Help to choose between Glock 21 and H&K USP .45 STAINLESS???

I have shot the USP extensively, in all calibers. I used to own a Glock 21, sold it for a USP9 full size. I plan on getting a USP45 (full or compact, not sure yet) soon.

My thoughts? Whichever you like best. The USP is defintely superior in fit and finish, if you like I can make a specific list of things I like better about my USP versus my Glock 21. slide to frame fit and NO RATTLES are two great things about the USP. No squeaking of the recoil spring(s), the USP cocks silently. Things of that sort.

Both, IMO, are reliable and accurate guns that will not fail you when properly maintained (NO LEAD BULLETS). Pick the one you like and shoot best, the trigger and external safety are the main differentiating points.

USP also has real, steel sights and a steel recoil rod. I vote for the USP, but the Glock 21 is one of my favorites as well. I can tell you that I made a mistake by selling mine. I can definitely see myself getting another one, or maybe a Glock 30, down the road.
 
My vote goes for the Glock 21 as long as you're comfortable with the grip and the Glock trigger. I like Glocks for their utter simplicity. In a defensive situation I won't have be concerned with DA/SA, whether the safeties on or off, and whether I have to decock before holstering. With training all these things can be overcome but I just don't want to find out at that critical moment. As far as kB's! are concerned the vast vast majority of them occured with reloads something Glock specifically warns against. But there are no guarantees in life kB's have occured in HK USP's, Sig P Series, Wather P99's, 1911's and Glocks with factory ammo as well. But these are very very rare occurences.

The USPf .45 is no doubt a great pistol also and if you prefer the DA/SA trigger and the two tone look its a solid choice as well. People with DA/SA pistols can shoot the pants off someone with a 1911/Glock and vice versa. Unfortunately most people at the range practive in SA mode only, few ever decock and practice their first critical shot. In general, I've shot various USP models but they didn't overwhelm to the point of giving up on Glock or Sig.

Most people who own the G21/HK USP love theirs but all our opinions don't mean squat until you shoot both of them and find out for yourself. If you're about to buy a car you'd take it for a test drive before you buy wouldn't you? Same thing applies to this very personal item, your sidearm.
 
JMC, just out of curiousity, have you ever dealt with HK customer service? If so, what are the specifics?

You seem to have nothing good to say about HK or its products. Do you own any HKs?
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.357SIG:

I know very well the mindset at HK-USA in Stirling, I worked for HK in '97! I know the exact attitude of nearly all who worked there then and some who left as I did.
 
I find that I shoot the HKUSP series infinitely better than the Glocks. I shoot the HK almost as good as my 1911, which scores huge with me.

If you can shoot both, try them out and see which you like better. saving the extra money though is a nice proposition.

Honestly, both pistols will be reliable(hopefully), so you might want to take that out of the equation and start looing at the things that are different and see which appeal to you more.
 
Well, hell. They never treated my friends or I less than professionally the few times when we've called them. I know you say you worked for HK once, but that hardly makes you an expert on their line of firearms (not a flame, just the truth). Do you hate HK because of your bad experiences from working there? I'm sorry, but it seems like you are reaching when you say the GLOCK has the edge on HK in accuracy, reliability, feel, etc. HK beats the GLOCK in a ransom rest, reliability is a wash, and feel is just totally subjective. Also, if you worked for HK USA, how can you say HK service sucks worldwide?

Sorry, but I think you dislike HK products for personal reasons. I could be wrong.
 
Hey JMC, why has your gun photo page been removed from the server?
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Trimation,

I took it down due to very few hits lately and the photos listed had changed for a few of the guys and they submitted no new ones.

.357SIG,

Not once did you read where I stated that I was an HK expert. I don't hate HK and never stated that either. You read far too much between the lines but then again as I recall, you have a tendency to do this at times.

I'm glad you and your friends are happy with their customer service. The service that Glock offers is far better and the people at Glock really care about their customers (I know a few at Glock personally).

Sorry, but I think you dislike HK products for personal reasons. I could be wrong.
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Yup...you are.

Enjoy your HK whatever model(s) you own. God knows, you paid far too much for the name alone! :D

Remember, "In an world of compromise, some men don't". That's the old saying before they became PC and dropped the "men".
 
Have you fired both (or either one)? If so, which felt better in your hands? The function, reliability, and accuracy of each will be a little different depending on that feel. Since they're very different in their setup, making the final decision based on that criteria alone ought to get you to the right place.
 
OK. I'm wrong. Anyway, I know you never claimed to be an expert. Typing out that you worked for HK in bold text is the same as all caps, which is yelling. I'm sure as hell not an expert either. I'm just curious to see if that is the reason you dislike their products. (For example, most hate S&W for political reasons, not quality of their guns.)

