psyopspec
December 23, 2005, 12:28 AM
I finally picked it up on Monday. I hadn't planned on shooting this beautiful HK specimen for a couple months until warmer weather came about, but today's heatwave (49 F for a high) had me putting off all other plans so I could get out to the range. This being the second-shortest day of the year, getting to the outdoor range at 2:30 didn't leave me with a whole lot of time to gather proper ten-ring targets, staple gun, etc. So, the setup for the afternoon consisted of a couple 20 oz. soda bottles, two boxes of magtech hardball, and various hollowpoints that I'd been cycling out of carry guns for the last year.
Ergos: This is the first handgun I've owned with interchangeable backstraps. Medium comes attached out of the box. I went through the other three (S, L, XL) before settling on large. When I held the gun with the medium backstrap my finger naturally rested past the first crease on the trigger. Upping it to large put my booger hook in a better spot for proper trigger squeeze and the enlarged bottom portion created a great contact spot where the meat of my palm kept solid friction on the grip of the gun.
Front and backstraps are textured with bumpy material that's solid and non-slip but doesn't hurt the hand under recoil (a problem that's occasionally come up on my USPc .45 after extended periods of one-handed shooting).
Pistol is fully ambi, with slide levers and mag releases on either side, and the decocker accessible at the back of the slide with either hand. All in all, very cozy, even when shooting offhand.
Tigger: Ficticious animal indigenous to the Hundred Acre Wood. Movement and speech patterns indicate chemical dependency problem. Oops, wrong forum...
Trigger: This particual model is a P2000 US, aka version three with decocker. Both DA and SA are smooth. DA trigger pull is shorter than a SIG 229 and smoother than the original USP. Lighter than a Beretta, the only auto I can compare it to is the Kahr line. Frankly, it's a sweet first pull.
SA trigger has about a 1/4 inch of takeup before slight resistance and release. I've noticed that it can be pulled like a DA trigger, with steady pressure, and it won't throw the sights off, or the take-up can be snatched before final alignment on longer shots so that a short stroke is all it takes to launch the round. Trigger reset goes just a mm or two shy of the original SA trigger start point. All in all, it's smooth, not overly heavy, and easy to transition between the two.
Accuracy: Until I can get a real target out there, this will have to do. I kept my pop bottles dancing from 25 yards. I was shooting standing, unsupported, two hands. All misses were my fault and not the gun's.
Reliability: Flawless. 100 rounds of 115 gr Magtech hardball went through first. I figured this would dirty the gun up a bit before I put the hollowpoints through, adding another dimension to the test. The JHP's were a mix of Rem Golden Saber, Whin Ranger and Federal Hydra-Shoks that had been cycled, unloaded, and loaded back into magazines numerous times. It was ammo I had retired because the cases were showing wear, the round was in danger of compression from repeated chambering, or the jackets were starting to wear. All three functioned flawlessly, about 120 total JHPs in all.
Maintenance: Breaks down like any other pistol in the USP family. Easily done, easy to clean and reassemble. About the same amount of difficulty one goes through to field strip and clean a Glock, SIG, or Beretta. Tupperware lower. Heckler and Koch HE finish on the slide is the only factory coating in my limited experience that holds up as well as Tennifer.
Overall Impressions: I believe I may have bought my last carry gun. This 9mm holds 13+1 rounds and is a bit slimmer than the USPc, enough that carrying it IWB is noticeably easier and more comfortable. Design is built to be snag free. So far the P2000 has lived up to it's reputation, and then some. I'm looking forward to several years of good service and seeing if the maxim continues to hold true that HKs don't break down over time; they just break in.
Ergos: This is the first handgun I've owned with interchangeable backstraps. Medium comes attached out of the box. I went through the other three (S, L, XL) before settling on large. When I held the gun with the medium backstrap my finger naturally rested past the first crease on the trigger. Upping it to large put my booger hook in a better spot for proper trigger squeeze and the enlarged bottom portion created a great contact spot where the meat of my palm kept solid friction on the grip of the gun.
Front and backstraps are textured with bumpy material that's solid and non-slip but doesn't hurt the hand under recoil (a problem that's occasionally come up on my USPc .45 after extended periods of one-handed shooting).
Pistol is fully ambi, with slide levers and mag releases on either side, and the decocker accessible at the back of the slide with either hand. All in all, very cozy, even when shooting offhand.
Tigger: Ficticious animal indigenous to the Hundred Acre Wood. Movement and speech patterns indicate chemical dependency problem. Oops, wrong forum...
Trigger: This particual model is a P2000 US, aka version three with decocker. Both DA and SA are smooth. DA trigger pull is shorter than a SIG 229 and smoother than the original USP. Lighter than a Beretta, the only auto I can compare it to is the Kahr line. Frankly, it's a sweet first pull.
SA trigger has about a 1/4 inch of takeup before slight resistance and release. I've noticed that it can be pulled like a DA trigger, with steady pressure, and it won't throw the sights off, or the take-up can be snatched before final alignment on longer shots so that a short stroke is all it takes to launch the round. Trigger reset goes just a mm or two shy of the original SA trigger start point. All in all, it's smooth, not overly heavy, and easy to transition between the two.
Accuracy: Until I can get a real target out there, this will have to do. I kept my pop bottles dancing from 25 yards. I was shooting standing, unsupported, two hands. All misses were my fault and not the gun's.
Reliability: Flawless. 100 rounds of 115 gr Magtech hardball went through first. I figured this would dirty the gun up a bit before I put the hollowpoints through, adding another dimension to the test. The JHP's were a mix of Rem Golden Saber, Whin Ranger and Federal Hydra-Shoks that had been cycled, unloaded, and loaded back into magazines numerous times. It was ammo I had retired because the cases were showing wear, the round was in danger of compression from repeated chambering, or the jackets were starting to wear. All three functioned flawlessly, about 120 total JHPs in all.
Maintenance: Breaks down like any other pistol in the USP family. Easily done, easy to clean and reassemble. About the same amount of difficulty one goes through to field strip and clean a Glock, SIG, or Beretta. Tupperware lower. Heckler and Koch HE finish on the slide is the only factory coating in my limited experience that holds up as well as Tennifer.
Overall Impressions: I believe I may have bought my last carry gun. This 9mm holds 13+1 rounds and is a bit slimmer than the USPc, enough that carrying it IWB is noticeably easier and more comfortable. Design is built to be snag free. So far the P2000 has lived up to it's reputation, and then some. I'm looking forward to several years of good service and seeing if the maxim continues to hold true that HKs don't break down over time; they just break in.