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Help me out here folks. In an effort to narrow down my choices, I've been shooting as many HK's as I can get my hands on.
I want to get a new pistol and am certain it will be an HK. The only question is which one. My main intent was to find an EDC to replace my J-frame Smith, saving it for BUG duty, working outside the house, dog walking, or those dressed really light/lazy pocket carry times. Due to ammo costs, I'd decided 9mm was the only real option. I don't get into the 9 vs 40 vs 45 thing. But due to what was available locally for testing purposes, necessity and curiosity meant I did shoot other calibers.
I've shot: P30 9mm 4X, the only LEM
P2Ksk .40 3X
USP9 & 40 2X
USP45, HK45, HK45c, USPc9 1X
The P30, P2Ksk, and USPc9 I shot for evaluation purposes of my original intent, the rest for grins and giggles. My impressions are that the USP9 & 40 feel best in the hand with USP45, HK45c, USPc9 all a close second, the HK45 a close third and the P30 last. It is one I will revisit later, but is no longer a contender for my first buy. The rest are pretty much a six of one, dozen of the other type thing, each with +'s and -'s.
The P2Ksk and USP40 were shot side by side in two different range sessions, the the USP45 and USP9 on another, and the UPSc9, another USP9, HK45 and HK45c were all shot together this week. The P30 always singly.
Common sense tells me to get the P2Ksk in 9mm to fill my original intent due to its size and that I shoot it well. I'm a small guy and admit there's a limit to how much “dressing around” something I'm willing to do, especially in the summer. Plus, I really believe at some point I will have one anyway. I'm also impressed that in my hands the sk in .40 had only a little more felt recoil, and actually a little less muzzle flip than the USP40! I assume an sk in 9mm would be a real pussycat. I liked the sk and maybe heard a whisper or too from it.
The USP 9&40 had the best feeling grip and felt better in the hand than anything. The only issue is I can barely reach the slide release without shifting my grip, and only then if the control lever is out of the way in the “safe” position. I would likely convert one to LEM so that may not be much of an issue, or maybe it isn't that important anyway even if I left it a V1. I consider the modularity and trigger options of the USP/HK series a plus if I did want to experiment. In my second time with the USP9, I was shooting it better than anything. For some reason, the USP's “speak” to me more than all the others. I just don't see me using one for EDC due to its size.
I don't believe concealing the USPc9 will be a problem and I like the extra capacity and sight radius of it over the sk, though I didn't seem to shoot it much better. The grip was comfortable, though I wish it filled my hand like the USP. The slide release was easy to reach, though the control lever in “fire” mode still gets in the way. No real issues with it, but it didn't “say” anything to me either.
FWIW, if I was looking for a full-size 45, I'd likely go with the HK45 as it seemed to have fair amount less muzzle flip than the USP45, which made it easier to shoot and I was more accurate with it. I wouldn't like giving up two rounds though, and I'm not wild about the spidey grip. I wish the grip was not as narrow, but it was okay and I didn't have the trigger groove issue like on the P30. I'd likely arrange for an extended range session with both before making a choice.
With the HK45c, I grinned and giggled myself into wanting one. To me, it had no more felt recoil or flip than the HK45, and less of the latter than the USP40. The controls were all easy to reach and the grip was comfortable, though I wish it had more texture and was a little wider like the USPc or USP. I wish I'd shot the USP 45 CT the range had as maybe it would have been a better fit than the both Compact 9 and 45c. I understand its grip is a little bigger than the 9mm/40 versions, maybe a little more like the USP full-size.
The USPc 45's also seem to be a lot cheaper than the HK45c, and I do wish both had more than 8+1 standard capacity. Regardless, the 45c was definitely speaking very loudly to me! It was very close to the USP in that respect. Shooting it only muddied the waters instead of clearing things up with regards to making a choice.
The thing that got me thinking outside the 9mm box, besides shooting the 45c, is a NIB stainless USP40 at the LGS which looks awesome. I can get it for $849, which doesn't seem bad, and I know HK is not doing stainless anymore. Since I find myself actually considering a .40, I can't cross off the 45c due to ammo costs anymore. Ditto for a USPc or P2Ksk in .40 S&W.
Though I did shoot some of the guns better than others, I didn't shoot any badly, and don't want to place too much emphasis on that point as my time behind all of them was limited. I'm certain I would improve with any one of them with more practice. I know, get both or multiple HK's, but I can only get one right now and likely for quite some time.
So, do I get a USP and just keep using the Smith for EDC for the time being? Get a USPc or P2Ksk, logically the best choice, and if so, in 9mm or .40? Go whole hog and get the HK45c? Should I even listen to logic since I know I'll eventually own another and just go with the gut and listen to ones “talking” to me?