No, I don't have a tendency to do anything, but I do analyze posts that state a "fact" with nothing to back it. If someone says, "Glock sucks! Get a SIG!" I'm going to ask questions and I'm sorry if you don't like it.

BTW, check out Glock Talk and you can easily find posts of crappy customer service at GLOCK, Inc. It is not limited to HK and Colt.

Take the post as a flame all you want, but I didn't type it to be that way. I'm truly asking this question out of curiousity. I got my answer.
 
I'm just curious to see if that is the reason you dislike their products.
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I don't dislike their products, not all of them anyway. I think the P7M8 is one of the finest handguns ever made. It may not be the best choice for everyone but it is one fine handgun. Way over priced also. ;)

I have said many times that an LEO could do far worse if he/she were armed with a USP handgun, three LE full capacity mags and a set of night sights.

Poor customer service is when an LEO calls a company with a magazine problem with his service gun, brand new gun, and the company gives him a hard time and refuses to replace the magazine telling the LEO to take it back to his dealer because they don't deal with customers directly.
If it had been up to me, I would have taken the info from the customer and shipped him a new mag to his agency w/o hastle and only ask that the bad one be shipped back for examination.

This is only one incident but I can recall many others as well as the "attitude". :rolleyes:

HK knew they had bad CS and finally made a concerted effort to turn it around but they have a long way to go in my opinion.

BTW, check out Glock Talk and you can easily find posts of crappy customer service at GLOCK, Inc.
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I spend a lot of time on Glock Talk. The threads that speak of excellent Glock customer service are frequent and run long and true. Yes, there is the occasional unhappy customer but no where near the number of HK customers.

I could tell you many instances of both LEO's and civilian Glock owners calling and requesting parts and the parts are shipped free of charge w/no cost for the parts.

I called Glock one time and spoke with Shelly and told him I was a retired LEO and a Glock Armorer and that I needed a few things for my G19. What I needed didn't cost a whole lot but when I was through with my shopping list, Shelly told me there would be no charge for the parts, including shipping.

HK customer service would charge you for the smallest part and get the shipping also and you will wait a long time for them.

Any Glock owner who joins GSSF has life time unlimited Glock part replacement for any of his/her Glock firearm(s). Only go to a match and have the Armorer inspect the weapon and it with be kept up to spec free of charge.
When have you seen HK offer this kind of service?
 
HK customer service would charge you for the smallest part and get the shipping also and you will wait a long time for them.
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Again, this has never happened to me. I've dealt with H&K several times in the last three years . . . every time I've been extremely pleased. Twice I had small parts mailed to me free of charge and they arrived within days of calling (one part arrived three days after the call - I was shocked).

As I've stated before on this forum, I have a close friend who bought a used H&K USP compact that shot low. I helped him contact H&K. IIRC he paid shipping back to them, they had the gun for a week to a week and a half and shipped it back, problem solved. They charged him $0, for parts, $0 for labor, etc. They did this knowing full well that he had bought the gun used and it was not under warranty.

I call that good customer service. I really could care less what others experiences have been, because mine have always been very positive. Until they screw me (which doesn't appear likely they way I've been treated) I'll continue buy H&K products.

Shake
 
I must agree with many of the others here who say they are more accurate with the USP than with the Glock. I have the HK Tactical and I shoot it very well in a controlled situation.
In a high stress situation though, I like the simplicity of the Glock. I plan on getting a USP9 one of these days but if I could only keep one gun, I'd have to opt for my Glock.
The bottom line, however, is that you really can't go wrong with either choice.
 
To be honest, I would never order a part from HK that would make them think I violated the warranty, such as a firing pin. They'd have to assume I was changing it out myself, thus violating the warranty. That said, I haven't seen any horrible service from them. I've never called Glock, but I am sure they are great, for the most part. Of course, they have their bad moments too, such as losing magazines (guy on GT lost a preban G20 mag) or returning guns in the condition they left and calling them fixed.

One thing I would like to know. Why would any LEO try to fix his own duty weapon when the dept. should be able to issue him another weapon? It seems silly to waste your own time and money trying to fix a department-owned firearm when they could do it themselves.:confused:
 
One thing I would like to know. Why would any LEO try to fix his own duty weapon when the dept. should be able to issue him another weapon? It seems silly to waste your own time and money trying to fix a department-owned firearm when they could do it themselves.
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The LEO was not attempting to "fix" his own weapon. He identified the problem, first step in a remedy, a bad mag. No "fix" was necessary, just a mag replacement. This happens all the time with semi-autos of any mfg.

This LEO was from an agency that required their officers to purchase their own sidearms for duty use. He was doing what I would have done given his situation. ;)
 
Glock vs HK

The main difference to me was the grip size. The Glock seemed awkwardly large through the grip and I never felt I had a firm grip on it. The HK however was a much nicer fit and felt more controllable.
 
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