Lusting after an H&K

TunnelRat. Thanks. Such info was not apparent (to me) a few years ago, when people seemed only to be talking about shipping their gun, and paying for the LEM triggers. Nice chunk of expense after buying a gun.

One day maybe I will pursue a 9 Compact.

But with the Sig P225 (Not a P-6..), Walther P99 AS and S&W 908, there is no hurry.
 
I am really fond of my USP .45. My hands aren't especially large, but nevertheless the chunky grip fits me just fine. The more I use it, the more I like the paddle mag release and overall it is an accurate and soft shooting pistol.

I got it a few years back used off of a Gunbroker auction for $399. for some reason I was the only bidder.
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No, sorry, not a fan of HK pistols. Well made? Definitely. Well finished? Absolutely. Just not very ergonomic, and IMO not worth the premium you pay for one. A S&W M&P is as good and has better ergonomics.
 
The Police Dept. that I worked for carried USP .45 pistols for duty weapons for several years. I am glad I was able to hang on to mine. It is one of my all time favorite handguns.
 
Straight talk?

Not only the "premium" is an issue, but HK triggers are just simply the worst on the market. As much as a S&W Sigma/SD9 gets trashed, their feel is kinda the HK single action feel. Heavier, longer, and reset for days.

There isn't really much you can do with them either, including Grey Gun parts. At least on the V3 P2000/P30 I know there isn't much you can do. Max reset change is 30% from Grey Guns. Not much when the reset is very long.

VP9 and VP9 2020 Optic models use different sights, where there aren't many options for either.

I don't know. I like them too, P2000 the most, but there just aren't good outside of "feel." Which as someone said, the HK USP is a 2x4 in feel with cheese grater texturing.
 
Our department issued the USP 40cal at one point. During qualifications, a large portion of the Officers , including myself, would pull the first shot. After the first double action round, I had to readjust my grip. Single action rounds thereafter were no issue. This all due to the large frame. With that said, H&K pistols are solid quality built firearms, IMHO.
The USP Compact was utilized by our department for training with simunitions and it fit my hand much better.
All in all, if the USP "fits", go for it. Great gun.
 
highpower3006 said:
I am really fond of my USP .45. My hands aren't especially large, but nevertheless the chunky grip fits me just fine. The more I use it, the more I like the paddle mag release and overall it is an accurate and soft shooting pistol.

I got it a few years back used off of a Gunbroker auction for $399. for some reason I was the only bidder.
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You should be in jail for robbery! Bwahahahahaha!
 
I have a P8, which is closely derived from the USP, for the German army (Bundeswehr). Nice gun, easy to use and get used to.

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Scorch said:
No, sorry, not a fan of HK pistols. Well made? Definitely. Well finished? Absolutely. Just not very ergonomic, and IMO not worth the premium you pay for one. A S&W M&P is as good and has better ergonomics.
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As someone who owns both a Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P40 Shield and a Heckler & Koch USP45 Elite, I must disagree. The PC Shield is an excellent pistol, but the USP Elite is on an entirely different level.

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wild cat mccane said:
Straight talk?

Not only the "premium" is an issue, but HK triggers are just simply the worst on the market. As much as a S&W Sigma/SD9 gets trashed, their feel is kinda the HK single action feel. Heavier, longer, and reset for days.
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Once again, as someone who owns a Smith & Wesson Sigma SW40VE and an H&K USP45 Elite, that's just not an accurate statement at all. Granted I'm referring to the Competition Grade Elite model with a tuned trigger, but there's no way that even a standard USP could have a DA Trigger as bad as the Sigma, let alone a SA Trigger.

You must have handled a lemon or some heavily used and abused Police Trade in USP for the trigger to be anything like a Sigma trigger, and this is coming from someone who actually carries a Sigma.

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Yes. You own an Elite.

That is not the standard USP, P200, or P30. LEM Light is like 5.5lbs vs the Elite 4lbs. Factory best on a HK no elite is glock heavy.

Factory best on a HK Elite is the weight of a Walther PPQ/PDP/P99.

I've owned them. I like them. But the trigger is just crap on them. No way around it. USP is a nice gun. But the texture is pretty rough and the trigger also sucks in current days. Grip is pretty square (obviously).

Meh :)
 
... but the USP Elite is on an entirely different level.
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Agreed. The HK match trigger is a very nice trigger. If you haven't tried the Elite you can't compare based on other HK models. Apples and oranges.
 
No, sorry, not a fan of HK pistols. Well made? Definitely. Well finished? Absolutely. Just not very ergonomic, and IMO not worth the premium you pay for one. A S&W M&P is as good and has better ergonomics.
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I have to disagree with many facets of this opinion.

The USP, while blocky-looking, has quite good ergonomics, especially taking into account when it was designed. The controls are all very well-placed, and despite the size of the grip, trigger reach is easy for most fiolks. The later P30 and HK45 pistols really set the standard for grip adjustment possibilities for modern service pistols.

As a counterpoint, I would argue that the finish of HK pistols is honestly nothing special. The “Hostile Environment Finish” actually appears to show wear faster to me than some similar finishes/treatments, such as the S&W melonite or the older Glock “frying pan” finish. And the USP is notorious for showing a good bit of milling chatter marks on the inside of the slide.

The M&Ps are great pistols (I own some) but “as good as” is difficult to qualify. The USP is definitely more mechanically accurate in my experience, and the feel of the pistol is FAR more robust. Does that mean it’s actually more durable? I can’t say - I typically baby almost all of my pistols, but the level of testing done and history seems to back up HK’s claims.
 
Most people will shoot ANY single action gun better. Almost apples to oranges here. Keep in mind that having a gun that DOESN’T go off when you don’t want it to is arguably more relevant most of the time to hard users such as the military. That and, while the 1911 is a phenomenal design that arguable ushered in much of modern pistol design and has stood the test of time is still 100 year old tech that has its weaknesses compared to modern offerings.

Everybody is different and their needs and skill sets are different. For a fun range gun that is certainly useful for defense the 1911 is great, but for serious social use, especially in hard use or varied environments I personally want a more modern design (ala Glock, HK, SIG even a 92 series etc. etc.).

For what it’s worth I do, indeed own and shoot 1911s to include a helluva nice Brown Kobra so this isn’t coming from a hater or lack of personal experience.

Now ALL GUNS have strengths and weaknesses. You have to personally find what mix of those work for you personally. I can’t say there is any single pistol I could call out as “THE BEST OR ONLY CHOICE”. Frankly these days there are very very few that I would caution as outright poor or dangerous choices. So you pays your monies and you takes your chance. :)
 
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