Been wanting to do a write up on both of these pistols, and upon final gathering of all numbers I found that surprisingly enough both were actually quite similar in many ways. The Walther Q4 SF (Q4) and Staccato P Duo (P) are both steel frame, 9mm chambered handguns both weighing around 3 pounds even loaded so both are quite heavy for essentially being Colt Commander / Glock 19 sized pistols carrying 15+1 and 17+1 respectively. So just based off of weight alone most people would discount them right off the bat, which is fine as you can get a Sig P365 that weighs half as much with a 12+1 capacity (now 15 round magazines are available as well). That being said I enjoy the "mechanical art" aspect of firearms, the locking mechanisms, mechanical accuracy and just overall extreme attention to detail so on and so on when we are talking about handguns that start at $1,500+.
They both will most definitely shoot better than I will ever be capable of, especially considering current ammunition pricing.
Another major aspect to both handguns I really liked is the optics compatibility, both came basically out of the box ready to equip a red dot right out of the box (you now have to email Walther and have a plate mailed to you unfortunately). The P is a better optics platform out of the box, with the ability to mount a Leupold Deltapoint Pro (DPP) directly to the slide and also including lower 1/3 co-witness irons as well as a plate for mounting a Trijicon RMR or holosun 507c series of optics. The walther plates are honestly pretty tall and made out of aluminum and not steel, with no options for direct mounting to the slide. That being said Walther used to offer a co-witness irons plate set (for an additional $150) but they discontinued that when the PDP came out (Dawson Precision make them, and still sells them at least as of this writing).
The machining work on both is totally flawless , which given their price points is to be expected. Random side note the Q4 has the "good" cyanide based Tennifer treatment the older Glocks are famous for since the pistol is manufactured in Germany. The P obviously locks up tighter given that it is a 2011, but for a striker fired steel framed gun the Walther is really well fit and again not a single tool mark even on the interior of the pistols. Consistently blow away by how well the Q4 is machined honestly.
Both guns despite being hefty can be carried relatively easily given the proper belt / holster set up is used (no your discount Wal-Mart belt need not apply), but my logic behind them is that I want to be carrying the pistols that allow me to shoot as accurately and as quickly as possible. Especially since they are chambered in 9mm even when loaded with +P ammo recoil is laughable at best and my P is what I use to introduce new shooters to centerfire handgun shooting actually. Back to my main point , the texas church shooting and subsequent social unrest has made the idea of abandoning the "lighter is better" mindset (my P365 does get some carry time too occasionally) in favor of guns that I know I can shoot to distance pretty well should the situation arise.
(Zeroing carry ammo at 20 yards)
The P is totally unmodified aside from mounting the DPP, the Q4 has had LOK Slim Grips added (really gives it a 1911esque feel) as well as a SpringCo trigger return spring. Both have a trigger pull of about 4 pounds, with the Q4 having a almost like a H&K LEM system with the take up being almost weightless then the wall followed by a nice crisp break followed by Walthers famous super short reset. The P well is a 2011 so the trigger is amazing as to be expected.
Figured I would share my thoughts on the Q4 and P as both seem either quite hard to get or very in demand (i see on forums regularly about paying an extra $300 to have their Staccatos "fast tracked") and these pistols are kind of expensive and hard to see in person so hopefully this might help some people, plus it gives me an excuse to post some cool pictures and ramble a bit.
