Parts came flying out of my HK USP45f!!!!

J

J.T.King

New member
So as some of you know, I have a fairly new HK USP45f. I have maybe a total of 500 rnds through it and have had a match trigger put in. The trigger was REALLY gritty and the local gunshop (an HK authorized service place) spent four days on it trying to make it smooth, with some qualified success.

So, I had been dry-firing the gun daily (about 100 times a day)for about three days, using a dummy round with a soft plastic primer thing, and SNAP! all of a sudden parts come flying out of my gun! What the H...???

Well, I take it apart and MORE parts fall out. Turns out that the firing pin has clean snapped off at the safety block and the safety block and spring popped out too!

Well, nedless to say, I took the gun in and they replaced the firing pin. But now my question is... What happened to all the vaunted HK reliability? I spent $650 on this gun and another $140 on the trigger for a total of nearly $800. I dont feel like I went cheap, yet the trigger is worse than my $300 Ruger, and I have NEVER had parts come flying out of any Auto I have owned from Berreta, Ruger or Sig...

Doesnt make me very confident that this "cobat auto" is going to stand up to the years of use/abuse that I was planning on putting it through!

Any comments?

J.T.

As usual, YMMV, FWIW, IMHO and all that rot.
 
Hey J.T. - My condolences on your "scatter" gun. I don't think a blame is in order on HK, but rather should be directed at the pistol smith who botched the trigger job. Credentials only require minimum subject knowledge; go find a smith who knows what he/she is doing and get that HK back in working order!

Good Luck
 
I'm probbaly wrong, but I thought you weren't supposed to dry fire a HK USP because the firing pin will break. When I was looking for a new defense tool an armorer told me to avoid HK USPs for this reason. Snap caps are no guarantee as these wear out rather quickly. After a while they're good for nothing as they no longer offer any resistance to the firing pin.

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
or maybe another sig !


Tim : )

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Why dont you get rid of that nickel plated sissy pistol and get yourself a glock. :::Tommy Lee Jones:::
 
Dry firing the USP (at least the 9) is okay according to the manual.

I've done lots of dry fires on mine with and without Snap Caps, and I've had no problems. I've put somewhere over 2,000 rounds through her.

It sounds like the 'smith messed up. I'd like to get a match trigger in mine, but I don't know of any trusted 'smiths in the area.
 
J.T.

I also own a USP45F and also had the firing pin break on me during dry fire exercise while using Armsport snap caps. HK sent me a replacement firing pin and so far no problems. I have since switched to Azoom snap caps because they last waaaayyyyy longer than any other snap caps I have found.

I also had the match trigger installed and for me it is great. No creep and a consistent crisp break at 4.25 pounds every time. I measured it using a trigger pule gauge. HK Sterling did my trigger job; which by the way is only drop in parts. There is no smoothing of the action or anything else. Just replacement parts. They sent me the original parts back with the upgraded gun. Maybe your gunsmith didn't use all of the correct parts or something?

I am trying to locate a spare firing pin to have on hand "just in case" this happens again. This is not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination! I don't use my USP for carry so I'm not too worried about it. And like I said, I switched to the Azoom snap caps and have since fired the weapon probably more than 3000 times in dry fire with no problems at all.

Hope that helps,
Evan
 
If you look at the HKforum, there have been a number of instances of HK firing pins breaking, especially during dry firing. Yours is definitely not an isolated incident. I believe the problem has been happening on the .40 as well as the .45.
 
Firing pin breakage with dry firing is a problem with HK UPS F's, SIG 229's and a number of others. A series 70 1911 is about the safest piece to dry fire.

Ben
 
wow...

well, now I know. I havent heard about the firing pin breaking during normal firing....

So should I just stop dry firing?

How do I work this double action without dry-firing? Its still horribly gritty every time I clean it and re-oil it. Sometimes I can get it smoother by gobbing up the tetra.. but it seems like I shouldnt have to do that.

Also.. I dont know which kind of snap-cap I have... its all dark brown with a clear fake-primer.

J.T.

thanks again for the posts!
 
I had to dry fire my HK usp tons of time in the Academy with out snap caps. I have not had a problem. But I am aware some have. I suggest not dryfiring your usp without snapcaps. Also buy an extra firing pin just in case. As for the fellow who stated that you should buy a 1911 well if you would have bought one of those you would have had a lot more problems. There is a whole industry dedicated to trying to make 1911's reliable. Some are some are not. Your better off with a glock, sig, hk, beretta or walther.
PAT

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I intend to go into harms way.
 
Hey J.T did ask for "any comments" ;)

Always thought that the Pacmayer SPRING LOADED snap caps would be the best shot (pun)

At least some "give" is accorded as when the firing pin hits a primer, instead of just slamming into something solid. :)

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"The Gun from Down Under !"
http://www.para1911fanclub.w3.to/
E-mail hotshot_2000@hotmail.com
ICQ # 68806935
 
If you want a quality high capacity .45acp that you can dryfire and not worry about breaking anything, get a Glock 21, they are reliable, they are durable and they don't break. Plus you don't need snapcaps, dry fire a Glock till your hearts content.

7th

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL POLICE, KEEP THEM INDEPENDENT.
 
$800?
Get 2 Glocks for that.
One Sig and tons of ammo.
Or half a 1911?
 
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