If the P7 is so great then...

[natedog]

why doesn't H&K make more of them? They seem to be very rare, and none of my local gun shops ever stock them. I once asked the clerk about it, and he said that they are very hard to get in stock because H&K harldly makes any of them. I've read that they can be cocked, aimed, and fired more accurately and faster than anyother pistol of similar size.

 

[10-Ring]

Very quick to draw, point & shoot accurately. Really nice trigger out of box w/ very natural pointing characteristics. I have been a fan since my 1st box of 50 through mine.
I think the big drawback of the P7M8 is the expense, $1200 minimum new is a pretty steep price for a 8 shot 9mm. As a result of the expense, there are relatively few prospective buyers. I think that's why HK developed the USP line to attract more civilian customers.

 

[longspurr]

They are pricey but that doesn't make them less than great! Having shot one several times and seen them used at USPA shoots I think they are the "best" 9mm for defensive "practical" shooting on the market.

You are right, they are pricey and rare. If only they could make them in China we would probably buy them for $300. It might make me alter my policy of not buying anything from China.

 

[dude]

supply--demand


........and the small production line often gets overwhelmed for months at a time by various worldwide LEO dept orders

 

[DeltaElite]

I know few people who spend that kind of money on a gun.
If they do, it seems to be a 1911, instead of a P7.

 

[honocor]

From what I understand, H&K still makes them quite a bit. The problem is only a couple hundred are "imported" a year though. That is where the rarity comes from.

 

[CWL]

You can buy all you want, just place an order. Don't be afraid to look on the internet for sources, both new, police trade-ins & private transactions.

I suspect that your gunstore could order you a $20,000 shotgun if you placed an order, good luck asking to see a display though.

 

[Handy]

Name some other premium item that is also common. There aren't alot of Acura NSXs out there either. Why doesn't Kobe produce more beef?

 

[BerettaNut92]

Why didn't Van Gogh paint more?

 

[tlhelmer]

Very nice gun overall.

I am not knocking the P-7, but here is what I observed. It was heavy for an 8 round 9mm. It heated up fast if you wanted to do fast shooting and reloading drills. 850.00 is a lot of money for a used handgun which is what I paid for my P-7.

 

[AK103K]

I had a P7M13. I only paid $450 for it new. They are great shooting pistols. Nice trigger out of the box and very accurate. They are very fast on the reload, that big hole in the bottom of the grip with the narrow tapered mag make it hard to miss. Droping the slide using the grip is fast and easy too. As mentioned, they do heat up when fired fast, even with the heat shield. At the time I had mine, there weren't many holsters available for them. The biggest problem I had was the mag always seemed to be on the seat of the truck when I got out. Seems the seat belt would hit the mag release and drop the mag. Not really the guns fault, I'm sure a better holster would stop this. It was one of the few guns I really made any money on when I sold it. Got $975 for it.

 

[Tim Burke]

Didn't realize they were rare.
This isn't even all of the local P7 shooters.

 

[Benton]

Can someone explain the basis for the cost of the P7? Walther and SIG-Sauer pistols from the same part of the world and of equal quality cost a good bit less. I remember when the pistol first arrived in the U.S. magazine articles noted that it was designed with ease of manufacture in mind and little hand labor involved. I gather, too, that the money doesn't seem to go toward the most advanced corrosion-resistant finishes.

I do admire the pistol and enjoy shooting those of my friends; it's just that the reason for their four digit price tags eludes me. Perhaps there's something expensive in its production that's not obvious to me. If so, then maybe HK could apply some of that storied German engineering genius to efficiencies in the manufacture process. They'd sure be selling a lot more P7s.

 

[harrydog]

I had a P7M8 that I bought new back around 1993.
It was very well made and accurate. The squeeze cock mechanism is very innovative and makes for a fast shot from the draw.
But I really hated the way it got hot after shooting a few mags. It is heavy for only an 8 shot 9mm. It rusts relatively easily. It's more maintenance senstive than many other guns.
I just didn't fall in love with it the way the P7 cultists do.
Overall, a fine gun, and very unique, but not my cup of tea.
I sold mine and have no regrets.

 

[Mylhouse]

I'm always befuddled about this myth about the P7 being the fastest pistol out there to draw, cock and fire (bring into action, whatever the expression is).

How is it faster than simply pulling a Glock (for instance) out of your holster and just pulling the trigger ?!

