I really REALLY really REALLY want a H&K USP .45... really..

F

Frank the Spank

New member
But what gives with the quality?!?! Or is it just me?!? Because everyone says it's just me and that no one else has had the problems I have had and that is what really bites me!!!

Ok..

I go to the local gun shop..

See there glowing in the case my dream gun... the gun that costs a plump $700...

I don't care... money is no object when it comes to a masterpiece such as the H&K USP...

I have the good gentleman hand me the H&K USP chambered in .45.. I go to rack the slide.. it goes back half way and grinds.. goes no further.. This is not the new slide lock model BTW.

Everyone laughs..

They sit there yanking on the side.. try to take it apart.. no go... back to the factory says the salesman.. then asks if he can show me a Glock. Another customer shouts "show him a Sig!" and everyone laughs... but me..

I have read on what a great handgun this is, seen the pictures of it frozen in ice, read about all the tests it's gone through.. heard everyone tell me how they have put a billion rounds through theirs and it keeps smiling...

So time passes on...

I see another one in the store a year later. I ask to see it. Guy tells me it is the new and improved model that has some lame slide lock feature.. he pulls out some weird fork lookin tool ad twists it inside the grip and says "see, now the slide won't move."

It racks fully.

He looks at it weird. Twists the lock again, racks the slide. Twists the lock again, the slide racks one more time. Great... the slide lock is lame to begin with... but I don't like anything being defective.. especially if I'm paying $700 for it.

He says "it is defective, needs to be sent back. Anyways if you buy anything it should be a Glock." (one of those)

:(

I go to another store a week later. See another USP in .45..

I ask to see it. I rack the slide.. yadda yadda.. play with it. I go to drop the magazine.. it won't drop. The plastic release just flexes.. mag will not drop. Salesman tries to drop the mag, it won't drop.

he pounds it on the counter, hits the release and it drops.

Oh nice... hope I'm never caught in a jam with my $700 pistol...

What gives?!?! What should I do?!?! My $350 Ruger P97 has NEVER had any of theses problems.

I am heart broken here guys... I really want one..

Sig's are nice.. don't want one right away... Glocks are cool, fits my hand like crap with the new finger grooves..

I want the H&K USP .45 ACP... I really do......

Maybe that new Beretta Elite in .40? I kinda like that one...
 
Heya Frank, long time no see...

Buy it. Otherwise it will torment you for the rest of your life. Hey, you can always sell it later.
And the only USP I've ever handled functioned beautifully. You just got a dud... a series of duds.
Also, $700 is a bit much. Shop around and you may find it for $500.
 
Ok hank the skank--Er... I mean
spank the monkey...Er....I mean..
Whatever...lol
I think God is telling you to buy a Glock
or a S&W....
or a Beretta...
I have never had this problem with any of my
numerous HK's.
Even shooting them straight from Germany, Cosmoline
and all they have never failed....
My MK23 in over 30,000 rounds has never failed,
even when I tried to make it do so.....
It is either bad luck or just spamming!!!!
I bet it is just "bad luck"
Just press the "refresh" button and check out
the HK pistols again....
 
Over time, the USP's have lost some of their magical power over me. It all started when I met this new girl - the Beretta Cougar 8045.

Try it - you'll like it!

If I was going to breakdown and get a USP it would be the MK23. That one still has that old "black magic".
 
Seems to me you need to change your GUN SHOP. Sounds like they don't know what the heck they are doing .My range & store has most models, and during HK day,when they let you try most models on their range,there were dozens of people shooting HKs and not one such problem did I see.Try the TACTICAL,or P7M8.I did and life will never be the same.I now have them both,and they are my favorites.
 
I say keep fondling the guns until you get one that doesn't bust, then take it home.

Seriously, the bottom line is this: If you feel that the experiences you have witnessed first hand (and this goes for people thinking of buying a USP) make you feel that HKs do not make good guns, by all means, move on and buy something you feel confident in! It sucks to have a feeling that you made a bad decision, that you forked over some major bones for a pistol you have seen fail in EVERY one of the specimens you have fondled. Go Glock, go Sig, go with what everyone wants you to go with to make them and you happy... go with what everyone else gets if you don't want to feel like a sucker?

If only an HK will make you happy, by all means, buy the POS and work with it, make it work like a labor of love!

Heaven help my soul, because if there was only ONE gun I could have, it would be my USP .45. I believe, and trust my life to HK. If you don't, then realize this and move on.
 
To be honest? I think it's just you. Sounds like some really bad luck, my HK USP 45 is the best handgun I've owned out of roughly 20 or so. Not sure what to tell you other than I have never experienced any of the problems you are describing, nor have a heard of anyone else having these problems.
 
I'm with Wishbone!!! Find a new shop, QUICK! :barf:

First off, that new locking thingie only keeps the trigger from being pulled, as I understand it. That's the first time I heard that it was supposed to lock the slide. Mine doesn't have one, so I could be wrong.

I'm AMAZED that the shop lets everyone rack the slides on the USP's. The shops I frequent (2, excellent service) won't let you, because of the HK's blackened chamber area, that gets scratched as you continue to rack the slide. You can drop the mag and stuff, but no slide racking! They're NICE about it, but pretty serious. They'll produce a USED one and let you rack away, or send you over to the range for a FREE rental, but you can only rack the slide on YOUR new pistol after you hand them the cash. I appreciate this rule personally.

