HK Weapons

When it was time to replace my SIG P220 I also looked at other options in caliber.  After much study and consideration, I selected the .40 as the caliber I wanted.  The .40 caliber is a vast improvement in handgun technology. You’re really not losing too much going down to it from a .45ACP and yet you are gaining a great deal by moving up to it from a 9mm.  This is important especially if your having to use a smaller handgun.  The .40 is the middle ground, a compromise.  The upside is that you’re getting more firepower. More horse power (than the 9) and more capacity (than the .45). It is a WIN-WIN situation.

One thing that is very important is your load selection. Some .40 loads are rather wussy. I don’t think the .40 is a caliber for Novice shooters. It is harder to shoot well than either of the other calibers mentioned as it is a higher pressure round. It has a sharper recoil pulse that can be disconcerting to new shooters. Nine is mild and the .45 isn’t that brisk at all (unless your into the 185 grain +P loads but that’s another story). The USP handles the .40 rather well. It was designed for it. HK new what it was doing - They took the .40 and built the gun around it. Using the style of the 1911 that nearly every American shooter knows in his bones. Recoil reduction, Accuracy, Reliability, Durability, and Brutality. What more can you ask for?
HK released the USP in 9mm as well. Mainly because in a lot of places 9 is the only thing allowed. Shortly after the USP was unleashed - it was released in .45 and then in "Compact" version as well. The Compacts are basically USPs that are reengineered. What improvement that could be made to the USP was made into the compacts. USPs made after the Compacts were released had some of these improvements... The polygon rifling and a better trigger... My USP was one of the firsts. It has a heavy trigger that takes a firm hand to shoot well. The rifling is the standard Lands and Grooves. This isn't a problem - hey, I can shoot cast bullets with out worry.

I am a huge fan of HK guns, and the USP is I believe, one of the finest HK has ever made.  The P7 series is outstanding and all - accurate, compact, reliable and safe - but it is such an odd duck. I have owned 3 of them. two 9mm versions the 8 and the 13 and also the M10 which is in .40 S&W. The P7M10 could be the worst pistol HK has ever made next to the P11 "Under Water Pistol." The reason the M10 sucked was because it was too big and too heavy for it's design. The slide was tall and ugly - I think they made this one up "Well - its 20% more powerful so lets make it 20% bigger." (or something like that) Thank goodness they didn't make the USP .45 the same way - it could have been the size of a Desert Eagle! They did make the .45 versions bigger - but only slightly - just enough to handle the bigger cartridge. I wont go into the testing and the engineering that went into the USP... It speaks of it's own merit. Besides - I have a good link to a site dedicated to this fine pistol - and it has a good page all about the testing. Let me just say this - I will not do that to my gun. I am very glad they did it to theirs!

The German people really know something about weapons. It stems from their language - with such an angry sounding vernacular your bound to start a few fights. Don’t get me wrong - I am part German myself and have owned German made cars most of my driving life. I love the German people and respect them... (had to say that or my German friends would Blitzkrieg my ass in a Sturmpanzervagon)