View Full Version : My HK VP9 Experience
Finally had a chance to get my HK VP9 out for a test drive. Just didn't do it for me. Great handgun. Great ergos on it, great build quality and great price, considering, but .... I'm just too much of a Glock guy I guess. I've got it up for sale now on a certain large online gun brokerage site. Happy to pass it along to somebody who will no doubt get a good deal and enjoy it.
Love how easy it is to load up the mags. The recoil felt fine, a bit "flippy" but not as bad as the Walther PPQ, to be sure. Functioned flawlessly on cheapo ammo. Accuracy? More accurate than me, to be sure, but it was fine, nice tight center mass hits all day long for me, but no better than I do with my Glocks. I think my 52 year old eyes are a factor here more than anything else. Trigger is/was great. Reset point made quick double taps a real breeze.
But...just wasn't for me.
I'm glad I tried it out though.
I found it easier to shoot my Glock 19 in a side-by-side test.
Guess you just can't teach an old dog new tricks.
:)
As always, YMMV.
Finally had a chance to get my HK VP9 out for a test drive. Just didn't do it for me. Great handgun. Great ergos on it, great build quality and great price, considering, but .... I'm just too much of a Glock guy I guess. I've got it up for sale now on a certain large online gun brokerage site. Happy to pass it along to somebody who will no doubt get a good deal and enjoy it.
Love how easy it is to load up the mags. The recoil felt fine, a bit "flippy" but not as bad as the Walther PPQ, to be sure. Functioned flawlessly on cheapo ammo. Accuracy? More accurate than me, to be sure, but it was fine, nice tight center mass hits all day long for me, but no better than I do with my Glocks. I think my 52 year old eyes are a factor here more than anything else. Trigger is/was great. Reset point made quick double taps a real breeze.
But...just wasn't for me.
I'm glad I tried it out though.
I found it easier to shoot my Glock 19 in a side-by-side test.
Guess you just can't teach an old dog new tricks.
:)
As always, YMMV.
ptmcain;
You know, I've read quite a few posts of your over the years here, and you've went through a few pistols, I remember when you had a HK45.. Frankly, I don't know what you're searching for in a handgun, But if Glocks do it for you, by all means, carry on. As far as your eyes go, get them checked if you haven't within the last year or two.. I'm 60, and wearing trifocals, I do ok with a handgun, I know a lot of guys in their 50's that need glasses now that they're older, but refuse to get them because of vanity.. I can only think of two handguns that I don't regret selling to some degree,(but hey, you can't keep'em all) a XD45, and a Gen 3 G19 that had serious BTF issues that were only partly solved with a Apex extractor.. I'm going to be picking up a VP9 very soon, a retirement gift to myself...
My eye situation is perhaps age, but, I suspect, more to do with the fact that my dominant eye is the eye that I had corrected for long distance visiion via LASIK some years back, left is "close" in, so it is a bit more difficult for me to get the front sight in sharp focus. That's why I prefer running my handguns with RDS. And, the Glock just feels better. I like to try out a lot of different handguns, enjoy the experience, and then if I don't like them, I sell them. No skin off my teeth.
I've owned a LOT of Glocks and have never had the problems people talk about here.
So, I'm just a Glock guy.
At least you had to post a separate thread here as well as post the same thing in the main VP9 thread. Sweet...
I don't know if he even has any rifles or pistols.
He buys something, then sells it before the credit card bill hits the mailbox. I suspect there is more going on than is obvious on the surface.
He kept the MR556 for just about a month and the only reason I remember that is he shot a video with the sights on backwards. He's had this one all of three weeks or so it would appear.
However, this is coming from a person who has never sold a gun and I have a bunch so I very well could be the odd one.
A sickness in kind like women and shoes or handbags...
I love HKs but it is fairly difficult to beat a G19.
IMHO, the old broken in shoe or boot you have been wearing for a long time will always feel better than the new or different one you just got. I believe the same can be said about getting used to a new pistol. Most of the time it will probably take more than one range trip and a few mags to give a new pistol a fair shake and for you to become familiar with it and feel comfortable using it. Remember what you were though after the first time you held and shot your first Glock ?
He kept the MR556 for just about a month and the only reason I remember that is he shot a video with the sights on backwards. He's had this one all of three weeks or so it would appear.
It's okay to have one backwards part in a picture of an HK product as a homage to that classic photo with the backwards loaded magazine. I know I've done a photo or two of an HK with something deliberately backwards.
However, this is coming from a person who has never sold a gun and I have a bunch so I very well could be the odd one.
I wouldn't say I've never sold a gun, but I tend not to sell them unless I really don't like them or I really want to put the money towards something else.
