Walther PPS
If thin is in, the Walther PPS (Police Pistol Slim) is as cool as pre-jumpsuit Elvis. The PPS’s polymer frame is the only entrant to have an integral accessory rail molded into its dustcover. It has molded-in texture for a nonslip grip and a most unusual ambidextrous magazine release located in the trigger guard. To release the magazine, simply swing down the trigger guard.

The only other controls are the slide release, disassembly lever, and trigger. Like the Glock’s trigger, the face of the Walther’s trigger houses a small safety lever that releases when your finger makes contact with the trigger. The trigger doesn’t just look like the Glock’s either; it feels equally mushy at first but cleans up nicely once you get past the take-up. The PPS’s trigger broke at 5 pounds, 14 ounces.

Like two of the other competitors, the PPS has an external extractor, but it also has a small cutout at the back of the ejection port that allows you to visually verify that a round is in the chamber. The thin, steel slide houses a 3.2-inch barrel and a small set of steel three-dot sights.

The PPS’s frame has interchangeable backstraps to fit shooters of every shape and size. Each backstrap is part of what Walther calls its QuickSafe system. To use it, simply remove the backstrap by pushing down and out to make the gun inoperable. The pistol comes with a short, six-round magazine and an extended seven-rounder. An even longer eight-round magazine is also available.

The .09-inch-thick PPS was easily the thinnest and coolest-looking pistol of the bunch, but because it was so new, no one I showed it to knew what to think of it.

The Shootout
To be fair, I selected shooters of varying sizes and experience levels for my testing. My shooters included the wife of a friend who is an inexperienced shooter with very small hands, a police firearms instructor who is 5 feet, 9 inches tall with average-size hands, and a police officer who is 6 feet, 1 inch tall with big mitts. I am 5 feet, 3 inches tall with small hands.

Before commencing my test, my partners and I spent a day on the range with the Kahr, Para, and Walther. We thought it was only fair to the other candidates since we all have so much time on Glocks. All three ran well and shot great, and we came away with a better feel for the strengths and weaknesses of each pistol.

I started my testing by running 350 rounds of assorted hollowpoint and hardball ammunition with bullets weighing from 115 to 147 grains through each cleaned and lubricated pistol. All four hit on top of their respective front sights at 10 yards and grouped very well. The Para, Glock, and Walther pistols performed flawlessly. However, the Kahr had a consistent hiccup.