New HK owner/first time handgun owner

[LushMojo]

Hello. My wife and I are from Boulder, Colorado and recently decided to get a handgun. I grew up in Louisiana with guns in the house and never thought much about it. My wife had the same background. I later grew to dislike guns and held them in a negative regard and as such never owned one after we married. As I've gotten older (37) I've decided that protecting my family was more important than how I felt about guns in general. My family currently is my wife and daughter and hopefully another child in the next year or so, as well as my widowed mother who lives in her own suite in our home.

My wife and I decided it would be fun to have another hobby together and going to the range seems to fit that bill. We're both going to take an NRA safety course here in town this summer since she wants to be able to use the gun if/when I'm not home. I'll be in medical school as some point soon (applying this year) and there will be nights when I'm not around.

We ended up deciding on an HK USP .45 Compact. We purchased locally here in Colorado (found it for $799 new) and we're completely stoked about the new gun.

I have a good friend who's VERY into guns and is going to show me the ropes, but I thought I'd ask here for general tips on simply owning the gun and maintenance (i.e. - I'm not looking for shooting tips, etc.). Any advice on what to do with the gun initially? Clean it? Anything to look for?

We just got a Storm Case iM2050 to store it in and haven't had the chance to take it to the range yet. Really looking forward to the experience and to learning from all of you here. I'm attaching a couple of pics I snapped of it today. I love the hell out of this gun!

[rkwallace]

Strip it down and take solvent to all metal surfaces and then apply gun oil as per instructions in owner's manual (some parts need medium oil, some light, some none). Familiarize yourself with all aspects of the guns operation with and without lights (in case some idiot actually decides to break into your home at 2am and you can't see anything). Every time I shoot I strip it to the frame and take Q-Tips to every little corner to get ALL the crap out but I'm a little bit anal. Make sure you keep the bore clean no matter what you do for other maintenance. Also my LE friends tell me the best way to practice outside the range is by purchasing snap caps and dry firing at "bad guys" on tv.

[rkwallace]

Oh, and welcome to the family! You made a brilliant choice. When you're doing this make sure your wife is in on the process so she knows how to deal with live loads, cleaning and storage. Also, consider getting her a P30, the gun will fit her hand much better, unless she has larger hands and the 9mm is a considerably less threatening round for most people to fire. My wife isn't a huge fan of shooting my USPf .40.

[UDT]

Congrats, welcome to the forum.

[rl168]

Congrats on the new gun. That is my carry gun and I love it.

[HKCHEF]

Buy some Winchester Ranger SXT defense ammo. Some A-Zoom snap caps and a Uplula mag loader. As far as cleaning I use a bore snake and Strike-Hold lubricant and cleaner. www.strike-hold.com

[riceboy72]

Welcome to the forum, and to the highly addictive world of Heckler & Koch. The bug will bite and you shall soon see what we mean when we say you've got it.

I'm not sure how the inside of your pistol looks, but mine came with a heavy, thick grease preservative that was slathered inside the slide. Clean this out with a good solvent and brush, then clean the barrel to make sure it is clear, too. Lube with a good quality gun lubricant, and be sure to clean your magazines before you head to the range for the first time.

Be safe, shoot well, and have fun. You've chosen a very fine pistol to start with.

[gking]

My USPc .45 is my favorite gun. I hope you enjoy yours too!

[Huntersdad]

Welcome to the club...

Nice gun too..

[weasle]

Welcome to the club