My first HK

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hAkron

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Akron, Ohio
I've been eyeing one of these for a while. Quirky, European, Cold War era...fits right in with my collection. Just a little holster wear on the slide. can't wait to try it out, I hear they are very accurate, but get a little warm after a few rounds.

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Always wanted one, its like my dream gun because it is so unique in good ways but especially for being used they are too expensive for me for a while. May I ask how much you paid
 
Always wanted one, its like my dream gun because it is so unique in good ways but especially for being used they are too expensive for me for a while. May I ask how much you paid

I bought it at Gander Mountain which is a sporting goods / hunting goods chain (not sure if they are national) they had 5 of them all in about the same condition all of them for $599, with a book, 1 mag, and a box. They are HK boxes, but not the original one that came with the gun as these were (from what I've read) German police trade-in pistols. Gander, from what I gathered while doing some research today, purchased a ton of these around 2009 and priced them at $599 and the price has stayed firmly there. The salesman who didn't know much about the pistol said that they got their supply from another store. They have had these (at least 1 at a time on display) in their case for a few months.

There was a long wait to get attention from a sales person so I did plenty of research on my iPhone and $599 seems to be a better price than what is going on guns america or gun broker.
 
Welcome to the HK family!!! You will not regret it. Most, if not all, HK owners will tell you the same thing, "greatest weapon i've ever shot/owned". I've owned many HK's and all have been great. Enjoy your new toy.
 
Great looking gun! The HK P7 is probably my favorite pistol, I just wish I could afford one. Its my opinion that HK's designs peaked with the P7 series (revolutionary designs before, standard Browning locking designs afterwards). I wish I could find that kind of price down here in AL, most are going for $650 for a beat up one to $700 for a mildly beat up one. Be careful though if you want to stock up on mags, they're about $60 each!

And don't you know that the bullets in the mag are supposed to be facing the other way? :neener:
 
And don't you know that the bullets in the mag are supposed to be facing the other way? :neener:

Yeah, can you explain that? I've seen people pose their mag with the top bullet in backward, and the example that comes to mind was on here a while ago and it was defended by showing the cover of some HK manual where the bullets were backward in the magazine...what's the story?
 
Beware because HK pistols are very addicting. I'm currently the owner of a P2K in 9mm and a P2K in .357 SIG. Owned a USPc 9mm a few years ago as well.
 
Yeah, can you explain that? I've seen people pose their mag with the top bullet in backward, and the example that comes to mind was on here a while ago and it was defended by showing the cover of some HK manual where the bullets were backward in the magazine...what's the story?

It's been a while since it happened, but IIRC HK put out an advertisement for either their MP5 or the USP where their photographer staged the gun with a magazine laying on top of it where you could see the bullets seated backwards in the mag. I think they also made the mistake on one of their manuals too. I might actually have one or both of those pics on my laptop.

I think its more of a hilarious mistake by HK's marketing department than an intentional act, but I'm sure someone has interpreted it that because it only appears on civilian advertisements and manuals, that it is another example of HK's dislike of civilian gun owners (a less probable explanation, I believe). Instructing us by example on how to put the bullets in (wrongly) and when we call in asking why our brand new gun doesn't work... "oh, you don't say? the round doesn't go off? what a shame"

As to why gun owners do it when staging pics of their own guns, I think that its mostly a subtle way to mock HK, kind of an inside joke that only gun guys would get.
 
Beautiful pistol!

I'm working on getting one right now. I've got my eye on one at a Gander Mountain as well. Yours looks MINT! Congrats!

I have no idea why I'm so strongly drawn to them. But I am!
 
Nice price. This is a gun that's literally a blast to shoot. Be sure to read up on the proper care and maintenance of this gun. There is a ton of info available on the internet. Did you get the tools that are needed for the takedown and cleaning?
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You know not to shoot lead bullets, only jacketed rounds due to the gas port just off of the chamber. Some first time P7 shooters mistakenly put the gun in a death grip, not knowing that the grip requires very little strength to keep cocked. Once cocked hold as you would any other pistol.

Yes, it does get hot, especially if you shoot fairly rapidly. The most I've ever gone before having to put the gun down is 64 rounds, (I've got 8 mags), and at that point it was very hot. Take other guns to the range when you go to allow for cool-down time for your P7.

Don't get clean happy with the piston, it will accumulate some carbon. Only clean the piston with soft materials. The long tool above is the gas cylinder scraper, used to clean carbon fron the tube. You can buy them or a good reprduction at places that sell HK parts.

