Just different I guess.  

The P30 has a more robust ambi slide release and the texture of the frame just felt better on the P30...but in terms of ergonomics the VP9 feels great.  If the P30 and VP9 were priced the same I think the P30 fit and finish "feels" like a better gun, but the VP9 is easily a close runner up.  Too me the VP9 felt like a Walther PPQ and I like the PPQ.    Lastly, it is worth keeping in mind that HK is not really known for making affordable guns; trust me I am a total Heckler and "Koch Head" and have spent a small fortune on their products...so I applaud HK for making a firearm which will increase their exposure to the American market; and do so but not going REALLY low cost like the Walther PPX.

I have an original HK VP70 so anything will feel better than that

I just hope they didn't "Cut any corners" by making this "affordable" I'm a big HK fan myself, and one thing that makes me one is their "No Compromise" attitude so to speak...maybe its all a marketing scheme and Im a sucker, but I really do think they make some of the best quality pistols, without including custom pistols in the mix

We most likely do, I haven't met the guy personally, yet.

If I didn't already put a Glock 41 on layway, I would be all over this one. It might be a Christmas present to myself though.

LAV posted a nice pre-fire review, he said the trigger was slightly different than the PPQ but he said he liked the HK better. Nice to hear from him because he's always raved about the PPQ

is the slide harder to rack than p30? i hope all gun makers can post lbs number since it's very important data for lots of people without strong hands

Sootch did a nice review

Nice review. I've got one on order. I hope the quality holds up with the influx of orders I imagine they are getting.

I just put one on order.  Cross Creek Guns is listing them for $600 shipped..  Delivery sometime in July.  It is the one new pistol design I am actually excited about.

I just hope HKs supply meets demand. Unlike the Shield that was and still is underproduced.

This miiiight get me back to HK.  Tried a P30LS, loved the gun, loathed the trigger.  This looks like it could be the answer to that.

Now if safariland will make a damn ALS duty holster for it.....

If they really start shipping next month there are going to be a bunch of guns without holsters. I hear leather P30 holsters work but not kydex.

I'd get a Blade-Tech Nano and call it a day.

Some P30 holsters will apparently work and some won't, it depends how they are fitted around the magazine release.  They changed the location just slightly upwards on the VP9.

I assume the SERPA will work

Vickers posted on facebook stating that the rail is slightly different so his P30 holster didn't seem to work out of the box. Just an FYI.

Colion Noir put on Instagram that after shooting his he will probably never shoot his P30 again.

Hearing the other positive reviews so far makes me very interested in this gun.

Hopefully they will make a compact

Looks like this H&K  just moved to the top of my buy list


Joe

I got to handle one and dry fire it on friday.  For me it looks to be a good gun on par with the PPQ.   I think my PPQ m1 has a slightly better trigger break and the HK has less take up.  The HK reset seemed just as good as the PPQ.  For me the PPQ trigger feels better because it seems to break farther back - which is something I prefer.

Ergos are about on par with the P30 but the VP9 sits differently because it has more of a beavertail.  

Just like the PPQ, the VP9 trigger is far superior to glocks, XDs, or M&Ps.

I did not get to shoot it, but honestly, if you have stayed away from striker fired guns because of the crappy triggers then the VP9 or the PPQ is something you should check out.

I might just have to put off buying my shield for a bit now.

is this in the same size catergory as glock g19, the specs looks the same. is this to compete with the glock?

It is slightly larger than the glock 19.

This is exactly why I've sold off all my glocks and no longer carry one. I can't shoot them all well as sigs or Hks. I believe it's a combo of trigger and ergos. If the trigger is as good as the reviews then I'll pick one up. I hate buying a great combat/defense pistol to carry but need to buy more parts for it just to get it to shoot well for me.

i wonder how the two going to compare....PPQ or VP9....SHOW DOWN...

I don't need one, really.

Walther bungled the release (and re-release) of the PPQ. Their marketing sucks and they have done nothing to increase market share.
Most people have only heard of it because Larry Vickers once said it had a great trigger.

As of right now the PPQ is a unsupported handgun that has zero aftermarket, few holster options, isn't issued to any PDs or carried by any US mil. It's sole selling point is the great trigger.

The VP9 won't be abandoned by HK. It has had more marketing push in the past 2 weeks than the PPQ (or any walther) has had since 2011. It already has sight options and mags on the market (PPQ has 2 separate incompatible mag styles).

If the trigger is as good as reported there's little reason to buy the less prevalent and under-supported PPQ.

