I've checked a few threads on here that mentioned them, but I wanted to hear from those who've shot and carried them enough to form a solid opinion. The compact size is what's appealing to me since whatever I get will probably end up being concealed. Caliber will be .40.

Whatever I buy will mostly be packed while hiking or fishing. My dick beaters are small, which tends to limit which guns fit me comfortably. I've only handled a few pistols and shot fewer: dad's dan wesson .357, which felt and shot great - ruger p something or other in .40 (back in 93), shot good, can't remember how it felt - hk usp .40, shot great, felt pretty good, too expensive. I've held my boss's s&w m&p .40 and was surprised how well it fit my hand too, so I've pretty much narrowed it down to the m&p, xd or the walter.

My biggest concerns with the walter is I did a little research and found they had issues with parts randomly falling off, the bottom of the clip popping off and dropping rounds, and at least once the trigger just fell out of the gun while going through only the 2nd clip. I'm hoping these were early issues that have been worked out, but that's why I'm throwing this out there. Anybody had any issues with theirs yet? Aside from the falling apart thing, has anybody had any feeding issues or troubles cycling when they get a little dirty?

It's not a fucking clip!

clip -> stripper clip

removable magazine.

Sweet.

I have a p99, the old style still made in Germany. I've never had any parts fall off, or any other problems with it. They (should) come with three different backstraps and I use the biggest one, so the small or medium one should work for you.

I have no idea on the quality of the S+W ones, though. Oh, and mine is 9mm.

I'll throw another suggestion in there since you seem to like those pistols. Check ou the S&W Sigmas. Got one for my wife because it fit her hands. If you shop around you should be able to find one for less than $350. Now you will hear people talk about what a pile of crap the Sigma is but those people probably don't own one or if they did they only shot it a couple of times and then sold it. Doc has a trigger mod that only takes about 30 minutes to do and makes the world of difference when shooting the pistol. They are accurate too as long as you get to know your gun, just as with anything else. I am not the best pistol shooter in the world but 10 out of 14 in the red at 25 feet works for me.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/5543/sigmasw40vesx0.jpg

I'll throw another suggestion in there since you seem to like those pistols. Check ou the S&W Sigmas. Got one for my wife because it fit her hands. If you shop around you should be able to find one for less than $350. Now you will hear people talk about what a pile of crap the Sigma is but those people probably don't own one or if they did they only shot it a couple of times and then sold it. Doc has a trigger mod that only takes about 30 minutes to do and makes the world of difference when shooting the pistol. They are accurate too as long as you get to know your gun, just as with anything else. I am not the best pistol shooter in the world but 10 out of 14 in the red at 25 feet works for me.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/5543/sigmasw40vesx0.jpg

CDNN investments has them for $289 I think shipping is $30 and then whatever your cost is for FFL transfer. So right around $350.00. I think there is still a rebate for two free mags or $50.00 cash back. I have never handled one, but I guess the trigger is pretty bad.

I carry a 9mm P99. It is one of the older styles, with the SA/DA trigger. I've carried it almost everyday for the past 3 years, and have put many thousands of rounds through it. I have never had a problem with this gun. My younger brother had one failure to eject when he was shooting it, but, he was limp wristing it and I think it was a contributing factor.

I have never had anything 'fall off' and I would trust my life to this gun in a heartbeat. I would imagine that the .40 would be just as reliable as the 9mm.

You consider the PPS in .40? Single stack, comfortable, and thin...

Far Right on the board has a p99 for sale in .40

CDNN investments has them for $289 I think shipping is $30 and then whatever your cost is for FFL transfer. So right around $350.00. I think there is still a rebate for two free mags or $50.00 cash back. I have never handled one, but I guess the trigger is pretty bad.

It is pretty terrible in stock form. Do Doc's trigger mod though and it makes it just as good as any other trigger. All you need is a small punch pin, a dremel with the polishing set, and about 1/2 hour.

I really like the p99. It fit my hand well and shot extremely accurate. I like my glock as well. The P99 has the de-cocker which is a cool feature for backpacking a stuff. I never had any problems with it. Shot great and the only time it didn't feed is when a friend "limp wristed" it.

I'll throw another suggestion in there since you seem to like those pistols. Check ou the S&W Sigmas.

I thought about one of those, but I coulda swore they were well over $500 last time I looked. I checked out the pps, and honestly, I just don't like the way it looks.

Thanks for all the comments so far! It's sounding like those who have one really like them, and even the folks who had issues with them on other boards echoed pretty much the same sentiment: it's a trusted and loved sidearm that they wouldn't soon get rid of.

Ultimately, despite being dirt poor, I still long to buy every gun I can afford, that is after keeping my trucks and motorcycle on the road. I've been pretty lucky that my dad gave me his old remington 788 in .243 and my marlin model 60, a friend had a super clean s&w pump 12 gauge in and out of hock (sp) most it's life and sold it to me for a little more than $100, saved up and bought a compact (read: youth/ladies model) remington 20 gauge pump for quail and extended carry, waited patiently and found a remington 788 in .308, and bought a super clean sporterized mauser m96 in 6.5x55 swede.

But that's not enough! I still want a couple more bolt action center fires, a bolt action .22, a couple semi auto pistols and a couple revolvers. I'm thinking the walter will for sure be one of them, then later on maybe get the xp or m&p, or whatever I decide on by then. We do have a local gun shop with an indoor range, and when it gets closer I'll probably go in and see what all they have for rental guns.

Again, thanks for the comments, keep em coming!

I love my P99, of all the hand guns I've shot it's one of my favorite. I have the AS trigger, which once you get used to is awesome. Mine's 9mm though. I've never heard anything bad about these guns in all the research I've done.