You've GOTTA buy one, they're GREAT! You can still buy all those other pistols later, but NONE will be like your HK! Mine's too big to carry, ALMOST too big for the night stand, I really don't like DA/SA anymore, but I LOVE my HK anyway.
 
TCW, don't worry about it, it won't do anything different than an HK or a Glock per se.

A $100 Makarov will also do the same thing with a little smaller hole. A used $200 revolver might even last longer than all three with no spring changes!

I fired a P97 and a USP *side by side*, forked over the bucks and took home the USP. The P97 is a great gun, in fact, I recommended it to a fellow on another forum that was looking for a good .45 under $500.

To me, it's almost like saying "Heck, why go to an Italian restaurant and get a $12 plate of spaghetti when we have some noodles and Ragu here at the house?" Both give you that satisfied, full feeling when it's all said and done.

Guns last a lot longer, however, and I decided to spring for what I felt (and still feel) is the best.

Nothing wrong with the Ruger, it shoots at point of aim, goes bang every time and is a great value.
 
BTW, I think that in the USP manual it says specifically not to engage the PC lock feature and forcefully rack the slide as it will bend something (sear?) and possibly screw up the gun. It is supposed to effectively block the trigger/hammer as Onslaught said. I don't think the guy at the shop was doing his homework and probably screwed up that specific pistol beforehand by showing someone else the same thing...

hmm... makes me wonder about that shop.
 
I have an H&K .45 Acp compact. I felt the same way about it. People kept talking about how great it was. Clinton was pres. and Gore was running. I bought the pistol. I never had it even blink in the 50 or so rounds i shot before putting it in the gun room. It just felt like sh** in my hand. Pointability was poor......but function was fine.

Something is wrong at your gun shop. and/or luck has run against you. H&Ks are not for me ....but they function very well.

Pigpen
 
I second what Wishbone said. I have the Tactical and the P7M8 and find them both to be reliable and accurate.

JJCII
 
I'm one of a very few who do not like HK USP series.
I'm particularly puzzed by the it's very heavy DA trigger
and only satisfactory SA. Ergonomics is not good for me too.. On top of this, it's in a wrong price range, it should probably cost a couple of hundred bucks less, considering cost of its manufacturing, which is probably around $65-75 (my own semi-professional estimate), which
should dictate retail price of approx. $400.

But I respect other people's opinion and I'm happy that
so many folks like it. They own it, I don't.
 
Onslaught,

I've never in my life heard of a gun shop that wouldn't let a customer rack a slide. Is this for real? How is a customer supposed to know if the gun is loaded or not without a visual inspection of the chamber? Inspection of a weapon's chamber (especially an unfamiliar one) is one of the first tenets of firearm safety, in my opinion. If I were handed a firearm, any firearm, and the sales person wouldn't let me visually inspect if the weapon were loaded or not, I would hand it back to them (pointed in a safe direction, of course) and walk out the door. Just my $.02
As for the USP series, I've got the full size .40 circa 1995. Haven't had any complaints with this particular weapon with regard to fit, finish, reliability, or accuracy.
 
Huh?

"Sig's are nice.. don't want one right away..."

Ah...I get it; you're convinced that your lousy experience with H&K products is just a fluke [having never had the excrutiating experience of dealing with their customer "service"], and you'll just keep hoping that you'll find that "special" pistol that will buttress your prejudice.

Is that it? [shaking head in disbelief]

There is only one company that produces the best out-of-the box combat pistol in the world; a hint:

It ain't H&K...
 
Frank The Spank! Son, You were having a Bad, Bad wet dream! Or just a really bad day at your local gun shops! I have several HK's and they are the most dependable weapons I have ever owned. I have had a Glock 21 Jam on me during range testing and no one could figure that one out! Got rid of it and got another one, it works fine. Sigs are fabulous too! get the HK itch over with and buy it! you will not be sorry. My wife shoots a USPc .45 and would not have anything else! I feel your concern for I am a cop and reliability, dependability, and function-ability is paramount to me, and my department allows us to carry what ever we want. I would bet my butt on an HK anyday! my next child will be the Expert. Good Luck, and Relax and enjoy that HK.
 
Go ahead and get the USP45. It's a great gun. However, get it from a different gun store. Those guys are idiots.

The problem that you describe is due to stupidity. All HK USP/USPc/Expert/Tactical shipped in the second half of 2000 feature the new lock. The gun comes from the factory LOCKED and has a big red warning label attached to it. The warning label states that the gun is locked and must be unlocked before using. What most idiots do is take the label off without reading it. Rack the slide to make sure the gun is clear. Of course it doesn't rack, so they force it. This bends the hammer strut. The lock blocks the hammer strut from moving. So basically they just broke the gun by not reading the large warning label. The gun will continue to function, but will not drop the mag. The hammer strut is kinked into the mag.

When you go and buy a new one, make sure no one has rack the slide. Next, unlock the gun. Take some super glue and glue the lock position open. Throw away the key. The lock does not substitue proper gun handling and storage.

As for what makes the USP45 so great. Well, the stock trigger is not the best, the Match Trigger upgrade is definitely worth the $100. The gun recoils softly. It is way overbuilt. You can shoot 45 Super and 450 SMC through this gun with no modifications necessary other than replacing the recoil spring every 3000 according to Triton. I dare you to try that with you Beretta or Sig or Glock. As Masaad Ayoob puts it, Universally Superb Pistol.
 
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