HK guys, in here please
- Thread starter Black Majik
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cedjunior
Member
If you're going to by full capacity HK USP, buy them from CDNN. For every full capacity mag you buy, they throw in a 10rd magazine for free.(USP mags only)
Nightcrawler
Member
Um...like what? Unless the gun is exceedingly rare or the magazines hard to find, the market wouldn't bear prices that high.
COOL! Thanks for the heads up! FYI, CDNN has USP compact mags (10 rounders, .40/.357) for ten bucks a pop right now. Hard to beat that! (Buddy of mine has a USP compact .357 and bought six of them.)
Look, I'm not trying to be argumentive. I'm confident the HK is a fine gun, which is why I'm asking about it. It even fits my hand, which is something a lot of folks can't say. But when you buy HK, you're paying a lot for name (Kind of like Colt, or Harley Davidson). Might be worth it, might be not, depends on your perspective.
With most makers, if your order the mgas through them directly, you're going to pay full MSRP for the mag. If you shop around, though, you can find them for less. This doesn't seem to be the case with USP 45 mags; they seem to be almost universally at $50, sometimes more than that, when even USP mags in other calibers are ten dollars less.
Fortunately, now you can get the less desirable 10-rounders for a steal online.
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choochboost
Member
I actually like my polymer USP 9mm mags better than my P2000 .40 mags. Another thing to consider is you live in California and you can often get 9mm 10-rounders for under $10, so buy as many as you want.
BerettaNut92
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Had a P7M8, USP45C, USP40 and a P2000. Never had such a problem.
GunnySkox
Member
Dude, you were listening to that song all wrong, it goes
"Nine in my right, fo'ty five in my other hand"
~GnSx
(*cough* T.I. - Rubberband Man *cough*)
Interesting topic. USP9 magazines look and feel kind of rinky-dink, compared to GLOCK or SIG magazines. They seem to work fine, although I've never dropped a loaded one.
Pros: Can be disassembled with only the slide stop lever of the pistol as a tool (unlike GLOCK). Also, finger-friendly lips for those of us who haven't bothered to buy a mag loader.
Cons: Unimpressive appearance and feel. Also, they can be loaded incorrectly - if you're not careful, you can "skip a space" leaving the mag with only 14 loaded. A weird low-level nuisance issue that I've never encountered with any other gun. Doesn't seem to affect function, just capacity. Has anyone else encountered this?
Pros: Can be disassembled with only the slide stop lever of the pistol as a tool (unlike GLOCK). Also, finger-friendly lips for those of us who haven't bothered to buy a mag loader.
Cons: Unimpressive appearance and feel. Also, they can be loaded incorrectly - if you're not careful, you can "skip a space" leaving the mag with only 14 loaded. A weird low-level nuisance issue that I've never encountered with any other gun. Doesn't seem to affect function, just capacity. Has anyone else encountered this?
Autolycus
Member
HKs are very reliable guns. You wont have any problems with HKs.
Black Majik
Member
Wow, thanks guys. This turned into quite an informative thread. Just to update, I ended up ordering a USPf 9 from sporting arms so it should arrive within a few days.
Got plenty of magazines from CDNN at $10 a piece and some Comp-Tac gear. I'm planning to use it for production in USPSA, that's why I was curious how well the polymer mags held up to dropping with rounds in em'. But magazines at ten dollars a piece, I can't really complain.
I've been pleasantly happy with my HKs. I'm sure this one won't let me down either.
Thanks again!
Got plenty of magazines from CDNN at $10 a piece and some Comp-Tac gear. I'm planning to use it for production in USPSA, that's why I was curious how well the polymer mags held up to dropping with rounds in em'. But magazines at ten dollars a piece, I can't really complain.
I've been pleasantly happy with my HKs. I'm sure this one won't let me down either.
Thanks again!
GARY1911A1
Member
I have a HK SD 9MM I'm thinking of shooting in Production too. I do hope the magazines hold up. The first one that shatters will be the last time I shoot Production with it.
Why in the world do you want to do that?
:banghead:
Quote:
I'm planning to use it for production in USPSA, that's why I was curious how well the polymer mags held up to dropping with rounds in em'. But magazines at ten dollars a piece, I can't really complain.
You already have the "hotness" in your stable. Stick with W German P226 and give in to the urge. You know you want to be "down" like us.
Just joshing you know. Im really excited about your USP9f. Also, I heard that our favorite gunsmith/instructor does magical work with USPs.
:banghead:
Quote:
I'm planning to use it for production in USPSA, that's why I was curious how well the polymer mags held up to dropping with rounds in em'. But magazines at ten dollars a piece, I can't really complain.
You already have the "hotness" in your stable. Stick with W German P226 and give in to the urge. You know you want to be "down" like us.
Just joshing you know. Im really excited about your USP9f. Also, I heard that our favorite gunsmith/instructor does magical work with USPs.
Black Majik
Member
Emilsal said:
Emil, Busted you caught me. How else am I suppose to get advice secretively
As much as I enjoy the SIG platform, I really, really prefer the option of SAO. But... no surprise there. I'm going to try it out, having different reloading points from everyone else sucks, and my times show it because of the extra reloads. Some stages just aren't single stack friendly. BTW, Welcome to THR! Ya found where I hang out now...
