Walther P88 Compact Review: The Most Wonderful Wondernine

The Sig P226 and the Beretta 92 share a rivalry that permeates the fabric of handgun history.

They are the quintessential “wondernines”—the breed of hi-cap DA/SA pistols that dominated the handgun scene of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. They both successfully weathered the perils of the U.S. military’s XM9 trials. They both went on to face hotly divided perspectives on which pistol was really the best. It’s a debate that rages to this day.

But…

Despite their bitter feud, the P226 and the 92 can—perhaps—agree on one thing:

They both _ucking hate the Walther P88.

And that, my fellow gun hipsters, is what we’re here to talk about.

*A German masterpiece on an American classic—and they’re both blued.*

What makes the Walther P88 hipster worthy?

The Walther P88 series represents the ultimate expression of the “wondernine,” combining the most desirable traits of its XM9-era predecessors with the fit and finish of a custom 1911.

The P88 is a DA/SA sex symbol.

It’s lean. It’s tight. It’s dark. It’s handsome. It’s a bad bitch. It’s a hot boy. It’s model material.

And it shoots as good as it looks.

It makes Sigs jealous and Berettas bashful. It makes custom 1911s look like amateurs. It makes every other “wondernine” seem a little less wonderful. And while I’ve never owned a really high-dollar 1911, I’ve handled Wilsons, Nighthawks, Baers and others.

And let me tell you…

My P88c, which is technically a production pistol, feels every bit as lavish, luscious and luxurious as all but the bougiest of 1911s.

Subscribe to HipTac on YouTube

It is, by far, the nicest gun I’ve ever owned. It might be the nicest “normal” DA/SA gun ever made. And, in that, it is an archetype of the era from which it originates.

Unsung Icon

The P88 series epitomizes the ideal of what a “service pistol” should be—or should have been—as of the late twentieth century. If you were into guns in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, it was probably everything you wanted in a handgun. It was everything gun culture held in high regard.

But it also represents the end of an era.

An era where metal-framed DA/SA pistols dominated. An era where polymer frames and striker-fired actions were still just… promising ideas from some Austrian backwater.

And, unfortunately, it was an era that didn’t last long enough to give the P88—or its more refined, more concealable successor, the P88 Compact—enough to time to truly shine.

But to understand how the P88 became the unsung icon of the wondernine era, we have to go back to 1985 [insert DeLorean joke]. Or, actually, a bit before…

*If guns could be Abercrombie models, the P88c would be*

XM9 Dropout

When the U.S. military announced their desire for a new service pistol in the late 1970s, Walther didn’t have a contender. The company’s most advanced pistol at that time was the P5—a single-stack compact that, while exceedingly dope in all respects, didn’t come close to the meeting the army’s requirements for capacity, size, etc.

So, Walther went to work.

In short order, they came up with a rather conventional design, using a typical Browning-style tilt barrel with a very “Beretta 92-esque” double-stack magazine. By 1981, they had a handful of prototypes, which they submitted to the U.S. military for evaluation in their forthcoming “XM9” pistol trials. By all indications, Walther’s creation was well-made and highly accurate.

But, it shit the bed in the 1984 XM9 trial.

*The XM9 contestants—the P88 prototype is in the lower left, above what looks like a CZ-75 (Photo from Walther Forum).*

The frame cracked near the end of the dustcover. The sights broke off in drop tests. It didn’t stand up to dirt and mud like the P226 and the 92.

But Walther kept refining the design. And, in 1988 (it might have been late ’87, actually) they brought an improved version to the commercial market—which they called the P88.

And, these new guns must have been a lot better than the prototypes from 1984, because they actually were used (to some degree) by the IDF. And, as we all know, the Israelis doesn’t _uck around when it comes to weapons.

The Best of the Best

By the time Walther got around to designing P88 prototype, Sig Sauer was already seeing success with their P220 and P225. Beretta had mastered the art of the uber-reliable 15-round mag. And Smith & Wesson had 30-years of DA/SA experience with their 39s, 59s, 439s and 459s.

In my opinion, you can see all of those guns in the P88.

*The king of the wondernines (just don’t tell anyone that’s actually a P220 on the bottom).*

The barrel lockup and the orientation of the feed ramp are decidedly Sig-esque. The mag is a known knockoff of the Beretta 92 mag. The gracefully thin slide, and the overall silhouette, have a touch of Smith & Wesson to my eye—not to mention the “belled” barrel intended to facilitate tighter lockup near the muzzle. And the 1911 must have gotten in on the action, too—a super high-end, custom-fitted 1911… with a dark and mysterious machismo. If guns can, umm, have that.

Conventionally Unique

Certainly, the full-size P88 brought some unique features to its generally conventional design. It has the nifty dual-purpose decocker/slide release pioneered on the P5. Plus, it has a legit two-sided mag release button. But to me, those are just gimmicks.

