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9K views 87 replies 21 participants last post by  DarkeWolf 
#1 ·
I just picked up a VP9, when at the range the other day I noticed that I was getting weak ejection pattern. Now I have read something about a wrong spring either the recoil or ejection spring, not sure which. Now I didn't get any malfunctions while shooting the 400+ rounds that I had with me of various 9 mm ammo. I had weak ejection on all but the most was on the Federal Champion 115 gr Aluminum case ammo. Also almost every ammo I was shooting was 115 gr with some 124 gr also, I did notice that the 115 g & 124 g brass did eject a bit further & wasn't hitting me like the aluminum case. That Aluminum case was hitting me in the head, arms & chest.
I like the pistol but guess I got used to the ejection on my M&P 2.0 9 mm, it would sling them casing far.
I am just wondering if the recoil spring could be wrong or over powered. Thanks to all on any replies or anyone else that has had this issue.



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#5 ·
Yup, beat me to it. Brass only please.
Also, federal is known to have dirty powder in some of their ammo, so I generally stay away from them. It can cause the actions to not work correctly. (Especially their. Lightning bolt 22 ammo!)
I'd wait on the spring, till you run some more brass thru it to see how it goes.
 
#7 ·
My VP9 was pretty stiff when I first got it. Even with the red spring. Sometimes it just takes some work to loosen it up.
Leave the slide locked back at night, and hand rack it some. Use a good gun oil as lube on ur contact parts.
Use brass. Aluminum or steel is a waste of cash, and doesn't eject well from German pistols.
I'd recommend Speer lawman. Even at 115gr they pop a little hot. That should help to work in ur spring.
Tho tbh, I still say it was mostly ur ammo. Hope this helps, and welcome to the HK kraze :D
 
#8 ·
My VP9 was pretty stiff when I first got it. Even with the red spring. Sometimes it just takes some work to loosen it up.
Leave the slide locked back at night, and hand rack it some. Use a good gun oil as lube on ur contact parts.
Use brass. Aluminum or steel is a waste of cash, and doesn't eject well from German pistols.
I'd recommend Speer lawman. Even at 115gr they pop a little hot. That should help to work in ur spring.
Tho tbh, I still say it was mostly ur ammo. Hope this helps, and welcome to the HK kraze :D
That they do. Cannot go wrong with Speer Lawman.
 
#11 ·
I like 124gr Euro Fiocchi/PPU/Men/S&B. Nice clean powder burn and polished/smooth finish FMJ.
I noticed Speer Lawman TMJ has the same (pitted) jacket as Fed Champion, also TMJ. I suspect the same bullets (as they’re the same company), although insignificant for target rounds.

Given current 9mm low prices, I wonder if Fed is cutting back a step or two. Picked up 100rds Fed 124gr/+P HST and the bullets are not as clean as my previous – liquid solution stains. Compared to the high polish bullet/casing of Hornady Critical.Dx, as with the Euro brands.
 
#12 ·
So for what I paid for this pistol, thinking I was getting a higher quality firearm that in my opinion should shoot any ammo out there that is manufactured without a issue. Also in what way locking back the slide going to help reduce the tension on that spring. I work with springs, they don't just loosen up in a few days with some minor tension, it would take years keeping that slide locked back. I also don't believe in owning a firearm that is out of the box ammo picky. A $600 dollar combat ready pistol should be able to feed reliably any ammo in that pistols caliber. Either it being brass, steel or aluminum case.
I do want to thank all for the great replies, but in my rant here I just cannot believe for what I paid for this pistol, I now have to lock back the slide & purchase special kind of 124 grain ammo, just to shoot it reliably. I am not sure now how long I'll keep this pistol now. I am thinking instead of selling my M&P 2.0 9 mm pistol I'll keep it cause just by performance the M&P out performs the H&K VP 9 out of the box & will feed anything I put in it. Wow, a $450 dollar firearm beating the H&K VP 9, a $550+ pistol that has weak ejection just because of the wrong spring, cause the company wanted to cut corners & use up there VP40 stock of springs instead of using the proper springs to begin with. Also S&W M&P 2.0 manual says nothing about any certain ammo types, just that it not be reloaded ammo, all manufactured ammo is good to go. This is why I cannot find a good 9 mm pistol, cause every time I get one that's supposed to be of higher quality I end up hearing something like this. I have even seen this in the Sig Sauer 226 9 mm a $800+ pistol picky about ammo. I say not.
 