How is it faster than thumbing down the safety on a 1911 clone as you're bringing it up to target?

The only speed advantage I see is during reloads because all you have to do is insert a new mag and squeeze the cocker again to drop the slide on a fresh round.

I'm sorry, but I'm also not buying the most precise autopistol on the market argument. The point that the barrel is fixed is always made in support of the claim. Well, the sights are on the slide, not the barrel, and the slide would have to be tightly fitted to the barrel and frame and the slide would have to lock up to the same exact position to validate that claim. From a RANSOM REST, the P7 would probably outshoot most any other pistol, but not if a human pilot is aiming and flying each of the shots.

Not trolling, just giving my $.02.

 

[dude]

you would have to shoot one to understand

Over the years I have had several folks quite amazed after shooting my P7 for the first time and two Die-hard Glock fans instantly converted to after the first mag.


It's a cult thing

Intrestingly, the P7 is not my favorite 9mm

 

[Mylhouse]

you would have to shoot one to understand

I do understand. I owned a P7M8 for nearly 2 years. I spent a small fortune on it and even had it hardchomed. I bought into all the hype from hkpro.com and parkcitiestactical.com. I was waiting for all the alleged P7 magic to come to me, but it never did anything for me. Believe me, with all the money and time I invested into that thing, I really wanted to love it....but couldn't. It just didn't do anything superlatively for me...

And the maintenance aspect of the gun was too much of a PITA for me.

IMHO and YMMV

 

[Walther P99]

The P7 is an excellent pistol, high quality and very well built.

However, the downfall for me was my hands are too weak to hold down that cocker for long; they would involuntarily relax after only a little bit...

 

[dude]

the magic just did'ent work for you then there Mylhouse

.........nice try though! I never understood the HC thing and yes they are maintenance heavy.

The P7 was the first auto pistol I ever shot/owned back when I was 21 (1984) The Berreta the Army issued me was my second and an M13 I scored years later was my third. I've since dabbeled with a S&W 910 and a Glock 30 while having a minor fling with a Berreta so-called Ellite II. All were passable but to me were not as nice as my old P7 and they did not remain in the safe very long (the Ellite II the shortest!......yuck). Then a few months ago an IMI compact 9 entered my life and the P7s are gone!!

 

[El Tejon]

natedog, to answer your question, just like rifles, the "Iwannacoolgun" virus is driven by scarcity. If rare, it must be good, right?

If people have something that is not seen everyday, it sets them apart from others--cool. If a gun company is smart, there are several ways to exploit this. But, then, the purpose of the gun business is not to make money.

 

[Pilot]

I guess some buy them becauce they pereceive them as rare or scarce. If you think that this is the only reason people buy P-7's then you obviously don't own one. They are the best compact 9MM, at any price. At an average used price of $750 - $800, I think they are well worth it. Check the price of a decent 1911, Browning Hi Power, Walther P88 or P5 and you'll see the P-7 is not comparitively that expensive.

 

[El Tejon]

Pilot, sure, it's a good gun, but just explaining to young natedog here about the CDI of P7s or anything else exotic. NIH=cool, and "Iwannacoolgun".

 

[duncan]

HK is still making the PSP and M8 versions of the P7.

It's on limited production because their money makers are the USP polymer series guns.

Even with the great quality, people still hold back on buying a $1K 9mm handgun.

And P7s surface NIB, LNIB, and used every month in at least two shops in the Seattle metro area.

P7s appear to most popular on the Coasts. So if you are in the South or Midwest, they are hard to find.

 

[duncan]

If you tke several 9mm handguns and shoot them.

Then look at your targets, most people REALLY shoot more accurately with the P7s. But they must adapt to the squeeze cocker.

The cost a lot because they are made of some of the finest steel I've ever seen on a gun.

And the internals are very smoothly machined.

Smooth inside and out.

Expense to build for materials cost and lots of hands on milling. Hence the $1200 price tag.

Same idea why people buy custom shop 1911s - fit, finish, labor, fully set up from the jump.

If you shoot 9mm, you should have one.

But alas, sounds like some of us missed the big chance to get a German police trade in P7 for $700 about two years. Haven't seen one of those pop up since them. People are keeping those.

If you can't find them and they arfe still in production, that's a good indicator that people LOVE those guns.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Duncan, if P7s are more popular on the coasts, then wouldnt they be easier to find in the south and midwest?