What I would like to know is how the trigger of the VP 9 compares to a P30 that has been worked over by a gunsmith like Grayguns

Well it's a completely different trigger system so I would assume it would be...quite different. I think that's an apples to oranges comparison.

Plus you're in for the cost of two VP9's

I suggest both.

this might get me back to Hk. Any one make threaded barrels? Is that a factory option?

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1630894_HK_VP9.html&page=10




That was posted in the GD thread. I don't know anything about RCM

To be honest, I saw the HK VP9 at the Police Security Expo show last couple of days. The VP9 Trigger is good but not great. Comparing to the Walther PPQ M2, PPQ is way smoother and trigger reset is wayy shorter. However, the ergonomic and the changable grips is in fact one of the best.

I was talking to Sootch the other day & he said
he has not enjoyed a pistol this much in a long
time. He said he went through 1k rounds with
it the first week or so.

I haven't shot it.... yet!

Later!

John

I held one today at the local gun store since they have one. Nice gun, I'm not sold on the trigger being all of that but then again what do I know. When I get one into where I work I'll be buying one.

The flares at the end of the slide do nothing for me. Otherwise it's a P30 with a different trigger and slightly different look.

I had a chance to shoot the VP9 at the local range this past weekend. Between 3 other guys and myself, we all wanted to hate this pistol. We wanted the VP9 to be an overpriced HK offering to the polymer/striker market. Every single one of us was impressed. Your individual experience might be different, but I think the VP9 is very nice pistol.

The gun felt spectacular in my hands. The minimal finger grooves fit me like a glove while also somehow fitting each of my friend's hands as well. I have relatively large paws. To give a reference, the GEN4 GLOCK 21/20 frame grooves are spaced slightly too close for my hand where the GEN4 19 finger grooves are spaced much too close for me.The grip texture was spot on being somewhere between the M&P Pro back-strap texture and the normal M&P grip texture.  Controls were easily manipulated after a quick refresher on the paddle style magazine release. I will freely admit, I tried to release the magazine as if it were a traditional frame mounted release. To me, the pistol feels short vertically which I really like.

Shooting the VP9 was a dream. While I typically replace stock sights, the VP9 did come with a very usable stock setup. I prefer the VP9 green-ish dots to the standard white dots available on the M&P. I thought the trigger was almost not a striker trigger at first. The stock trigger was much better than the GLOCK, M&P and XDm triggers and miles better than the FN9 and SIG 320 triggers. I would place it below a M&P with an APEX FSS kit due to the pre-travel on the VP9 but the APEX kit is aftermarket. Accuracy was spectacular and likely mechanically much better than any of our group was able to achieve. I was able to keep 5 shots touching at 45 feet with relatively slow fire, the best I can do with a pistol so far. I would actually be interested to see someone put this pistol in a rest to see just how accurate it is. At closer distances with a little bit faster shooting I became enamored with the pistol. For me, I perceived very little recoil. I almost felt like I was shooting mouse-fart reloads instead of factory white box. This was likely a combination of the ideal grip, at least for my hands, and the low bore axis. With IPSC/USPSA style shooting, I had very little muzzle rise and double taps were surprisingly fast. The front sight tracked extremely well for me and returned almost effortlessly. Reliability in my hands was 100% with no malfunctions. So far the range VP9 has had zero functional issues in roughly 3000 rounds.

Having said all that, I am on the fence for now. I want to see how a few things turn out before I think about picking up a VP9. First, I would like a larger pistol sample size for reliability, particularly with hollow points, however, I have no reason to believe that there may be issues.  Second, I would like to see if the aftermarket embraces the design quickly. I could see this being a spectacular carry pistol as well as a nice out of the box Production Division competition gun, if holsters and additional magazines are both plentiful and, more importantly, comparably priced to  other steel magazines. I really did not want to like this pistol. However, the proof is in the pudding and HK did a hell of a job on the VP9. I might soon be demoting the GEN4 Nickel Boron 19 from EDC to safe queen.

I shot one this weekend too. My only gripe was the trough in the trigger guard pinched my finger a bit. I did not have a chance to try different backstraps or side panels to see if that would be a fix. I think the trigger on my PPQ is better but the VP9 was a very close second. My groups side by side were very close. The sights are very nice, probably the best out of the box sights on any striker gun. Hopefully I'll get some more trigger time with it and be able to try different grip panels to see if I can get rid of the pinch. I have big hands and large fingers.

One followed me home from the gun show this weekend, I paid about a $40 premium over ordering one, but with fuel and the fee my guy charges for transfers it's about even.  But I didn't realize until after I got home, the dealer stiffed me out of a magazine.  The gun was one on the "LE" guns, with night sights.  Should have come with three magazines, not two.  The price label was covering the HK label that also said three magazines.  At least I'm well fixed for P30 magazines.