#14 ·
Real world experience shows that some springs can loosen up a bit in days/weeks if say the slide is locked back (recoil spring) or a magazine is kept loaded (magazine spring).

I understand what you mean about the ammo sensitivity, I come from Glocks which work perfectly on literally everything, including aluminum and steel case super cheap ammo. I do not buy into the "high quality guns need high quality ammo" BS, because it's just that, BS. But I can appreciate a firearm that is tuned to run warm/hot ammo and may not cycle well on the really low end weak stuff. You used the term "combat pistol", I don't think the VP is necessarily meant to be a "combat pistol", but, a "combat pistol" should be very reliable on the type of ammo one typically sees in a combat environment...so if it's 100% on NATO spec ammo and on quality defensive JHP, I find that acceptable.

In full disclosure my VP9 has the old red recoil spring which does a better job running on literally everything including weak loads, but my new VP9SK obviously isn't in that position...but anyway...I just don't buy Aluminum or steel case ammo now...there's some pretty cheap brass stuff that works just fine in both, down to $17/100. And the weak stuff works in mine as well as in my new SK (weak, like, Rem/UMC in the green/white box or Federal "Brass Case" from Walmart).

HK does seem to have goofed putting the overly strong .40 spring into the 9mm in the US market where most shooters like to practice with whatever is cheapest and most competitor's guns work perfectly fine on everything.


But it really isn't 'picky' on ammo, just use reasonably powerful brass case, FMJ or JHP. They will feed anything that isn't cheap and crappy. Hell, mine (full size and SK) reliably feed empty spent brass cases. Seriously, 100% feed putting empty cases into different random spots in the magazine. Try that with your other pistols.
 
#15 ·
My whole discord about this is that I strongly believe if a company can make a pistol & sell it for $500-$800+ dollars & then suddenly Wam out of the blue say hey you can only reliably use this certain kind of ammo, then that isn't the pistol for me. I said it before any pistol in the $500-$800+ dollar range should be able to perform with any manufactured ammo. Shouldn't have a break in period, out of the box should perform flawlessly, unless you get a lemon which at times there are some, but finding out that H&K shipped several VP9's with the VP40 spring is uncalled for, also when they just try to push it off onto a special ammo needed or locking the slide back will work. I still say "not", these firearms should perform, if not the correct it by sending out the correct part for those pistols.
Again it just baffles me that my M&P 2.0 has in every way so far out performed the H&K VP9, from out of the box to shooting every kind of ammo manufactured for it.
I also don't like it cause the other reason I want my pistol to perform using other ammo types is that, "what if" the only ammo you could find would be the steel case or aluminum case ammo. Then what since you have a VP9 your not going to able to reliably use that ammo cause the pistol don't like it. I am thinking that I'm getting rid of it asap.
 
#16 ·
A VP9 is simply going to be too ammo picky for you. Right there in the manual you have to avoid steel an aluminum case, and then also avoid the cheaper/weaker brass case. It IS limiting on ammo selection compared to a Glock or pretty much any other pistol. If you aren't willing to deal with that, get something else.
 
#21 ·
Have you compared Fed Champion to the Fed "brass case" that has no name besides "brass case"? I don't know that I've ever shot any Federal Champion, somehow, or if I did it was years ago.