The real “headline” with the P88 and P88c—and the thing that does make them legitimately unique, in my opinion—is their build quality.

It’s simply on another level compared to other service pistols.

Other than a Les Baer 1911 (which is just stooopid tight), I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced a gun with a tighter fit than my P88c. Though my 1992 Sig P220 is pretty close.

There’s basically zero play in the slide to frame fit. The slide/barrel lock into battery with a vault-like “snick.” The lines and the machining are immaculate. The barrel crown and the rifling are perfect. Even the hammer and the trigger exhibit zero play in their prescribed arcs of motion.

Plus, the bluing is so deep, rich and shiny it’s almost… therapeutic. Like a vacation, to some classy maritime locale. Where old men bring younger women—all of whom feel obliged to wear obnoxiously huge, white hats. Boca Raton comes to mind.

Anyway…

The gun is a work of art.

*Even Derek Zoolander couldn’t make blue steel look this good.*

It was also expensive AF—even early ‘90s. Plus, the original P88 was a big ‘ole gun, with a fat-assed grip that was hard to hold onto (so I’ve heard).

So, a few years into the ‘90s, Walther decided to put it on a diet.

The P88 Compact is Born

With the P88c, Walther sought to drive some efficiencies in terms manufacture, while addressing some of the complaints they’d encountered with the full size—namely, that it was bulky and unwieldy, especially in the grip. Presumably, they also wanted to make it more relevant for the emerging concealed carry market in the U.S.

I’ve also heard that Walther didn’t see the P88c as a companion to the full size, but rather as a replacement. I suppose that makes sense, given the full-size P88’s prohibitively high cost on the commercial market and its general lack of government contracts (aside from some small batches to the IDF and maybe a few others).

*P88 & P88 Compact—photo credit, Rock Island Auction.*

So, first and foremost, Walther dispensed with the OG P88’s “fiddly” dual-purpose, dual-sided decocker. In its stead, the P88c uses a tried-and-true slide-mounted lever, in the vein of a P38 or a Beretta 92. Not only did this eliminate a lot of expensive, finely engineered mechanics, it helped make the grips—which covered all those finely engineered mechanics—a bit less fat.

Walther also shortened the slide/barrel as well as the grip, making it a lot more carry friendly. There were likely other evolutionary changes as well, but I don’t have a full-size P88 to say exactly what those may have been.

Despite these tweaks, however, the P88c retains the impeccable build quality—and requisitely incredible accuracy—of its full-size predecessor. In my opinion, it is still very much a service pistol with the soul of target pistol.

Speaking of souls…

Out-of Body Accuracy

The first five shots I ever put through this thing were touching—even after a stressful day where much coffee was imbibed and zero lunch was consumed. I wasn’t even really trying. Hell, I was barely even aiming.

In fact, shooting the P88c is almost surreal. The entire experience seems to transcend the senses. Maybe even… consciousness. Or time itself. Or that email I forgot to send before absconding to the range.

The grip melds with your hand, never feeling too wide or too thin. As you take aim, the slide assumes a natural, neutral equilibrium, letting a crisp sight picture fall effortlessly into view. The front dot sits low, centered in a recessed furrow spanning the top of the slide—which brings it down closer to the axis of the bore. In that, it feels intimately connected to your point of aim. The trigger? It finds you. And the SA break is so clean, soft and “minimally invasive”…

You can’t even believe you just bullseyed some shit.

Again. Again. A cloverleaf appears. Holes upon holes. The recoil is there, but it’s transparent—owed to the gun’s perfect balance in hand. Then, your moment of shooting zen ends… as you find all your shots arrayed in an exceedingly tight pattern. And you realize that what you’re holding is truly something special.

Surgical Steel

The P88c is the most composed gun I’ve ever shot.

There’s no drama. There’s nothing to throw you off. Everything about it is poised, precise, predictable and perfect—despite what Gaston Glock would have you believe about his own concoction of steel, plastic and pervasively marginal adequacy.

To me, the P88c just feels more accurate than other guns. More bullets go through the same holes. Shot groupings appear tighter. The target just seems to be a more exacting reflection of your inputs as a shooter. If a Beretta 92 is a katana, the P88c is a scalpel.

But, like a scalpel, the P88 can feel a bit clinical.

It doesn’t give you the visceral feedback that’s its older brother, the P5, does. And, the P5’s straighter-angled backstrap fits my hand a bit better. Not that the P88 feels bad at all—but I can’t quite achieve the level of intimacy with the trigger that I can with the P5. I’d say the P88c feels more like a Sig P228 or a P226 than anything. But more precise, more accurate, more intuitive, and more… subdued. Almost, nonchalant.

