I present the German big bore cousins.

God, I love these handy little German compact pistols. My CPO Sig P229 .40 was the best $500 I ever spent and the Heckler und Koch USP Compact .45 is a totally sweet machine in its own right. How could I ever choose between these two?

Delford said:

Is it the lighting or does the H&K look slightly smaller? I'm a .45 acp fan looking for a compact. Not satisfied with a G36 and can't find a S&W M&P 45c yet. XDS? Price is a factor.

Click to expand...

I did not have the magazine inserted in the USP when I took that pic. Probably why it looks smaller.

They are pretty much the exact same size when taking all dimensions into consideration. The barrel lengths are roughly the same (3.8" vs 3.9"). Slide widths are 1.14" (USP) vs 1.12" (P229). However, the grip of the USP compact is a good bit slimmer than the P229. The P229 still feels amazing in my hand, but I think the USP would make for more comfortable concealed carry due to the slimmer grip and lighter weight. It is also about 1 cm shorter in overall height when a standard/flat floor plate is installed on the mag instead of the silly extended ones H&K tends to ship from the factory. It's really an excellent choice for a compact .45 carry piece. Once upon a time I had the .40 compact in both the HE (black) finish and SS finish, but found that the trigger reach was just too short for my liking. The longer .45 cartridge makes the USPc.45 grip a little longer from front to back than the 9/40 version, so it really feels much better in my hand. I don't have the .40 anymore to measure and confirm this, but there is no question that the USPc.45 fits my hand better than the .40 did.

The only thing I don't like about the USP compact is that I got it in the V1 configuration. I like V1 for my full size USP .45, but for a gun that will only be carried in a holster I really think the LEM trigger is the way to go. It gets rid of the bulky safety/decock lever and it's a really sweet trigger to begin with in terms of safety, accuracy, and even speed. In fact, this USPc is already up for sale on gunbroker. I only bought it because it came with 8 like-new magazines (six 8-rd and two 10-rd compact tactical mags) and night sights for $900 out the door. I plan on selling just the gun and two 8-rd mags to get back most of what I paid so that I can pay for a 9mm suppressor for my USP 9SD (just got my NFA Trust paperwork!). Going to keep the mags for the future when I pick up another USPc.45 LEM.

I also want to add a no-rail Sig P226 9mm to the collection. A CPO gun just like my P229 is probably what I'll end up trying to find when it's time to buy. I'm not really interested in any of Sig's newer offerings, including anything with a rail up front. Sig did make the P226 w/ a milled stainless slide and no rail for a little while, right? Not sure if I should go for one like this or a W. German P226 with the stamped slide. I've heard nothing but great things about the stamped slide P226 9mm. Not interested in the P220 for whatever reason. I do get to shoot one though next time I go visit my wife's grandpa. He called me the other day and told me how much fun he had shooting a hanging bowling pin with his P220R. Who knows, maybe I'll take a few shots myself and get hooked!

Well that was quick. It sold for $845 + shipping. Subtract fees and it looks like I made out with 6 like-new USPc magazines for $75. I guess I can't complain about that! Now I need to be on the lookout for a decent deal on another one w/ LEM trigger.

CPO 226s w/o rails used to be fairly easy to come by. Not so much now...lol

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm still kicking myself for not picking one up at my LGS for $600. Actually, they told me it was a demo gun that had never been fired and not a CPO. It was flawless and I think I could have left with it for $575 OTD. Oh well, I'll find another some day.