MontanaBighorn
Member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2006
- Messages
- 71
P7talk.com Reviews: H&K P7 PSP
H&K advertisement:
"As a discriminating hunter or sportsman, you will be impressed with the uncommon performance, advanced design, and superior quality of HK's p7(PSP) cal. 9mm Automoatic Pistol.
Skillfully integrated into the front of the hand grip is the P7's squeeze cocker which eliminates the conventional double action trigger. No other pistol in the world offers this unique feature! As the shooter grasps the weapon, natural finger pressure is used to depress or release the dqueeze cocker, thereby cocking or uncocking the pisol automatically. The P7's sleek, uncluttered design affords equal ease of handling to both left and right handed shooters along with unequaled speed, safety, and dependability.
At HK, every firearm is designed, tooled and manufactured under our strictest quality control and supervision, ensuring precision and unequaled performance."
Specific information and history:
"The Heckler & Koch P7 is a compact semi-automatic pistol normally chambered in 9 x 19 mm Luger manufactured by the German company of Heckler & Koch. It was designed beginning in 1971 to be compact and have enhanced safety features." CLICK HERE for more on the history of the H&K P7 PSP.
Miscellaneous:
The HK P7 has a distinguished look as well as a very unique design that can be mistaken for no other. It is a single action semi-automatic blow-back operated, interal striker fired pistol that is cocked by squeezing the unique grip cocker with about 12-14# of pressure. With the squeeze cocker held firmly with about 2# of pressure, the pistol fires the same as any other single action automatic. When you release the squeeze cocker the striker is decocked and the weapon will not fire until the squeeze cocker is re-engaged.
Although there is no obvious tactical advantage to this weapon, there is a difficult to describe but distinct fascination amongst shooters and enthusiasts with the P7. I can tell you that I have always wanted one, but i cannot tell you specifically why I have always wanted one. I do not feel it's just because it's something different from other weapons because there are many unique designs that don't appeal to me. The P7 however, is one of those rare weapons that has an irresistable mystique that makes you want to own at least one. With their cult-like following, it can be difficult to find a P7 in good shape for a reasonable price which is why I did not yet own one. While waiting on my flight to take off recently (so that I could unpack my portable dvd player from my carry on bag) I found myself thumbing through the CURRENT CATALOG from CDNN. When I reached the page showing the P7 I felt that I had found the weapon I wanted in the condition I wanted and at the price that I wanted. With that I placed my order.
P7PSP "excellent to new condition" $674
used magazine rated 90% $35
new H&K magazine $55
$13 shipping
$20 transfer fee (paid to my local dealer)
I ordered the weapon late on Monday, August 27, 2007. The weapon shipped on Tuesday the 28th, and I had the weapon in my hand on Thursday the 30th.
First impressions:
When my weapon arrived I was thrilled by its overall condition. Although stamped 11/85, I seriously doubt this weapon was ever issued. There is no holster wear at all, and very little indication that its ever even been handled. I browsed the owners manual to become familiar with the unusual controls, field stripped and lubed the weapon, and reassembled it. With everything ready, it was time to go to the range and find out what this little fascinating handgun is really all about.
I intended to purchase 500 rounds of Corbon 9mm +P ammunition in both 115 and 125 grain loads, but having depleted the local gun stores of Corbon ammunition last week in MY PPS REVIEW, very little could be found. I ended up purchasing 160 (80@115 grains and 80@125 grains) rounds of Corbon +P loads which is all i could find out of the three stores here that carry it. I cache this ammunition but do not pull from my emergency cache for practice. Since 160 rounds just isnt enough to fully evaluate any weapon, I headed over to walmart and picked up 500 more rounds of WWB.
It might seem a little silly that I would bother to post a picture of my ammunition receipt, but I find my enthusiasm stemming from ignorance to be quite funny....anyone ignorant to the P7 will not see the humor in someone thinking that they can shoot hundreds of rounds from a P7 in one trip. Those who have experience with the P7 are no doubt laughing at me pretty hard right now.
At the range:
No matter how "pretty" a weapon is, no matter how expensive a weapon is, no matter what kind of reputation it has the only thing that ultimately matters is what happens when you pull the trigger. A weapon must function reliably in any situation from any position. It must shoot true, and be comfortable to carry and fire. For accuracy and proficiency a weaopn should be ergonomically matched with the shooter.
Click image above to view video.
The above featured video is not formal training, but simply an effort to become familiar with all aspects of my new weapon. I'm still experimenting with different stances for shooting from behind cover, trying to find a happy balance of comfort with agility. I do not yet have a holster for this weapon so I could not begin each drill by drawing the weapon. With no holster i began each drill by holding the weapon angled down with my trigger finger in the ready position. My testing in the past has shown this to be pretty comparable to the time it takes to draw the weapon from an IWB holster under an untucked shirt.
What i like:
I have never found a better trigger in any gun at any price, bar none.
The trigger breaks very crisp and clean at about 3 pounds. Pull is short, there is no over-travel, and most important for me the reset point and the break point are same point....the exact same point. This makes a tremendous difference if you shoot from reset which I do, and I feel this is why my follow up shots and controlled pairs were so visciously consistant and it is the biggest reason why I just couldnt seem to miss with this weapon.
What i don't like:
Perhaps the reason the P7 PSP comes with 8 round magazines is because they figure after 8 rounds the weapon will be to hot to hold anyway.
Bottom line: This is not a range gun or an all day shooter, but as a defensive weapon I don't see how it could get much better. When you consider size, reliability, accuracy, trigger, ergonomics, etc. few pistols match up to the P7.
...P7M8s were $449 and M13s were $499...I passed on my purchase...I don't believe I have bought many pistols that were less than that...ALL of them have been near or more...I sat stunned as prices once soared to $1500 used...when these came up in the condition described for the prices quoted (CDNN $674.25 for Grade A and $599.25 for Grade B as of 09/02/07) and my older brother talked about buying one I said...I really need to finally do this...
