Is the USP the only pistol to get the fundamentals right?

Status
Not open for further replies.
USP

I like the USP...but when I got my neighbor and my step-son
up to their necks in bullet casting and the resultant many
thousands of rounds of cheap ammo burned, they both folded up
with frame rails self destructing within a year.



Scratch one USP and one USP Compact. Neighbor traded his
compact in on two loaded Springfields, and step-son decided
to keep his pistol, and put it up. We built a couple of nice
1911's for him, and he's been happily burning powder by the
keg ever since...and the pistols are both more accurate than the USP.

The USP is a nice gun, but doesn't seem to hold up well under
pressure. At least not 500 rounds a week pressure.

Cheers!
Tuner
 
well, I bought my USP quite a while ago,a nd only paid about $600 for it.

Over time, I've largely stopped shooting it, mainly because of the trigger not suiting me very well.

pros:
-very reliable. doesn't mind getting dirty, and even when I had a batch of S&B with hard primers, it had one failure to fire, which was a lot better ratio than any other 9mms I ran en equivalent chunk of that lot through.
-control layout. very fast and functional for me as I can reach the mag release with my thumb no problem.

cons:
-very wide plastic trigger, and the DA trigger feel and pull. I can be accurate, but it is work, with other guns it is a much more unconscious process to get the accuracy. can't change it for the match trigger on older guns. (and if you know someone who can, point me at them please)
-top heavy. It's really not much lighter (if not heavier)than my baby eagle, but the baby eagle is balanced so much better it's not even funny. Same goes for my 1911. Or a couple sigs I tried. Heck, even the glock isn't as bad in the top heavy department.
 
First I've heard of frame rails self destructing.

There are a lot of USPs out there being fired an awful lot that haven't had that problem.

I've fired a USP .40 quite a bit that shows no signs of that type of problem. . .

Got any pics of this destruction? I'd like to see them.

Shake
 
As for the "problem" of accidentally decocking the USP when switching from "Safe" to "Fire". Is this really that big of a deal?

You end up with a DA trigger pull instead of SA. It isn't as though the firearm ceases to function at a critical time.

Seems like the H&K gets more than it's fair share of criticisim despite being a pretty darn good firearm.

Why?

Not that I care. They work for me and I'll keep shooting them. . .

Shake
 
Shredded Rails

Not tryin to bust anybody's bubble...Just reportin' what I saw.
Might have been two exceptions, but not very confidence
inspiring for a hard-use pistol.

The rails began to fuzz up about halfway back, and the
pistols began to exhibit short-cycle issues...The Compact
was worse in this respect. Both were .45's...The smaller
calibers may not have this problem.

'Bout all I know, as my experience with the USP is limited.

Tuner
 
Believe me, no bubbles will be bust. Got pics?

How were the rails "fuzzing up"? I don't believe the slide even contacts the rails at any point. The slide rides on four small rails inserted into the frame.

Shake
 
Pics?

Nope. Neighbor's has been gone nearly two years, and step-son
has likely sold his by now...I'll ask. If he's still got it, I'm sure that
he wouldn't mind me takin a snapshot, though. He may okay
a phone call. Neighbor probably would too.

I'm not tryin' to slam H&K. I think they make a good pistol.
I've just noticed that when plastic and steel ride against
each other, the plastic usually suffers.

Like I said...it may not be representative of the line, but
it was just what I saw.

Cheer-O

T
 
Shake,

Seems like the H&K gets more than it's fair share of criticisim despite being a pretty darn good firearm.
Click to expand...

You know, I do have to get a chuckle out of that and other posts of its ilk.

"The people here hate (1911's/USP's/Kel-Tecs/Glocks/SIGs/Berettas/S&W revolvers/whatever)! Go to (NameBrandFanSite.com) to get the real scoop!"

The above is tongue-in-cheek, but I've seen variations on that comment made about 1911's, USP's, Glocks, and S&W revolvers in the last few weeks that I can recall. ;)
 
Pistol hate Posts

You said it Tamara.


I've got a drawerful of busted 1911 parts. Slides...frames...
extractors...firing pins and stops...slide stops. You name it,
I've seen it break...and heard of many others.
I know it can and does happen. I even had a barrel break in half and go downrange once. I thought it was the recoil spring
plug at first. The kicker was that the pistol chambered a round,
returned to battery, and would have fired if I'd pulled the trigger.

When machines are subjected to use, things wear and things break. It's the nature of the beast. Just because I haven't seen
a particular failure doesn't mean that I will say that it
can't happen...I know that it can. When I hear of somebody
hollerin' about a crack in a Colt frame with less than 10,000
rounds, I chalk it up to "Crap Occurs"...and offer my services
to the guy...usually pro bono...unless it's under warranty.

Funny how anal some folks get about their guns, cars, and
huntin' dogs...ain't it?
:confused:

Cheerios! (Honey Nut)

Tuner the non-anal retentive pistolsmith.
 
Last edited:
I've never understood all the hyperbole about the USP.

Before I purchased my first pistol I rented and fired the Glock 17, USP 9, SIG P226 and Beretta 92FS. (If I had know about the CZ75 it would've been on the list as well) After shooting all of those I decided on the SIG. The USP didn't fit my hand, I didn't care for the postioning of the controls, and something about it's balance just didn't work for me.

