Heckler & Koch VP9 Review

Even if you thought the VP9 and PPQ were dead even performers, I would recommend the PPQ simply because its a known and proven design with a few years under its belt. Walther's has many more years of striker fire pistol design experience than HK does. Sure, HK was the first with a striker fire design years ago but other than a bit of trivia, it doesnt apply now because HK never continued with development and abandonment it for a more conventional design. This is why they are now last to the modern striker fire party.
Then there is the issue with the PPQ being able to shoot +p ammo as clearly stated in the manual. The PPQ has more holster options and can be used in the P99 holsters.
The VP9 is going to be a nightmare finding holsters since it cant even share the P30 holsters. At the very least in a few years, the VP9 might actually be considered as good as the PPQ but not until it has a few years of real world use will any of its faults be exposed. You are going to be the beta tester with the VP9.

Its almost not fair shooting at 10 yards...;)
PPQlongrange.jpg
 
good writeup. I'm impressed you were able to get your hands on it so quickly. the price tag is a major surprise considering the average cost of HKs, that puts them neck and neck with springfield XDMs for price point. I think I may be silling to drink the HK koolaid with this gun although those 15 round mags would be a major pain in the rear, even my SR9C has 17 round capacity(with full length mags).
 
oh look....another striker fired polymer framed pistol!

incredible!!!
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Yeah because steel or aluminum framed, hammer fired pistols are such a rare design.

second strike
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I thought that was a selling point Taurus made up. Who actually trains to keep pulling the trigger to see if the gun will go off rather than doing the tap-rack-bang routine?

i find it hard to believe HK cant afford a good R&D team.... ...HK used to be one of these innovativors.....this is the same company that brought about the vp70z, P9s, P7m series, and the USP.
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On that point I agree with you 100%. Who knows, if this new gun has the great ergonomics of the P30 combined with a trigger that doesn't need to be replaced right out the box, we may have a winner.
 
yes its true you dont have to fully rack to reset a striker but your still pulling the round of battery. Do it on a hang fire and kaboom.
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I typically don't pull the trigger on my hammer fired guns with a hang fire either, I wait.

The VP9 is going to be a nightmare finding holsters since it cant even share the P30 holsters.
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I think nightmare is a bit of a stretch. The PPQ had holsters within a few months, I see no reason the same can't be true here.

At the very least in a few years, the VP9 might actually be considered as good as the PPQ but not until it has a few years of real world use will any of its faults be exposed. You are going to be the beta tester with the VP9.
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Because four years of R&D and the German police pistol trials doesn't count for anything when compared to weekend warriors with their PPQs? Come on now. Yes I know the PPQ has been tested, but HK doesn't typically use their customers as guinea pigs.

If we followed your logic, no one should have bought a PPQ because they could have just bought a Glock which has years and years on the PPQ and holsters even in space.
 
there are also a very large number of universal holsters. unless you are a policeman that needs a retention holster, I don't think finding a good custom fit holster is going to be high on anyone's agenda unless HK comes out with a compact version.
 
I would like to see a photo of the left side of the gun while it's being held by someone in a right hand thumbs forward grip.
 
Mystro, can you elaborate on this? Are you saying the PPQ manual says +P is okay or not okay?
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We have discussed this alot so I will cut and paste the issue at hand for those that are just joining us.
Only the +p+ is not recommended for the PPQ.
Directly from the Walther manual:
“Plus-P-Plus” (+P+) ammunition must not be used in WALTHER firearms. This marking on
the ammunition designates that it exceeds established industry standards, but the
designation does not represent defined pressure limits and therefore such ammunition may
vary significantly as to the pressures generated.
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All manuals say +P can accelerate wear. That is very normal and what Walther, Sig, etc. say in their manual. They never specifically say they "dont recommend them". Sometimes you see in a manual that "extensive use of +P ammo can accelerate wear." Thats pretty typical. All gun companies generally have a standard policy with +P and it never deviates between models.

The difference is the HK manual for just the P30 and VP9 reads "+P is NOT recommended." This is a odd anomaly in just the P30 and VP9 manual. All other HK manuals including the new HK45 and HK45C print that "+P ammunition is approved." That is a huge difference in what they are saying between platforms of guns.
When I called HK about this, they acknowledged the "+P not recommended" for the P30/VP9 and didnt know the technical reasons why. They also stated that the USP was designed for +p and tested with over pressure loads. They are going to contact HK Germany to find the exact reason they dont recommend +p for just these two guns.

I am waiting for the HK explanation before I draw any conclusions.

For example, this is cut and pasted out of the USP/USPc manual and is pretty standard with other manufactures (except for the +p+):
NOTE:in compliance with NijStandard—0112.00, currently there are no known
ammunition types that meet the general guide
lines set forth in this section that
are not compatible with the USP series pistols. All USPs are approved for use with +P and +P+ ammunition as it applies to the specific caliber. The use of +P and +P+
ammunition accelerates wear and reduces the service life on the component parts of
any pistol, including the USP series pistols.
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This is a cut and paste from the P30/VP9 manual:
NOTE: Use of +P and +P+ ammunition accelerates wear and reduces the service life on the component parts of any pistol, including the P Series pistols, and is not recommended. For further information on ammunition selection, contactHK Customer
Service at 706-568-1906
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I contacted HK Georgia on the matter and they were aware of the +P restrictions for the P30/VP9. They didnt know why but was going to contact HK Germany on a official reason why just the P30 and VP9 are singled out from the rest of their handguns for this recommendation.
Currently awaiting reply. I am hoping it is a misprint carried over to the VP9 but HK Georgia knows about it so it certainly is worth the investigation. What kind of police pistol is not recommended for +p ammo use?:confused:

Thats is it in a nut shell.
Sorry for the recap.
 
