FINALLY bought a new pistol!

[krept]

Well, after parting with my G27 at the beginning of the year, I was left with only one pistol - USP .45.

Since then, I have been struggling to make a decision for a good, concealable handgun to fill the void left by the G27. This Friday presented me with a unique set of circumstances... I had a little savings + I just sold my broken down car to a mechanic + got my final bonus check for the now-defunct incentive program at work. The stars were aligned and this probably wouldn't happen again, so I made my move.

Bought a NIB P7M8.

I ended up spending more than I had to on this gem... after I decided to buy from an HK dealer only (ensure warranty coverage) my options were limited. I ended up going with a local guy who had the best price - $1299. OUCH, but hey, easy come, easy go and I supported the local economy and got to walk home with the pistol.

I used the BEST LOGIC possible when choosing this pistol:

1) My wife absolutely loved it and it fit her hand perfectly. Fits mine perfectly too. This purchase rekindled her interest in firearms and she now wants to get her CCW (value = priceless) and insisted on a manual safety. Although I like Glocks, she hates them.

2) A wise person once said... "Get the most expensive thing that you want FIRST. This way, everything else seems cheaper in comparison." Yes, this is very true. You see, I went from having my wife being skittish about having "more guns" around to her saying "wow, $300 isn't much for a shotgun. Hey, why don't you get a 1911 next time?" I love it.

So this past weekend, I practiced some dry drawing/presentation drills from concealment and I'm already twice as fast, literally, with the P7 than my USP. It feels right. The point of the pistol is not to take out a mongol horde or fight a sustained battle with a gang... it's for CCW and dealing with one or two threats immediately if I'm unable to run away or get to a longarm. With a spare magazine, 16+1 rounds isn't too shabby and doing a mag change is faaast.

In the end, I know already that I'm going to end up with a 1911, it is what I grew up on. This purchase paved the way for it... In the mean time, I needed a good 9mm and something that fit my wife's hand better than the USP.

Will take pics soon. Can't wait till this weekend to give it a run. If the wife ends up confiscating it for her own, I'm making her buy me a 1911.


Cheers

 

[Tamara]

I don't think that price is too unusual; the last two NIB ones I saw were priced at $1,350 (although one had night sights).

 

[10-Ring]

Congrats, you made a wise choice & you paid an okay price. The last one I saw at a dealer was $1449

By the way, P7M8's go way beyond logic

 

[critter]

A MOST unique gun indeed! But they point extremely well, shoot really good, are FAST and easy to use, very safe and are probably the quickest firearm on the reload-back-in-action of any handgun around. The low bore axis makes follow up shots very fast also. I really like mine and it is my carry piece when playing 'dress up'.

Congratulations, but you may as well go ahead and buy a second one cause it looks as if this one is destined to be 'confiscated'!

 

[Hoop]

This seems like as good a thread as any to pose this question:

Why the hell are they so expensive?

I'm sure they are great guns, but $1200+ for a bone stock 9mm?

Also, is there anyone else who makes a squeeze-cocker?

 

[BHPshooter]

Why the hell are they so expensive?

Yeah, I agree. They sure are cool lookin', but... uh... man, they're expensive. And I thought a new BHP was pricey!

Wes

 

[Tamara]

I'm sure they are great guns, but $1200+ for a bone stock 9mm?

"Expensive to make" + "Small production runs" = "Big Union Dollars"

Not a lot of economy of scale going on there. I'll bet HK makes five hundred USPs (and Glock makes 5,000 Glocks) for every one P7 made. There's just enough demand to keep the production line open, and I guess as long as enough folks keep buyin' 'em, HK'll keep makin' 'em.

 

[krept]

When I was shopping around locally, many were asking $1350 with a couple shops asking $1400+. It made $1299 sound like a better deal, which helped ease the pain a little. I'm usually a miser when it comes to buying things but in this case, I sensed right away that there would be no good deals for a while and I would have to be on the ball when one came, meaning the daily routine of checking the websites, making the calls, etc.

One very interesting thing that I forgot to say... the pistol came with a shell casing that was sealed in a small manila envelope and this envelope was enclosed in a small plastic bag. The dealer said that HK is shipping their pistols like this... ballistic fingerprinting... and told me never to lose the shell and never to open the envelope. ?

Hoop, to be honest with you it's hard to justify the price, especially if you look at it in terms of "x$ for a STOCK PISTOL?" But when you look at the pistol as a whole and in particular the synergy of the manual of arms, it's operation seems to flow together very well. Critter touched a little on the aspects of the pistol that make it a great piece for it's intended role (urban ccw for me). With many pistols, there are little things here and there that I would like to change about them... sometimes it's the magazine release location, other times it is the weight or reset of the trigger... sometimes they don't fit or point right. I can't think of a thing (mechanically) that I would change on the P7M8. It feels right.

To be honest with you, I was going to buy a G19, but I figured Glocks would always be around and it's much easier to save up $500 than $1400. Plus, the Glock didn't fit my wife very well and she was uneasy operating a handgun without a manual safety. She held the P7 at a recent gunshow and said "that's the one" after holding literally over 20 other platforms (kahr, glock, 1911s, USPs, Beretta, SIG, etc)

It's pretty hard to argue with that and if the only tough pill to swallow is the price, well...

It is difficult for me to explain the importance of this, but her opinion regarding shooting and firearms in general literally changed overnight.

Whether or not the pistol is worth the retail price is a tricky one... who is getting the markup and how much is it? But I do know that sometimes if something just "feels right" you might pay extra $ to get it even if it doesn't quite add up. I already know I'm in a lot of trouble when I get a 1911...

cheers

 

[Standing Wolf]

...the pistol came with a shell casing that was sealed in a small manila envelope and this envelope was enclosed in a small plastic bag. The dealer said that HK is shipping their pistols like this... ballistic fingerprinting... and told me never to lose the shell and never to open the envelope.

Baloney! It's your pistol and your cartridge case. They're both nobody else's business unless you commit a crime with the gun.

 

[Spot77]

Gotta' have that little envelope to buy the gun here in Maryland.

 

[firestar]

This is not a flame but are they worth $1300-1500? I am interested in them because they are medium framed single stack 9mms, which I have a soft spot for but that is a LOT of money for one gun! I have never spent more than $1200 on a gun and that was a semi-custom Colt 1911.

What does a H&K P7 have that a Kahr K9 or Sig 239 don't have? Are they worth the extra $800.00? I would like to try one out some day but the price is too high for me right now.

 

[sanchezero]

What does a H&K P7 have that a Kahr K9 or Sig 239 don't have?

A wicked good trigger, super reliability and safety that can't be beat. Not only in the sense of safe to use for yourself, but there are a few documented cases of officers being disarmed by some dingaling who is unable to shoot the pistol due to its unique design.

Keep you ear to the ground and you can pick 'em up for $800 (sometimes less, I got one for $700) in 95% or better condition. They last forever.