Thanks very much to all that responded.
A few things I managed to learn while digging around for info on this.
- As Jim pointed out, this is factory work. This type of grind/weld work is present in all P7's
- Breechblock is held in place by additional means other than weld.
- Some of these lines that appear to be cracks to me may just be a line following the seam.
- Small cracks like this are extremely common according to HK support
HKpro.com is a great source of info on HK's and I am currently awaiting account activation having just registered. I did find this thread on there with some interesting info.
http://hkpro.com/forum/showthread.ph...ght=weld+slide
I also called HK support yesterday, the nice fellow I spoke with mentioned that reports of "cracks" in these pistols is quite common and that vast majority of those sent in for examination have absolutely nothing wrong with them. I was instructed to take high res pics of the suspect areas and send to
[email protected], attention: Travis.
I am currently awaiting their reply and will post any updated info I receive.
On a side note. I did have this pistol examined by a competent gunsmith prior to purchase. I've dealt with him many times before and since and I know that there's no way he could have missed those grind/weld marks. This is mostly why it took me this long to try and dig up some info regarding this. As for the cracks in the weld being a problem or not, HK will warranty and repair weld
if needed.