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Never owned an HK to this point and have the opportunity to get a new VP9 with 3 mags and night sights for just over $700 out the door from my local gun guy Anyway just thought i'd see what the consensus is to those who either own or have shot them. keep in mind this will NOT be a carry gun but a range gun/ open carry gun out at the land.

I put a magazine's worth of ammo through one a couple weeks ago. I really liked it; nice trigger, felt normal sitting in my hand, felt well built. I'm not going to change from my Glocks, but the HK would be a good choice.

I have owned a USP Compact .40 before and thought it was a great gun. I only sold it because I didn't like the caliber that much. If I had bought it in .45 or 9mm, I'd probably still have it. HKs are not perfect guns, but they are very serviceable, reliable, and reasonably accurate.

thanks guys for the pennies! i would NEVER get rid of my glocks as they are my main carry guns. this HK is simply just an extra gun to shoot at the range and may double as an extra "around the house" gun.

I just bought a VP9 and will be shooting it in a few hours... trigger feels better than my Glocks and it's overall a lot more comfortable. My USP Compact is the best shooting gun I have, and if this is anywhere near it it's a winner in my book. I'm tired of manual safeties and DA/SA.

ETA: Shot it last night and absolutely loved it. Definitely a Glock 19 replacement for me, but the Glock will stay around since I have a bunch of accessories for it.

i rented one last week and did a side by side against my glock19 and i was amazed how much i liked that vp9. I will certainly be buying one, been trying all week to find one used locally.
While I shot my 19 well that day with holes all close to each-other... the vp9 was holes on top of holes it completely destroyed the center of the target.

recoil was comparable to the glock, but i found myself really preferring the trigger on the vp9 and loved the way it felt in my hand.
i had a usp9 briefly and got rid of it because i just thought it felt too bulky and the trigger was too far forward for my fingers but the vp9 is completely different.

GlockDude26 wrote:Never owned an HK to this point and have the opportunity to get a new VP9 with 3 mags and night sights for just over $700 out the door from my local gun guy Anyway just thought i'd see what the consensus is to those who either own or have shot them. keep in mind this will NOT be a carry gun but a range gun/ open carry gun out at the land.

I think any H&K is a great gun. I have several including a VP9. I also had a SIG P320 and a buddy of mine has a Walther PPQ M2. I am in the lucky position of having hands on comparison to those relatively new guns and to be honest, all are excellent shooters. The PPQ and the VP9 are very similar and only personal preference can help to prefer one over the other. The SIG P320 is similar but still a different experience. I had the full size and compare it to a SIG P226 on steroids and much lighter. Should you get a chance I'd suggest you try each one and than make a decision. If you are interested buying one send me a PM. I have one I may part with for a reasonable price.

just sold my VP9 but ONLY because I just had to thin out my safe. I think its a great gun and I do own other HK's (USPc 9mm & a Mark 23) and love them. I liked the trigger on the VP9 a lot and I think its a great gun for the money. Its a quality gun. Plus the P30 mags and VP9 mags are the same. I had a P30 that sold too but again only because I had to make room. The USPc I just cant part with because ts a favorite.

HK got the VP9 right.I think the P30's grip texture is better but thats minor.

bmwrdr wrote:

GlockDude26 wrote:Never owned an HK to this point and have the opportunity to get a new VP9 with 3 mags and night sights for just over $700 out the door from my local gun guy Anyway just thought i'd see what the consensus is to those who either own or have shot them. keep in mind this will NOT be a carry gun but a range gun/ open carry gun out at the land.

I think any H&K is a great gun. I have several including a VP9. I also had a SIG P320 and a buddy of mine has a Walther PPQ M2. I am in the lucky position of having hands on comparison to those relatively new guns and to be honest, all are excellent shooters. The PPQ and the VP9 are very similar and only personal preference can help to prefer one over the other. The SIG P320 is similar but still a different experience. I had the full size and compare it to a SIG P226 on steroids and much lighter. Should you get a chance I'd suggest you try each one and than make a decision. If you are interested buying one send me a PM. I have one I may part with for a reasonable price.