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Thanks Mystro. Good to know. My PPQ is being delivered on Monday. :)


As for the issue of holsters, I would bet that the HK45 holsters will work just fine for the VP9. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it looks that way to me. It won't work with the P30 holsters because it's a little longer in the nose. It should still be shorter than the HK45 though and as such it will probably fit well.
 
i dont practice tap, rack, bang. It can be unsafe in the event of a hangfire or squib. In the event of a hangfire your round can go off out of battery. In the event of a squib you can detonate your pistol. I have had hangfires before as well as squibs. It is rare but it does happen if you shoot alot. More often I have had hard primers that needed a second strike. Many times its steel cased from overseas. I will say the hang fires and squibs I have had were not steel cased. One of the hangfires was the old black talon rounds when they were fairly new to the market. So it can happen with hi quality ,defensive ammunition.

As I have said before if your into the tap, rack, bang action you can do this with all semiautomatic designs including those with Double strike capability. I would advise you to never let your hand cover the ejection port when doing this. If so you could severely injure your hand.

Lets be honest here. The main reason striker fired guns are so common today is that they are cheaper to manufacture. the design has been around for a long time and most of the bottom end guns use it. I feel that pistols useing striker fired systems that also have the ability for second strike are a good compromise but anything less is just the manufacturer finding ways to cheap out on the consumer. An upper end pistol should have second strike capability IMO. since HK is one of the top tier gun manufacturers it doesnt really make sense not to incorporate it into the design when there are other, less expensive, pistols on the market that have it.
 
Who actually trains to keep pulling the trigger to see if the gun will go off rather than doing the tap-rack-bang routine?
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You'd be surprised that many high-speed go faster elite military units do this as well as use the slide stop as a slide release after reloads, but they do.
 
I feel that pistols useing striker fired systems that also have the ability for second strike are a good compromise but anything less is just the manufacturer finding ways to cheap out on the consumer. An upper end pistol should have second strike capability IMO. since HK is one of the top tier gun manufacturers it doesnt really make sense not to incorporate it into the design when there are other, less expensive, pistols on the market that have it.
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I disagree that striker fired pistols without second strike capability are grand schemes by their manufacturers to rob their owners and buyers of money. It has more to do with how the striker is cocked and operated in that particular pistol than anything else.

I get your preference, but I think applying that preference as a measure of the quality of a pistol in this regard is a bit of a step. YMMV.
 
my take,
I have gotten into surplus ammo designed for SMGs with extremely hard primers that sometimes required second and even 3 or 4th strikes to finally go off. I have gotten really good at tap rap bang because of that but if I'm doing shooting that doesn't require rapid response I just retract the slide far enough to reset the trigger and give it another try, in this case a second strike type trigger would be very much appreciated and very useful for military units that have hard primered ammunition.

and FWIW, I was trained to use the slide release/stop on the M9 during my military service.
 
another nice thing about second strike capability is dry fire practice is a bit nicer as all you have to do is pull the trigger. I still do a few dry fires before shooting live rounds. Kind of a warm up for me and helps me get focussed before putting rounds on target.

you can still do this with a striker fired pistol you just have to rack the slide each time and reload the chamber. Not the end of the world it just throws a couple more steps in the process instead of just pulling the trigger. this was always one of the nice features in da revolvers and DAO hammer fired semi autos. same trigger pull every time makes dry fire trigger control practice really easy.
 
this was always one of the nice features in da revolvers and DAO hammer fired semi autos. same trigger pull every time makes dry fire trigger control practice really easy.
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I don't find dry fire practice on DA/SA hammer fired guns hard...
 
i dont practice tap, rack, bang. It can be unsafe in the event of a hangfire or squib. In the event of a hangfire your round can go off out of battery. In the event of a squib you can detonate your pistol.
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I'm not sure I follow how a second strike capability helps you handle a squib.
 
I also fail to see how tap rap bang does is dangerous in the case of a squib. in the event of a squib there is still a report and at least partial motion of the slide, if you think there might be a squib that is your duty to make sure your barrel is clear.

you dont just get an empty click and have the bullet stick in the barrel.
 
This looks more like the "typical" HK video than Walthers and yet here is the PPQ with special forces tearing it up..

Walthers PPQ with Special Forces:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rMsYFzwHi8
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Yea the Hellenic special forces. Never said it wasn't tested, in fact I did say it was tested. Just rejected the idea that the VP9 was somehow a gamble.

thats not what i said.
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I was just confused by what you said I guess. I do see some advantage of a trigger that does have second strike for dry fire in that you don't have to manually reset the trigger assuming it isn't single-action only. I just found it odd that you didn't mention DA/SA.
 
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