To that point, the DA pull is, literally, flawless. But, that is to say, there is merely an absence of negatives; I wouldn’t call the DA pull “excellent” either. It’s not incredibly light or silky smooth, but it’s consistent and pretty much free of stacking. Plus, there’s an overtravel stop. So, it’s perfectly shootable.

But I’ll be honest: the venerable S&W 5906 still has my favorite DA pull in a DA/SA pistol

So…

While the P88c’s shooting dynamics are incontrovertibly superb, I can’t say it’s inherently exciting to shoot—until you get a sense of just how accurate the thing really is. That makes it exciting. And, ultimately, very satisfying.

And, like all 9mm Walthers I’ve shot, it handles extremely well when you’re shooting fast. I don’t know how Walther does it, but my P5, my P88c and my P99—all very different guns from different generations—can ALL mag-dump with a certain finesse that other guns just can’t match. Superb shootability, in all dimensions, just seems to have been more of a conscious consideration in how Walther designed their guns. At least that’s the impression I get.

*The P88c, with older and younger siblings.*

Bottom line: I LOVE shooting the P88c. It just has a very “he was a quiet man” kind of a demeanor to it. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Actually… it’s kinda baddass.

Duty-Grade, Hipster Worthy

You might be tempted to see the P88c as a historical curiosity that woos handgun hipsters (like me!) and collectors with its snob appeal and its illustrious Teutonic pedigree. You wouldn’t be wrong, in that assessment. But you’d also—probably—be overlooking the fact the Walther P88c is a really, really good gun.

So far, I’ve put around 400 rounds through it with zero stoppages. I put shitty remanufactured ammo through it (which choked my brand-new CZ PCR AND my Browning Hi Power), along with random, old hollowpoints and a variety of other range ammo. It ran everything.

I didn’t clean it for a week, I didn’t re-lube it—shot it again. It ran everything.

There’s no hint of hesitation as the rounds feed. No “kerchunk” on the feedramp (ahem, CZ). Even as tightly fit as this gun is, it was still designed as a military service weapon. And, with that, comes a standard of reliability and dependability that, I think, still makes it relevant and worthwhile today.

Not to mention, the P88c is very…

Carry Capable

I expected the P88c to be accurate, beautiful, reliable and mechanically marvelous. But I didn’t expect it to carry as well as it does.

It’s really not small, by most objective metrics; in ‘90s guns, “compact,” is really just wishful thinking in many cases. Nevertheless, it has the right dimensions to make it extremely comfortable inside the waistband, and perfectly concealable it most situations.

*The P88c’s slide is “Browning Hi Power” thin.*

The slide is Browning Hi Power thin and the grip is just short enough to cross a certain threshold of concealability that precludes printing. Plus, the levers Walther used aren’t sharp, pokey and annoying. In that, I feel like they were ahead of their time.

I generally carry in a soft holster (which is why I prefer legit DA guns) at around 12:30. The P88c excels in that role. I decided to carry it just for the hell of it, one day. And… I’ve been carrying it ever since. Not simply because it feels sooo baller to carry a gun like a P88… but… it’s simply an excellent carry gun, regardless of how cool it is.

One Wondernine to Rule Them All

At the end of the day, I have little reservation in saying that the P88c delivers a class-leading, genre-defining, Oscar-winning performance as the greatest of all the wondernines. No question, it’s a cut above your garden-variety Beretta 92 or Sig P226, in terms of fit, finish, feel, quality and accuracy.

And while I’m not sure anything can top the Beretta 92 or the Walther P5—for me—in terms of just sheer shooting enjoyment, the P88c brings you savant-level accuracy in a package the feels great to shoot, feels great to carry and appears to be perfectly reliable. That’s not easy to find all in one package.

Plus, it’s gorgeous.

Honestly, if I had to give up every gun I currently own except for one… up until about a month ago, I would have said “Sig P239.” I’m not so sure anymore. The P88c is the all-around “best” gun I own. It can do everything you need and want handgun to do. And it can do it really, really well.

Yeah, it’s a hipster gun. But also one of best guns I’ve ever experienced. And if you get a chance to experience it, I think you’ll probably agree.

The Umarex CP88

One last thing worth noting…

Most of you probably know that Umarex—a German air gun company—owns Walther. In fact, the P88’s less-than-stellar sales performance in the 1990s was likely one reason that Walther ended up being acquired by Umarex. It is then, perhaps, poetic injustice that their CP88 pellet gun—faithfully modeled on the real P88 Compact—is one of their top sellers.

*Thank God they didn’t put front slide serrations on the real gun.* *Photo: Amazon*

In fact, there are more Google for searches for the CP88 than there are for the actual P88 or the P88 Compact. Which, if I’m being totally honest, is the only reason this section is here ;)

Anyway…

Thanks for reading. And stay Hipster, my friends.

What are your thoughts on the Walther P88? Experiences? Opinions? Scathing condemnations on my review? Feel free to share below…

#hiptac