HK USP .45 Ruggedness and Reliabilty?

K

Kestrel

New member
I saw an HK .45 USP in a store today, along with the compact version. They both felt kind of good, but the safeties seemed to have a bit of play.

Has anyone seen any durability and reliabilty tests of these pistols? Are they rugged? Are these the guns the SOCOM is based on?

Thanks for any help,
Steve
 
SteveW13 ,

First, welcome to TFL!

I've not noticed play in the safeties of my USPs, was it up-and-down play or side-to-side?

I've read about reliability tests in the gunrags and other publications. The seem to do extremely well in both reliability and durability. My own USPs have been flawless so far (USP compact .45 stainless, USP Full sized .40 S&W). I haven't found one thing to complain about with them. I own a lot of autos and the H&Ks are by far my favorites. I shoot better with them than any of my other firearms. If you can't tell, I really like them.
Are these the guns the SOCOM is based on?
Click to expand...
Actually, if I get the story straight it is the other way around. I believe the USP series are based on the SOCOM Mk23. I think the first USP was a full sized .40 S&W.

I'm biased, but I believe the USPs to be as reliable as any gun on the market. Durability should never be an issue (they are rugged). Supposedly during one test of the USP .45 6,000 rounds of .45 Super were fired through one USP with no adverse effects (this from a gun rag that is currently on the shelf at the local supermarket).

If the gun ifts your hand well (they are big) and you can get used to the location of the controls, you really can't go wrong with a USP. If you do decide to get one, shop around as I've seen prices vary by as much as $100 dollars or more for the same gun in the same city, different shops.

Good luck. . .

Shake

Oh, go here also for more info (scroll down the page about halfway and you'll see links for the USP series-lots of good info): http://www.hkpro.com/contents.htm
 
Don't forget that the company themselves fired on a stovepiped bullet Both bullets cleared the barrel and only a small budge appeared. And the gun would still safely fire

I am curious about the wobbly safety

Here are a few sites that are full of info

www.hkpro.com

http://streetpro.com/usp/
 
The USP is, in my opinion, the best thing you can own for under 1,000 bucks.

Mine has no play in the safety, is overengineered and extremely well made (and I am obsessive-compulsive about details, so even the slightest defect would bother me), incredibly accurate, no play in the slide, no rattles when I shake it (unlike GLOCKS)...it truly is the BMW of handguns.

Sorry to be so dramatic, I just really really REALLY love the USP's :)

I own a full size USP9. I am buying the full size USP45 soon.
 
The durability test (Torture Test) linked to in the Streetpro.com website is the only durability test I can find on the internet on the USP series. I've had a long-lasting argument with a friend over which are more durable, Glocks or USP's. We have Chuck Taylor's Glock with 167,000 rounds through it, and even that one Glock at the SHOT show with 314,000 rounds through it, but the highest lifetime for USP's I can find is that 20,000 round one.

The USP research was started before the SOCOM research was. However, the two families are really closely linked together - developments in one area found their way into another.

The USP45 was developed after the SOCOM though.
 
Steve,
I had an HK USP 45 compact in stainless & it was one of the most accurate guns I've ever owned..never had a single problem with it...I traded it in like a dumbass but I may get another one real soon...If I'm not mistaken...HK Usp's are the only pistols that actually say in their manual that gun is rated for +p ammo...Not bad at all...
 
Shake and ENC,

The safety seemed to have some vertical play in it. Not excessive, it just wasn't the positive click that a 1911, for example might have. It seemed to have a very small bit of "bend" before it engaged or disengaged.

It might have just been the particular gun I was looking at.

Thanks for the replies!

Steve
 
I'm getting near to the 10.000 round mark with my USPF. The gun still looks almost like new, very few parts show wear. (Should I take pictures?) These guns are built like a tank and accurate and reliable as a P226. They will last far more rounds than 20.000...
 
A very slight amount of wobble in the safety is fine; but if you did not get a positive click when the safety was applied, then that is a problem.

If the dealer will allow it, take the slide off. Look at the left side of the receiver where the safety is. You will see a plate attached to the lever which moves up and down. A pin engages the cut-outs on the plate. The plate can be changed out to allow other "Variants" that you may have heard about.
Looking at it will give you a better appreciation of what is going on there. If the safety does not give a solid click into place, then there is something wrong.
 
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