[willy77]

Hey guys,

Today I shot my new VP9 for the first time and had numerous issues with empty cases not fully ejecting and a couple failure to loads. The gun had previously been disassembled, shipping oil cleaned off, thin coat of gun oil applied, reassembled and function checked. I fired about 90 shots and around 6 or 7 failures occurred. I'm far from being an expert but have never had this many failures with a half-dozen other pistols I've bought. Sure, one or two here or there but this felt excessive.

It did seem to improve as I continued to shoot more, but thought I'd ask about any known issues as I'm new to this model and haven't read much about it. Ammo was recent new Blazer Brass 115gr which is flawless in a different pistol. Gun was disassembled afterwards and guide rod confirmed to be properly seated. Everything looked good.

Is this an acceptable failure rate for a new pistol? I'm not convinced it is the pistol although the ammo has worked fine in a different pistol.

 

[KillStick]

New vp9 are coming with the vp40 springs so you may have to use warmer ammo to break it in.

 

[willy77]

How can I tell if I have a newer model with vp40 spring?

 

[Hawk777]

Newer spring is silver older is red is my understanding.

 

[willy77]

Is heavier ammo, like 124gr, considered hotter? I don't want to burn up boxes of expensive +p ammo...

 

[Hawk777]

Mostly depends on brand. 124 should be slightly hotter. Most of us use Nato spec 9MM to break in these guns. That being said I have never had much of a problem with an HK out of the box reliability wise. Think my P30 had one FTE but it was junk yellow box UMC so probably not the guns fault. I have had problems with Blazer Brass in the past and quit buying it years ago. I don't know if that still holds true so I won't comment. If you can get some Geco or MEN or Winchester 9mm Nato spec stuff and put a box through and see if you have a problem you will probably get your answer. If it continues to have issues with good ammo I would send it back to HK for them to make it right.

Most of these Euro guns are setup to run Euro spec 9mm which is typically hotter then US range stuff so sometimes its an issue with a super tight gun. Alot of the super cheap 9mm range ammo in US is loaded as light as possible to be super cheap. It will have more problems in guns meant to shoot euro ammo such as VP9 etc.

Make sure you have her lubed properly aswell.

My HKs will usually eat anything that isnt just awful quality.

That is alot of problems in any gun and I wouldnt put up with it from an HK unless it was bad ammo. I have had bad ammo choke even the mighty Mark 23 lol. I had some reloads from a friend of mine that were awful choke all my 45 HKs so I know its possible lol.

Not sure how much pistol shooting you have done but make sure you have a firm grip on the gun and don't limp wrist it. I am not accusing you of that but sometimes it happens and the gun gets blamed. It will be more pronounced with a new gun cause it won't put up with it at all as the springs are brand new. Also limp wrist new gun light ammo is perfect storm haha.

 

[TooSixy]

Try 4 to 5 boxes of Winchester 124gr NATO ammo.

 

[willy77]

Try 4 to 5 boxes of Winchester 124gr NATO ammo.

Thanks. This sounds like next step.

 

[Crashmc]

Hey guys,

" haven't read much about it" .

" Ammo was recent new Blazer Brass 115gr "

If you would use the search feature on this forum you would find plenty of answers to BOTH questions . Unlike most other gun manufacturers , HK doesn't " underspring " the RSA . I'll bet your brass barely made it out and landed at your feet. I just bought a BNIB grey VP9 and shot 2 boxes of 115gr Blazer Brass ( weak junk ) , reloaded 115gr Freedom Munitions ( better ) , and 124gr Freedom Nato ( best ) . I had NO F's of ANY kind .

 

[willy77]

I'll bet your brass barely made it out and landed at your feet. I just bought a BNIB grey VP9 and shot 2 boxes of 115gr Blazer Brass ( weak junk ) , reloaded 115gr Freedom Munitions ( better ) , and 124gr Freedom Nato ( best ) . I had NO F's of ANY kind .

Yep, now that I think about it I was having numerous ejected casings lightly hitting me on the head/chest/shoulder area. At the time I thought it was just an odd ejection pattern with a new gun but now I realize it is weak ammo like folks are saying.

Cool - I feel a lot better. I'm sure it will do better after I get some Winchester NATO through it and probably more broken in.