Won't get a chance to shoot it for at least a week, but some casual observations.  Feels just like the P30 in my hands, but side by side with my PPQ M1, the PPQ trigger is better.  I'll have to see how it breaks in after a few hundred rounds.  This is my 7th HK pistol, all the others are LEM's, so it will be interesting to see if I shoot it any better.  My surefire X200 won't lock into the rail, before the light bottoms out on the trigger guard.  Will look into that more when I have time.  I kind of like the charging "ears".

All in all, I like it so far.  It's probably just going to be a "play" gun for local matches and such, I can't really see carrying it every day.  But that might change, depending on how the holster situation plays out.

thats $40 you got swindled out of, i'd be contacting the seller asking what the fuck.

what brand night sights are on the LE model? i cant decide between the LE model, or a regular one since i kind of want to put trijicon HDs on it. i have a p30 so mags arent a big deal.

The sights are green Meprolights.

I don't get this.  Curious as to what your reasoning is on the hate.  Seems like this is how some others feel on here who post negative opinions about this gun w/o even laying a hand on it. I have several diff. striker brands, never owned an HK but am looking forward to trying it.

Otherwise enjoyed reading your feedback w/ the pistol.

Hi Wheelhouse. Hope the feedback was helpful. I've been hearing a lot of rumors that P30 holsters fit the VP9 so I might be pushing this higher up on my list of hardware to buy.

My comments about HK were based on my opinions which I have tried to explain below. I want to avoid getting too much into a comparison between HK and other brands but my general opinion was based on a couple of things. Again, these are just my opinions.

First, I take customer service very seriously. I thankfully have not had to send any of my firearms in for service but two of my friends who tried the VP9 last week have. Both S&W and Ruger took care of them no questions asked and had everything back to each of them pretty fast. Without having experienced HK CS personally, I can only say that there has been a lot of smoke, both through personal word of mouth and admittedly, yes, I have considered internet feedback on this. Call it paranoia, but all other things equal between two pistols, I will pick the company with the better perceived track record.

Second, I could never justify purchasing a HK. The last time I was in the market for a pistol, I ended up with a S&W 45 FS. For under $600 out the door I picked up the Smith with an additional factory threaded barrel and 3 mags. I couldn't even get near a HK45 for that price. I will admit that the HK45 felt better in hand, but to me there was negligible performance difference between the two on the range for me. With the VP9 being priced MUCH closer to the other striker fired options, I am very much interested.

Thanks for the clarification. I also could never justify the prices, but have always wanted to have one. Their products just exude quality to me when I shoot and handle them.
The two general issues that seem to be repeated about HKs are price and triggers. So w/ the VP9 both of these points seem to be getting addressed, so I would think that people who held a degree of animosity for certain reasons (like me) would be excited about the VP9 arrival (like me).   Some reactions I read just seem counter to what I would think makes sense that's all.

I really don't think holsters will be an issue for these at all as soon as makers are able to get their hands on one - whenever that will be   There are so many custom makers now that there should be many options to choose from would be my guess.  

Quick review for now:

300 rounds fired, zero malfunctions. Grip feels awesome and accuracy was at par or better than my Glock 19. Magazine release is quicker and easier and I've never used a paddle release prior to today.

I like this handgun so much that it is replacing my Glock 19 as my EDC and primary training handgun.

As a side note, it carries better than a Glock 17 but prints ever so slightly more than a Glock 19 for appendix carry.

Trigger:

How could I have forgotten the trigger... compared to my Glock 19 trigger with the minus connector and competition trigger spring, way more defined. I felt more in control of each shot. I knew exactly when it was going to go bang.

I have not had much time with a PPQ trigger but from what I remember, the PPQ felt lighter.

The VP9 definitely has an excellent trigger and I feel 100% confident about AIWB carry.

Get the VP9! Its awesome

shot one yesterday with a friend. he bought it and i will have one soon. best shooting 9MM i have shot yet. maybe even beter than my HK USP COMPACT

Any more input on length of reset?

I've heard that its quite a bit longer than a PPQ, apexed M&P or a Glock.

I called both of my local shops and neither has any idea when they are coming in. Hopefully soon though!

Any guess as to how long it'll be till we see "S" and "L" Variants?

I ordered mine earlier today.  It should be here in a couple of days.  I am really looking forward to it.

Any idea of where I can pick one up?

The interwebz, for insane prices on Gunbroker. $780 is only mildly butt-rapey:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=428090437