And I've made some stupid sales that I've regretted. We won't talk about that Magnum Research imported 7.62 NATO Galil I sold in 1993 or 1994 for $1900 for the rifle and 6 or 7 magazines.
But I digress . . .
MSparks909
07-30-14, 00:37
IMHO, the old broken in shoe or boot you have been wearing for a long time will always feel better than the new or different one you just got. I believe the same can be said about getting used to a new pistol. For most people it will definitely take more than one range trip and a few mags to give the new pistol a fair shake and for you to become familiar with it and comfortable using it. Remember what you were thinking after the first time you held and shot your first Glock ?
Agreed with to a point; I personally know after 2-300 rounds whether a gun is worth putting further effort practicing with. In my case, the VP9 is worthy of increased practice and holster purchases (trivial thing to some but the holster manufacurer I use exclusively has a 9-10 week lead time).
If Glocks work for you, rock on and STOP looking for the magical pistol to de-throne them. Spend money on ammo and training. If you like collecting guns, cool.
MSparks909
07-30-14, 00:44
I love HKs but it is fairly difficult to beat a G19.
Indeed it is. I wish I would have purchased a spare G19 Gen4 a couple of years ago to go with my current G19 Gen4, and dedicated one a carry gun and one a training/game gun/class gun. In addition I should have made a bulk purchase of ~50,000 rounds and used that for the next 5-10 years and called it "good."
LOL...reading the HKFan boy reactions, you'd think I slapped their grandmother or something.
Hey, as I said, the VP9 is obviously a very well made handgun, but nothing so spectacularly better, for me, to justify keeping it. I can afford to buy/sell/trade and have fun trying out a wide variety of firearms. I've got my "keepers" too.
As for more ammo and training...got that one covered too.
Cheers.
:)
And several others have come to the same conclusion without creating a thread seeking validation.
IMHO, the old broken in shoe or boot you have been wearing for a long time will always feel better than the new or different one you just got. I believe the same can be said about getting used to a new pistol. For most people it will definitely take more than one range trip and a few mags to give the new pistol a fair shake and for you to become familiar with it and comfortable using it. Remember what you were thinking after the first time you held and shot your first Glock ?
Another phenom is also very common. And exciting new pistol results in seemingly superior performance and then over time the performance levels out to same or close to or in some cases less than the boring old gun. This has been observed by pistol swappers a lot. Some have theorized that the "new mind, beginner's mind" effect leads to improved concentration equaling improved execution . . . for awhile.
However, that does NOT apply to shooting The Test in 6 seconds with a 98 score. That is a benchmark; measured. Very different animal than certainty of belief that one's shooting has improved at the 7 or 10 yard slowfire groups for instance. ;)
LOL...reading the HKFan boy reactions, you'd think I slapped their grandmother or something.
:)
Its even more dramatic on HKPro LOL
We all like certain guns more than other. It could be the way they look, feel or their cost (expensive guns impress people more than cheap ones). As an entry level firearms instructor, I see lots of guns that people think they cannot shoot well (for a variety of reasons). The truth of the matter is that it is ALWAYS the indian and NEVER the arrow. I can hand Vickers a HiPoint and he would smoke 80% of the readers on this forum with it.
I personally own most all of the "popular" and or "collectable" pistols out there. I shoot them about all the same. Some are inherently more accurate than others and thusly produce better groups at distance, but my performance (speed, etc) is usually the same. What I have noticed with newer/less experienced shooters is that they are always looking for the "quick fix" to a problem they have. They move in and out of guns like underwear and really never get anywhere never realizing that the problem is not a hardware fix.
Shoot the gun you "like," but know WHY you are shooting it with hard data (timer data, accuracy data, etc).
C4
It's okay to have one backwards part in a picture of an HK product as a homage to that classic photo with the backwards loaded magazine. I know I've done a photo or two of an HK with something deliberately backwards.
I wouldn't say I've never sold a gun, but I tend not to sell them unless I really don't like them or I really want to put the money towards something else.
And I've made some stupid sales that I've regretted. We won't talk about that Magnum Research imported 7.62 NATO Galil I sold in 1993 or 1994 for $1900 for the rifle and 6 or 7 magazines.
But I digress . . .
Bullets yes, sights not so much, especially in a video of you shooting the rifle.
Shoot the gun you "like," but know WHY you are shooting it with hard data (timer data, accuracy data, etc).
C4
Been there, done that.
The Glock continues **for me** to be the platform I do best with.
