For those that don't know, The PDP was one of the first guns we reviewed on the channel. I got it from Brownells, and I've done a number of videos on it to date, I think the last time that we took a look at it, it was for an OWB holster review. Since then I've just been carrying it regularly since it's much easier to carry now that it's colder outside.
As far as upgrades go, the PDP has an optic mounted, a set of cowitness sights, and a rail mounted light. It's a very competent package, but one upgrade that I've been wanting to make on it is the trigger system. The factory trigger on the PDP is very good, but it is admittedly outperformed by the trigger on a very similar weapon: the Canik Mete. Since the Mete and the PDP are both based on the Waltehr PPQ, comparing them side is very easy. Compared to the PDP, the Mete trigger has less takeup, a crisper break, and a noticably shorter reset. The trigger pull weight is a bit lighter as well.
The Dynamic Performance Trigger is supposed to address all of these shortcomings in one easy to install package. Walther says that the system offers a "significant reduction in trigger weight, takeup, and reset". MSRP for the whole system is $180, but it can sometimes be found for less on sale. I got this one before Christmas this year and used an additional discount code that I found and that brought it down to about $115 shipped to my door.
The system consists of a new trigger shoe, a new trigger bar, and a complete fire control assembly. The new trigger shoe is made from aluminum instead of plastic, and is flat as opposed to the stock curved shoe. The safety blade is also thinner and reshaped as well. The shoe comes in either black or the grey that we have here today. Less obvious in terms of changes are the trigger bar and fire control assembly that comprise the rest of the kit, but these two components combine to provide a lot of the difference in feel that the system brings over the stock system.
The system arrives in a nice hard case, with custom cut foam on the inside. The trigger shoe and trigger bar come separated from the fire control assembly, and need to be connected during the assembly. Also in the box are step by step installation steps. The install itself is very simple if you've worked on striker fired weapons systems before; from start to finish it took me about 10 minutes.
Before the install, the factory trigger was breaking at about 4.5lbs with a notable amount of takeup, a clean break, and a bit of overtravel. The pull weight being under 5lbs puts it a bit lighter than most PDPs, likely due to the round count.
After the install, a few things jumped out at me. First, the system definitely delivers in terms of throw reduction for both takeup and reset. Second, in terms of pull weight reduction, the system has actually increased my pull weight overall. It started out at almost a pound heavier right after the install, but after a few hundred rounds I think it has broken in a bit and is down to +/- half a pound heaver now. Again, I think that this is because this particular PDP started out with a trigger that was noticably lighter than most. I think that on a typical PDP, the system will start out iwth the same pull weight, and then drop pull weight about half a pound after it has broken in a bit.
(OK just another quick note here: After shooting this video, I did some digging online and found that some PPQ owners have experienced this same thing, and they have had success getting the pull weight down by putting their factory copper-colored trigger return spring in. I decided to try this on mine, as the factory trigger return spring was that copper color. The swap is easy and the PDP doesn't need to be disassembled beyond taking the slide off; the springs can be swapped with the trigger system still installed with some fine needle nose pliers. After the swap, the pull weight has dropped to just under 4 lbs, which is where I expected to be).
So what do I like about the Dynamic Performance Trigger? Mainly the reduction in throw both for the break and for the reset. This is where the biggest difference between the PDP and the Canik are for me. The Dynamic PErformance Trigger brings the PDP right up to the Canik's level. The flat trigger shoe is also more to my preference vs the curved stock piece. The trigger also breaks when the shoe is vertical, which makes it easy to stage the trigger in between shots. The break itself is as clean as it was with the stock system, and the reset is just as strong as with the stock system. The increase in pull weight is kind of a bummer, but considering the fact that I think my PDP is a bit of an outlier, I can't really hold that against the Dynamic Performance Trigger.
My biggest gripe here is the pricing; I can't help but think that this is the trigger that the PD should have come with out of the box, and the fact that I had to spend money (even at the reduced price that I paid) to get it there isn't ideal. I do know that the PDP Pro SD comes with a version of this trigger as stock; but again I think that how this trigger feels should be how the PDP comes out of the box, and this trigger should be an upgrade from there. The fact that the Canik has essentially the same trigger straight out of the box at a lower price point than the base PDP adds a good bit of sting to this, too.
So overall, I don't like that I have to pay to bring the performance of the PDP up to the level of a gun that is a hundred dollars cheaper, but I like the trigger itself. If you've got a PDP and are considering this trigger system, I would say to wait until you can find it on sale. If you don't yet have a PDP and are planning on getting one, I would say put the money you'd spend on this into buying a PDP Pro SD; the extra features that has along with having this already installed make it worth the price jump.
That's all I've got for you this time, so until next time: stay safe!