USP Frame Markings

6222 Views 14 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Deadwing, Jan 12, 2017

Deadwing

Discussion Starter · Jan 8, 2017

I purchased a USP45 as a Christmas gift to myself in early December and noticed something different about it when i had it stripped down for cleaning the other day. At first i couldn't put my finger on what was different, then it hit me. The right side of the frame is marked "Heckler & Koch GmbH" with Made in Germany beneath it, whereas every other HK pistol i own (except my US made HK45) is marked "HK Sidearms GmbH" with Made in Germany beneath it. Other than that, the frame appears identical to my BD dated USP45T.

I know older HKs were marked Heckler & Koch GmbH, along with other variations in the markings, but this was the first i'd seen it on a new production gun. This pistol has a BG date code, and the frame is a BG as well. The Mark 23 i purchased in April is a BG gun, but the frame itself is BF coded and bears the familiar HK Sidearms GmbH. So i wonder what prompted the change, and which weapons once again bear Heckler & Koch GmbH. Is it something HK is changing as they re-tool and replace molds? An across the board change? Anyway, i'm sure i'm not the first to notice it, but i thought it was kind of interesting and thought i'd share.

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wallacemf

· #2 · Jan 8, 2017

I can't answer your question about the different markings. I can tell you that my USPc with KI date code (1998) is marked "Heckler & Koch GmbH" with "Made in Germany" beneath it, same as yours. My guess would be the markings were variable depending on the production year.

Perhaps someone else with more knowledge regarding the markings will come along....

markm

· #3 · Jan 8, 2017

I don't know but I just bought 6 USP's last month and 5 of them say sidearms and one says heckler & koch (a 9mm USPc).

Hawk777

· #4 · Jan 9, 2017

HK over the years has gone through several ownership changes and internal structural changes. It seems the new mark is the HK Sidearms mark other then on the VP9 cause I don't know if all that would fit in the tiny box on the VP9.

The old USPs have always said just Heckler and Koch on them to my knowledge.

burtontester

· #5 · Jan 9, 2017

markm said:
I don't know but I just bought 6 USP's last month and 5 of them say sidearms and one says heckler & koch (a 9mm USPc).

Damn son, 6 USP's in a month? That is impressive old boy!!

Deadwing

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 9, 2017

wallacemf said:
I can't answer your question about the different markings. I can tell you that my USPc with KI date code (1998) is marked "Heckler & Koch GmbH" with "Made in Germany" beneath it, same as yours. My guess would be the markings were variable depending on the production year.

Perhaps someone else with more knowledge regarding the markings will come along....

At some point they switched from "Heckler & Koch GmbH" to "HK Sidearms GmbH", and i think i may have even seen "Heckler & Koch Sidearms GmbH" at some point. But it would appear the latest production (at least on the USP45) is back to "Heckler & Koch GmbH".

I've got German made HKs with date codes from BA (2010) through BG (2016), and only the most recently acquired one has Heckler & Koch GmbH.

Deadwing

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 9, 2017

Hawk777 said:
HK over the years has gone through several ownership changes and internal structural changes. It seems the new mark is the HK Sidearms mark other then on the VP9 cause I don't know if all that would fit in the tiny box on the VP9.

The old USPs have always said just Heckler and Koch on them to my knowledge.

It would seem the newest new marking is once again "Heckler & Koch GmbH", as the pistol in question was made in 2016 (BG date code). It makes sense about internal restructuring or ownership changes affecting how the firearm is marked. I'm curious about the latest change.

As for the VP9, all mine are marked "HK Sidearms GmbH" with Made in Germany below that, date codes are BE or BF on all.

Deadwing

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 9, 2017

burtontester said:
Damn son, 6 USP's in a month? That is impressive old boy!!

That was my thought exactly! Very impressive indeed!

burtontester

· #9 · Jan 9, 2017

My next question is which 6 were bought?

markm

· #10 · Jan 9, 2017

I got the USP family, 45, 40 and 9 in full sized and compact. Actually 6 was not quite accurate, I first bought the USP 45 and the USPC 45 and liked them. Then I got a p30S and p30LS thinking one might be good for matches but turned out I didn't really like them and knowing what would happen next I decided to get it over with and got the other 4 USPs. I did have a p30SKS on order but canceled it after the first two. But as my sweetie says if you buy them all it's still only one background check.

Deadwing

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 9, 2017

Nice haul. My only USP in .40 is a compact, and the only reason i bought it was so i could put a .357 Sig barrel in it. I'm not a fan of the P30s with manual safeties. I like the P30 in light LEM. As for background checks, I subscribe to the same philosophy: if i have to get a background check, i might as well make it count.

Hawk777

· #12 · Jan 9, 2017 (Edited)

Deadwing said:
It would seem the newest new marking is once again "Heckler & Koch GmbH", as the pistol in question was made in 2016 (BG date code). It makes sense about internal restructuring or ownership changes affecting how the firearm is marked. I'm curious about the latest change.

As for the VP9, all mine are marked "HK Sidearms GmbH" with Made in Germany below that, date codes are BE or BF on all.

Seems I misread my dates my 16 VP9s do say just HK. I don't have a new enough P30 to confirm.

Deadwing

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 9, 2017

Hawk777 said:
Seems I misread my dates my 16 VP9s do say just HK. I don't have a new enough P30 to confirm.

Interesting. Thanks for the update.

TooSixy

· #14 · Jan 9, 2017

BG VP9s are marked with Heckler & Koch, GmbH as well.

Deadwing

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jan 12, 2017

TooSixy said:
BG VP9s are marked with Heckler & Koch, GmbH as well.

Sounds like it's a new-for-BG-date coded frames thing.

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