Also, have you compared the Fed Champion to Freedom? They seem to be about the weakest you can buy
 
#22 ·
I have shot the same ammo through my M&P 2.0, 115 grain & never had a any issue at all with it. I just cannot believe that when you buy a higher quality pistol, like the H&K you have to only use a certain kind of ammo. Well I say bull****, those guns should perform again on any manufactured ammo. I have never had any problems with Federal Champion ammo, Blazer brass, Tulammo, Federal Champion Aluminum case etc. Now is the only reason behind this is because I got the wrong ejection spring in my VP9. I got the VP40 recoil spring instead of the red marked VP9 spring.
My question is, if I got the correct spring would it perform like it should with all ammo types? Like 115 grain all casing types also.
 
#23 ·
HK currently says the .40 spring is "correct". Break the spring in with some stouter rounds and leaving it locked back before bailing on your investment.

My broken in VP9 with red spring is 100% on all factory brass ammo (had 1 FTRTB with weak ammo very early on, otherwise perfect). My newer VP9SK is 100% on all factory new brass ammo from day 1
 
#25 · (Edited)
Well just got in touch with H&K, from what I got from them is yes the VP40 Spring will work, but needs a bit of breaking in, but it isn't the correct spring, the correct one should have the red paint on the spring, which is designed to be used with all 9 mm ammo types. I even asked about aluminum & steel case ammo, they said yes it should cycle it fine, the reason they don't recommend it is because of how the casing expand in the chamber, said something that it might damage the extractor & chamber, which I call bull****, the aluminum & steel case ammo isn't really that much harder than brass case ammo. I have read hardness test on steel case ammo & aluminum case & at times it is the same or just slightly harder. Not enough to cause any damage to the Cold hammer forged steel barrel or the heavy steel extractor. If it did, then this H&K VP9 should be a $300 dollar budget gun, hell I have had $250-$300 dollar budget guns that have performed better than this VP9 using all kinds of manufactured ammo.
 
#26 ·
Funny HK tells other folks the red spring is no longer available, so not sure which HK you called.

Since you're so adamant, just sell it and buy a couple HiPoints, I'm sure you'll be much happier.

OR, do like most new to HK folks do, shoot quality ammo, and follow the dozen or more threads about breaking in the stouter VP40 spring, which is also the stock VP9 spring as of sometime last year, IIRC
 
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#27 ·
I called H&K USA down in Georgia. I just don't get how everyone thinks that they purchase a so called high end pistol & for what you pay for it you can only run certain high grade ammo. I again think a firearm in this price range should be able to feed any kind of ammo no matter what. Also they said that they have the springs for the 9 mm, but no made up complete assemblies. Also in a nutshell read between the lines, that since the sales of the VP40 are low, instead of making new assemblies for the VP 9 they cut corners & used the back stock of the VP 40 springs. I don't also believe that a 9mm pistol should have a spring that wasn't designed for that pistol. It's like buying a car but they put the wrong springs on your shocks, then being told you have to drive slow & can only hit a few pot holes until you break in your shocks.
I just don't agree with a firearm company cutting corners by putting the wrong part not truly designed for that firearm. They are paying for shipping I have to send in the wrong spring for them to install the correct spring.
 
#30 ·
Yes I guess that is what they are doing, I hope when I get it returned that there is red paint on the spring. I bet they will just paint my current one red then send it back. I'll know though just check the ejection pattern again. I just upset that once again I get a supposed higher quality firearm & the company ruins my faith in that firearm's reliability by demanding a certain ammo type or not using the correct part for the firearm.
 
#42 ·
German company and they are just known for being very “THEIR WAY” is the only way, they don’t like that the US forces put aftermarket parts on their guns IE stocks, Rails, Triggers.. THEY LOVE NORWAY, THEY KEEP THEM ALL OEM.. I don’t get it, but?

I only shoot Brass cased Factory AMMO Through all my Guns, seen to many horror pics.
 
#31 ·
I will, but at this time I don't think that I am going to get any return label for the spring, cause I just talked to another guy on another forum said he called them just yesterday & they had no springs in stock. So I have a feeling that I am getting a run around here.
 
#32 ·
If you had simply read the manual, or the specs on the website before you bought your gun, you would have bought NATO spec ammo and gone on with your day. When you decide to put in a lower pressure round than is called for, the operator is in error, not the weapon.