In the interim I've acquired a Glock, 1911s, CZs, SIGs galore, a 92FS, a couple of wheel guns and most recently a BHP. Rented a USP 45, and also had the chance to shoot the expert model. Still didn't do anything for me.

I'm sure it's a quality product, but it's not the end all of pistols by any means. If an HK ever comes home with me it will probably be a P7 or something chambered in a rifle caliber. :D
 
on the frame rail "fuzzing" issue: there are four metal rail sections, two on each side that tend to get plastic flash from the manufacturing process that covers them. its not intended to be there. it wears off with use. mine showed a little fraying too, but i just took a razor blade and cut off the flash and exposed the metal under it like its supposed to be. i'm sure someone out there will come up with something like "such an expensive gun shouldn't need to cleaned up like that." but hey, thats the way it goes. happens to the best of them.

by the way, i agree with the thread started. for me at least, the USP compact does it all and does it well. i must have lucked out, my trigger is pretty dang good.

Bobby
 
As for the "problem" of accidentally decocking the USP when switching from "Safe" to "Fire". Is this really that big of a deal?
Click to expand...

It depends. I would say that if you are in competition, it would be a big deal. It's one more last-nanosecond mental adjustment and unexpected interruption you don't need. Probably best to practice with a DA first shot or, as others mentioned, get a different setup.
 
Fuzzy Rails

Bobarino may have just explained it.
Not having very much experience with the USP's, I wasn't able to tell the boys that it was a natural occurence, and was no big deal.

See? These forums are informative. All ya gotta do is
hang on and wait. Somewhere, SOME body has an answer.
Would that everybody just learn to hold on and be patient,
everybody benefits. When folks start gettin' their skivvies in
a knot, it all falls apart.

Kudos Bob. Well done!

Onward....
Tuner
 
You know 1911Tuner and Tamara, you're right. . . I'm anal AND full of it.

Shake
 
Tam, you know, hate is a pretty strong word, but in my case it is way worse than that.:D
 
Guys,

Thanks for the input so far!! For myself I like my Beretta over the HK USP and in my neck of the woods, Beretta was almost half the price of the USP. That said the HK USP seems to have gotten a higher overall score on the fundamentals. I don't think muzzle flip, trigger reset can be viewed as fundamentals and these can be managed by learning how your gun shoots.

The BHP is an all-time favourite and is the gun I admire/love the most, nevertheless it is not as tough or reliable as the HK. Maybe some other time we can do a survey on grip ergonomics but the HK grip is very ergonomic and in fact attempts to mimic that of the BHP. The point about the decocker is moot as the USP has several variants. The modular nature of its firing mechanism is another big factor though I do not view it as fundamental.

By the close of this discussion I am sure you would really see that the HK USP has the edge in addressing all the fundamentals. Maybe its a jack of all trades, master of none, but overall ;)
 
What's new Shake?

I see that your skin thickness hasn't improved of late.:evil:

It's a hot night. The mind races. A 17 hour flight to La Paz is etched in red traces on my eyeballs. . . .oh nevermind!:D
 
Boats,

And I see that you have yet to address the issues I raised in my last pm from the prior thread. I figure if you're man enough to dish it you're man enough to take it too. Was I wrong? I'll wait for your response.

Shake. . . waiting. . .
 
I've never decocked under stress, but pushed it down hard enough to stop the pistol from working.
Click to expand...

I've done this before on the H&Ks, as well. Major turn off. Figuratively and literally.

Posts like this (original thread starter) are major flame bait. Yawn.
 
Sven,

I'm curious as to how you push the decocking lever down hard enough to make the gun stop working?

If you push it down it may decock, but the gun doesn't stop working. It simply becomes a DA trigger pull.

Not flaming, just curious. . .

Shake
 
Shake,

I'm curious as to how you push the decocking lever down hard enough to make the gun stop working?
Click to expand...

I had a AA USP40F and an AB USP45C...both, if I pushed the lever down so far, it wouldn't decock the gun, but the gun wouldn't go bang. I think the trigger moved a little, just not all the way back.

What variant USP do you have that decocks it but doesn't disable the gun? I've never shot the older ones, but maybe the new mainspring lock changed something inside? :confused:

It was a peeve of mine, but at least it was fixable...I ended up selling both the guns, replacing them with a 92G and P7M8, respectively. I still get a kick out of shooting 10-Ring's USPs though.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
CZ SP-01 Range Report and Questions
2 3 4 5
Replies
102
Views
24K
ChCx2744
ChCx2744
F
  • Locked
Range Report - New HK USP Compact
Replies
24
Views
1K
skud_dusty
S
D
  • Locked
HK Mk23 Review
Replies
14
Views
8K
doctorhumbert
D
D
  • Locked
Delta Rant and Initial Impressions on the Glock 23 vs the HK USP-C .40
Replies
5
Views
777
10-Ring
1
rs525
  • Locked
Semi Auto pistols I considered getting
2 3
Replies
57
Views
3K
lysanderxiii
L
Back
Top