HK VP9 does not fair well in torture test

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jjones45

jjones45

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MAC does a torture test of his ccw that he's been carrying for the past year, the vp9. This gun fails miserably in my opinion as I expected better results considering what I've seen glock, xdm, and ppq do in similar test. This test is extreme and highly unlikely in a everyday concealed carry but shows why this gun will not pass military trials. This test shows the one weakness of the paddle release. Also note in the end how he said this gun is not suppressor friendly.

Warning: HK fanboys please don't watch because your feelings will be hurt. I like HK's and this video is hard to watch

http://youtu.be/vOu5ZGfgtVk
 
im not particularly fond of HK.......but in general, i think these "torture tests" are stupid.

"oh i packed my gun full of dirt and it failed to function"......yeah no kidding......

thats like saying "oh i pulled off my air filters on my car and filled the intake with sand, and my car wont run......this car is a piece of junk!"

its stupid and tells you nothing.

how often are you in a situation where your gun gets filled with sand? or dragged behind a truck? or frozen into a block of ice? or whatever stupid stuff people come up with.


if you are inclined to do a "torture test"....see how many rounds it can go between cleaning.....thatll honestly be a fair and more realistic test of a gun.
 
I was surprised by this based on the HK cost and reputation relative to other guns that are known for functioning in extreme conditions. I know a torture test does not an ideal CCW make, but I do draw a little more confidence from my chosen brand based on how it tends to fare in these things.
 
A very unscientific test done on a sample of one handgun. Means nothing to me about reliability of the VP9.
 
I find the test very revealing and these things are good to know. It doesn't mean it's a bad firearm just that it is not suitable for certain applications despite assumptions and marketing claims.

It doesn't have to be scientific it's dumb simple and obvious you don't want to use this thing where exposure to dirt is probable.

It's not the right tool for that job.
 
I find the test very revealing and these things are good to know. It doesn't mean it's a bad firearm just that it is not suitable for certain applications despite assumptions and marketing claims.
Click to expand...

if your gun being filled with dirt is common enough as to be a consideration in your sidearm choice......you need better tactics.....not better equipment.
 
There is no way around it. The gun is much more affected by exposure to dirt and debris than other guns and would be a concern when exposed during extensive outdoor use.
 
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No he didn't test it with the bullets backwards, he just dropped the thing in wet leaves and mud stepped on it a couple of times and it had multiple failures afterwards.

It's high precision which probably aids in accuracy makes it very sensitive to debris even a very tiny bit that makes it's way inside. It is obviously not a mud gun like some others are.

Mud guns do have uses and it seems like you as well as many other people do not grasp the concept of advantages vs disadvantages.
 
I think that the first thing, the water and then the mud is very plausible. I am out hunting, I shoot a deer and it rolls down a bank and into a muddy swampy mess. I go down to get it and I slip and fall and slide down into the mess. I am sitting in the mess to be faced with a deer that was mostly dead (but had true love) and it is coming at me. I pull my pistol which is down in the watery mess (because I am sitting on my large butt) and I expect it to work.

Okay, but it could happen.
 
A sample of one does not make an accurate test. Using this same logic, I could point to a Glock that has had a KB failure and if one blew up, the rest are all suspect as well. I did pre-deployment training at Ft. Dix that involved low crawling on a range with a LOT of thick sand and when our M4s went empty, transitioned to our M9s that were carried in Safariland 6004 holsters. Sand jammed the hoods making getting our M9s out and when they did, our M9s failed miserably when sand was packed between the frame and hammer. The hammer would creep back and just stick there. Welp, guess M9s are completely unreliable too. But I digress...
Bottom line here is that in this one test with this one pistol, no, it did not do very well. Maybe debris got in there just right or it hit the magazine release at just the right angle and these conditions may or may not be something that can be repeated. That's why I say you need a far bigger sampling than a single pistol to have a meaningful test.
 
sirgilligan said:
I think that the first thing, the water and then the mud is very plausible. I am out hunting, I shoot a deer and it rolls down a bank and into a muddy swampy mess. I go down to get it and I slip and fall and slide down into the mess. I am sitting in the mess to be faced with a deer that was mostly dead (but had true love) and it is coming at me. I pull my pistol which is down in the watery mess (because I am sitting on my large butt) and I expect it to work.

