# Walther PPK/S chamber indicator jam



## alloy

hi guys newbie here, but not new to firearms in general. i have a new PPK/S with the chamber indicator. .380, have had the gun about 3 years, but never fired it. recently started carrying it and figured i might as well take it to the range and get used to it.

ok...gun has been cleaned and kept clean religiously over those years. was purchased new in box. ammo used was low dollar USA brass FMJ also purchased years ago with the gun.

one missfire, no biggie. no jams. shot 50 rounds, and 3 times during this outing...the chamber indicator managed to stay back and protrude about 5/16 from the at rest position. grabbed it each time with fingers, wiggled it and it popped right back in.

gun was still functioning fine, not even sure i caught it immediately each time. looked in the breech and the front of that pin had dropped out of its hole, as if the blowback had too much rearward force and was moving the pin a bit too much.

went to my gunstore and was told they can be idiosyncratic until a few hundred rounds have been fired. have heard the same before elsewhere(mainly online). said they would send it back, and i know its safe to run a few boxes thru it, as this indicator is a seperate sprung pin thats independant of gun functioning.(or at least it appears that way)....but is it possible all my cleaning gummed up the chamber that indicator pin lives in, and that was causeing my issues? any ideas? ammo possibly?

anyone seen this before? sorry for the long winded question.


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## alloy

for those unfamiliar, this cartridge indicator pin is shown here several places...

http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/Walther/upload/other/PPK_PPKs.pdf


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## kev74

If the pin is working loose, it means the pin wasn't correctly placed in or fitted to the hole. Repeated cleaning had nothing to do with it.

Just for curiosity's sake, how do you keep a gun for 3 years and not shoot it? You’ve got more patients then me!


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## alloy

figured someone would ask, but the range is an hour away, and i only ride bikes, so i carry what i carry. it isnt an event i gear up for. maybe a few extra mags worth, or a box of sheels on the way, but i dont tote an arsenal in a t-shirt riding down the road.

only recently decided to switch to this gun because i got tired of CC my larger pistols.

pulled it back by hand a few minutes ago. bottom pics are the normal at rest state. 
w/ cartridge in barrel it protrudes rearward about 1/8"(same as distance visible in third pic)


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## unpecador

Never seen this before. If it still fires ok and you don't mind manipulating the pin with your hands then leave it, otherwise send it back for repair. I would send it back for repair but I wouldn't have waited a week let alone three years to find this out either. Just my two cents.


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## alloy

yeah, but its most likely beyond that now. i was in prison? no...it was a gift for my mom but she got hit by a train. i was in a coma. shit happens. for whatever reason...it wasnt a priority and still isnt exactly an emergency, _it will be right soon enough_ and then ill shoot the rifling out of the barrel for you guys. its a peashooter, it got cleaned a few times a year along with everything else and went back in the cabinet.

any experience with the turn around times at Walther USA?


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## unpecador

Anything else you want to add...

I have no clue about Walther USA but I would imagine it's based on their workload and how long it would take to fix the problem. Best bet is to give them a call.


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## alloy

will be calling in the AM...thanks!


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## alloy

as an update, called walther usa and ordered a new spring and what they now call a _signal indicator pin_

a whopping 20 bux so i figured i would do some experimenting. serious disassembly, and toothbrush solvent session. got out the jewelers files and rifflers and did some deburring. scotchbrite in the lathe and polished up the decocker lever, and _signal indicator pin_. stretched the spring ever so slightly till it was about 1/16" longer at rest and cut off about 1/32 off the bent tang end, which might have been binding on the two bosses.

reassembled with some serious 3 in 1 oil overkill, and a dab of white gun grease on the slide lands. worked it all about 20 few minutes, took it apart and wiped off the excess, put it back together and the grips on.

went and bought 2 boxes of Magtech 95 grain FMJ(back to square one with the appropriate ammo per design) and went back to the range.

100 rounds, cleaned again every 50...no jam, no missfire, no silly stuck indicator. was working so well i shot up my 3 clips worth of hollow points as well(cant remember, black talon or golden sabre most likely) same thing. this isnt even the same gun, much more positive feel with each shot. waaay smoother, just a nice CLUNK.

so....ammo, gunk, or whatever...its flawless now. when the new pin/spring gets here will check that against the old with a set of calipers and update with more magtech ammo, and i will try a different brand as well to be sure. thanks guys! very accurate at 25/30 feet. my hand is killing me...i think my thumb knuckle needs some time off


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## alloy

link to a simple decocker removal for those that are wondering...

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-128241.html


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