H&K VP9 vs Glock 17

If you have access to the LEO/Govt/Military/First responders I believe stock Glocks are right around $450.

Weapons World had them for $475 IIRC. Dan Ammo a some right around $450 the other day. So I might be off a bit OTD. More like $475+$20 shipping +20 Transfer $515.00 OTD.

HKs seem to be $575 or so + $20 Shipping + $20 Transfer. So still about $100 difference.
 
That's more like it. I can get them with no problem for $500... I've NEVER seen a new one at $450.

I don't have a VP9(and I'm not really looking for one at the moment), but I don't think a $100 premium for an HK over Glock is a big deal. Heck, people pay that much for an XDM.
 
That's more like it. I can get them with no problem for $500... I've NEVER seen a new one at $450.

I don't have a VP9, but I don't think a $100 premium for an HK over Glock is a big deal. Heck, people pay that much for an XDM.
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That is about what I got my Gen3 for. IIRC. NIB.

I am not arguing that one cannot or should not pay an additonal $100 if they prefer the HK over the Glock my issue is treating that choice as an objective fact instead of the "choice" it is.

Another way to look at the difference in price is in terms of the law of diminishing returns. The HK is about 20% more expensive than the Glock. Is it a 20% better pistol than the Glock? IMHO is simply a matter of opinion. LOL

I am not a Glock fan and I am not a HK fan either. For me personally there are better pistols out there for me. I have owned quiet a few of both and only have a Glock 19 and a HK P7 still in the stable. Everything else got sold. YMMV
 
There is definitely factual information in regards to firearms but there is a lot more subjective information. Feel is of course subjective, and value can be as well. What might be make or break features for one user are features the other user simply doesn't care about and those features may drive the price. Glock has been producing Glocks for a long time. Frankly I'd have been amazed if HK came out with a VP9 for exactly the same price as a Glock 17 or less right off the bat. Now whether or not that price will change over time is a good question.

In a half dozen Glocks and a dozen HKs my HKs were notably more reliable than my Glocks. But I'm just one user and while I may have had multiple pistols my experience could be a result of my own shooting skill/technique. I would say I have more confidence in a new firearm from HK than say Ruger as was mentioned earlier, as I think HK has a bit better QC process from what I've seen. However this is a new design from a company that hasn't made a striker pistol in some time. Time is the only real judge.
 
I cant believe being an HK fanboy I am about to argure for the Glock but:
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but isn't it so much more fun to play devil's advocate?:D I do not like glocks but I don't deny that they are good weapons most of the time.
 
Just for the heck of it, I was looking on gunbroker and Top Gun Supply.
VP9 magazines seemed to range from $39 (TGS -out of stock) to a whopping $60.
Those Glock "plastic magazines" (actually metal lined plastic) sited as a Con are a lot cheaper than that, are easily available both new and used, and work great.

I have no doubt that the VP9 is a very nice pistol, and I hope I encounter one at my club and get to shoot it.
But my G17 is a very nice pistol too, and I shoot it very well. It is, after all the pistol that got me to move away from the Browning HiPower, a pistol I carried and shot for a long time.
 
VP9 magazines seemed to range from $39 (TGS -out of stock) to a whopping $60.
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I never pay more than $34-$35 for a P30 magazine(same magazine as the VP9) and they are readily available.

Glock mags are generally $24.

A difference of $10 per magazine is negligible... less than a single box of 9mm ammo.
 
Hmmm...a difference of $10 per mag means when you buy three, I get four. I guess that's negligible...unless you need four mags.
When I got my G26, I wanted some G19 mags, and I found an ad on a trader for four used G19 mags with new springs for $40. The point being that the Glock has been around long enough that the secondary market is huge, both new and used.

I'm actually more interested in the new Canik pistol than the HK.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=553960
 
Hmmm...a difference of $10 per mag means when you buy three, I get four. I guess that's negligible...unless you need four mags.
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I have a minimum of 10 mags for all of my guns.... try 10 mags for the HK45 at $60 each. I get 10 mags... you can have a new Glock. (I'll keep my HK45 ;) )

I think this whole thing is getting confused with talking about a difference of a few tens of dollars. HK's aren't generally priced for or marketed to the budget shopper until the introduction of the VP9.

