Lusting after an H&K

[Prof Young]

I'm Lusting after this. See pic below.

Talk to me!

[Willie Lowman]

USP's are great shooting guns.

[rock185]

I had a USP Expert. Fine pistol, cannot knock the gun at all. Just did not fit my hand and I did not keep it.

[Butzbach]

Originally Posted by Prof Young

I'm Lusting after this. See pic below.

Talk to me!

Are you left handed?

[Prof Young]

No. Am right handed. Am I missing something here?

Prof Young

[L. Boscoe]

Had a few H&K,s most recent was the USP Expert 45-sold it in favor of CZ 97
and have not regretted it.
I target shoot and the plastic part of the Expert made it feel odd compared to the 97. The claim of reduced recoil is something I could never feel, although I suppose it is real?
Fav of all time was a P9S 45, best one handed shooter I ever had.
The expert is lighter by about 3 oz than the CZ or its Turkish cousin, the SAR
K2-45, and I find both the CZ and the SAR more to my liking, yours of course
may vary.

[Butzbach]

Originally Posted by Prof Young

No. Am right handed. Am I missing something here?

Prof Young

My son and I rented and test fired a bunch of .45s at Top Gun Range in Houston about 4 years ago. We fired: Colt 1911, Sig P220, HK45, Springfield Armory and Glock 21 & 41. My son is a USMC Captain, is left eye dominant and shoots lefty. The HK was the only pistol with which he inadvertently dropped the magazine while firing. Repeatedly. The mag release was directly underneath his middle finger with the HK 45.

As always your mileage may vary.

[JohnKSa]

Nice, soft-shooting pistol.

Is that really what they go for these days?

[TunnelRat]

Originally Posted by Butzbach

My son and I rented and test fired a bunch of .45s at Top Gun Range in Houston about 4 years ago. We fired: Colt 1911, Sig P220, HK45, Springfield Armory and Glock 21 & 41. My son is a USMC Captain, is left eye dominant and shoots lefty. The HK was the only pistol with which he inadvertently dropped the magazine while firing. Repeatedly. The mag release was directly underneath his middle finger with the HK 45.

As always your mileage may vary.

I’ve owned an HK45c, some USP Compacts, and a number of P2000s and P30s, all of which use the same general magazine release design, though in slightly different sizes. I’m trying to mentally picture how someone inadvertently activates the magazine release on a HK45, or for that matter why it would matter if you are right or left handed given the placement and design of the magazine release is such that it’s intentionally ambidextrous and works the same for both shooters, albeit with the opposite hand.


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[cslinger]

I don’t know how your middle finger would cause an HK paddle to drop a mag. Just the opposite really.

Now I have heard of folks with fairly large meat hooks activating the paddle with their trigger finger on recoil but that’s pretty rare.

USP is a GREAT gun as long as you understand it’s advantages and disadvantages like any tool. If you are a born and bred striker shooter you are going to have to learn the trigger which ain’t the greatest. It’s also a big gun. That said they shoot wonderfully. Also while they do shoot a TAD softer then comparable .45s, especially as they break in some folks would have you believe they are like a .22 magnum or sumsuch…….this is wrong. Not that .45 is all that abusive in general but the USP will still shoot like a .45. Just level setting as there seems to be a lot of misinformation that touts how incredibly soft they are. They shoot a bit softer then another contemporary in my experience.

[Forte S+W]

Excellent choice.

I love my H&K USP45 Elite.



I wanted one of these for years, but due to their rarity and cost, I wasn't able to get my hands on one until earlier this year, and I got an amazing deal on it too!

One of the coolest things about USP45s is that they can hand .45 Super right out of the box without any modifications due to the unique recoil spring assembly. So when you buy a USP45, you're getting a gun that can handle loads roughly on par with 10mm Auto.

[Rob228]

That was my first pistol, shot great and built like a tank but I've got small hands and it just wasn't a great fit for me. Been trying to talk myself into a USP 9 these days though.

[PSP]

The USP is one of the all time great guns. One of the reasons I'm a HK fan is the design of the controls... everything fit's, feels and works just right. I would suggest you compare the USP with HK's newer model, the HK45, to see which you prefer. Choice of either model is a right answer. Are you after a .45acp only? Of the USP's various models the Elite is my personal favorite but the Tactical or Expert also offer subtle differences.

[Fishbed77]

Nice, soft-shooting pistol.

Is that really what they go for these days?

$1120 is crazy money for a standard USP45 (with de-rated 10 round mags, no less).

These really are pistols that are best purchased used. With standard-pressure .45ACP, they, for all practical purposes, do not wear out. And HK QA/QC on these pistols was second-to-none. In 2019, I acquired a very good condition USP45 (2002 production) with three 12-round mags for $450 from a local gun store. At that time, police trade-in USP40s were still available for $399. The USP9s cost more used, and they still do, because they were sold in fewer numbers in the US, and are the most desirable caliber now.

