Anyone own a Heckler & Koch USP?

I owned a USP 45, it was a nice gun, shot well but not any better then the 1911 i just bought. They cost a lot of money and parts are hard to come by so i would avoid it myself, i sold mine.
 
With the legendary reliability/workmanship I've read about, I don't think any replacement parts are needed for a very long time. Either everyone is lying or it is indeed true, that this USP is built like a sherman tank.
 
st1264 said:
With the legendary reliability/workmanship I've read about, I don't think any replacement parts are needed for a very long time. Either everyone is lying or it is indeed true, that this USP is built like a sherman tank.
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true but ya never know, i can pick up the phone and get glock or 1911 parts easy, not so easy for HK unfortunately. Its a great gun though no question.
 
Glocks are so ugly, I do like 1911's though. Just don't want a 45. Looking for a 40. Sig 226 and USP are top 2 choices. Need a field trip to Detroit to see a hk usp.
 
I love the Sig Elite in 9mm (just shot it-nice), wondering what the 40 would be like... I shot a club members' a while back, only one mag, don't really remember. Everyone has an opinion on what they like/dislike, so I have to get what I like and want. Definitely want to locate a USP before I buy.
 
Nestor said:
So much for the legendary reliability of H&K...

http://www.theprepared.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=90&Item
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Sand Test
By Larry Vickers

Just had a chance to do a harsh sand test on few different handguns. This test was not scientific but was very enlightening.

Pistols tested were HK USP Tactical, Customized 1911, rack grade GI 1911, and Glock 21.

Test consisted of placing each pistol loaded in a Bianchi GI field holster inside a plastic bag with approx 2 cups of fine/medium grit sand ( North Carolina type). Then the bag was shaken vigorously for 10 seconds while holding onto the pistol butt for safety. The pistol was then taken out and 3 mags were fired through the 1911 and 2 fully loaded mags were fired through the HK and Glock - roughly the same amount of ammo. The sand coverage was very good and uniformly covered the pistols. The pistols were loaded in the mode you would expect in a field environment - condition 3 for the 1911, loaded for the Glock and loaded in DA mode for the USP.A test was done dry and lubed with TW 25B. This test represented EXTREME sand conditions - not normal field use, even in sandy conditions. A brief rundown of the results follow:

[FONT=&quot]1) [/FONT]Carrying your gun dry in this environment is a NO GO despite what some will say. All pistols performed worse dry than lubed.

[FONT=&quot]2) [/FONT]All pistols required some manipulation in order to fire - none would function normally straight out of the holster.

[FONT=&quot]3) [/FONT]Overall the HK USP performed the best - the performance of it dry was roughly the same as the customized 1911 but was definately the best lubed. Overall it performed well.

[FONT=&quot]4) [/FONT]The custom 1911 was second - interestingly enough the trigger track was not a real problem - the sand that went in through the ejection port to the bottom lugs area caused the most problems. Once the sand shifted in this area the pistol functioned better.

[FONT=&quot]5) [/FONT]The rack grade GI 1911 was a distant third - the custom 1911 had an 18 pound recoil spring and that helped with feeding greatly vs the rack grade gun. Swap out the recoil spring and it probably would have done better.

[FONT=&quot]6) [/FONT]The shocker of the day - the Glock 21 FAILED terribly. The big problem was failure of the trigger to reset. Also at times the pistol would not fire due to sand in the trigger mechanism. The dry test could not even be completed with the Glock due to this.This surprised all of us as we expected the Glock to do quite well.

Moral of the story; The 1911, even in its customized mode, can get the job done if you set it up to succeed. Lube it right, carry it in the right holster and in the proper mode, and it won't let you down - just like it hasn't for nearly a 100 years.

The HK USP series are good guns - well designed and well made - for service pistols. The ergonomics hurt the pistol dramatically but for an out of the box service pistol/field gun, they get my endorsement.

The Glock 21 is a dog - always has been. It has the rep of being the worst gun Glock makes. I have a Glock 17 and 19 and like them for what they are - but don't get sucked into the Glock hype - they are not magical guns. Remember what your dad said when you were in 3rd grade; don't believe everything you read.

Hope you guys got something out of this - I did.

Larry Vickers




Gents,

The story behind that sand test from years ago was the sand issues overseas – we tested the 1911 in 2 flavors, the HK USP tactical, and the Glock 21 – the results shocked everyone; up until that time I did not realize the open channel to the trigger mech was such a big issue in extreme environments – now I recommend a butt plug on all Glock’s as cheap insurance.

I am confident that if we would have installed a butt plug on the G21 and ran the test again the results would have been different with the G21 doing a lot better.

In addition there had been tests conducted to determine if the USP and G21 would be suitable replacements to the 1911’s in use – every single Glock 21 had broken extractors during the testing and at a relatively low round count – this result dovetailed into what I had seen and heard elsewhere in the firearms industry at the time - the G21 had serious fleas and was to be avoided.

Perhaps the newer G21’s are better guns – time will tell. I will watch and learn as I travel and train more shooters than all but a very select few of professional trainers – if there is a problem with a gun, optic, mount, ammo, etc. we hear about it and see it very early in the game.

As of right now I cannot recommend Glock’s in calibers other than 9mm – period.

If you want to ignore that advice that is an individual choice and more power to you – but anyone who knows me will tell you I don’t sugar coat anything and that I am a straight shooter – as my friend Ken Hackathorn says about me ‘if you don’t want to hear the answer then don’t ask the question – cause Larry could care less if you like the answer or not’.

Be safe

Larry Vickers
 
Thanks for posting, never heard of that test before but I know of Vickers for sure.
I've learned to trust my USP with my own experience, nothing unusual here but still; it never failed.
I've seen all the other test where different guns performed better than the HK but none of those was endorsed by someone like Vickers.
 
Nestor said:
Was Larry Vickers behind pushing H&K45 design as the replacement for 1911 on the market?
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The story is here. It matches Hackathorn's (more recent) personal account, so I consider it to be credible.
<http://pistol-training.com/articles/hk45-interview-with-ken-hackathorn-and-larry-vickers>
 
We're most likely not going to see these conditions, the usp is a great gun. I might buy it without even seeing or holding one...
 
Holding one is worth it, gotta love how blocky they are :)
I do; it's a mean gun... if you prefer your gun to feel like a banana in your hands USP ain't for you lol
 
Just ordered one, without seeing or holding it. I trust that it will be everything I imagined. I have large hands, a large grip will not be a problem. I haven't heard anything bad about these USP's, at all. I will post a review and a video when I get it...:cheers:
 
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