VP9 field strip - must pull trigger?

[Andy T]

When I want to field strip my VP9, I follow the instructions:
Clear the gun
Lock the slide back
Rotate the disassembly lever down
>>>release the slide and push it forward off the frame<<<
However, the last step the slide does NOT come off the frame unless I dry fire the pistol. I was able to disassemble it fine before,
what is going on?

Thanks!

[RJ]

I'm no expert, but I do push down, ever so slightly, on the rear of the slide, before it will come off. I've not had to press the trigger.

[Luke]

Yea with mine I had to press down ever so slightly when taking it down.

[Andy T]

Thank you all. Tom, I did some digging on HKPro and there appear to be other people having to dry fire the VP9 for disassembly.
And yes, in my case with the slide forward and the takedown lever rotated down, the gun dry fires with the striker indicator going from red.

[Andy T]

Lever up:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0A-kkanQnKmaV2C30mWfeyfFOKjedsr8keBK6oc1aMU=w1944-h1095-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wVKotT30ijfDMQHi3KH3GMtplVTe-iAHjep3kwScQg=w1944-h1095-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9H5KTwLNCDwN3vH2QnHxWy2TdHFMCjccEIX-SBni1-A=w1944-h1095-no

Lever down:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Npai9XOE9aFSTiyictWvQODI0sy3s84jBamoUhi5BBI=w1944-h1095-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/zfiyDTgm3tR3GtSszMTuPaZce7ooqqF132weFI1A2qs=w1944-h1095-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LEIUAWhiISOfr834QZ7J0jIAIs_w0r0bM4hnbj023ME=w1944-h1095-no

[Sasage]

I always had to dry fire my VP9 when I disassembled it.

[JHC]

Disassembly without dry firing is supposed to be one of the advantages of the design. Since intro it has appeared that such should be possible but varies in ease of execution across copies of the pistol. So when someone NDs one someday because its more simple and quicker to just dry fire it; does that become a hit on the design that incented the short cut or the user for screwing up? Well, both of course. Almost Glock-like that way.

[JBP55]

I always had to dry fire my VP9 when I disassembled it.


And I never had to dry fire a VP9 in order to disassemble it. Try again pressing down on the slide as you remove it from the frame.

[Andy T]

Catch down: Trigger bar moves slightly forward and covers the pin
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/t3CBPM5ODbOluWYYdjeOprxyUSKuXzgbrQuTsFDdhJA=w1693-h954-no
Catch up: Trigger bar is in back position, pin exposed
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CxAEJWHt_9vHVZEWrqDC27sSpxjlzFhdq1NwgsKZtmg=w1693-h954-no

In either case, I am able to pull the trigger and expose the "pin"

Also, now that I have the proper technique down, I no longer need to press the trigger. Simply push the slide down onto the frame.

[Dagga Boy]

I have found using a thumb to press directly down on the rear sight helps ease disassembly.

[Andy T]

Spoke to HK-USA. Was advised that dry firing the gun when the take down lever is rotated down is normal.

[Andy T]

Not sure of the person's name - this was done via the regular phone # and transferred to customer support/parts.

[RJ]

Not sure of the person's name - this was done via the regular phone # and transferred to customer support/parts.

Well that's interesting. In the Operator's Manual, Step 7.) in the "Assembly" section, they mention pushing down the rear of the slide:

"...7. Pull the slide back towards the rear. It might sometimes be necessary to push directly
down on the back of the slide where the rear sight is located, to ensure that the rails on
the rear frame insert properly engage the grooves on the bottom of the slide..."

http://hk-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/VP9-Operators-Manual-08122014.pdf

But kinda weird there is no mention of dry firing to get the slide off, though.

[RJ]

^^^ Good stuff.

Guess it depends on what they mean by "easily." :cool:

[Andy T]

Just to clarify, my question was this: Is this normal for me to be able to dry fire the pistol when the take down lever is down and slide is forward. (i.e. I just wanted to find out if they thought my pistol needed to go in for service).
Thanks for reading this post, I no longer have to dry fire. I simply push the slide down while pulling it back and then forward. This allows me to remove it with no issues.

[JBP55]

I'm sure the people at HK know more about their guns than I do, but it should not be possible to dryfire after locking the slide to the rear, rotating down the takedown lever down, and returning the slide forward because the firing pin (striker) should not have been captured by the catch (sear).

In any case, I'm glad your gun is working the way you expect it to and that HK says that it's fine. :cool:

You are absolutely correct.

[Dagga Boy]

Just to clarify, my question was this: Is this normal for me to be able to dry fire the pistol when the take down lever is down and slide is forward. (i.e. I just wanted to find out if they thought my pistol needed to go in for service).
Thanks for reading this post, I no longer have to dry fire. I simply push the slide down while pulling it back and then forward. This allows me to remove it with no issues.

Might be able to press the trigger,but it won't have a magazine in it. H&K engineered the pistol,so that you cannot have a magazine in the gun during the disassembly/assembly process. This is in response to how many negligent discharges seem to occur during the "cleaning" process.

[BobLoblaw]

The only way to load the striker spring after turning the disassembly lever down (at least IME), is to rack the slide while holding the trigger to the rear of the trigger guard (aka riding the reset).

[WOLFIE]

I apologize for posting in an old thread. I looked this thread up because i attempted to field strip a brand new VP9 and had trouble. I could not get the slide off the frame and did not want to use force. I locked the slide back, rotated the takedown lever, and eased the slide forward. At this point, i had trouble. The red striker was visible in the back of the slide. I then read this thread and thought "oh no .... is my gun broken?"

Thank you Tom for your explanation of how the mechanics work. I love the technical explanations that this forum has to offer. My gun is brand new and it is easy to see the pin protuding from the catch / sear. I think i discovered something relevant:
After the slide is locked to the rear and the lever is rotated, if i push down on the slide as i ease it forward, the red striker indicater does NOT protrude. If i do not push down on the slide as it is allowed to go forward, the indicater may or may not appear. If it does not appear, i can remove the slide by pushing down on the rear sight. I sincerely hope this helps in understanding the mechanics which i still do not fully understand.

[SsevenN]

I think i discovered something relevant:
After the slide is locked to the rear and the lever is rotated, if i push down on the slide as i ease it forward, the red striker indicater does NOT protrude. If i do not push down on the slide as it is allowed to go forward, the indicater may or may not appear.

I'm going to zombie this thread as well, sorry, but wanted to add my voice in case anyone else is searching the web for an answer to this. My experience is the same as yours, wolfie, first dozen or so times I took the gun down, didn't have to pull the trigger, just this morning, field stripping it, ended up having to pull the trigger, repeated the process, same thing. Searched the web, found this thread and then your post and was able to reproduce the more or less exact conditions as quoted.

[WOLFIE]

I'm going to zombie this thread as well, sorry, but wanted to add my voice in case anyone else is searching the web for an answer to this. My experience is the same as yours, wolfie, first dozen or so times I took the gun down, didn't have to pull the trigger, just this morning, field stripping it, ended up having to pull the trigger, repeated the process, same thing. Searched the web, found this thread and then your post and was able to reproduce the more or less exact conditions as quoted.

I am very glad to help if I did.