Something New From Heckler And Koch

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Striker-Fired Pistol H&K VP9.

If you repeat something enough people will begin to think it’s a fact. That’s a tenant of politics vigorously practiced by both parties today. It could also be suggested as a tactic used by Glock fans when they insist the G17 was the first polymer frame, striker-fired pistol produced for military and law enforcement use. I think Heckler and Koch would beg to differ with those folks over that little non-fact. The G17 was in the design phase between 1979 and 1982. They were initially produced in 1982. They are still in production today and one hell of a good gun — but not the first polymer frame striker-fired design for military and law enforcement.

Heckler and Koch’s first adventure into the polymer frame, striker-fired realm was the VP70. It had a polymer grip and the “M” version came with a buttstock that converted the gun to a select fire, 3-round burst sub-gun. The ‘Z’ variant was the civilian version excluding the select-fire option. The idea behind the VP70 was its use as a Cold War resistance or “stay-behind” gun when Soviet Union troops over ran West Germany. The VP stands for Volkspistole or People’s Pistol. Its design phase started in 1968 and production ran from 1970 through 1989. That’s 12 years earlier than the G17.

Another striker-fired Heckler and Koch predecessor to the G17 was the P7 — aka, the squeeze cocker. Production started in 1980. It was adopted by the German Army’s Special Forces and by the counter-terrorism unit GSG 9. It has a very unique design squeeze-cocking lever at the front of the grip, below the trigger guard. The gun is cocked by applying 15 lbs. of gripping force to the cocking lever, but once fully depressed, only 2 lbs. keep the weapon cocked. Pressing its single-stage 4.5 lbs. trigger fires the P7, but that’s only as long as you keep the cocking lever depressed. Let it go and you have to cock it again. It acts as a de-cock safety, allowing the user to safely, carry the pistol with a round loaded in the chamber.

Galco has a number of good holsters in traditional leather or polymer
for the VP9. Most holsters designed for the HK P30 fit the VP9.

The New VP9

So, this is not Heckler & Koch’s first rodeo with a striker-fired firearm, but it’s been a while since they’ve gone in this direction. Between the P7 and its variants — introduced in 1980 — and now, their polymer guns have been traditional hammer and firing pin fired. The new VP9 is the product of a 4-year design effort. It’s fairly obvious the HK P30, introduced in 2006, has heavily influenced this gun’s design. However, don’t think the VP9 is just a hammerless P30. It integrates a new striker-firing system with an enhanced HK “light pull” trigger. The net result is a trigger unlike any HK trigger I’ve ever pressed. It’s actually good!

Over the years, my biggest complaint with HK handguns has been triggers feel like pulling a 1957 Buick Roadmaster across a rock beach — sideways. I found them to be heavy, mushy, gritty and inconsistent. The trigger on the VP9 is none of those and it surpasses any of its HK predecessors. It has a short light take-up with a solid single-action type break followed by a short, positive, audible and tactile reset. It has consistent pre-travel and a positive break you could even call crisp. The usual pre-travel pull on most striker-fired pistols increases in weight throughout the stroke. It’s much less noticeable on the VP9 until the trigger reaches its engagement point.

Ergonomics

This is very comfortable gun to hold and even more comfortable to shoot. HK, like many major manufacturers, has abandoned the “one gun fits all” idea and incorporates easy user modifications into the design. The VP9’s handgun grip design includes three changeable back straps and six side panels. It feels very similar to the P30 handgrip also incorporating the side panels along with interchangeable back straps. Molded finger grooves on the front of the pistol’s grip position the shooters hand and help minimize recoil flip.

The combination of the side panels and back straps is a great idea. It doesn’t matter if you have huge ham hands or little birdy hands — you can customize the grip to make this gun fit just about any individual. This one feature alone makes the VP9 a standout for law enforcement consideration. A major problem for law enforcement rangemasters is the selection of an issued duty weapon that will fit all the troops — the VP9 has the cure.

The other issue in getting just the right fit is the lefties. In this case it’s not an issue either. All the controls are fully ambidextrous. The slide stop is repeated on the right side of the gun and easily accessed by a left-handed shooter’s thumb. The magazine release is a paddle type and the same on the left or right side. This type of release is very similar to the Walther P99 series magazine release and I find it a superior design and location to the standard button release on most handguns. It’s easier to use and much easier accessed when the shooter is under stress.