I want to get a new pistol and am certain it will be an HK. The only question is which one. My main intent was to find an EDC to replace my J-frame Smith, saving it for BUG duty, working outside the house, dog walking, or those dressed really light/lazy pocket carry times. Due to ammo costs, I'd decided 9mm was the only real option. I don't get into the 9 vs 40 vs 45 thing. But due to what was available locally for testing purposes, necessity and curiosity meant I did shoot other calibers.
I've shot: P30 9mm 4X, the only LEM
P2Ksk .40 3X
USP9 & 40 2X
USP45, HK45, HK45c, USPc9 1X
The P30, P2Ksk, and USPc9 I shot for evaluation purposes of my original intent, the rest for grins and giggles. My impressions are that the USP9 & 40 feel best in the hand with USP45, HK45c, USPc9 all a close second, the HK45 a close third and the P30 last. It is one I will revisit later, but is no longer a contender for my first buy. The rest are pretty much a six of one, dozen of the other type thing, each with +'s and -'s.
The P2Ksk and USP40 were shot side by side in two different range sessions, the the USP45 and USP9 on another, and the UPSc9, another USP9, HK45 and HK45c were all shot together this week. The P30 always singly.
Common sense tells me to get the P2Ksk in 9mm to fill my original intent due to its size and that I shoot it well. I'm a small guy and admit there's a limit to how much “dressing around” something I'm willing to do, especially in the summer. Plus, I really believe at some point I will have one anyway. I'm also impressed that in my hands the sk in .40 had only a little more felt recoil, and actually a little less muzzle flip than the USP40! I assume an sk in 9mm would be a real pussycat. I liked the sk and maybe heard a whisper or too from it.
The USP 9&40 had the best feeling grip and felt better in the hand than anything. The only issue is I can barely reach the slide release without shifting my grip, and only then if the control lever is out of the way in the “safe” position. I would likely convert one to LEM so that may not be much of an issue, or maybe it isn't that important anyway even if I left it a V1. I consider the modularity and trigger options of the USP/HK series a plus if I did want to experiment. In my second time with the USP9, I was shooting it better than anything. For some reason, the USP's “speak” to me more than all the others. I just don't see me using one for EDC due to its size.
I don't believe concealing the USPc9 will be a problem and I like the extra capacity and sight radius of it over the sk, though I didn't seem to shoot it much better. The grip was comfortable, though I wish it filled my hand like the USP. The slide release was easy to reach, though the control lever in “fire” mode still gets in the way. No real issues with it, but it didn't “say” anything to me either.
FWIW, if I was looking for a full-size 45, I'd likely go with the HK45 as it seemed to have fair amount less muzzle flip than the USP45, which made it easier to shoot and I was more accurate with it. I wouldn't like giving up two rounds though, and I'm not wild about the spidey grip. I wish the grip was not as narrow, but it was okay and I didn't have the trigger groove issue like on the P30. I'd likely arrange for an extended range session with both before making a choice.
With the HK45c, I grinned and giggled myself into wanting one. To me, it had no more felt recoil or flip than the HK45, and less of the latter than the USP40. The controls were all easy to reach and the grip was comfortable, though I wish it had more texture and was a little wider like the USPc or USP. I wish I'd shot the USP 45 CT the range had as maybe it would have been a better fit than the both Compact 9 and 45c. I understand its grip is a little bigger than the 9mm/40 versions, maybe a little more like the USP full-size.
The USPc 45's also seem to be a lot cheaper than the HK45c, and I do wish both had more than 8+1 standard capacity. Regardless, the 45c was definitely speaking very loudly to me! It was very close to the USP in that respect. Shooting it only muddied the waters instead of clearing things up with regards to making a choice.
The thing that got me thinking outside the 9mm box, besides shooting the 45c, is a NIB stainless USP40 at the LGS which looks awesome. I can get it for $849, which doesn't seem bad, and I know HK is not doing stainless anymore. Since I find myself actually considering a .40, I can't cross off the 45c due to ammo costs anymore. Ditto for a USPc or P2Ksk in .40 S&W.
Though I did shoot some of the guns better than others, I didn't shoot any badly, and don't want to place too much emphasis on that point as my time behind all of them was limited. I'm certain I would improve with any one of them with more practice. I know, get both or multiple HK's, but I can only get one right now and likely for quite some time.
So, do I get a USP and just keep using the Smith for EDC for the time being? Get a USPc or P2Ksk, logically the best choice, and if so, in 9mm or .40? Go whole hog and get the HK45c? Should I even listen to logic since I know I'll eventually own another and just go with the gut and listen to ones “talking” to me?
