Over the weekend I had the chance to handle an HK P7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_P7) I found it to be quite strange and I was wondering who else has played with this gun and what you think.
Over the weekend I had the chance to handle an HK P7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_P7) I found it to be quite strange and I was wondering who else has played with this gun and what you think.
It used to be my ultimate dream gun; I've owned two P7M8s. I had to sell the first one due to a financial crisis after my motorcycle wreck back in '00 and I cried like a pet had died, which is messed up in retrospect.
Holsters, mags, and accessories are scarce. They get blistering hot from all the gas being vented into the frame above the trigger guard if you shoot the way folks around here do, and the little plastic "heat shield" on the M8/M13 is a joke. They are packed full of itty-bitty toaster parts.
They're reliable and mechanically accurate, but so are lots of other guns.
The main thing is that they are scarce, unusual, expensive, and still carry that 1337 HK vibe. If they were chambered in .41AE or .357SIG, they'd be the perfect gun hipster gun. "Do you know what kind of pistol I'm carrying? Never mind, it's pretty obscure; you've probably never heard of it anyway..."
For the kind of person who carries a gun to make a statement, a P7M13 makes a statement better than anything this side of a $3k custom 1911 or a Mk23. On the upside, you get to post at a web forum called the "Cult of the P7", where coolness is measured by the funkiness of the finish on your gun and the number of spare mags you own, rather than the number of rounds you've put through it.
OBLIGATORY GUN SNOB OLEG VOLK BEAUTY SHOT OF MY OLD P7M8 WITH >$1500 POCKET KNIFE:
Last edited by Tamara; 03-11-2013 at 08:13 AM.
I have a buddy who loves P7s and subsequently have had a lot of trigger time on them. He still has the first P7M13 he purchased 10-12 years ago and has basically used/abused/tried to kill it with no luck...it just keeps going. They seem to be accurate, reliable, and due to the squeeze-cock (phrasing!) action the triggers are very nice. The weight of the gun and low bore axis also makes them shoot soft. My only complaints: they get hot after longer strings of fire(don't have any illusions of the little plastic guard thing helping with this) and the heavy frame-shorter barrel/slide makes them a little awkward to carry as they tend to not be as stable in holsters.
One of the most interesting and innovative handguns ever designed...and one I have a particular attraction to.Originally Posted by Silvershadow
Because of the design, the pistol heats up like a soldering iron if you shoot it a lot. By "a lot" I mean more than a box or two of ammo in short order and it gets uncomfortable to hold. Some years ago I was in a course with a gentleman who carried a P7M13, the double-stack variant of the pistol. He had three of them with him, and while most of us were reloading magazines he was cycling through pistols. He had to in order to keep up with the tempo of the course.
They have, generally speaking, amazing triggers and outstanding mechanical accuracy.
Extremely low bore axis will sometimes bite larger mammals like myself, although not as reliably as Glocks.
They're probably one of the most expensive handguns ever produced, which is one reason why they were discontinued. The weapons themselves are stupid expensive thanks to avid HK collectors. Spare magazines for the high-capacity models are stupid, stupid expensive.
Being all steel guns, they tend to be quite heavy for their size...but their compact size is great as a weapon for concealment.
For someone who has unlimited resources, getting a few P7M13's and a sizeable quantity of spare magazines would leave them with a very nice, compact, reliable brace of pistols they could carry and take through a class. For the person on a limited budget and looking for a carry piece, the P7 family of pistols is a terrible idea.
You know me and the stupid lengths I'm willing to go to get my hands on a gun I have the hots for...and yet I have no P7's. This, as Ken Hackathorn is fond of saying, is a clue.
Once I hit the lotto all bets are off.
Last edited by TCinVA; 03-11-2013 at 07:50 AM.
3/15/2016
The one HK that I want more than my P30 and P2000sk. For some odd reason whenever I shoot them or find them at a gun store I want it. Then I give it a week and I am still thinking about it. It is like my SW3913, great little gun that people want and will pay a premium to get and when you get it you do not want to give it up no matter if it is going into the safe.
I still want one because it is that good. Carrying it you would need a good suspemsion system they are a little on the buff side.
I used to shoot with several guys who used P-7's to great effect, IDPA, USPSA and for carry. Most of them had several due to the heating effect as already discussed. But P-7's also break and parts are hard to find. By the time I left the area all of them had stopped using them as game and training guns. Now using Glocks or 1911's.
I always wanted one, still do. I want a SIG P-210 too but unless I win the lottery....
I'm glad that FredM had one, so I could shoot a mag or two through it - and hand it back.
I had my local gunshop order me a P7 back in the late '90's; expecting a P7M8, I actually ended up with one of the last production revised P7 PSPs-just dumb luck, no foresight on my part. What I DID have the foresight to do was order it with enough magazines....
In some respects, it certainly was a great gun-beautiful trigger, exceptionally flat, slim profile, reliability, excellent sights, easy take-down, superb accuracy. But then there was the very odd weight displacement, making comfortable holstering exceptionally difficult-I has a Kramer 1 1/2 horsehide IWB made up for it, but it just never felt "right" in carrying. There was the excessive heat build up issue others have mentioned-but frankly, that was more of a gun-game/recreational/hard training issue, not really a defensive use issue-but it still was a bit of an irritating idiosyncrisity. Parts/magazine availability and expense is another negative factor, and will only worsen over time due to its discontinuation.
Probably the most serious issue I had was its manual of arms. I was efficient, but so unique that if you were carrying a P7 for serious use, you really in my opinion needed to make it almost your sole defensive firearm to build up the unique muscle memories needed. The killer for me was an accidental, but still in retrospect negligent discharge I had after cleaning and re-loading for carry use. I wasn't ready to make it my sole "serious" gun, and that caught me. Beautiful gun, aesthetically and mechanically, but I sold it to a friend who to this day cherishes it.
And yes, back in that day I also had a Walther P5, P88 and a SIG P-210-6...
Best, Jon
I actually have a scar on the middle finger of my right hand from a P7m13 burn. Probably my favorite handgun ever but as others stated they carry oddly due to the short muzzle / heavy butt. If I won the lottery I'd get a tactical version of this made. Then I'd bribe Spencer to make me a keepers for it. If I won A LOT of money I'd get HK to make a polymer version.
J.M. Johnston
Host of Ballistic Radio - Sundays at 7:00 PM EST on Cincinnati's 55KRC THE Talk Station, available on iHeartRadio
I've spent an embarrassing amount of time looking at P210's on Gunbroker.
3/15/2016
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