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#33 ·
If you had simply read the manual, or the specs on the website before you bought your gun, you would have bought NATO spec ammo and gone on with your day. When you decide to put in a lower pressure round than is called for, the operator is in error, not the weapon.
I've never read the manual or manufacturer's online specs before buying a handgun. Not that I can think of, anyway. I believe that if it's a production pistol chambered in X cartridge, factory X cartridges that work in every other gun should also work in it.

HK goofed going to the .40 spring in the VP9.

Glock did the same thing when they brought out the Gen4, but they were willing to admit this by switching back. Hopefully HK will do the same and go back to the red spring...

That said it doesn't seem like a huge deal to work around with break in period/less weak ammo
 
#34 ·
Condition0, WHAT?
How in your right mind can you say that it's not the firearms manufactures fault. The firearm doesn't even have the correct recoil spring installed. Also for what you pay for the pistol, you shouldn't have to shoot only one kind of ammo, it should preform on any kind of manufactured ammo. No firearm at this price point should has issues with ammo. I got over 1,000 rounds of different kinds of 115 grain ammo, this firearm should shoot it without issue. I just don't get your logic on how it's my fault for not providing proper ammo. This is the same ammo that my M&P 2.0 shoots like a champ, ejects like a AK 47, not like the VP9 which ejects like a limp old man, because of the incorrect part installed.
 
#37 ·
You have the current correct RSA. How am I not in my right mind reading the manual?
You sound young, and a know it all, so I will bow to your greatness.
P. S. Don't bitch if you buy another hk that requires NATO spec ammo and then jams when you feed it low pressure.
This topic is so beaten to death and its usually someone who got their first hk and it's a VP9.

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#36 ·
Warp
I really don't see them going back to the red spring, from the information I got today it seems that they have a butt load of the VP40 spring assemblies left over, since the 40 caliber round sales are way down. They don't want to bit the cost on making new springs & assemblies. I have just lost my faith in H&K
 
#38 ·
I suppose you could just swap it out for a VP9SK, they run on everything, including the weak stuff like Federal "brass case" that's cheap at Walmart, or Remington/UMC in the green/white box, as examples. Then again a broken in newer VP9 just might do that too IDK don't have one with the new spring to try it
 
#39 ·
For one I have been shooting firearms for a long time, I also work on them. My logic again on high quality pistol like the H&K VP9 shouldn't need to be broke in with a NATO spec ammo. It should, out of box perform with all ammo in it's X caliber. Also how do you Condition0 think that a company cutting corners by installing a incorrect part is okay, I shouldn't have to bite the cost on a firearm by purchasing more ammo to just shoot it. Also I did run some 124 grain Aguila ammo & it was even ejecting that weak also. So again I don't think you see the point of my discuss. Again no firearm with the higher quality of the H&K name should have to only use 124 grain NATO spec ammo, that pistol should out perform my M&P 2.0 but it hasn't & won't unless it has the correct part installed.
Further more I was told by H&K today that yes the VP40 spring isn't the correct part for the VP 9 but will work with higher pressure ammo & a longer break in period. I say no to this, I cannot believe that anyone would be okay with paying $500 or more for a pistol & be okay with it being ammo picky & having a incorrect part installed also. No pistol in this price range should be, it should eat everything on the marked. I have owned several 9 mm pistols out there & this one is now on my list as a lemon cause of the company cutting corners again.
 
#44 ·
As an act of welcome to the forum, if hk customer service doesn't give you a red RSA , I will exchange one which is from the initial run that came with it, red paint and all. I shoot +p, so happy to help. The RSA only has 1 box through it, of Hornady Critical Duty.
P. S. There are other makers, off hand, kimber, fn, CZ, some Sigs, that all need the pressure, not just hk, to cycle reliably esp when new.

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#45 ·
Well I don't think they will do anything, was suppose to receive shipping label today didn't, if you willing good sir, also thank you. I'll take you up on that. I'll pm you my shipping info. Again thanks, yes I want this pistol to succeed cause I really like the feel of it in hand.
 
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