 

[JonFrost]

I just went through it with mine. After about 200 rounds or so it should be fine. Definitely has a strong spring.

 

[hollowman]

I have shot about 4000 rounds through my vp9. Tula, perfecta, hornady. Doesn't matter. No issues what so ever. Also it my understanding and I may be wrong that only the vp9 tactical comes with the heavier spring.

most likely sent from my bathroom

 

[willy77]

Hmmm, having a problem finding some Winchester 124gr in my podunk town and also can't see any decent deals for it online. I'm sitting on plenty of standard brand 9mm so only want about 5 boxes, or a 100 o 250 pack. Everybody seems to want top dollar for it, and shipping...

 

[Klaustrophobia]

From the reports we've been getting here all VP9s now ship with the VP40 spring. So maybe we should just start calling it the VP RSA.

Other than heavier/stronger ammo, another option is to cycle the slide manually a bunch and/or leave it locked back overnight/for a day or so.

 

[grumpy1]

Hmmm, having a problem finding some Winchester 124gr in my podunk town and also can't see any decent deals for it online. I'm sitting on plenty of standard brand 9mm so only want about 5 boxes, or a 100 o 250 pack. Everybody seems to want top dollar for it, and shipping...

If you can find anything Speer Lawman or American Eagle 9MM locally, that should do fine.

Otherwise you can get Speer Lawman at SGAmmo. I recommend the 115 GR as that is a pretty hot almost +P load at 1200 FPS MV currently at $10.95 a box of 50. I have a couple cases and can easily tell the difference between Brass Blazer. The 124 or 147 Speer Lawman should do fine too. While there you can get 50 round boxes of Federal HST for $21 if you need any more SD ammo. SGAmmo ships quickly too.

Also when lubing your VP9 be sure to lube entire length of slide rail on each side of the slide where it rides on the steel tabs in the frame and also the barrel exterior.

50 round box - 9mm Luger Speer Lawman 115 grain TMJ Ammo - 53650 | SGAmmo.com

http://www.sgammo.com/product/feder...ral-hst-147-grain-hollow-point-le-ammo-p9hst2

 

[ccsolee]

Great, just ordered a VP9 so I could shoot the inexpensive 9MM ammo I've been getting some good deals on. All 115 gr of course.

 

[grumpy1]

Great, just ordered a VP9 so I could shoot the inexpensive 9MM ammo I've been getting some good deals on. All 115 gr of course.

IF one has an issue with their new VP9 and weaker ammo it is only for the first few hundred rounds.

 

[bauerdb]

I ran my brand new VP9 tactical (silver spring) the other night after a quick cleaning and lube with the below ammo with no issues. I ran the Perfecta first on purpose and everything ran great. Suppressed and unsuppressed.

115 grain Perfecta from Walmart
124 grain NATO MEN in Germany - MEN9B
124 grain NATO Winchester Mil-spec Ammo Q4318
147 grain Federal HST Hollow Point LE Ammo P9HST2
158 grain Fiocchi Subsonic

 

[JonFrost]

I had a lot of issues with my new grey vp9 with he silver spring for about 120 rounds. Just shot a match tonight with 0 issues. Ran 100%. All 115gr. Cycle the slide a bunch of run a couple hundred rounds and it'll be fine.

 

[dmcutter]

If you would use the search feature on this forum you would find plenty of answers to BOTH questions . Unlike most other gun manufacturers , HK doesn't " underspring " the RSA . I'll bet your brass barely made it out and landed at your feet. I just bought a BNIB grey VP9 and shot 2 boxes of 115gr Blazer Brass ( weak junk ) , reloaded 115gr Freedom Munitions ( better ) , and 124gr Freedom Nato ( best ) . I had NO F's of ANY kind .

I would have to disagree with this. I had 2 failures to feed and one failure to lock the slide back with Freedom Munitions 115 grain after running 2 boxes of 124 gr Blazer through my VP9 on the first range session. I have shot Blazer brass 115 gr back to back with Freedom, and in the same mag as well. The Freedom is noticeably softer, less snap, no muzzle flash, not as loud. I personally don't consider Blazer brass 115 gr "weak junk", but I may be in the minority. For the record, I've never had any sort of malfunction with Blazer of any caliber or weight in my HKs or Shield.