HK USP 45 field pistol

[MickAK]

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/09...ving-his-life/

This is a pretty good example of why a smaller caliber pistol in a chest rig beats a slung shotgun.

[entropy]

...some testicular fortitude goin’ on right there....

[GJM]

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/09...ving-his-life/

This is a pretty good example of why a smaller caliber pistol in a chest rig beats a slung shotgun.

Great outcome! I am in favor of a shotgun in your hands and a pistol on your person.

[MickAK]

Great outcome! I am in favor of a shotgun in your hands and a pistol on your person. :p

I would have a really tough time hiking along a salmon stream on Chichagof with a shotgun in my hands, but it would certainly make me feel better if I could. That's pretty thick country.

[OlongJohnson]

It's not USP ammo, but Bud's has Brenneke KOs back in stock as of today:

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_...s_id=713073185

[MGW]

I was talking to a friend yesterday about field guns. The best option I could come up with after considering everything is an HK45C. It carries easy, is super reliable, lots of ammo options, built like a tank, won’t rust easily. My only complaints the DA trigger isn’t that great and the safety is less than optimal for SAO carry. I think I’m going to find another one and go down the LEM rabbit hole again.

[GJM]

I was talking to a friend yesterday about field guns. The best option I could come up with after considering everything is an HK45C. It carries easy, is super reliable, lots of ammo options, built like a tank, won’t rust easily. My only complaints the DA trigger isn’t that great and the safety is less than optimal for SAO carry. I think I’m going to find another one and go down the LEM rabbit hole again.

Between my wife and I, I think we have eight, so obviously we like them. All have been converted to LEM. We use the Underwood Lehigh 45+P or 45 Super Penetrator load in them, or Hornady Critical Duty for a soft point load. I feel like the ten round magazines make them easier to shoot well, at the cost of being less concealable. They fit into P30 ALS and most other holsters. With a threaded barrel, you can get more velocity, while staying pretty compact in size.

[GJM]

After a summer of wandering around bears in he west and Alaska, I wanted to update some equipment notes and also provide my latest thoughts on the field pistol concept.

First, here is what I want a field pistol to be capable of doing. It should work for general defense on the way to the trail. It should give you a reasonable ability to deter an attack by a bear, wolf or other animal in the field. Ideally, it would allow you to reach out and shoot a coyote sized target to 100 yards or a little more. It should work in inclement weather, and be conducive to carry in concealed and open holsters. Think AIWB, Safariland ALS, Kenai chest rig, Hill People chest pack. It should be able to launch a bullet that has a reasonable chance of penetrating the skull of a bear. More capacity is a plus.

Here is how I plan to use a field pistol in the event of a bear attack. Assuming time available, shot one is a warning shot, on the theory that a shot that turns an animal is your most effective shot. Shot two is anywhere center of bear, indicating to the bear that you are not an easy target, and that you have the ability to inflict pain. Assuming shots one and two are ineffective, I would plan to try to penetrate the brain. I value reliability the most, since a stoppage takes away your options. After reliability, being able to quickly place an accurate shot and having something penetrative are both important. Fortunately most attacks stop before you have to penetrate the brain, which is why handguns work so well in bear attacks.

Now some equipment notes. I recently had my Gen 4 Glock 20 at the range. It shoots .40 S&W power level 10mm loads like 180/200 XTP reliably. However, shooting Underwood Lehigh Penetrator, I had a stoppage in my first 15 rounds, where the slide locked back with cartridges in the magazine. This is literally the first Underwood Lehigh stoppage I have had in any platform, in any caliber. Every time I give Glock 10mm pistols another try, I am disappointed, and I think I am going to make them all go down the road.

I recently shot two HK45C pistols with .45 Super Underwood Lehigh Penetrator 45 Super ammo and Hornady Critical Duty. As always, they just run. However, I find the HK45C significantly harder to shoot than the USP FS 45 with Super ammo. The USP FS, in the form of the match hybrid LEM trigger, is the best trigger I have felt in any HK hammer gun. One thing I have noticed is that the magazines in the USP FS 45 are shorter front to back than the HK45C. With Hornady Critical Duty +P ammo in the USP FS, the cartridges seem a bit long, and by hand I worry that their length could cause a reliability issue. Winchester 230 +P Ranger, for example, is not as long and seems fine. TH Underwood Lehigh also also good.

I understand that bear defense is not a match, and that the shooting gets easier with every shot. However, I spend so much time training with a red dot, I am just more comfortable with a dot. I hope to explore Wright Armory installing an Acro on a USP FS after Default gets his latest project completed by them. For now, I have been carrying a Glock 19 with an Acro and Penetrator loads, with the USP FS and iron sights as plan B. I also plan to try a Gen 5 23 MOS with an Acro and Penetrator ammo, to evaluate how that does.

Best practice is always a semi auto shotgun in your hands h Brenneke slugs. The handgun backs up the shotgun.

[Lester Polfus]

Now some equipment notes. I recently had my Gen 4 Glock 20 at the range. It shoots .40 S&W power level 10mm loads like 180/200 XTP reliably. However, shooting Underwood Lehigh Penetrator, I had a stoppage in my first 15 rounds, where the slide locked back with cartridges in the magazine. This is literally the first Underwood Lehigh stoppage I have had in any platform, in any caliber. Every time I give Glock 10mm pistols another try, I am disappointed, and I think I am going to make them all go down the road.

For me, the Glock 20 is like the girl that looks great and sounds great on paper, that I've dated and broken up with three times, and a couple of my buddies dated with similar disastrous endings.

At some point I had to just tell myself "it isn't going to be different if I try it again."

[Clusterfrack]

@GJM, adding a 24# recoil spring, heavy mag springs, and mag shims is the only way I've been able to eliminate malfunctions with full power loads of any bullet profile in my G20.