HK Pistol Question

[CarloPonti]

I'm thinking of buying one of the .45 HK pistols. Probably a compact model. I want the version (Variant 1?) that you can carry cocked and locked. However, I need someone to describe that trigger to me. Is there much creep in the single action condition. Do you feel safe carrying this pistol in that condition. I'm just not real familiar with HK's.

thanks,
carloponti

[Hatton7]

I was wondering the same thing. I handled my first HK USP 9 and 45 at a gun show in Savannah last weekend. I asked to dryfire but it wouldn't with the security cable on it. They both were pretty well beaten up and he wanted $650 each. I must say they are quite a large pistol for CCW. But if I had the money for another pistol it would be a USP.

[Jeff S.]

Let me tell you I am no trigger expert. I have a USP40 compact, and I don't much care for the long (IMO crappy) double action pull. No problem. I never use it like that. I love cocked and locked, and it was a factor in my decision to get the HK. I feel totally safe carrying it C&L. As for the single action trigger, I like it just fine. Actually, I really like it. The trigger is just how it should be.

BTW, the safety is also perfect. Frame-mounted like the 1911. It too is just how a safety should be. Clicks on and off.

[Zenitram]

I am also inexperienced with trigger types/variations. I own a USPF .45, and I find the SA trigger works just fine. The DA isn't as smooth, but the USP was based on the successes of the 1911 (it says this in the manual) and was made specifically for cocked and locked carry for US citizens and law enforcement.

I say go for it, and if you don't like it then get a trigger job done.

[MrMurphy]

The version 1 DA trigger is quite usable (not as good as a Sig, but you can make hits at close range, and besides, it reverts to SA on the second shot). The SA trigger is quite good. Not quite $3,000 custom 1911 trigger level, but certainly quite good.

[ecmills]

I carry de-cocked and with th safety off. The reason for this is that until I get an ambidextrous control lever fitted... I'm a lefty with the safety on the wrong side of the frame, so "nearly impossible" is a good way to describe deactivating the safety once the gun leaves the holster, without using my right hand.

At any rate, I LOVE my HK. If you've got a decent amount of range time with handguns in general, you'll have no problem keeping them in the 10 ring at 15 yards with an HK. The SA trigger is excellent, and the DA, though I rarely shoot it that way... is decent, but hardly magnificent. HKs eat ANYTHING too. From +P to "tennessee ammo" dirt-cheap reloads to 3 different JHP self-defense loads, the HK has NEVER jammed in the 800 rounds I've got through it to date. Total confidence here...

In glock terms, it's a G30 with enough grip to fit all four fingers comfortably and it MIGHT be a hair thicker. Holding it up side-to-side with my co-workers 30, its pretty scary how everything else is the same dimensionally. :)

Here's a pic of my USP 45 Compact. I bought it for $575 off of gunbroker.com - cost me $635 total. Oh - I use a hogue grip becuase it's a necessity on USPs carried against your skin... the stippling on the grip panels is great for your grip, but feels just like sandpaper against your skin.
http://home.off-road.com/~mithrandir/guns/DCP03619.jpg

[fnfalman]

As an owner of the USPC45, I can tell you that the trigger has creeps and that sponginess feeling almost like a Glock trigger. But it breaks pretty clean on SA mode though. DA is heavy but surprisingly smooth.

Once you get used to the trigger and the sight, you can start blasting pretty tight group with it. I'm very happy with my compact. I would prefer the full size model, but I don't have Orangutan hands.

[car541]

The single action USP trigger is alot like a beretta in single action, has a bit of take up, and a letoff not quite as crisp as a sig.

If you are going to carry cocked and locked, I would suggest against the variant 1. In variant 1, the safety lever is pushed down to fire, and farther down to decock. I have seen people in stress drills push down the safety too hard and decock the weapon accidentally when coming up to fire. The HK factory has a double action variant where the lever safes but doesn't decock and eliminiates this (the manual of arms is then very similar to a CZ 75).

They call it variant 5.

[G31]

So, if you decock the pistol, what's wrong with that? It will still fire and return to SA mode after the first shot. I'd be more concerned with this if it were a P8, rather than a USP. (P8 is a USP 9mm with a reversed safety lever; down is safe and up is fire.) The safety lever requires a lot of distance to decock, which means you would have to be pretty hard on the safety taking it off.

Of course, I'm not calling you wrong, but it (the pistol) is still going to do its job.

[MTMilitiaman]

I own a USP Tactical, which I feel it is important to note comes standard with an adjustable match grade trigger. I don't know how many rounds I have put through it--somewhere around a 1000 I would imagine. And every single one of them has been single-action. I only carry and store it cocked-and-locked. I have never felt unsafe doing so. Mine is a Variant 1/2, with ambi lever. It is technically considered DA/SA, but can be safely carried cocked-and-locked and is equipped with a decocker.
About a year ago I was in a car accident in which I totalled my Ford Focus. Hydroplaned. Not pretty. To make a long story short, it spun us around, slammed us rear end first into the opposite bank, where we slid sideways until the tires were pulled off the rims, at which point the car rolled 360 degrees, coming to a rest on its wheels. The only thing that still worked on the car was the CD player, which didn't even skip. Anyways, I was traveling between 55 and 60 as I recall and we call got tossed around a bit. No serious injuries, but what struck me afterwards was that I was carrying my Tac, cocked, locked, and loaded as usuall, between my legs as I usually do. The responding police officer found it in the back seat. Still cocked, locked, and loaded, after being tossed around like a tube sock in an industrial dryer. As a side note, he was more alarmed with the hammer being back than with its presence--we're in MT after all--until I explained to him that his Glock was also cocked and locked, the only difference being that it had a striker and not an exposed hammer.

[kassenz]

I like metal triggers. Th HK feels like it bends to me. It was designed to be a daily carry gun. Carry guns rarely have perfect trigger pull. Race guns with match triggers may not work well with donuts and coffee in them.

The Var 1 was designed to also be carry "cocked and locked" in addition to double action. This bridged the gap between Beretta and 1911 fans. 1911 fans had the safety in the spot they where used to. With the firing pin safety, some dont use the manual safety at all.

[bac1023]

IMHO, HK is one of the best gun manufacturers in the world. I own only one at this time. However, I have shot several, including the P7M8 and the Mark 23. They are very high quality firearms. Albeit, a little pricey.

[RLDS45S]

The HK is service grade pistol, and with the number trigger safety options including a glock like LEM. The guns are accurate, more accuarte they the average shooter. I can shoot one ragged fist size holes at 50ft. And, tha is not trying that hard for me.

[DANO23]

Try installing a 10# or 12# Wolff hammer spring in your USP or USP Compact. It will greatly improve both the DA and SA trigger pulls. Installing a Varient 5+6 detent plate in a Varient 1 USP will eliminate the posibility of partially depressing the de-cocker if you shoot cocked and locked and ride the safety lever with a high-thumbs grip, but you will loose the ability use the de-cocking function. It will essentially be a Varient 9 USP. Use the 10# spring only if you shoot U.S. manufactured ammunition. Imported and surplus ammo tends to have harder primers wich could result in light strikes. A 12# spring will eliminate the light primer strikes with non U.S. manufactured ammo but it makes the trigger pull a bit heavier. Be sure to test the new spring for reliabilty.