Okay, but it could happen.
Click to expand...

Wife says, "Why are you chuckling?"
 
The side panel popping out, several failures of all kinds, the broken mag release, the wood jammed in between the slide and back of striker assembly. There's a lot of things that went wrong with this pistol in this test. I thought it would eventually shoot itself clear of debris. This gun obviously has some design flaws that showed themselves pretty clearly. It not impossible to get into a tussle and fall on your gun or for it to somehow get wet. You could get caught in a downpour. This gun will fail military trials very quickly. A good range/ccw but not a combat firearm in my opinion. I've seen the tp9sa do better in a similar test. This gun just isn't as "tough"as we thought it was. Give me a sig p226 over this any day of the week.
 
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I fall into water all the time. Hiking, boating, jet skiing, camping etc. etc. That's usually a 3 day weekend of intense humidity and nothing in sight that's dry.
-damp, wet morning
-damp, wet truck
-damp wet day of whatever, +sweat, +swim, +sand, +blowing sand, +swimming in sand, +falling down a ravine wall dragging my belt on muddy earth
-damp, wet tent

Glocks are perfect for that. My 1911's, not so much. Dealing with wet conditions and mud and sand, can be handy. Even in a normal, non-abused, practical sense.

Each pistol has it's niche.
 
I don't have a HK dog in the fight.

But, I served in the Army for six years, shot competition, hunted for 50+, and gunsmithed for about the same length of time.

A fighting man or hunter just doesn't let his firearm get in that condition unless he steps on a land mine!!

The closest I came to one of those 'torture tests' in 50 years is falling through the ice duck hunting with a Browning A-5 shotgun in Zero weather.

My main concern was getting out alive and making it back to my truck parked a half mile away.

By the time I got to it my clothes were frozen solid, and the keys were in my frozen shut pocket.

Finally got the keys out, and got the heater warmed up enough to thaw out my hands.

Then got back out and tried to unload the Browning to go home.
Action was frozen shut and I couldn't pull the bolt back to unload it.

So I shot it empty, all three rounds.
And it worked just fine.

rc
 
Nice speech but it still doesn't address the fact that one really does want to make sure that pistol is squeeky clean because it seems tiny amounts of grit will get in and stay inside immediately causing serious malfunctions that require a field strip and detailed cleaning to correct.

It would not be a logocal carry choice for people that do the type of things that zerodefect describes.
 
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The most important torture test for any gun is the maple syrup torture test.

If a gun still fires after having maple syrup poured all over it then you know it will work when you're at the Waffle Hut.
 
If I were an avid, active, fit outdoors camper who covers a lot of ground on foot in various types of environments away from shelter I would choose somthing else.

Not everyone is a couch potato and not everyone is an active outdoorsman. Again it depends on what it is used for.
 
grter said:
If I were an avid, active, fit outdoors camper who covers a lot of ground on foot in various types of environments away from shelter I would choose somthing else.

Not everyone is a couch potato and not everyone is an active outdoorsman. Again it depends on what it is used for.
Click to expand...
hahaha so if you choose a vp9...you are a "couch potato"?.....we get it dude, you hate HK.....get over it.
 
I have owned Glock, and will never again. Not for me for a number of reasons. But no one can argue it's ability to go bang under adverse conditions. I could read a newspaper between the slide and the frame of my G21. Personally, I prefer a tighter tolerance gun that is more accurate (at least for me).
 
No I dont hate HK but ingnoring or trying to conceal a fireams design quirks, which by the way does not make it a bad firearm at all, is not productive.

We should be above that and know that there is no such thing as the perfect firearm that does it all. Each advantage usually compromises another. Pick what is best for you.
 
Ppq does what I expected to see in a water and mud test. Click on the first shot because water in the striker channel, then shoots itself clear of enough debris to function. Not scientific but all in good fun because these aren't my pistols being put through this abuse
http://youtu.be/Po-k84m2kM8
 
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