Eine ausgezeichnete Kompact Pistole
An Excellent Subcompact Pistol

I took my VP9SK LE for its first shooting session yesterday and ... short story ... wow, I'm extremely impressed. Very. Impressed. I've had and shot subcompact 9mm firearms of all kinds and by far this little HK has taken the prize. I have also owned full sized VP9 handguns in the past as well.

I've added photos below the text.

I intentionally shot it right out of the box, not removing all the HK packing oil, etc. I hear guys talk about how the handgun will jam unless you carefully remove all traces of the factory lube on it. I wanted to see if this was true in this case. I did have problems with a SIG P226 in the past choking up until the factor gunk was removed. Not the case here, at all.

I put exactly 300 rounds through it and the first 50 were Federal HST 147gr +P rounds. The rest of the ammo was inexpensive commercially loaded brass case, 115 gr, and about 50 rounds of aluminum case Federal bulk ammo. The little guy ran like a champ through it all. Not a single FTF, etc.

I started off just getting used to the trigger, sights, etc. After I was warmed up, I was putting them in a single jagged hole from 20 feet out and further out, nice groups. Then I ran some timed drills, shooting and moving and rapid fire, squeezing off double taps as quickly as I could from 20 feet or so, then shooting and moving drills, backwards, forwards and sideways, shooting two reactive targets placed about eight feet apart. Absolutely no problem.

I then had a blast shooting steel plates, the gun transitions very nicely and quickly and shooting is instinctive and the sights are just there in place to facilitate rapid movement from plate to plate, I was banging them down easily from 10, 20, 30 feet out. I'm no competitive plate shooter, but I was pretty darn happy at how well I was setting them up and knocking them down.

The P30SK simply does not fit my hand, and I was consistently getting "bit" by the slide. The VP9SK has ergos just different enough that the 'web' of my hand fits nicely in a nice high grip. Very comfortable and even with my monster hand size, very shootable, even with the 10 round flush fitting magazine.

The two HK factory mags that have the "pinky" extension are extremely comfortable. I just wish HK had tucked an extra round or two in them. I can report that X-Grip mag extension allows, as you would expect, 15 round P30/VP9 to be used well in the VP9SK. Some may say, justifiably so, that basically this defeats the purpose of a sub-compact, in terms of printing, etc. I certainly can understand that point of view, on the other hand, it is nice to have the added capacity for range sessions and if you do want to carry the VP9SK with 15+1 on board. You basically then have a Glock 19 capacity's in a HK SK package. The mag extension works perfectly. There is just a slight "gap" between the extension and the VP9SK frame, which was not a problem at all for reloads or shooting (no pinching).

The trigger: I know this is going to sound a bit nuts, but ... I've owned three or four VP9S and there is no doubt in my mind that the VP9SK trigger is better than any other. I understand that HK uses the exact same trigger group in the SK line as the full size...but it just felt smoother, shorter take up, better reset. I love how the tab on the trigger fits completely flush into the trigger and the trigger is wide enough to make for a comfortable trigger finger position.

When I deliberately slowed myself down, really concentrating on front sight, press carefully to the rear, again, I was stacking the rounds in very tight groups. As for "combat accuracy" ... in spades, no doubt about it. Again, you will see the pics below.

I thoroughly enjoyed shooting the VP9SK and would have kept shooting until the ammo ran dry. Fortunately I only had 300 round with me, or I could easily have spent the next couple hours shooting through 1000 rounds.

I am a HK USP line fan and not much of a striker guy anymore, but ... this VP9SK is simply awesome. I may have to buy another one. Just because.

Flush Fitting 10 Round Magazine


Mag with "Pinky" Extension (no extra rounds)


With 15 Round VP9/P30 Magazine, using Extension


First Shots/First Group from 20 Feet/1 second between shots


Shots from 20 Feet After Warming Up/1 second between shots


Shots from 21 Feet, Rapid Fire 1/2 second between shots (after warm up)


Fist over group, for scale

Did the stupid trigger guard trough rub your trigger finger raw like mine did?

No, in fact, I didn't even know it has that "trough" on the trigger guard. I have huge hands. Do you have really fat fingers or something? How much finger are you putting on the trigger and where on the trigger?

Odd.

Nice review. I can confirm that the SK's trigger is much better out of the box than the fullsize's. I really love mine, but I wish the pinky floorplate would've added a round or two.

The full size is noticeable. I took a hobby file to the sharp edges of the trough on my VP9, and then polished them out with some 200 grit. Problem solved.
The only handguns that I have NOT had to do a little home smithing to, are the P7 and USP.

Thanks for the review, OP! I also have large hands and will check this out.

I've heard others say the same thing and it really makes no sense, since the full size and compact share identical trigger groups. Could it be maybe that the machinery on which they are making the trigger groups has worn in or something? I didn't think it could be true, but my experience, your's and apparently a number of other people who have experience with the VP9 full size bear this out. Mystery!

Hope you do. The P30SK did not work at all for me, even using the "slimmer" backstrap...right out of the box the VP9SK fits GREAT and feels great. Even rapid firing I never adjust my grip...very nice shooting compact handgun.

How tall is the VP9SK with a flush fit mag? I need a compact gun to fit in a small drawer in my car and so far the only thing that fits is a shield due to the height on the drawer.

4.57 inches

See:
http://hk-usa.com/hk-models/vp9-sk/