Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11

Thread: Help with USP40 shopping list, Variant 4 to Variant 1 conversion and maintenance

  1. #1

    Help with USP40 shopping list, Variant 4 to Variant 1 conversion and maintenance

    Picked up a variant 4 (right sided lever, decocker only, no safety) USP 40.

    Felt like it was decent deal for what it was. It's used, AI (2008) date code. I am going to make a little project out of it.

    I'd like to:

    1: Convert to Variant 1 (decocker, safety, lever on left side). If it saved a ton of expense to make it lever on left side decocker only, I'd consider it. I don't really care about cocked and locked, but don't mind the safety and could use it for admin functions if I had it.

    2: Wouldn't mind doing some maintenance. Will probably do TRS and recoil spring, anything else?

    3: Wouldn't mind cleaning up, lightening the trigger a little. Won't be a competition gun, and I want it to light anything, but it is going to get stripped and get new springs anyway...

    4: Sights, it has some kind of steel night sites now (probably factory) and I am just going to leave them alone for now and see how it shoots. I would like to hear of sight combos that shoot more to the tip of front sight though. If anyone has suggestions I'd like to have them and I'll refer back to the thread if change them out down the road.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by bofe954 View Post
    Picked up a variant 4 (right sided lever, decocker only, no safety) USP 40.

    Felt like it was decent deal for what it was. It's used, AI (2008) date code. I am going to make a little project out of it.

    I'd like to:

    1: Convert to Variant 1 (decocker, safety, lever on left side). If it saved a ton of expense to make it lever on left side decocker only, I'd consider it. I don't really care about cocked and locked, but don't mind the safety and could use it for admin functions if I had it.

    2: Wouldn't mind doing some maintenance. Will probably do TRS and recoil spring, anything else?

    3: Wouldn't mind cleaning up, lightening the trigger a little. Won't be a competition gun, and I want it to light anything, but it is going to get stripped and get new springs anyway...

    4: Sights, it has some kind of steel night sites now (probably factory) and I am just going to leave them alone for now and see how it shoots. I would like to hear of sight combos that shoot more to the tip of front sight though. If anyone has suggestions I'd like to have them and I'll refer back to the thread if change them out down the road.
    1. The decocker only plate is pretty cheap if I remember.

    2/3. Mainspring is a big player in DA trigger weight. It also should be replaced as part of a spring rebuild anyway. Also, the firing pin spring should be changed, and you can lighten the pull with the firing pin safety spring.

    4. HK factory front sights are too fat for my taste, but they work well enough.

  3. #3
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    ABQ, NM
    I'm personally a big fan of the decocker-only V3 myself, but I'm very curious about the so-called 'Match Hybrid LEM' which uses an LEM trigger kit and USP Match trigger components to end up with a very light LEM.
    The USP Match trigger kit is absolutely fantastic if you're keeping the gun DA/SA and IMHO worth every penny.

    Sights, friends I trust and other folks I've spoken to all swear on Trijicons so I'm planning on going that route with my own USP40 project folly once I get back to the US.

    No matter what you have in mind, though, Top Gun Supply has everything you need:
    https://www.topgunsupply.com/gun-parts/hk-parts.html

  4. #4
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    "carbine-infested rural (and suburban) areas"
    Buy your parts from https://us.hkwebshop.com/ . It will be much cheaper than any reseller, and the shipping isn't bad. I don't think you will, but if you need a part number that doesn't come up on the search, just call them and they'll get you squared away.

    I don't have time right now to be OCD and look up all the part numbers and links for this post, but it's easy. Brownell's or google work.

    At the bare minimum, you need a left-side control lever. I prefer the decocker-only, which is the detent plate you have. You might consider whether having a lever marked to indicate a safety function is present when one is not present is a good idea, and select parts accordingly.

    You may be able to find someone who has installed one or more LEM kits and has the V1 lever and detent plate sitting around and will sell them cheap, but most peoples' ideas of what their spare parts should be worth is likely to be based on hkparts.net usurious pricing rather than https://us.hkwebshop.com/ what-it-should-cost pricing.

    As noted, do all the springs. Find the most-recent version of the spring chart and pick the ones you want. Use a nickel sear spring for sure, as it's better in multiple ways beyond just being a little lighter. Rebuilding a recoil spring assembly is pretty doable if it is for you. JRB would have no problem with it, I didn't when I did it. But the non-spring component does wear. Inspect yours, and if the guide rod has a noticeable amount of wear/peening on it, it's probably better to just buy a complete assembly. HK says the longer spring needs changing only every 20-25k rounds, and the shorter one as needed (if I recall correctly - I posted about it sometime last year when the conversation was fresh).

    There are how-tos around for detail stripping and for smoothing the parts. I don't follow them exactly, as I have acquired my own tools and techniques for that kind of work. Importantly, no rotary tool, such as a Dremel, has any place there. But the online guides are useful for getting oriented. Some of the pieces are a little fiddly, but none of it is difficult. There are no press fits (well, the sear spring snaps into place, and the mag catch has a slight interference fit with its roll pin if you mess with it, but you don't need to), you just have to get the sequence right. (This is my experience as someone who has rebuilt manual transmissions and engines, and is not universally shared.)

