[jhammon2287]

I recently acquired a NIB BA Mark 23. I purchased the gun prior to firing one, though I did handle one before and yes,it fits my hands. The start of my addiction began with a standard USP 40 full size and have loved it since I got it. I've had my USP for a while now and wanted to see if I could out-shoot it with my new Mark. I took full advantage of a new indoor range we have in town last night. I do not claim to be an expert marksman, or anything close for that matter. I feel like I'm pretty accurate with my USP. I consistently have 2-3 inch groupings at 15-20 yds with it.
I must say, I am very impressed with the Mark. At 15 yds, I shot the middle “X” area out out of the target I was using with my first magazine. At 20 yards the groupings were only marginally worse, 1 1/2 to 2 inches max. I'm pretty sure I had some shots through the same hole a few times. This was my first time shooting the thing, can't wait to see when I'm used to it. I can definitely tell recoil is MUCH less noticeable with the Mark vs. the USP.
Funny thing, I shot the USP first, then the Mark 23, then went back to the USP. I shot the USP worse the 2nd time around after shooting the Mark 23.

 

[azimuth]

That happens to me too. I am impressed each time I take my Mark out how well I shoot. It makes me think I am better than I am. It's a little frustrating to go back to even a USP with a match trigger like my Tactical or my Expert. Glad you like your Mark 23! PICS!!!

 

[jhammon2287]

Will do! I should have some good ones up tomorrow.

 

[jhammon2287]

Just posted some pics here.
http://www.hkpro.com/forum/hk-handg...-bought-mark-23-pics-added-3.html#post1149725

 

[Skiguy]

Can't go wrong with a Mark 23 BUT it's really unfair to shoot USP afterwards! It's like shooting a really nice recurve bow, then shooting a compound bow with all the bells and whistles after....OK horrible analogy. But, I do have a nice comparison to share as well. I went to my gun club with my father-in-law yesterday. The old man had been hemming and hawing about his custom ordered 1911 that took 4 mos to build, cost him $3,200 and now that he had it, he was going to teach me a lesson about superior firearms. Admittedly, I'm a big fan of 1911's, but this was his day, so I grabbed my trusty old USP45 Compact and we drove to the range. Long story short, we estimated that he had 34 malfunctions out of 200 rounds fired. That's a jam literally over 15% of the time. I didn't have the heart to say anything while he was trying to figure out and resolve the issues. I did my best to comfort him while I burned through about 4 boxes of ammo myself...By the way, the only issue I had was a little smudge on my shirt from holstering with a dirty muzzle. The moral to the story is...well, I'm not sure.

 

[HecklerundSauer]

Can't go wrong with a Mark 23 BUT it's really unfair to shoot USP afterwards! It's like shooting a really nice recurve bow, then shooting a compound bow with all the bells and whistles after....OK horrible analogy. But, I do have a nice comparison to share as well. I went to my gun club with my father-in-law yesterday. The old man had been hemming and hawing about his custom ordered 1911 that took 4 mos to build, cost him $3,200 and now that he had it, he was going to teach me a lesson about superior firearms. Admittedly, I'm a big fan of 1911's, but this was his day, so I grabbed my trusty old USP45 Compact and we drove to the range. Long story short, we estimated that he had 34 malfunctions out of 200 rounds fired. That's a jam literally over 15% of the time. I didn't have the heart to say anything while he was trying to figure out and resolve the issues. I did my best to comfort him while I burned through about 4 boxes of ammo myself...By the way, the only issue I had was a little smudge on my shirt from holstering with a dirty muzzle. The moral to the story is...well, I'm not sure.

I have a Sig 1911 that I changed every Internal Part in, Against my mark 23 it holds its own. That is, until we talk reliability. It cant feed my terrible reloads like the mark 23 can. As far as accuracy, when I have someone that shoots better than me fire both its even. Unfortunately my shooting cant keep up with either, but I shoot both better than my tactical.

 

[skullbox]

To add to this, I would say I'm a better shooter with my Mark 23 as well. My USP tac just doesn't seem to shoot as straight. Now I know it's my own fault, but I think it has something to do with the flat trigger on the Mark 23 vs. the smaller curved one on the tactical. It just works better for me.

Speaking of 1911's, my local gun shop had a $3,200 nighthawk custom 1911 with a threaded barrel. The guy was trying to pitch it to me saying it was the best .45 hands down and that I would never own something better. I happened to have my Mark 23 that day and said what do you think of this... He looked at it like I had a cure for cancer... Skiguy, you're funny.

 

[jhammon2287]

I think it has something to do with the flat trigger on the Mark 23 vs. the smaller curved one on the tactical.

The tactical has the match trigger on it, right? I was thinking of upgrading my trigger. I've heard it makes a night and day difference and was hoping it would bring it closer to the trigger feel of the Mark 23.