HK VP9 at 5000 rounds and counting

by 12 Comments

After 5000 rounds, my VP9 has championed on and has maintained as a solid and reliable pistol that hasn’t ceased to impress. Though not typically thought of as a duty pistol, the VP9 holds a reputation for being sturdy and hard to beat. From my experience, this pistol can be shot without cleaning, shot until its too hot to holster, and until you cant see the target through the slide mirage. It just doesn’t die. It wears a bit, but still is quite subtle and graceful. Don’t underestimate the validity of this pistol. Its trigger is light, its action is smooth, and its aim is true. You’d be hard-pressed to beat this quality out of the box.

Drawing from the same technology as the P30, this pistol is overbuilt for the task of shooting 9mm. Its recoil takes a bit to smooth out, but with proper lubrication, and a good gun oil, it’s action will definitely run smooth in no time. I recommend lubricating the barrel contact points, the recoil guide rod, and the rail channels. Its recoil characteristics are going to be the biggest difference between this pistol, and the P30. A quality it shares with the P30 though is the chamber-step that is used to improve the seal of the cartridge in the chamber. This is (in theory) supposed to increase efficiency of powder burn and also reduce fouling in the action. I can say that it does indeed do some reducing of fouling from what I’ve experienced.

The trigger is the hotspot on this pistol and has really been the biggest draw and curiosity for a lot of folks that have seen my videos on this pistol. So how is it? It is extremely light now. Last pull I gave it, it stood at 4-4.5lb, which is actually going to feel like 2lb with a well defined wall.it is incredibly easy to shoot fast with, also. How did I go about pulling this off, you may ask? Well I simply used the pistol and shot it dry (a lot), and with a lot of ammo. And the kicker is that I never touched it with a polisher because it doesn’t need it. The trigger will smooth out even more if you just oil the friction points and springs. As wear is my witness, this pistol was only shot and oiled to get down to this trigger pull.

As for the life of the pistol, you can expect the recoil spring, for the way it was designed, to last a solid 15,000 rounds. This pistol is unaffected by +P ammo also, so feel free to practice with it. Shoot the VP9, and shoot it often. It likes a lot of range time, and if you shoot it, you will too.

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  • Jim

    Thanks Don. VP9 owners I know love them. I’ve yet to shoot one but you’ve convinced me I need to do it. HK owners seem to be loyalists, probably with good reason.

    • Don Adams (Doitrite)

      As always, shoot it before you buy it if you can. But I know of few people who don’t really like it.

  • Russ Elder

    I feel funny saying this but I like my VP9 better than my Sig MK25—–thanks as always for your help Don

    • Don Adams (Doitrite)

      I appreciate your support as always. How is your MK25 serving you anyways?

  • Joseph Goins

    Sure you did a review, but did you throw it in a creek and then at a target?

    • Don Adams (Doitrite)

      I have packed it with dirt and shot it fine, as have other people. It’s all on YouTube if you want to see it. That test Mac did was pointless and biased without any basis in reality. That being said, I don’t consider it the most reliable pistol out there.

  • Brian Gotti

    well I tell you what. I bought a VP 40cal at our local academy sports and fired maybe 3o round through the weapon and had a trigger issue. The last time I fired it I was at a range and I had ran maybe three rounds through the weapon at the third round the weapon ejected the round and chambered another round and then I pulled the trigger nothing happened. So I cleared the weapon and checked everything to make sure nothing was damaged and the barrel was clear, I dropped another mag into the weapon chambered another round and it fired, but once the weapon ejected another round it would not fire.

    So now after the weapon fires it does eject properly but I have to physically rack the slide to reset the trigger before it will fire again, so something isn’t resetting the trigger. I don’t know if the spear is out of place haven’t looked at it, I was pissed that it happened with only 30 rounds being fired and no reloads or self made rounds, Im talking federal ammunition only I use in all my weapons even my wilson combat 1911.

    I am waiting on a response from HK

    • Don Adams (Doitrite)

      They can fix that easy. Turn around time shouldn’t be too long. When they finally get back to you of course.

    • Chrisp

      I got a question for you Gotti. I had a felony conviction when I was 18 years old for burglary. That was 34 years ago, friends and I broke into a stupid pumphouse. Is there anyway I can own any kind of fire arm in New York State ?

      • Brian Gotti

        You need to check your local laws. Some states will reinstate your civil rights after you have completed your complete sentence meaning probation, any fines and restitution etc. 5-10 years after you have completed everything your civil rights will be reinstated. Now some states don’t at all do this, you could move to TX and legally own a firearm in your home now. Other states like Alaska allow felons to own firearms to hunt. The federal law pretty much backs up states laws, this is why some states says its legal to own and posses weed, but it’s still against federal law.

        There is currently laws trying to be passed where all states reinstate the rights of non violent offenders except people that’s convicted of trafficking charges or charges that caused them to travel abroad.

        The best thing to do is to get a pardon of you can, this is something attached to your record and you will be able to own, posses, or transport firearms.

  • Jim

    Don-I took a buddy of mine to the range. I rented a Glock 19 and a VP9. He is a fairly inexperienced shooter that wants to by a 9mm. He liked the VP9 better and shot it well. I shot a couple mags myself and it was a really soft shooter. Grips were very comfortable.

    • Don Adams (Doitrite)

      I’m finding that people really usually prefer the vp9 over the Glock unless they are convinced that the mag release isn’t good enough for them.

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