Hounddog
08-11-2017, 02:45 AM
Picked up a new H&K VP9 to add to my stable. I've been wanting a 9mm range toy to take out when I go plinking and was looking at various pistols. Having owned Glocks in the past I enjoyed their durability and simplicity but could never warm up to the grip angle or the blocky-ness. I always sold them off and moved on to other platforms such as the M&P and CZ75. After looking at several different polymer framed guns I managed to get my paws on the VP9 by H&K. The ergos on this gun are excellent and it comes with 3 different interchangeable palm swells and 3 sets of side panels on the grip also, so you can really get it to fit your grip perfectly. The striker fired trigger is great from the factory. It has very little uptake and breaks cleanly. The reset is audible and short. Overall this gun points very easily and shoots well right out of the box. The sights are good solid metal and very visible. The grip texture is good and I didn't have any issues with slippage. I opted for the dark green frame but it can be bought with a gray, fde, or black frame. It came with 3 15 round mags and H&K is offering a promo for 4 extra mags through an online application.
I took the VP9 out to the range and ran some lead through it. The flavors of choice were lee 120 grn tc tumble lube bullets under 5.6 grains of longshot and some 120 grain Lee tc bullets that I powdercoated with harbor freight matte black under 4.7 grains of 800x. Both bullets shot great and grouped well at 25 feet. I had a few of the powder coated rounds fail to feed all the way into the chamber due to being loaded a hair longer than the tumble lube boolits. I was able to bump the slide with my hand and get them to chamber. The throat is very tight on these guns so you will need to load a little shorter to get them to run 100%. These bullets were sized at .357 and fit perfectly and only had a hint of lead with the tumble lube and just powder fowling with the powder coated variants. The barrel has polygonal rifling similar to a Glock so it cleaned up quickly with a bronze brush and a couple solvent patches.
This is an awesome firearm. I only had a few gripes. First the mags have some hard edges near the feed which got my fingers raw from loading by the end of the session. I'm sure some careful stoning of the edges or use of the provided loader would allieviate this. Second the slide only locked back after the last round maybe 20% of the time. Not sure this is normal or will cease after more break in, but not a huge issue.
Overall, I'm blown away with this gun. The gun runs great, feels great, and shoots great. One thing that impressed me the most was how consistent this thing ejects brass. All cases were dropped within a foot or two of where I was shooting in a neat little pile. This was the first gun that I didn't have to hunt for my brass. It was all there within a two foot radius. I was truly impressed. If you are looking for a polymer carry piece or just a range toy get your hands on one and take it for a spin. It's built every bit as good as a Glock but for me feels better. It will shoot lead so don't hesitate to feed it the good stuff.
Hounddog
I took the VP9 out to the range and ran some lead through it. The flavors of choice were lee 120 grn tc tumble lube bullets under 5.6 grains of longshot and some 120 grain Lee tc bullets that I powdercoated with harbor freight matte black under 4.7 grains of 800x. Both bullets shot great and grouped well at 25 feet. I had a few of the powder coated rounds fail to feed all the way into the chamber due to being loaded a hair longer than the tumble lube boolits. I was able to bump the slide with my hand and get them to chamber. The throat is very tight on these guns so you will need to load a little shorter to get them to run 100%. These bullets were sized at .357 and fit perfectly and only had a hint of lead with the tumble lube and just powder fowling with the powder coated variants. The barrel has polygonal rifling similar to a Glock so it cleaned up quickly with a bronze brush and a couple solvent patches.
This is an awesome firearm. I only had a few gripes. First the mags have some hard edges near the feed which got my fingers raw from loading by the end of the session. I'm sure some careful stoning of the edges or use of the provided loader would allieviate this. Second the slide only locked back after the last round maybe 20% of the time. Not sure this is normal or will cease after more break in, but not a huge issue.
Overall, I'm blown away with this gun. The gun runs great, feels great, and shoots great. One thing that impressed me the most was how consistent this thing ejects brass. All cases were dropped within a foot or two of where I was shooting in a neat little pile. This was the first gun that I didn't have to hunt for my brass. It was all there within a two foot radius. I was truly impressed. If you are looking for a polymer carry piece or just a range toy get your hands on one and take it for a spin. It's built every bit as good as a Glock but for me feels better. It will shoot lead so don't hesitate to feed it the good stuff.
Hounddog