YMMV.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
I actually have to agree with PT. I bought a VP9. It felt good, trigger was good, I shot 300 rounds through it and it performed flawlessly. It was very accurate (I only went out to 25 yards at a rest but was very impressed) and follow up shots were on spot quickly. I really liked it. However, there was just something about the whole system that just “didn’t do it for me.” And, honestly, I can’t even put my finger on it. It did nothing to deserve a negative review. However, it just wasn’t the gun for me. I prefer my HK LLEM style. Yes, the reset LEM on the P30 is longer, but the LEM on my USP I installed is just as short and crisp with a 4.5lb pull. At the end of the day I just couldn’t justify keeping it
Regardless, it was a really nice gun but it just wasn’t for me. I put it up for sale and within 45 minutes it was sold with two people in line in case buyer A didn’t work out. I didn’t lose any money on it so I can’t complain.
I don’t consider myself a fanboi or anything, but HK is my favorite firearm manufacturer.
I do not think it would be possible for a genuinely well informed "gun person" to ever honestly say that HKs are not super high quality.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
Bullets yes, sights not so much, especially in a video of you shooting the rifle.
Do backwards sights change sight picture or ability to put rounds on target using said sights?
Do backwards sights change sight picture or ability to put rounds on target using said sights?
Not that I noticed.
LOL
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
Its even more dramatic on HKPro LOL
I went over there to look, and I can't find anything...They didn't take it down already did they?
wildcard600
07-30-14, 09:32
Do backwards sights change sight picture or ability to put rounds on target using said sights?
uhhh... yeah. you mount them backwards so you can shoot the bad guys behind you. duh.....
PatrioticDisorder
07-30-14, 09:52
Bro, do you even impulse buy?
I went over there to look, and I can't find anything...They didn't take it down already did they?
I don't think the OP posted there; just scattered about several of the threads are the examples of dramatic reactions to views similar to the OP.
I don't think the OP posted there; just scattered about several of the threads are the examples of dramatic reactions to views similar to the OP.
I'm pretty sure OP is banned from HKPro.
MichaelVain
07-30-14, 12:37
Not sure about "dramatic" reactions at HKPRO. There was someone who said that they bought one and shot it. After waxing about how good the gun was, how accurate, comfortable, affordable, etc, the poster then sold it because "it wasn't for me". This inevitably leads to reactions along the line of "So, you don't like affordable, top quality, accurate, comfortable guns"?
To be quite honest, it seems OP never had any real intention of keeping the VP9. He's already invested too heavily in his Glocks with mags, holsters etc, that short of giving him a divine blessing, I doubt anything would have had him keep the VP9. He basically wanted to see what the hype was so he bought a VP9, it was a great gun, but he'd rather have stay with his Glock. It's like buying a Mercedes for the price of a Honda, but deciding to sell the Mercedes because you'd rather drive your Chevette.
DreadPirateMoyer
07-30-14, 12:45
Not sure about "dramatic" reactions at HKPRO. There was someone who said that they bought one and shot it. After waxing about how good the gun was, how accurate, comfortable, affordable, etc, the poster then sold it because "it wasn't for me". This inevitably leads to reactions along the line of "So, you don't like affordable, top quality, accurate, comfortable guns"?
To be quite honest, it seems OP never had any real intention of keeping the VP9. He's already invested too heavily in his Glocks with mags, holsters etc, that short of giving him a divine blessing, I doubt anything would have had him keep the VP9. He basically wanted to see what the hype was so he bought a VP9, it was a great gun, but he'd rather have stay with his Glock. It's like buying a Mercedes for the price of a Honda, but deciding to sell the Mercedes because you'd rather drive your Chevette.
That's exactly it. He spent pages in the original VP9 thread talking about how he wasn't going to buy the gun, how it provided nothing over other guns, that HK just doesn't do it for him, then that he was probably going to buy it, then wasn't, and then broke down and ordered one. There was nothing this firearm could have done to make him keep it, and the self-fulfilling prophecy was already written on the wall. Oh well. His choice. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't actually buy it, to be honest.
And yes, the OP is banned in other forums for all his baiting and trolling and attention-neediness. Not sure how he's lasted so long here. This thread, for example, is just a repost of a post in the original VP9 thread.
I also haven't seen any dramatic reactions on HKPro. Just questions about why someone would abandon a gun that they claim is better in almost every way than their current guns. Even then, those responses are few and far between. I don't know what drama people are talking about.
Works for me either way, though. More VP9's for us, and less Glocks for unwitting customers to get screwed by.
I'm pretty sure OP is banned from HKPro.