See ya tomorrow.
treelogger
Member
A. For USP information, the best place are the forums at www.hkpro.com.
B. The 10-round magazines have a known problem with base plates cracking. The problem is actually the wing on the baseplate (the baseplate has two tall wings, which prevent the following from coming down too far, thereby making sure the capacity is only 10 rounds). The problem is even worse for the magazines with extended baseplates (little finger grip), as are shipped with the USP Expert and Elite, because the longer baseplate has even more lever arm to shear off the wings when it hits the floor. The problem occurs most often when dropping loaded mags (heavy, in particular in .45ACP) on a hard floor. Like the concrete floor of the range where you are taking a tactical shooting class and practicing tactical reloads with full mags. I started the class with 8 or 9 magazines, and lost maybe half the baseplates during the class.
C. Reports of base plates breaking on full-capacity magazines (12-rounders for the .45ACP folk) are either nonexisting or very rare. The problem is common for 10-rounders. Which is little consolation for people like me in California, stuck with 10-rounders. On the other hand, I got a lot of 10-rounders for cheap after the federal AWB expired, and people in other states were upgrading like mad, and dumping their 10-rounders used on the market.
D. Replacement baseplates are easily available, for about $6 a piece, for example from OPS2 a.k.a. www.hkpartsonline.com. As the gun and the mags have a lifetime warranty to the original owner, H&K will also replace the baseplates for free if they break, and you didn't buy the magazines used.
E. The .45ACP magazines have another problem: the mag bodies are bent out of a piece of sheetmetal, and welded in the back, along a cut line that holds the two pieces together like a zipper. The welds along the zipper can crack if a loaded magazine is dropped on a hard floor; then the magazine will open up like a squished banana, the feed lips spread, and it doesn't retain rounds any more. Unfortunately, replacement mag bodies are effectively not available as a spare part (the spare part costs more than a whole magazine). Again, for the original purchaser, H&K will replace the mag bodies for free. This does not apply to the new 9mm magazines (which have plastic bodies), don't know about .40S&W.
F. Let's get back to the Ferrari analogy. You just bought a Ferrari. Are you going to gripe about the fact that wear and tear repairs are a little expensive? Our neighbor supposedly paid $14K for the new clutch for his Ferrari. If you wanted a car that was cheap to maintain, you should have bought a Honda Civic.
The way I look at it is this: I'm shooting a gun that is very accurate, totally reliable, and has a good trigger (I have the match trigger in my USP). The gun itself was expensive (over $1K once everything is said and done). I'm taking a $400 tactical shooting class, and will go through about $150 worth of ammo during the class, not to mention having to practice before the class, and having to buy lunch. Now going and griping about having to spend another $30 on replacement base plates, and/or spending an hour packing up a few busted magazines for free repair at H&K is silly. And I can't see how someone's survival could depend on base plates breaking during training.
This having been said: for a gun that is as well-engineered as the USP, they could have done the 10-round baseplates better.
B. The 10-round magazines have a known problem with base plates cracking. The problem is actually the wing on the baseplate (the baseplate has two tall wings, which prevent the following from coming down too far, thereby making sure the capacity is only 10 rounds). The problem is even worse for the magazines with extended baseplates (little finger grip), as are shipped with the USP Expert and Elite, because the longer baseplate has even more lever arm to shear off the wings when it hits the floor. The problem occurs most often when dropping loaded mags (heavy, in particular in .45ACP) on a hard floor. Like the concrete floor of the range where you are taking a tactical shooting class and practicing tactical reloads with full mags. I started the class with 8 or 9 magazines, and lost maybe half the baseplates during the class.
C. Reports of base plates breaking on full-capacity magazines (12-rounders for the .45ACP folk) are either nonexisting or very rare. The problem is common for 10-rounders. Which is little consolation for people like me in California, stuck with 10-rounders. On the other hand, I got a lot of 10-rounders for cheap after the federal AWB expired, and people in other states were upgrading like mad, and dumping their 10-rounders used on the market.
D. Replacement baseplates are easily available, for about $6 a piece, for example from OPS2 a.k.a. www.hkpartsonline.com. As the gun and the mags have a lifetime warranty to the original owner, H&K will also replace the baseplates for free if they break, and you didn't buy the magazines used.
E. The .45ACP magazines have another problem: the mag bodies are bent out of a piece of sheetmetal, and welded in the back, along a cut line that holds the two pieces together like a zipper. The welds along the zipper can crack if a loaded magazine is dropped on a hard floor; then the magazine will open up like a squished banana, the feed lips spread, and it doesn't retain rounds any more. Unfortunately, replacement mag bodies are effectively not available as a spare part (the spare part costs more than a whole magazine). Again, for the original purchaser, H&K will replace the mag bodies for free. This does not apply to the new 9mm magazines (which have plastic bodies), don't know about .40S&W.
F. Let's get back to the Ferrari analogy. You just bought a Ferrari. Are you going to gripe about the fact that wear and tear repairs are a little expensive? Our neighbor supposedly paid $14K for the new clutch for his Ferrari. If you wanted a car that was cheap to maintain, you should have bought a Honda Civic.
The way I look at it is this: I'm shooting a gun that is very accurate, totally reliable, and has a good trigger (I have the match trigger in my USP). The gun itself was expensive (over $1K once everything is said and done). I'm taking a $400 tactical shooting class, and will go through about $150 worth of ammo during the class, not to mention having to practice before the class, and having to buy lunch. Now going and griping about having to spend another $30 on replacement base plates, and/or spending an hour packing up a few busted magazines for free repair at H&K is silly. And I can't see how someone's survival could depend on base plates breaking during training.
This having been said: for a gun that is as well-engineered as the USP, they could have done the 10-round baseplates better.
Autolycus
Member
Basically Treelogger summed it up pretty well.
Todesengel
Member
Go for it and be happy!
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