The front head lamp assembly for the BMW is about $1,200. It's about a 10th of that for a Chevy Cobalt. Is it 10 times 'better'? No, probably not(although it does have an articulating lamp that turns with the wheel).... but it's marketed to a different market and there is a cost of entry to that market.

Besides that... Glocks are generally cheaper than ANY other mags. The VP9 mags are about the same as M&P mags, XDM mags, etc. Cheaper than PPQ mags. Generally... they are priced competitively. You'll get no argument from me on HK 45 mags. They are crazy expensive... but that doesn't really apply to the VP9/P30 mags.
 
(although it does have an articulating lamp that turns with the wheel)
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Lol my VW has the same thing, amuses me to no end. I doubt it accomplishes much but I can't help smile at it.

I've kept out of some of the recent posts and stopped myself from trolling. Either the differences of the VP9 over the Glock are worth it to you or they're not, it's that simple. But given how many striker fired safe-action pistols from a number of manufacturers there are on the market, I don't think we can say Glocks satisfy everyone. This isn't the USSR and we have the great gift of choices.
 
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Back to the thread at hand here. We're not talking about other handguns, so here we go.

As a person that likes Glocks, I have to say the one and only time I handled an HK, I said I had to have one. I like the balance, fit and feel!

I never bought one because of other priorities, but I am sure that the day will come that one finds it's way to my safe. I am also sure it will become my favorite semiauto to fire!

Mel
 
Sorry guys, but I'm the "Anti-gLoCk". Put just about any other brand against the VP9 and I would tell you to buy the one you shoot best.

That gLoCk is still held in such "reliable" regard, after their Gen IV debacle, irks me to the core. Any other MFG would be burned at the stake for the crap they put people through with a large number of those pistols.
 
very true, however that is no longer the case. they could have issued no recall at all and continued to crank out junk, but they at least acknowledged their heinous crimes against humanity and semi fixed them to the point that they are once again decent guns. like I've said glock is not the only company to ever release a bad pistol line. remember Remington and the R51? they marketed like a chocolate company in february, but man they sure disappeared from all public knowledge in a hurry.
 
tahunua001 said:
remember Remington and the R51? they marketed like a chocolate company in february, but man they sure disappeared from all public knowledge in a hurry.
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Heh, that is a great example of a US company run by fools. Those folks still don't have pistols.
 
I haven't picked up any Blue Label Glocks this year (yet...), but I quick search of pricing can find a Glock 19 for right around $400. While I realize that this is pricing for LEO/Military/First Responders, it is something to consider when pricing out the VP9.

The whole safe-action striker-fired pistol market is saturated with options. That is because Glock secured such a massive market share (for good reason), and everyone else showed up late to the party looking for some tail. There are pretty much two ways to take market share from Glock: do it better, and do it cheaper. The S&W M&P may just do both, but that's another thread. The VP9 does a lot of things 'better', depending on who you ask. But, like any HK, you pay for what you get.

For cost of entry, cost to use, and cost to maintain, the Glock is pretty much unbeatable in the handgun world. This is why they continue to dominate the market, not just their arrogant marketing about 'perfection'. In the mean time, chew on HK's arrogance: 'in a world of compromise, some don't'. We get it, teutons make good stuff. I buy their stuff.

But the point still stands: the Glock 17 is cheaper on the outset, cheaper in the mid term, and cheaper in the long run, to own and operate. A trained monkey with a punch can swap out sub-assemblies on a glock, and the assemblies themselves can be had for what loose change I can find in my couch.

If you like the VP9, for all the reasons an HK is an HK, then get it. You'll pay a bit more for it, and you'll probably find what you paid for sitting in your hands, and showing up on the paper down range.
 
I'm really at a loss on this one, are you saying that glocks turn into keltecs if you hang a light on the front rail?
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This was a known issue with Gen 3 Glocks in .40SW.

Glock changed the recoil spring and mag follower design a few times to try to remedy the issue (mostly failures to feed), but I'm not sure if they ever completely eliminated the problem prior to the Gen 4 pistols (which of course introduced a new set of issues).
 
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