Along with every other firearm forum out there, 'cept for Glocktalk and here. Probably why he still has a Glock...
turnburglar
07-30-14, 14:52
Any of you "not feeling it" types want to send me your hk, I'll send you a 19 back. ;)
I don't understand the dislike for the OP based on this thread. He tried a new gun and basically said it was nice but didn't do anything for him his current gun doesn't. What's wrong with that? In order for me to switch the new gun will have to be better. I understand HK's are considered pretty much the pinnacle of handgun quality these days. However, if you have a good quality gun that works 100% for you what is wrong with keeping it? I personally like my 19. I've never shot (or held) a vp9. I do like my 19 better than my buddies p30. The p30 is probably higher "quality" but the 19 has been 100% and fits me better. It is also more size efficient. I doubt I will be switching but I would like to shoot the new HK. I will say I would be more excited if it was glock 19 sized. If it was and I was shopping for a new gun I'd be pretty interested.
LOL...reading the HKFan boy reactions, you'd think I slapped their grandmother or something.
Hey, as I said, the VP9 is obviously a very well made handgun, but nothing so spectacularly better, for me, to justify keeping it. I can afford to buy/sell/trade and have fun trying out a wide variety of firearms. I've got my "keepers" too.
As for more ammo and training...got that one covered too.
Cheers.
:)
The HK fanboys finally have a pistol that is competitive with Glocks. They are excited. Leave them be! :D
MichaelVain
07-30-14, 16:24
I don't understand the dislike for the OP based on this thread. He tried a new gun and basically said it was nice but didn't do anything for him his current gun doesn't. What's wrong with that? In order for me to switch the new gun will have to be better. I understand HK's are considered pretty much the pinnacle of handgun quality these days. However, if you have a good quality gun that works 100% for you what is wrong with keeping it? I personally like my 19. I've never shot (or held) a vp9. I do like my 19 better than my buddies p30. The p30 is probably higher "quality" but the 19 has been 100% and fits me better. It is also more size efficient. I doubt I will be switching but I would like to shoot the new HK. I will say I would be more excited if it was glock 19 sized. If it was and I was shopping for a new gun I'd be pretty interested.
Speaking for myself, I don't have any dislike for the OP. I am only giving my impression regarding his purchase and comments regarding the VP9. If you look at the other thread, as pointed out by others, he went through quite the gamut of reasoning behind not liking the VP9, then not caring about the VP9, not understanding what the VP9 did that his Glock didn't, to then almost grudgingly acknowledge that the VP9 may be of interest (interestingly, at about the time LAV gave his positive first impressions), then actively searching out the VP9, and finally purchasing a VP9 and taking pictures, shooting it, and giving rather positive comments about it. My takeaway from his posts are what I posted above.
I do think he takes the proverbial cheap shot at HK fans with the whole slapping the grandmother thing, but that seems to be his personality, at least from the posts I've read.
To go back on point, I think his initial impressions of the VP9 mirror many others who have shot their own. It just seems he wanted to do his own review of the VP9 without actually having to be out any money (as he is reselling). Again, this is just my opinion.
To your point about a Glock 19 size, the VP9 is only slightly longer than a Glock 19 in the slide. I would encourage you to handle a VP9 if you get the chance. Having just today compared my P30 and VP9, it's my feeling that the VP9 is different in the hand. Your hand will sit higher in the tang, and it seems the slide configuration adds to a faster sight picture than the P30. This view was shared by 3 other people who have shot my VP9 including my wife who has very small hands.
WickedWillis
07-30-14, 17:28
Glock and HK's are my go to handguns. Both work for me extremely well. I carry a Glock 19 95% of the time, winter, summer, etc. I occasionally carry a S&W Shield in 9mm because Glock and HK don't make a small single stack 9mm (Not bashing the Shield at all, I love it.). On my nightstand is an HK45 with a surefire X300U. I use every gun for different purposes.
HK is my favorite firearms manufacturer, I just love their stuff and I always have, that being said they can be a tad steep on some of their products. I love the USP 45, but it doesn't fit my hands very well. No company in my opinion has an answer to the Glock 19. Size, capacity, it's simply one of my favorite 9mm's. I really want a VP9 and as soon as debt gets taken care of, I will buy one. I want to use it to replace my G17 that really does not get the love it deserves. It will be my class gun.
OP went back and forth about the VP9 in the other thread, and then bought one and decided that it wasn't for him. I'd talk a ton of shit, but I did the same thing back when I was a Glock hater. I bought an XDM 9mm and talked crap to all my friends who loved Glocks that it was so much better, and boy, I found out the expensive way I don't shoot or care for the XD series as well as I thought I did. Several reliability issues later, I sold it, and haven't looked back since. I guess if you have the money to make these mistakes, then make them, I personally cannot and that's why I research and test fire every gun from now on before I make a purchase, and the VP9 as excited as I am for it, will be no exception.
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