I have an HK USP Compact .45. It has advantages and disadvantages.
On the plus side, it has been accurate and reliable in my admittedly limited shooting of it. It can be carried cocked and locked. Felt recoil is relatively mild, but it does seem to have more muzzle flip than I prefer.
On the down side, it is still somewhat large. In particular, the slide is quite wide, significantly wider than a M1911. This thickness makes it harder to conceal. What irks me is that it is so completely pointless. It's supposed to be a concealble gun, so why didn't they make the slide thinner? If the slide on my Kimber Compact can be significantly thinner, so can the USP Compact.
The DA trigger is frankly horrendous. Horribly heavy. The SA trigger is fair, not as good as my Sig, and certainly not as good as a M1911, but better than a Glock. Unfortunately, there is no target trigger available for the Compact model.
I have medium-sized hands and the grip is just a little too big; I can't quite reach the trigger how I want and keep the gun properly in the web of my hand. Instead, I have to scootch my hand around a little bit.
The USP has a unique mag release, an ambidextrous lever where the trigger guard meets grip. It's too far for your thumb, but easily reached by your forefinger. The problem is that it is DIFFERENT than many of my other guns. I've trained and practiced to hit the mag release with my thumb. I don't trust myself under stress to remember that I'm carrying the USP and to release the mag with my forefinger rather than thumb. So either I only carry the USP and train on it, or I don't carry it at all. I've decided not to carry the USP at all and not to use it as a home defense gun. All because they had to be different.
So when it comes to the USP, my thumbs are firmly sideways. Some good things, some bad things.
M1911
On the plus side, it has been accurate and reliable in my admittedly limited shooting of it. It can be carried cocked and locked. Felt recoil is relatively mild, but it does seem to have more muzzle flip than I prefer.
On the down side, it is still somewhat large. In particular, the slide is quite wide, significantly wider than a M1911. This thickness makes it harder to conceal. What irks me is that it is so completely pointless. It's supposed to be a concealble gun, so why didn't they make the slide thinner? If the slide on my Kimber Compact can be significantly thinner, so can the USP Compact.
The DA trigger is frankly horrendous. Horribly heavy. The SA trigger is fair, not as good as my Sig, and certainly not as good as a M1911, but better than a Glock. Unfortunately, there is no target trigger available for the Compact model.
I have medium-sized hands and the grip is just a little too big; I can't quite reach the trigger how I want and keep the gun properly in the web of my hand. Instead, I have to scootch my hand around a little bit.
The USP has a unique mag release, an ambidextrous lever where the trigger guard meets grip. It's too far for your thumb, but easily reached by your forefinger. The problem is that it is DIFFERENT than many of my other guns. I've trained and practiced to hit the mag release with my thumb. I don't trust myself under stress to remember that I'm carrying the USP and to release the mag with my forefinger rather than thumb. So either I only carry the USP and train on it, or I don't carry it at all. I've decided not to carry the USP at all and not to use it as a home defense gun. All because they had to be different.
So when it comes to the USP, my thumbs are firmly sideways. Some good things, some bad things.
M1911