By Terry Houin
When Jason Vincent started the “What We’re Carrying Today” stories for the Field Ethos Instagram, I realized my carry guns vary daily. I have a quiver of EDC tools that reflect my needs, and probably a bit of my personality. I also realized I haven’t had any new additions to the tool bag recently. I opt for practical but effective pistols like the Sig 365 that is comfortable for IWB carry around town, but is not a ton of fun to shoot on the range. Or my Glock 19 that, other than a trigger upgrade, has remained the same since I bought it years ago. Both firearms are fine—they’re reliable but not very sexy.
Wanting to jazz things up with a new carry pistol, I started looking for something a little different than what the mainstream folks would carry: something with some personality, something with a good trigger that is fun to shoot, something that could pull double duty on a range day if needed, and something I could throw on my hip while guiding in Texas that would take the abuse. After a few phone calls with friends, I landed with what should have been an obvious choice: the Walther PDP F-series Pro 3.5 Inch.
The F-Series is a trimmed down version of the Walther PDP Pro-X PMM Full-Size that I use for instructing. With a steel slide and polymer frame, the gun weighs in at 20.3 ounces without the 18-round magazine. The F-Series is light enough to not sag your pants, but has enough weight to make it enjoyable to shoot. The slide length of 6.5 inches gives the shooter a usable sight radius of 5.9 inches with the adjustable factory iron sights. The Walther F-Series slide, which features some aggressive serrations they call Superterrain serrations that rise above the surface of the slide for some extra grippiness, also has an optics cut that fits a variety of the top brands. The grip comes with a couple options for backplates to adjust for your hands along with a removable flared magwell. I installed the larger backplate and I’m leaving the magwell installed for now.
The F-Series is well built and comfortable in the hand, but the trigger is what really sets it apart from most EDC pistols. A majority of carry guns have a long trigger travel and are spongy on the break, probably for the average guy so he doesn’t shoot off the baby makers when drawing from the appendix position. All of the Walther Pro pistols come with the Dynamic Performance Trigger—one of my favorite factory triggers—that provides a crisp and consistent break.
So long story short, I’m liking the choice for my new EDC. It fits the bill for a variety of rolls from normal work days in either an appendix holster, or, more likely for me, a kidney carry or strong-side carry. After adjusting the backstrap, it fits my grip well and the flared magwell locks me in at the base of my hands. The adjustable factory sights are fine, but I’ll be upgrading to some XS tritium sights soon, as my old eyes need a little help. I’ll probably end up with a Trijicon RMR on there eventually, but for now, I’m going to train with the good old irons.
Cost: $929
Pros: The trigger is excellent; overall size fits a sweet spot as a carry gun but also a range gun; the aluminum magwell along with the aluminum magazine bases make reloads smooth.
Cons: Some might say it’s a little thick for appendix carry, but you can run a few more laps to make some room or buy a longer belt.
