Help me pic barrel length for HK USC?

[Moe]

Last winter my wife who loves to shoot with me (yea she's a keeper) was shooting my brand new Tikka T3 in 223 when on the 18th round it kaboomed and she was injured. I don't want to turn this thread into a discussion about that, but she has developed a serious nervousness about shooting 223's and anything bigger. Yes she has got back on the horse and tried them again but she is still unnerved and not enjoying the shooting experience.

After some further trial of shooting other rifles of various calibers we have found that she is fine with rimfire and pistol cal carbines. She does love the MP5 but not able to own that she has found that she likes the FAMAE SAF and the HK USC. She favors the USC though for the HK slap. Based on these findings and shooting sessions since March she has settled on the USC. She prefers the fixed skeleton stock they come with even though I offered to swap that out for the UMP conversion. However she has (and me too) a hard time choosing the barrel length to go with. Here are my thoughts on the basic 3 choices.

Stock 16" It is poly rifled for long life and would cost nothing more as it comes with. Being long it would have low muzzle blast and better accuracy.

Dlask 18.75" Not poly and therefore shorter lifespan. Length keeps blast low and better accuracy. Carbine would be reclassed NR.

Dlask 8" Not poly and therefore shorter lifespan. Shorter length creates greater blast and larger groups. Gun would be lighter essentially changing it to a subgun (she is only a 5' chick).

So what would she be using it for. Well she already has a 22mag with a 16x scope for accuracy shooting and a 22 pistol. What she wants is a badass black long gun in 45 or less.

So I'm really looking for the what would you do responses. I love that she enjoyed this hobby with me and I am willing to shell out the $ for this for her. Hell I loved shooting it too. Maybe I would get rid of my M4 and the pile of Beowulf mags for it.

Moe

 

[fireball]

Not an answer to your question but did you try the beretta storm? You can get it in 9mm and put a non-restricted barrel on it plus .40 cal mags hold 12 or 13 rounds of 9mm.

I had a USC. It was fun but I'd take a 9mm storm if I were to do it again due to more mag capacity and cheaper mags.

I think there's one in the EE.

PM Epoxy7, he has one with pictures of it sporting different red dots.

 

[Moe]

Thanks for the reply. Not only did we think about the storm we tried one out. We found the trigger was not good and the sharp 9mm report less favorable to the push of the 45 USC a consideration for the SAF. The ergos of the USC seemed better too. Although you didn't exactly answer my question I think your points are very relevant to the subject and I welcome your input. Any points to add about the time you owned the USC?

Moe

 

[fireball]

It was bags of fun to shoot and nothing beats the "Die Hard" charging handle slap to close the bolt.

I ran it with an Eotech and spent most of my time plugging cans and the 200m steel gong. I can't really speak to its accuracy other than pop can MOA at 100m.

I'd put the 18.75 barrel on it and thread on a reverse mounted fake suppressor. It would give you NR and the look of a badass black rifle. The weight on the end of the barrel might soak up some of the barrel harmonics and make for more accuracy.

 

[Epoxy7]

Fireball put a pretty good amount of 45 down range with his USC. I got to try it out and it was a fun soft shooting firearm. If going for the longer non restricted one then get the fake reverse suppressor. It makes it look OK. The USC looks funny with a longer barrel without it. Fun gun to shoot. I liked it. The stock worked well even though at first it has a flimsy look to it. But didn't notice once you're shooting it. Recoil was nice and easy as well.

As for the Storm. Yes. Great value and an excellent all around firearm. It does do everything the USC will and it does it well. The only thing is you can't do the HK slap. But you can take it apart in two equal pieces with pushing out one piece. No tools required unlike the HK. The trigger on mine is good. That may very depending on the firearm. Also some people still don't know about G96 and bathing their firearms in it along with the trigger group. This does smooth things out. I should also ask if you tried a non restricted bull barreled Storm or the regular restricted? The weight of the barrel on mine balances OK and having only shot it in this form I can say the 9mm from this one is very tame. No doubt less report and recoil than the restricted version. Worth considering if that was an issue. Anyone reading this and thinking non restricted barrel for the storm, I recommend the bull barrel over the regular. It just looks right and still handles well. I've seen a fluted one on here as well. Fluted would be pretty cool.

