The eventual introduction of the M&P killed the SW99 for good.ĭuring that time however, S&W was importing the Walther P99, which gained a bit of a pop culture boost when James Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan used it as his sidearm in Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is not Enough, and his last outing Die Another Day. It was in many ways doomed by Walther P99, which was better to look and similar to shoot, and of course the market domination of Glock. The SW99 was an interesting gun, but never really caught on.
At the time, the only polymer pistol in S&W’s lineup was the S&W Sigma, which was not highly regarded by the shooting community. In 1999, 6 years before the introduction of the M&P, Smith & Wesson and Walther collaborated on the SW99, which mated a Walther produced P99 frame to a S&W produced barrel and slide. To many of our readers, this is ancient history, but during the late 90s and up until fairly recently, Smith & Wesson and Walther shared a “strategic partnership” where S&W acted as the importer of Walther’s guns and also took over the domestic “manufacture” of the PPk. For many years, Interarms assembled PPk pistols in the US specifically because the PPk didn’t meet the import restrictions of GCA ’68.Īfter the end of Interarms, new Walther firearms were available through Smith & Wesson. In fact, “Interarms Walther PPk” is a recommended google search for the Interarms brand. Through the years, they’ve been available through various importers, with memorable stints from Interarms and Smith & Wesson.
Walther firearms have always had an interesting time here in the States.
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