Granted, much has changed in the firearms market in just 2 years, but know that it is still possible to get a decent deal on a USP without getting raked over the coals.

In terms of the pistol itself - yes the USP45 does live up to the hype.

Despite the ludicrously high bore axis, and the chunky slide, muzzle flip is minimal and felt recoil is less for me than a 1911. The grip looks blocky, but the ergonomics are actually quite good, and the pistol feels great in the hand. The HK45 may have improved ergonomics slightly, but at the cost of two rounds in the magazine, which never really added up to me. The DA/SA trigger feel is not great, but mechanical accuracy is stellar, even for the standard model, and a little trigger time will yield excellent results.

And of course, there is just the overall bomb-proof feel of the gun. This is one of those pistols (much like an older West German-produced P226) that instills absolute confidence in the shooter. They were not built to a consumer-grade price-point. They were built to work well, no matter what, and they do.


.

[gbclarkson]

My first gun ever was a USP40. Great gun. I concur with every review in this thread. I sold it because my hands are small and that gun is the opposite.

That seems like a crazy price. It is a night sight model?

[Ignition Override]

Except for the last bit of 'stacking' when pulling the stock DA triggers on a USP,
I would have loved owning a "9 Compact" after renting one.

My Walther P99 AS has gradual stacking, and a bit less total tension at the end of the pull.
My CZ PCR isn't a very smooth trigger in the decocked DA position, but it seems more pleasant than any USP 'stock' DA trigger.

I could have attended the Federal Flight Deck Officer school in NM (for airline pilots), where they learn advanced handgun shooting (5,000 free rounds), and it was with a full-size USP .40.

[TunnelRat]

Originally Posted by Ignition Override

Except for the last bit of 'stacking' when pulling the stock DA triggers on a USP,
I would have loved owning a "9 Compact" after renting one.

My Walther P99 AS has gradual stacking, and a bit less total tension at the end of the pull.
My CZ PCR isn't a very smooth trigger in the decocked DA position, but it seems more pleasant than any USP 'stock' DA trigger.

I could have attended the Federal Flight Deck Officer school in NM (for airline pilots), where they learn advanced handgun shooting (5,000 free rounds), and it was with a full-size USP .40.

You can swap out the hammer spring and firing pin block spring on a USP relatively easily for a hammer fired pistol. The FPBS makes a big difference when it comes to the stacking you feel.


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[wild cat mccane]

An Elite or Expert can be had below that price using gun.deals...

[Butzbach]

Originally Posted by cslinger

I don’t know how your middle finger would cause an HK paddle to drop a mag. Just the opposite really.

Now I have heard of folks with fairly large meat hooks activating the paddle with their trigger finger on recoil but that’s pretty rare.

USP is a GREAT gun as long as you understand it’s advantages and disadvantages like any tool. If you are a born and bred striker shooter you are going to have to learn the trigger which ain’t the greatest. It’s also a big gun. That said they shoot wonderfully. Also while they do shoot a TAD softer then comparable .45s, especially as they break in some folks would have you believe they are like a .22 magnum or sumsuch…….this is wrong. Not that .45 is all that abusive in general but the USP will still shoot like a .45. Just level setting as there seems to be a lot of misinformation that touts how incredibly soft they are. They shoot a bit softer then another contemporary in my experience.

Are you left handed?

[TunnelRat]

Originally Posted by Butzbach

Are you left handed?

The placement and design of the magazine release isn’t relative to which is your dominant hand, that’s his point. And yes I shot mine left handed a number of times.


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[Ignition Override]

TunnelRat. Thanks. Such info was not apparent (to me) a few years ago, when people seemed only to be talking about shipping their gun, and paying for the LEM triggers. Nice chunk of expense after buying a gun.

One day maybe I will pursue a 9 Compact.

But with the Sig P225 (Not a P-6..), Walther P99 AS and S&W 908, there is no hurry.

[wild cat mccane]

But the USP has more variants than the next gen HKs with just V1, V2, and V3.

Doesn't the USP have 9 variants?

[highpower3006]

I am really fond of my USP .45. My hands aren't especially large, but nevertheless the chunky grip fits me just fine. The more I use it, the more I like the paddle mag release and overall it is an accurate and soft shooting pistol.

I got it a few years back used off of a Gunbroker auction for $399. for some reason I was the only bidder.

[Scorch]

No, sorry, not a fan of HK pistols. Well made? Definitely. Well finished? Absolutely. Just not very ergonomic, and IMO not worth the premium you pay for one. A S&W M&P is as good and has better ergonomics.

[CSO Dobb]

The Police Dept. that I worked for carried USP .45 pistols for duty weapons for several years. I am glad I was able to hang on to mine. It is one of my all time favorite handguns.