One thing with the HK USC. It's long in non restricted for a SMG. The Storm with a bull barrel looks right and balances decently plus it's not too long due to the pistol/quasi bullpup configuration. This makes it a good length for a non restricted.

I should add that you can get the storm in 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45. Although 9mm is the most popular with 45 being rare. I know you've taken a look at one, but just consider that Fireball is a die hard HK fan and yet sold his and would suggest a Storm. Worth really checking out before committing. The HK USC is nice but it's also pretty expensive for what you get. You pay a lot for HK.

Kriss Vector is another option in 45. But... I have to say I'm not so sure about that one. Seems some love it some don't and some have reliability issues with some ammo. Every now and then I come back to looking at them but so far have managed to not buy one.

That being said I can wholeheartedly say you will have tons of fun with an HK USC, Beretta Storm, or FN PS90. There isn't a wrong choice here. Just pick the one you like the best.

Sorry I don't have any pics of the USC. Fireball probably has baby pictures of it in an album somewhere. Probably next to his kids pictures.
Here's the Storm and a FN PS90. The PS90 is still restricted. The barrel is stock. The Storm is non restricted 9mm bull barrel.

 

[Moe]

Yea although I didn't mention it the HK slap is a positive feature that I don't think we could get with anything else on the market.

Had a talk with fellow CGNer and good friend Jay and he strongly favors the gun with a 18.75 barrel for the NR.

Think my wife is leaning that way now too.

Her call in the end

Moe

 

[furet]

Fireball put a pretty good amount of 45 down range with his USC. I got to try it out and it was a fun soft shooting firearm. If going for the longer non restricted one then get the fake reverse suppressor. It makes it look OK. The USC looks funny with a longer barrel without it. Fun gun to shoot. I liked it. The stock worked well even though at first it has a flimsy look to it. But didn't notice once you're shooting it. Recoil was nice and easy as well.

...

Do you know where to get the USC compatible fake suppressor ??

 

[cr5]

If you don't care about the restricted status I would say get the USC and leave it alone at 16".
When you are talking about a low velocity round like the .45auto I don't really think you need to worry about barrel life, they don't generate the heat or wear that a high velocity round like the 223 does.
An 8 inch barrel does not necessarily mean less accurate, short barrels are very accurate as they are more consistent with the barrel harmonic, plus the fact that you probably won't be shooting past 100yds makes it less noticeable. The longer barrel will result in an increase in velocity which translates into a flatter trajectory and the HK poly rifled barrels are usually very accurate and also give slightly better velocity.
It sounds like she will enjoy the USC the way it is and you can spend that money you were going to spend on the conversion on spare mags and ammo.

I am assuming that you handload as I've never heard of a Tikka kabooming on factory loads (not that it isn't possible) but if you do reload something to consider if reloading 45 is that although you can reload 45 auto very cheaply you are at a much higher risk of a kaboom than with other cartridges because of the huge case capacity compared to the powder volume used (depending on powder choice). I found this out the hard way with my USP Tactical when I started reloading with a progressive press and had a kaboom that shattered the pistol frame. I have since modified my reloading technique with the progressive and although it now takes me twice as long to build rounds I think the trade-off for safety was worth it.

Good luck, and post some pics of your (her) new toy when you get it.

 

[Moe]

I don't know where to get the fake can either.

Good points about the barrels. It will ultimately be her choice. I really play only devils advocate for her and want this to be her build. I have my own stuff and If in the end she has the thing pink with a flower garden in the stock I don't care ( I just would have to buy my own ). The Kaboom happened due to the round OAL being for a previous rifle with a longer distance to the lands. I was loading to just .010 off the lands for accuracy and was some left over pet load for a previous T3. When the bolt was hard to close I thought I was just in need of a little more sizing for the newer T3. I was wrong and what I think was happening was the bullet was contacting the lands and being set back on closing, Without the round getting any movement before contact on the lands the pressures were spiking and I was too stupid to look for the signs. I have a very safe reloading practice I use. I can honestly say that after 13 years loading a lot (IPSC etc) that I have never made an overloaded round.

Moe