    It is recommended to get the trigger return spring pliers, though not totally necessary. I like to dress the ends of the TRS legs with a stone so they slide across the plastic, rather than digging in and carving a groove, when installing it. Just be hyper-careful not to scratch the coils, or it will break prematurely at the scratch.

    The big expenses in the Match kit are the overtravel stop trigger and the hammer. The overtravel stop is a bad idea for a defensive gun. The hammer differs from the standard hammer only in the cut of the SA notch; it will give a shorter creep and maybe slightly lighter press in SA, but will do nothing for the DA. The Match kit overall is officially not recommended for defensive guns. The rest of the Match kit is just a few springs that are available separately and inexpensively. Anything the Match kit does to improve the DA will be done by those springs. (See the spring chart.)
    Last edited by OlongJohnson; 02-18-2020 at 09:43 AM.
    .
    -----------------------------------------
    Not another dime.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    Buy your parts from https://us.hkwebshop.com/ . It will be much cheaper than any reseller, and the shipping isn't bad. I don't think you will, but if you need a part number that doesn't come up on the search, just call them and they'll get you squared away.

    I don't have time right now to be OCD and look up all the part numbers and links for this post, but it's easy. Brownell's or google work.

    At the bare minimum, you need a left-side control lever. I prefer the decocker-only, which is the detent plate you have. You might consider whether having a lever marked to indicate a safety function is present when one is not present is a good idea, and select parts accordingly.

    You may be able to find someone who has installed one or more LEM kits and has the V1 lever and detent plate sitting around and will sell them cheap, but most peoples' ideas of what their spare parts should be worth is likely to be based on hkparts.net usurious pricing rather than https://us.hkwebshop.com/ what-it-should-cost pricing.

    As noted, do all the springs. Find the most-recent version of the spring chart and pick the ones you want. Use a nickel sear spring for sure, as it's better in multiple ways beyond just being a little lighter. Rebuilding a recoil spring assembly is pretty doable if it is for you. JRB would have no problem with it, I didn't when I did it. But the non-spring component does wear. Inspect yours, and if the guide rod has a noticeable amount of wear/peening on it, it's probably better to just buy a complete assembly. HK says the longer spring needs changing only every 20-25k rounds, and the shorter one as needed (if I recall correctly - I posted about it sometime last year when the conversation was fresh).

    There are how-tos around for detail stripping and for smoothing the parts. I don't follow them exactly, as I have acquired my own tools and techniques for that kind of work. Importantly, no rotary tool, such as a Dremel, has any place there. But the online guides are useful for getting oriented. Some of the pieces are a little fiddly, but none of it is difficult. There are no press fits (well, the sear spring snaps into place, and the mag catch has a slight interference fit with its roll pin if you mess with it, but you don't need to), you just have to get the sequence right. (This is my experience as someone who has rebuilt manual transmissions and engines, and is not universally shared.)

    It is recommended to get the trigger return spring pliers, though not totally necessary. I like to dress the ends of the TRS legs with a stone so they slide across the plastic, rather than digging in and carving a groove, when installing it. Just be hyper-careful not to scratch the coils, or it will break prematurely at the scratch.

    The big expenses in the Match kit are the overtravel stop trigger and the hammer. The overtravel stop is a bad idea for a defensive gun. The hammer differs from the standard hammer only in the cut of the SA notch; it will give a shorter creep and maybe slightly lighter press in SA, but will do nothing for the DA. The Match kit overall is officially not recommended for defensive guns. The rest of the Match kit is just a few springs that are available separately and inexpensively. Anything the Match kit does to improve the DA will be done by those springs. (See the spring chart.)
    That's helpful. I was debating the match kit, now I'll just focus on the springs. The SA is fine with me as it is. Really the DA isn't bad either, it just feels like it stacks a little and I am guess it is the firing pin block spring. I have the TRS pliers. I'm a CZ Shadow shooter so replacing TRS's is familiar.

  6. #6
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    "carbine-infested rural (and suburban) areas"
    Review the spring chart. Off the top of my head, I think the V1-V4 FPB spring is the same as the Match. At least the HKPart.net Match kit doesn't list the FPB spring. The nickel sear spring will reduce stacking some, in addition to being more corrosion resistant and properly deburred after stamping.

    The heart of the suck in the DA is actually the combination of the hammer and hammer axle. They are both raw, out of the mold MIM parts, so it's kinda like two cobblestone streets rubbing against each other. There are additional issues; there's more to solving the problem than just making them smoother. I haven't validated a solution yet, but I'm working on it.
    .
    -----------------------------------------
    Not another dime.

  7. #7
    Here is where I am at with what I can find on HKwebshop so far. Will have to call to get the recoil spring numbers after I check out my assembly. At $54.00 so far, plus whatever they want for shipping and the recoil stuff.

