with the included tools and manual.
Centered the rear adjustable sight. Five shots were fired from the van, B8, and five bullets landed near the bull’s eyes. You will need to push the rear sight to the left just a little bit. I am satisfied with the gun’s accuracy at 25 yards. Back out to 50 yards, the front sight covered the entire IPSC target and hit 3 out of 5 times. Optical systems further improve long-range accuracy.
The Pro-E series has a great trigger. The flat-face design allows for a consistent and smooth trigger pull, and Walther has always done a great job with their triggers. The Walther PDP Pro-E trigger is a step up from the original PDP, which already had a great trigger.
go fast
Next, I fired a 10-10-10 drill. 10 shots from 10 yards in under 10 seconds with the B8. I passed with flying colors on my first attempt, earning a score of 5.5. I fired a few more times and tried to get under 5 seconds, but I couldn’t quite break the 5 second mark. As a result of my practice, I was able to get a great score of 5.05. In hindsight, this was a great improvement. But at the moment, it infuriated me. It was so close!
The PDP is a very easy gun for me. Recoil is also quite mild, and muzzle rise can be controlled. This is typical of a full-size 9mm handgun. The front sight is easy to track and allows you to quickly place the bullet where you want it.
I was able to fire a magazine full of doubles and keep them right on top of each other. It was really funny and at times ego-boosting. The PDP Pro-E handles like a race car at times. That also extends to reloading. Aluminum base plate quickly pushes out the magazine. That extra weight ensures that the ammunition will fly out of the gun. A metal magwell funnels the magazine into the gun, allowing for quick reloads.
Pro E
PDP Pro-E series handguns are easy to shoot, accurate, and reliable. The PDP had to shoot through 350 rounds of steel-cased Monarch bullets and an additional 300 rounds of brass-cased 115-grain bullets. It did so without flinching. Most magazines are rough and dirty from reloading and hitting the soft white sand that makes up my range. The Pro-E series is not relevant. They eat, shoot, and work without complaint.
Walther continues to move forward with its PDP series. It’s become their go-to gun in modern times, and it’s easy to see why. We provide reliable, accurate, and high-performance handguns. Offers sophistication in a sea of excellent, but simple guns. Pro-E takes that improvement even further.
About Travis Pike
Travis Pike is a former Marine machine gunner, lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now just a regular guy who loves shooting, writing, and finding ways to combine the two. He is NRA certified as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the safest firearms instructor in the world.
