I no longer have enough money to snatch the thing up, but while browsing a local gun store today I happened to spot a Heckler and Koch VP70, not something you see every day. I asked to see it and held and examined it, it looked flawless and was surprisingly light though it had sort of a weird front sight (when looking down the sights the front post itself looked like an H instead of a solid portrusion) they wanted $399.99. My question is how accurate and reliable are VP70s anyways? Was that a good price for one?
Heckler and Koch VP70?
- Thread starter greenr18
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Jim Watson
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I would not want one at any price. The only one I ever handled had a gosh-awful heavy DAO trigger. And the NRA reported that the rifling was extra deep to vent some gas and reduce the load on the blowback action. Velocity under 1000 fps, as I recall.
Now if it came with the shoulder stock, burst control, and legalizing paperwork...
Now if it came with the shoulder stock, burst control, and legalizing paperwork...
Starcheck55
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or if it was used in the movie "Aliens".....
bannockburn
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greenr18
While a somewhat interesting design as a detachable stock variant of a machine pistol design, the VP-70 as a semi-automatic pistol left something to be desired. As Jim Watson pointed out, the double action only trigger pull required was very heavy and somewhat lengthy, as the trigger action first cocked and then released the striker. Not exactly conducive to careful aimed fire. Same for the front sight; as it was designed more for reactive point shooting in conjunction with being used with the shoulder stock. The gun itself weighed about 30 ounces, helped by the frame/receiver being made out of plastic (sometime before the first Glock ever hit the market), and it did utilize an 18 round magazine. All in all, an interesting design concept as a machine pistol; and a not so practical design application as a handgun.
While a somewhat interesting design as a detachable stock variant of a machine pistol design, the VP-70 as a semi-automatic pistol left something to be desired. As Jim Watson pointed out, the double action only trigger pull required was very heavy and somewhat lengthy, as the trigger action first cocked and then released the striker. Not exactly conducive to careful aimed fire. Same for the front sight; as it was designed more for reactive point shooting in conjunction with being used with the shoulder stock. The gun itself weighed about 30 ounces, helped by the frame/receiver being made out of plastic (sometime before the first Glock ever hit the market), and it did utilize an 18 round magazine. All in all, an interesting design concept as a machine pistol; and a not so practical design application as a handgun.
the trigger is long and hard as it was designed for full-auto fire.
it was indeed the first polymer framed pistol
you don't aim with the 2 legs of the front sight. you aim using the space between the 2 legs as the front post
it was indeed the first polymer framed pistol
you don't aim with the 2 legs of the front sight. you aim using the space between the 2 legs as the front post
it was designed as a machine pistol and was meant to be used with the stock...which contained the selector switch...which made it much more stable to use
Big & heavy for a 9mm, indestuctable magazines, neat factor and a great price. But yes that trigger is wierd.
C-grunt
Member
Yeah my local shop has one too. Weird looking gun. If I was rich I would pick it up just to have. No real need or desire for it though.
armoredman
Member
Always wanted one, could never find one when I had money.
$400 is a good price. I paid $425 for mine and it is in excellent condition. Box, papers and extra mag all add to value. I have owned two of them. To appreciate the pistol you have to understand why it was made. Back in the 60's Germany was looking at the probability of millions of Soviets pouring through the Fulda Gap. Part of any resistance would require an armed citizenry. So, a dead-bang reliable and simple to operate pistol was designed, the "Volkspistole". It was the first production polymer framed gun. With a straight blowback design and 9mm Luger caliber a heavy slide and deep rifling to vent some gas was necessary. It worked and worked well. There was the VP70M with the stock and tri-burst feature and the VP70Z (Zivilian/Civilian) without. When the VP70Z was imported to the US the cutouts for the stock were filled in, nd you can still see the vestigial outlines of the cutouts on the frame.
All in all the gun accomplishes exactly what HK sought to do. Criticisms of the gun, while accurate, are usually made without consideration of the original purpose of the gun. The stock trigger is horrible but that isn't at all uncommon for this type of weapon where there is an auto/semi-auto function. The good news is that the trigger can be easily improved dramatically with a Wolff's replacement striker spring. It makes all of the difference in the world but it still won't be a great trigger pull. But, it will make for a very functional trigger where with a little work one can achieve more than acceptable combat accuracy with 100% reliability, again, what the gun was designed for.
Besides being very unusual and 100% reliable (and holds 18+1 rounds) the gun is an interesting peice of history in being the first polymer framed production pistol, and, being an fascinating example of the Cold War preparing to go hot.
BTW, once you have the trigger lightened it's a fun gun to shoot. Also, I suspect that the gun had the deep rifling (to let some gas escape) and strong striker spring to deal with hard primers and hotter 9mm subgun ammo that would have been encountered had the SHTF. I also suspect that the polymer frame was at least in part a weight-saving innovation to counter the heavy slide made necessary by virtue of it being a 9mm blowback design.
All in all the gun accomplishes exactly what HK sought to do. Criticisms of the gun, while accurate, are usually made without consideration of the original purpose of the gun. The stock trigger is horrible but that isn't at all uncommon for this type of weapon where there is an auto/semi-auto function. The good news is that the trigger can be easily improved dramatically with a Wolff's replacement striker spring. It makes all of the difference in the world but it still won't be a great trigger pull. But, it will make for a very functional trigger where with a little work one can achieve more than acceptable combat accuracy with 100% reliability, again, what the gun was designed for.
Besides being very unusual and 100% reliable (and holds 18+1 rounds) the gun is an interesting peice of history in being the first polymer framed production pistol, and, being an fascinating example of the Cold War preparing to go hot.
BTW, once you have the trigger lightened it's a fun gun to shoot. Also, I suspect that the gun had the deep rifling (to let some gas escape) and strong striker spring to deal with hard primers and hotter 9mm subgun ammo that would have been encountered had the SHTF. I also suspect that the polymer frame was at least in part a weight-saving innovation to counter the heavy slide made necessary by virtue of it being a 9mm blowback design.
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Odd pistol - yes - but for some reason I have always liked mine. Yes, the trigger is awful but Wolff makes a spring that cleans it up a bit. I paid $400 for mine several years ago. I saw a nice one at a gun show this past weekend and they were actually asking $899 for it! Unbelievable.
Prices on the VP vary rather wildly. Yours spotted for $899 is about the highest I've seen. They usually range from $400 to $700 with prices of $450 and $650 being very common. I've never been able to tell any difference between a $450 and $650 VP, other than $200.
I shoot the HK VP 70
I've owned a VP 70 since 1979. It is no target pistol because it is double action only with a long trigger pull. That said, the trigger pull is highly predictable with a discernible point at which only slightly additional pressure fires the gun. This renders the gun quite accurate with some practice and familiarity with the action. I did not buy the gun to shoot targets. I bought the gun to shoot in my bedroom at night...the double action only and long, predictable trigget pull makes the gun almost impossible to fire by mistake so, relative to other handguns, it is safe to leave loaded with a round chambered on my bedside table. The 18 rounds it holds are also a plus when it comes to indoor shooting.
I've owned a VP 70 since 1979. It is no target pistol because it is double action only with a long trigger pull. That said, the trigger pull is highly predictable with a discernible point at which only slightly additional pressure fires the gun. This renders the gun quite accurate with some practice and familiarity with the action. I did not buy the gun to shoot targets. I bought the gun to shoot in my bedroom at night...the double action only and long, predictable trigget pull makes the gun almost impossible to fire by mistake so, relative to other handguns, it is safe to leave loaded with a round chambered on my bedside table. The 18 rounds it holds are also a plus when it comes to indoor shooting.
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