I was really curious about how much velocity I'd get out of such a short barrel. It being 3.2 inches in length (chamber included!), you've got to figure it won't give you much in the way of speed. Wrong. I compared it to my Novak Hi-Power with its Bar-Sto barrel, which is the fastest 9mm barrel I have in the safe. At 4 3/4 inches for the BHP, I figured I could really make things tough on the little PPS. Wrong again. In the 115 to 124 bullet weights, the smallest difference was 46 feet per second, with the greatest being 94 fps. Give up 94 fps to gain the compactness of the PPS? Is that a trick question? In the heavyweights, the smallest difference was 22 fps and the largest 38. Even the Remington +P Golden Saber load was not objectionable to shoot.

Two magazines, right quickly, at 10 yards. Yes, the little beast can shoot!

As for accuracy, I sure hope the production guns are as good. Even if they are only close, they will be spectacular. Again, I was not anticipating a fun time. I mean, a two-inch barrel, a compact gun--what can it deliver? The crisp trigger made it fun to try, and the first few targets were very encouraging. I learned yet again the need for correct follow-through when using such a compact little blaster, but once I settled down I was able to shoot bragging groups.

I'm sure there's someone reading this who will look at the photos and say to the guy next to them, "Four inches at 25 yards? He calls that accurate?" You bet I do, and that reader should get out more. If someone sent me a Bianchi gun, or something built for Camp Perry that only did four inches at 25 yards, I'd be outraged. But a pocket pistol that literally fits into the cargo pocket of my Woolrich trousers? Delivering four inches all the time? That is impressive.

The load that posted the first "I've got to take a picture of this" group was the Black Hills Red, a 115-grain JHP going just over 1,100 fps. Once I'd taken a slew of photos, I then sat down and shot equal groups with three other loads. So this gun, anyway, isn't some drama queen that insists on one and only one load to shoot well.

I wasn't really looking forward to shooting it when I first had a chance at an industry function. I figured a compact little 9 was going to hurt me. Wrong again. For a compact little gun, it is a soft-shooting one, so much so that the others had to practically pry it out of my hands in order to slam the falling plate racks themselves. I immediately told S&W that I wanted one to test and, if at all possible, that very one. I was told that would be no problem.

I don't know if the soft-shooting feel is due to the dual-spring recoil system or if some clever engineer with a CAD/CAM program looked into the angles of the locking parts and made some adjustments. Whatever the source, the result is a compact pistol that doesn't thump like you'd expect. The PPS is rated for +P ammo, but they do warn you that its use will wear the pistol faster. S&W suggests not using +P+ ammunition in it, and I'd have to agree, but only on recoil grounds.

I don't care how good a recoil spring or what the cam angles might be, you go shooting +P+ ammo out of a short little gun like this and bad things will happen. Maybe not now, or soon or for the rest of your life, but trying to use +P+ ammo in a short barrel like that will be noisy. With such a short slide, recoil will be violent. Your hand and shooting skills will pay the price.

The PPS is listed as being available in .40 S&W. I would think that would be too much of a good thing. Then again, my first sight of the PPS wasn't too encouraging either. When those come in I will have to try them, just to see if the Germanic trickery in this one carried over to the .40s.