    Hammer Spring
    50214300
    In Stock
    $3.00

    USP full size control lever for Variants 1, 5, and 9
    214184
    In Stock
    $28.00

    USP full size variant 1 & 2 detent plate
    214099
    In Stock
    $3.00

    USP/HK45 Firing pin block spring
    50209296
    In Stock
    $3.00

    Nickel Flat Spring
    215691
    In Stock
    $5.00


    USP Extractor Spring
    214188
    $3.00

    HK45/USP Trigger Return Spring
    50214164
    In Stock
    $3.00

    HK45/USP Firing Pin Spring
    50214190
    In Stock
    $3.00

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    Review the spring chart. Off the top of my head, I think the V1-V4 FPB spring is the same as the Match. At least the HKPart.net Match kit doesn't list the FPB spring. The nickel sear spring will reduce stacking some, in addition to being more corrosion resistant and properly deburred after stamping.

    The heart of the suck in the DA is actually the combination of the hammer and hammer axle. They are both raw, out of the mold MIM parts, so it's kinda like two cobblestone streets rubbing against each other. There are additional issues; there's more to solving the problem than just making them smoother. I haven't validated a solution yet, but I'm working on it.
    It looks like you're right about the FPB spring. I could go lighter TRS but I'm not sure I want to. In revolvers I'm not a fan, have never tried the lighter ones in a DA/SA semiauto.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    "carbine-infested rural (and suburban) areas"
    I like the LEM light TRS (heavier than V1 standard) with all the other Match springs so far.

    In the gun I have set up as LEM Match hybrid, I'm doing a TLG-like setup with a LEM heavy TRS. Like it pretty well, but I like a smooth DAO just fine.

    For that price, it's probably worth posting up on HKPro to see if anyone has a pile of V1 control levers taking up space that and will get rid of one for cheap.

    Also, I believe the Compact control levers work just fine in a FS frame. They just stick out about a tenth of an inch less from the side of the frame. If you're only planning to use the safety administratively, it might be worth considering the slimline option. If I was going to be running the safety on and off in a "cocked and locked" operating method (or wearing thick gloves), I'd want the bigger one.
    .
    -----------------------------------------
    Not another dime.

  10. #10
    Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Minnesota
    Also HK45/HK45C control levers will fit in a USP, but the inside of the lever at the front needs to be relieved so it'll swipe up/down over the curve in the USP's grip in that area. If you buy one, you'll see what I mean.

    It's slightly more ergonomic/better shaped than the factory USP safety lever, if you care about that kind of thing.

    Lazy Wolf makes/sells an 11lb hammer spring. The HK factory Match hammer spring is roughly 11lb. Sometimes the Match hammer spring is difficult to find...the Lazy Wolf spring is at HKParts and pretty inexpensive. I'd highly recommend one of those two springs. The blue hammer spring from the factory is supposedly 12lb but it doesn't feel like it IMO. I think it's actually closer to 14, but that's just my opinion. The USP already comes with the lightest factory firing pin block spring...I'm sure Lazy Wolf or someone else makes/sells a lighter one. On my particular examples, most of the stacking seems to be from the hammer spring on the strut. It's just not very smooth. I'm sure there's some from the firing pin block as well, but it doesn't seem to be the bulk of it...at least on my guns anyway.

    Newer guns, again at least mine, the hammer isn't that far from a Match hammer. I have an AA USP 45 that had significant creep in SA; a Match hammer cleaned that right up. I have two BD coded USPs, one in 40 and one in 9, and there's sliiiightly more creep in them than there is on the Match hammered gun, but not nearly as much as that 45 had before I swapped hammers out. I put Match hammer springs in them but didn't bother with sourcing the hammers; I didn't feel the expense worth it. I kept the other springs, including the sear spring, stock. After some dry fire I really couldn't tell any difference between the nickel spring and the factory parked spring but again, that's just me. If I were in a humid/salt water environment, I'd spring for the nickel spring without hesitation. It's not expensive, I just didn't feel it necessary in mine.

    Edited to add - best place I've found for mags is Cross Creek Guns. Almost always the least expensive option out there for most HK mags, barring CDNN running a sale. And Top Gun Supply is a great supplier of in-stock Milt Sparks leather for the USP.

    Further edit - Sights, the best I've found for me is a set of Heinie's. They only sell Slantpros for these, which is disappointing but the sight picture is IMO great. I have a set on my 40 and I have a set of Trijicon HDs on the 9, and while the HDs are ok...they're also huge. You're not doing any kind of fine shooting with them (it obscures a 2" circle at 25 feet, and it's a shoot-through-the-dot hold at least on my gun). I'll be replacing them with a set of Heinies when I get around to buying another set. My USP45 wears a Heinie suppressor height set (I usually shoot it with a can) and again, worth the money IMO. Dawson of course makes a sight set for them, and there's a few others. The factory sights are serviceable but they can be improved upon.
    Last edited by Evil_Ed; 02-20-2020 at 04:10 AM. Reason: add mag source

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •