Heckler & Koch P7M13 Review

[plouffedaddy]

The H&K P7M13 (and all P7 variants) is a very interesting gun. I've had mine for a while and every time it makes an appearance at the range it always seems to draw a crowd. Here's a summary of my impressions of the gun:

Pros:
-Extremely reliable. This gun has never had a single malfunction in my hands
-Excellent trigger
-I'm a fan of the mag ambi mag release
-Very sleek lines and it's pretty slim overall for a 13+1 gun
-I have large hands and like how the gun feels in the hand but those with smaller hands may be better off going with the P7M8
-Very low bore axis combined with the piston system (more on this in the video below) make for a very, very light recoil impulse.
-Easy and fast reloads can be accomplished with the use of the squeeze cocker
-No magazine safety
-Excellent accuracy from the fixed, cold hammer forged barrel
-Fluted chamber for increased reliability under adverse conditions
-Top of the slide is milled to reduce glare

Cons:
-Cost. They're expensive and no longer in production. Mags aren't cheap either. The prices on gunbroker seem to be all over the place but they pretty much start at $1300 and go up a good bit for a good condition or rare model
-It gets hot after a few magazines of rapid shooting
-Cleaning the gas system is somewhat annoying but it's not a deal breaker in my opinion

All in all it's an excellent firearm as you'd expect from H&K. In the review below I do some shooting, explain/demonstrate the unique features of the gun, and go over the pros/cons of it overall:

 

[johnnydollar]

Great review on what is one of the finest handguns on the planet. Thanks for posting!

 

[smalls]

These are such good, classy looking guns. I really wish I could afford one.

 

[918v]

They are not as accurate as one would expect from a fixed barrel handgun.

 

[Pilot]

They are not as accurate as one would expect from a fixed barrel handgun.

I have a P7M8, and a P7 BMI surplus pistol. They are among my most accurate pistols. Either something is wrong with yours, or you may need to practice with it a bit more.

Nice review Plouf. I concur with your observations on the 13.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Very nice review of the on the best handguns out there.

I am a big fan and I also did a review years back on a P7 PSP. Though they are slightly different technically they still share the same pros and cons (as long as one adequately trains on the magazine release details)

Note: I am not trying to hijack this thread. This is merely more information and another man's reflections on this fine pistol and is meant as added reading material for us P7 enthusiasts.

http://earlthegoat2.blogspot.com/2009/08/exceptions-in-exceptional-pistol-hk-p7.html

And here is a companion article I did on comparing the heel magazine release found on the PSP compared to the button or lever release that most of contemporary pistols of today have.

http://earlthegoat2.blogspot.com/2010/03/heel-magazine-releases-compared-to.html

 

[plouffedaddy]

Great review on what is one of the finest handguns on the planet. Thanks for posting!

Thanks.

I have a P7M8,

I'll probably do a review on the P7M8 one of these days too; another great gun.

 

[ExTank]

Ive always thought the P7 was a neat gun, and wish I could lay my hands on an M13 w/o getting boinked on the $$$.

 

[918v]

I have a P7M8, and a P7 BMI surplus pistol. They are among my most accurate pistols. Either something is wrong with yours, or you may need to practice with it a bit more.

Nothing wrong with mine. I don't need to practice more.

What level of accuracy do you consider accurate? What are you comparing it to? See, I don't consider 3" at 25 yards accurate.

 

[2wheels]

I'm finally in the position where I might be able to buy one soon, but prices seem to have gone up considerably, putting them out of my price range again!

 

[918v]

No more accurate than a Glock:

 

[Goju]

Thanks for the review. I own a M8 and if I could only keep one of my handguns, that would certainly be the one. I love the concept and function of the controls, although I know there is not universal enthusiasm for the design. And mine is plenty accurate.

 

[C0untZer0]

Best pistol ever made, IMO.

I been shooting it since 1985, Shot from out of the box with NEVER a single problem. I've never had a single failure with it.

NEVER

I also thought it was the best answer ever for the safety debate. I didn't worry about having to remember to take the manual safety off, on the other hand I didn't have to worry about it being cocked on a live round. The trigger is great - I never had to deal with DA/SA or DOA issues.

Not one problem.

I have owned my HK P7M8 since 1985 and never had a jam, failure to feed, stove pipe, failure to eject or anything like that, and I've used all sorts of crazy ammo in it.

The magazine release is the easiest I've ever used.

It's completely ambi-dextrous for firing.

I also think the squeeze-cocking mechanism is the most ingenious thing ever invented for a handgun, BASICALLY giving my P7M8 a smooth single-action trigger pull.

I can't say enough about the HK P7M8, I wish they still made em.

 

[wally]

They are not as accurate as one would expect from a fixed barrel handgun.

I think your expectations are too high.

The sights are mounted on the slide. Fixed barrel guns generally shoot tighter groups only off a Ransom rest, few shoot as well as autoloaders where the barrel mates to the slide, as generally its easier to get a more consistent relationship between the barrel and slide, than between the slide and the frame on a fixed barrel gun.

Most .22lr pistols solve the problem by have a fixed barrel and the slide moving within an opening in the frame so the front sight is mounted on the barrel and the rear sight is also mounted to the frame.

The squeeze cocker is neat from an engineering standpoint, but many shooters have problems with it causing them to "over grip" the pistol.

Neat as they are, they never really caught on for a reason, price was only part of it. A few mags shooting steel plates and the pistol is too hot to hang on to because of the "gas retard" feature shooting hot gas back towards where your hand is.

 

[jimbo555]

Best pistol ever made, no longer in production. What's wrong with this picture?

 

[Katitmail]

The pistol is great. I have cheaper P7 PSP and everything is nice about it. Of course if it had another 1" and didn't overheat so fast

The only malfunctions I have in mine is that if I shoot a lot and get lazy after about 300 rounds piston starts sticking causing incomplete feeds.

Which brings me to the question. HOW do you clean gas piston and cylinder?

Don't tell me about scraper tool because it's not.. I get patch after patch completely black after this scraper thingy.

In it's "clean" condition I consider this gun to be safest and most reliable home defense gun. My wife can shoot it too.

 

[VoodooSan]

Nice gun right there. I used to have two P7's and ended up having to sell them. I still miss them. Always wanted the P7M13.

 

[plouffedaddy]

HOW do you clean gas piston and cylinder?

I jerry rigged a home made scraper tool that allows me to put a patch in as well (kind of like a ghetto CAT M4 tool). Seems to work well.

 

[Katitmail]

What chemical do you use?

 

[Telekinesis]

You could also use the bristle brush to clean the gas cylinder and nylon brush to clean the piston.


Excellent review plouffedaddy. I actually just bought a P7M8. Been on my list of guns to buy for years (ever since I had a chance to shoot a friend's P7M13) but just never could find one. Glad to finally be joining the tactical stapler crowd

 

[Goju]

Katitmail - I havn't found a better carbon remover than Ballistol.

 

[rodinal220]

Great review!! Wish they still made these,built like a Rolex. Glad many of the surplus Polizei guns made it to the USA, at $550-600US it was 1981 again.

 

[C0untZer0]

I saw this old ad...

I love it !

 

[Snowdog]

There's a photo out there of a P7 (and flower, IIRC) that has had my jonesing for on since laying my eyes on it.
Like Smalls and ExTank, I want one but don't really want to pay the going price.

They're good looking pistols, IMO. I've hear great things about the trigger pull characteristics (something I often obsess over).

 

[GyMac]

Very nicely done video! I really enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of fixed barrels, although their use is limited. H&K was pretty creative in that gas system. A beautiful gun, but I think I would prefer the single stack. Thanks for posting.