Completing the advanced ergonomics theme in the VP9 is the HK-patented charging supports. The designers added polymer wings at the rear of the slide, aft of the rear slide serrations. They help with moving the slide to the rear. You wouldn’t think two small chunks of polymer in this position would do anything other than make the gun a little wider and drive holster makers insane or at least any more insane than they are naturally, but I’ll be darned if they don’t really make a difference in charging the pistol and malfunction clearing. For those having trouble grabbing the slide and racking it to the rear this feature provides a solution.

Mechanicals

HK says their cold hammer-forged barrel is made from cannon-grade steel ensuring a long service life. I’m not certain just what cannon-grade steel actually is, but similar HK barrels on 9mm P30 models have fired more than 90,000 rounds in endurance tests conducted in 2010. The polygonal bore profile contributes to a longer service life as well as a slight increase in muzzle velocity — there are no traditional lands and grooves.

The VP9 is equipped with redundant safety systems including a trigger safety latch similar to any number of striker-fired polymer guns on the market today. The gun’s safety systems are ACC225 NATO certified and NIJ0112.03 safety certified including the drop test. The rear of the striker is colored red and is visible to the shooter when the striker is cocked and the gun ready to fire. It withdraws into the slide after a round is expended.

The extractor acts as a loaded chamber indicator. When a round is in the chamber the forward edge of the extractor protrudes as a tactile indicator of a loaded chamber and it’s painted red as a visual indicator.

It’s your choice when it comes to weapon-mounted lights. The integral Picatinny rail will accommodate pretty much any WML or light and laser combination.

Heckler & Koch finishes the VP9 with their hostile environment finish to protect the slide and all other metal components against corrosion and wear including springs and pins at their Oberndorf factory in southwest Germany.

Shooting

My criteria for test-firing a gun comes from being the rangemaster for a large Southern California Police Department. Some writers go into infinite detail with testing. Accounts of a gun shooting Mother’s Lead Hyper Secret Doom cartridges with 92.6 grains of Quintuple Z powder, a 118-grain hollowpoint flat tail bullet at 3,265 feet above sea level at 23 degrees Celsius and 68 percent relative humidity means absolutely nothing to me. I couldn’t care less about all those statistics. My criteria is; does the gun go boom every single time you press the trigger, is it easy to shoot, can you hit a 4″ target consistently from 15 yards and are magazine reloads easy?

The HK VP9 exceeded all my expectations. It was easy and very comfortable to shoot. The sights were easy to see and align even with old eyes like mine. I took a bucket of bullets to the range (my backyard) and after an initial lubrication proceeded to shoot 500 rounds only stopping to reload magazines. There were zero stoppages and zero malfunctions. I even purposely limp wristed the gun trying to induce a type two malfunction and had no luck at all. It just kept on ticking. I shot 115-grain ball, 115-grain HP, 115-grain HP plus ‘P’, 124-grain ball, 124-grain HP, 124-grain HP plus ‘P’, 147-grain ball and 147-grain HP plus ‘P’. It never skipped a beat and devoured every one of the rounds.

The VP9 is an impressive shooter. It’s a bit more expensive than the Glock and the S&W M&P, but I could justify the extra expense if for nothing other than the trigger. To me, the trigger is exceptional. For that matter, so is the VP9.
By Dave Douglas

Manufacturer: Heckler & Koch —
Oberndorf, Germany
Caliber: 9mm x 19
Operating Principle: Recoil-operated
Action Type: Browning-type, modified linkless locking system
Trigger System: Striker-fired
Magazine: 15-round or 10-round capacity
Length: 7.34″
Width: 1.32″
Height: 5.41″
Barrel Length: 4.09″
Sight Radius: 6.38″ (3-dot, non-radioactive luminous)
Weight: 26.56 oz.
Trigger Pull: 5.4 lbs.
Trigger Travel: 0.24″
Return Travel: 0.12″
Barrel Profile/Twist: Polygonal, 6 grooves, right-hand twist, 1 in 9.8″/ 1 in 250mm