Tag Archives: HK VP9

Der Volkspistole 9L OR

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In 2014, Heckler und Koch finally delivered a polymer-framed handgun to the market– the Volkspistole in its VP9 9x19mm and VP40 .40S&W variants– that actually felt good.

Don’t get me wrong, HK literally invented the plastic pistol with the VP70 back in the Disco-era, and moved into the USP in 1993, the P2000 (in 2001) and the P30 (2006), all of which were ergonomically uber blocky.

The standard VP9 first came out in 2014

The VP9, just in the past six years, has seen an increasingly on-point series of updates and was recently adopted by the Japanese military, who have been using alloy-framed SIG P220s for the past 40 years.

This month HK released their newest update to the VP9, the longslide optic-ready model, or VP9L OR, complete with 20-round magazines.

And it is beautiful.

More in my column at Guns.com.

HK & Howa team up to take on Godzilla, or China, whichever comes first

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The Japanese military on Monday released the details of their first new small arms since the 1980s: a new Howa modular rifle and a variant of the Heckler Koch VP9.

The Japanese Ground Self Defense Force, the country’s army, debuted what will be termed the Type 20 5.56 rifle and the SPF 9mm pistol in future use.

More in my column at Guns.com.

HK VP9 Gets Some Upgrades for 2020

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Heckler & Koch this year has a host of subtle changes coming to their popular VP9 pistol line including several important upgrades.

Perhaps the most welcome of the changes is an updated 17-round flush-fit magazine, up from the long-standard 15-round capacity mags. There is also a new sight configuration– which includes a high-visibility front sight and a “clean” black serrated rear– and an optics-ready cut for mini reflex sight.

Because everyone loves optics on pistols these days. (Photo: HK)

To squeeze an extra two rounds into the standard VP9 mag, HK updated the follower, spring, and floorplate. Plus, they are optics-ready now, so bonus added. (Photo: HK)

More in my column at Guns.com. 

 

Way to fish or cut bait, HK

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I love weird German pistols. There, I said it. A large part of my handgun collection are oddball Teutonic gatts to include a Lignose Einhandpistole 2A, an Ortgies (Bananafish!), a 1920 Mauser M1914 and others. Even in newer guns, such as the Walther P38 and Sig P-series, I find myself gravitating to the more curious P4 and P6 variants as they are…well..different.

And that’s the thing with HK’s Volkspistole VP9 series 9mm. While Heckler und Koch has brought out a number of different finishes (midnight bronze?) and even size variants (VP9SK, anyone?) of this polymer-framed striker-fired pistol designed by Herr Henninger over the past four years, they have all had the same funky Euro paddle-style magazine release.

Well, until now.

After teasing a push-button release for the U.S. market for over 18 months, HK finally gave the Volks what they vant and dropped this bad boy last week:

Guess I can’t love it anymore by that logic. But maybe I will as I see they are running about $550ish at retailers already.

More in my column at Guns.com

HK introduces their new VP9 striker fired polymer framed pistol– that we can afford

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In a shooting world where the word “polymer” brings quick images of “Glock,” it’s easy to forget that the first viable commercial polymer pistol was actually made by Heckler and Koch (HK). Well now it seems like they have moved on to their fourth gen offering in combat tupperware, and you may just be able to buy this one.

In the late 1960s, firearms engineers at HK came up with a gun that was to be a cheap Volks Pistole (or People’s Pistol) that could be issued to West German police and military. A simple blowback gun, it used high impact advanced plastics for its frame and was known as the VP70 when placed into production. (However, in an installment of good-old-fashioned American know-how, keep in mind that the first polymer framed firearm was the Remington Nylon 66, designed in 1959, but it was a .22 rifle, not a 9mm pistol).

However the VP70 never really caught on and, when that gun went out of production in 1989, HK started its design on a gun called the USP (Universale Selbstladepistole or “universal self-loading pistol”), which is still in production today as the company’s principal hammer-fired polymer framed gun, augmented by their P2000 variant which could be considered HKs gen 2.5 model.

The third gen of HK polymer is the super-advanced P30, which is arguably at the top of the food chain as far as these types of guns go– but it’s kinda expensive at around $1200.

Now it seems that the company has produced its 4th generation of polymer pistols– and they have gone back to being striker-fired.

HK VP9
Read the rest in my column at Firearms talk