Let me start this by saying that Dave asked me not to write this. I thought about it and decided that this needs to see the light of day. Like most dirty little secrets, this one, if left alone, would just fester. The truth deserves to be heard. So, I'm sorry Dave...I have to tell them.
Several months ago I approached Dave and asked him to do a little bit of work on my Interarms-imported Walther PPK in .380 caliber. I had picked the gun up used and, generally, I was pretty happy with it. Like all PPKs, it had a few issues. First off, the sights were small, stainless steel and hard to see. After looking around for alternatives, I settled on the tritium Express Sights offered by AO Sights (Ashley Emerson's old outfit). They required the old front sight be machined off and a dovetail cut to install the new sights. I had not owned a gun with AO sights before, so I thought I would give it a whirl.
Next, the gun was loaded with sharp edges. If I carried the PPK, I could leave my Spyderco at home. The worst offender for sharp edges was the rear of the slide. After shooting twenty rounds or so, I would have a railroad track cut into the top of my hand. I asked Dave to knock the sharp edges off and see what he could do with the rear of the slide. It still taps my hand, but it doesn't cut me anymore.
While he had it, I also asked Dave to remove the serrations from the trigger face and polish it smooth. The trigger, when I got it, was actually the best I had felt on a PPK. That was one of the biggest reasons for buying it. Well, Dave did some mojo to the trigger (that I am sure involved naked chickens and human sacrifices) and made it nothing short of superb. The DA is very, very smooth and the SA has a very smooth 4 pound let off. In short, the best PPK trigger I have ever felt, bar none.
From a cosmetic standpoint, I had Dave serrate the front strap (totally unnecessary, but cool looking, none-the-less), bevel the mag well (once again, not needed, but nifty), and bead blast the package and polish the slide flats. The result is a very nice looking package that is a great pocket pistol.
Is it perfect? Pretty darn close. The AO Express Sights, for my eyes (and Dave's) shoot a little low. Solution? Aim higher. Problem solved. Any other problems? Well, I hate to admit this, but the trigger is almost TOO good. There have been a couple of follow up shots that were a bit quicker than I was expecting. It's just a matter of better trigger control.
So, why didn't Dave Berryhill want me to write this up? Well, he doesn't want to be known as "The PPK Gunsmith". Fair enough. Since Dave worked this PPK over, he has turned his sights towards 1911s, almost exclusively. So, take everything I said about the PPK and apply it to Dave's 1911 gunsmithing. Dave has worked on two guns for me, and the results of both have been superb. He will get another.
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