Gun -Tests magazine just did a comparison test in their current issue of those three exact guns: VP9, P320, and PPQ M2. They liked the VP9 best, although they thought the others were OK too.

I dunno, I've still got a case of "HK hate" going over my department's issued weapons. In its favor, mine has never jammed or malfunctioned; however, I hate the trigger, and would rather have a Glock.

I've owned two other HK pistols and sold them both, with very little regret. None ever really stood out to me as "exceptional" enough to make a daily carry gun, other than the fact I'm required to carry one for work.

USP are even better for being Military issued pistols.

maximus2161 wrote:just sold my VP9 but ONLY because I just had to thin out my safe. I think its a great gun and I do own other HK's (USPc 9mm & a Mark 23) and love them. I liked the trigger on the VP9 a lot and I think its a great gun for the money. Its a quality gun. Plus the P30 mags and VP9 mags are the same. I had a P30 that sold too but again only because I had to make room. The USPc I just cant part with because ts a favorite.

HK got the VP9 right.I think the P30's grip texture is better but thats minor.

where were you at when i was trying to find a vp9 or p30

one thing, the magazines arent really cheap. but they're built well

Beiruty wrote:USP are even better for being Military issued pistols.

Depends on whether or not you want a hammer-fired or a striker-fired pistol. The USPs are hammer fired. I liked mine a lot, but I can't honestly say that it is the best pistol I've ever owned........in no small part because "best" is a subjective standard that varies from user to user. What's best for you (or the military) may not be best for someone else. Pretty much any pistol has its weaknesses. The USP's weakness is a gritty double action trigger with a too-heavy hammer spring from the factory. Replace the 14 lb hammer spring with a 10 lb spring from Wolf, and the double action pull lightens up dramatically, which in turn improves accuracy. But even if you have the SA/DA decocker version like the one I had, the SA trigger, while light enough for combat use, was a bit creepy and gritty......even after changing out the hammer spring. It also has a relatively high bore-axis, which makes muzzle flip that much more pronounced.......particularly in .40 S&W, which was what mine was chambered in. Another negative was the rail. I can't speak to newer versions of that pistol, but mine had a proprietary rail pattern and required either HK branded lights, or lights which came with an HK adapter to fit the HK rail.

My USP Compact was fairly accurate and easy-to-maintain pistol. I really appreciated the polygonal rifling when it came time to clean the barrel. It was relatively compact and narrow for a double-stack polymer-framed pistol, which made it fairly easy to conceal......similar in size to my Glock 19 or XDM-45 Compact 3.8.....and of similar weight.

Like I said previously, if it had been chambered in 9mm or .45, I would probably still have it today. But if I compare it to my XDM, the Springfield is a better carry pistol......for me. It is softer shooting, has a lower bore-axis, has a match-grade barrel for increased accuracy, has greater capacity, and best yet, you don't have to deal with HK's legendarily snobbish and unresponsive customer service. Yes, they make great pistols, but they don't give much of a darn about keeping their customers happy.

All of that said, if you have a USP (compact or full-sized), you have a very good pistol. And if you like it, then there is no reason to get rid of it and it is then indeed a "best" pistol.

IIRC correctly from reading a gun magazine article on the VP9,
it is called that because in German it's the "Volks Pistol", or
the "people's pistol", similar to VW = "Volkswagen" = "people's car."

SIA

surprise_i'm_armed wrote:IIRC correctly from reading a gun magazine article on the VP9,
it is called that because in German it's the "Volks Pistol", or
the "people's pistol", similar to VW = "Volkswagen" = "people's car."

SIA

It is truly called "Volkspistole" but it is a marketin gimmick only and because it is priced for everyone.
Every civilian can (could) afford a "Volkswagen (the classic beatle) but nobody can have the "Volkspistolke" legally without a tremendous amount of paperwork. The VP9 is manufactured for export and I guess to compete with others in that particular market segment.