My favorite P7 picture...just because I love that chamber.
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Welcome to the dark side! For awhile, I went "P7 crazy" and had twelve of them. I'm down to a much more reasonable 4 now. You're going to LOVE this gun, and with the fixed barrel, you'll be amazed at how accurate it is for a compact weapon. That's a great price for what looks like a Grade A or B specimen. You done good! (Only problem is that it does heat up pretty good after 50-100 rounds. Buy some shooting gloves or better yet, get another P7 so one can cool while you shoot the other! :))

Happy shooting!!

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Beautiful pistol!

I'm working on getting one right now. I've got my eye on one at a Gander Mountain as well. Yours looks MINT! Congrats!

I have no idea why I'm so strongly drawn to them. But I am!

GM seems to be the best deal going. Mine has a bit of holster wear, but it was the pick of the litter as far as finish. They did have one there with a 4 digit serial number and a slightly different looking back strap, but the finish was a little rougher and there was no box.

I agree with what you say about being drawn to them. When I first saw a P7 I was curious why it looked so odd. The more research I did the more I realized what a marvel this little guy truely was.

I still need a good holster and a cheaper alternative to the expensive HK piston cleaning tools...maybe another magazine, and I'll be good to go.
 
Any brush for a .270 caliber will suffice. I would, however, spend the time and effort to find a genuine HK scraper for the gas chamber. Number one, it works like a charm, number two, the tolerances are VERY tight in there, and number three, I tried one of the aftermarket knock-offs, and it was crap.

Any soft nylon brush works on the piston, just take it real easy, and don't do anything to dull the sharp edges.

As for holsters, I recommend Matt DelFatti - worth the money and the wait!

Finally, I would agree that a second/third mag is a must. For awhile, these mags were going for over $100. Then, about a year or two ago, HK made another run of several thousand P7 mags. You can still find them now for about $60 before they dry up again. (You can run over these mags with your truck, pick them up, insert them in your P7 and fire away!)

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One of the best 9MM's still out there. Accurate, reliable, slim, and easy to carry even with its weight.

Mine gets hot after about 50 rounds, rapid fire. I put it down, and pick up another gun to shoot for a few minutes. Sometimes my other P7.
 
Any brush for a .270 caliber will suffice. I would, however, spend the time and effort to find a genuine HK scraper for the gas chamber. Number one, it works like a charm, number two, the tolerances are VERY tight in there, and number three, I tried one of the aftermarket knock-offs, and it was crap.

Any soft nylon brush works on the piston, just take it real easy, and don't do anything to dull the sharp edges.

As for holsters, I recommend Matt DelFatti - worth the money and the wait!

Finally, I would agree that a second/third mag is a must. For awhile, these mags were going for over $100. Then, about a year or two ago, HK made another run of several thousand P7 mags. You can still find them now for about $60 before they dry up again. (You can run over these mags with your truck, pick them up, insert them in your P7 and fire away!)

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Excellent advice! Thank you.
 
Nice. I can pretty much guarantee it won't be your last. Watch out for the heat generated by the gas system. Your pistol doesn't have the plastic shroud over the upper area of the trigger guard and it can get hot during extended range use.
 
Have you figured out if you shoot more than 50 rds you'll burn your support hand fingers? Love my P7M8 but watch the heat!
 
Very nice pickup...I didn't think there were many of the really nice ones left. Your price is very good too. The cheap ones used to be $450-499 and really clean ones were $699.

The things to be aware of are
1. Not to feed it lead bullets because of the gas port.
2. Not to leave any lube in the gas cylinder
3. Not to overly clean the gas piston, don't round off the edges of the piston rings
 
Have you figured out if you shoot more than 50 rds you'll burn your support hand fingers? Love my P7M8 but watch the heat!

I've read that, and I've also read that it's much more of a problem on the P7's that were made prior to the M8 style updates to the platform. I took it out shooting today with the wife, who was in a bit of a hurry so I only put about 40 or 50 rounds through it. The last few I tried to do in somewhat rapid succession and it did begin to heat up a little bit. The gun is a joy to shoot! I wish I would have had a little more time to play, but sometimes my wife is into shooting, and sometimes she's just not...and when she's not, it's best to just take her out of there and get her into the mall or something. ;)
 
I also bought a P7 from Gander a couple of years ago. I think it was $699. I had it refinished by Robar in Phoenix. Maybe I reduced the collector value by so doing, but it looks a lot better than it did, with the slightly plum colored slide. It's a smooth shooter too.

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Very fine choice in both brand and model. Have a bunch of HK's here, including P7 series models. They're one of the finest designs in handguns. Keep it clean and it'll last a long, long time and retain it's outstanding performance. :)
 
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