Posted: 11/5/2021 8:37:01 PM EDT
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broken picture links repaired A Few Observations on the Heckler & Koch VP9  Here’s a brief look at the heart of the Heckler & Koch VP9, its barrel. It is known by many that the barrel of the VP9 is cold hammer forged. The barrel has a 1:9.8” twist and a fully-supporting chamber. According to my digital calipers, the length of the VP9’s barrel is 4.093”. For comparison, the VP9’s barrel is nearly identical in length to that of a factory barrel for a Glock 19 with the Glock barrel measuring 4.019”.    The VP9 compared to my Glock 19 . . .  The slides compared . . .  Backstrap compared to my Glock 19 . . .  The trigger-pull weight of the VP9 . . .  The "stepped" chamber of the VP9 barrel . . .  The two cases on each end were fired from the VP9 . . .  I fired some of the more common bullet weights for the 9x19mm over my Oehler 35-P chronograph from both the VP9 and my Glock 19. The results are shown in the table below. All velocities listed are muzzle velocities as calculated from the instrumental velocities using Oehler’s Ballistic Explorer software.  The VP9 at 25 Yards. Using match-grade hand-loads topped with the Hornady 125 grain HAP bullet and shooting off the bench, my VP9 turned in a 10-shot group that had an extreme spread of 1.6”.  I also tested some factory loaded duty/self-defense ammunition in the VP9. The results are summarized in the table below.   The VP9 at 50 yards. Strictly for kicks and giggles I fired some statistically insignificant 6-shot groups from my VP at a distance of 50 yards. Using one of my best 9x19mm hand-loads topped with the Hornady 125 grain HAP bullet, I fired seven, 6-shot groups in a row from the bench. The average extreme spread for the seven groups was 2.40”. The cherry-picked group of the bunch is pictured below. The group has an extreme spread of 1.52”.   The exterior of the barrel shows minimal wear after 1,000 rounds were fired through it.  …. |
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Thanks for the post OP, I purchased one of the first VP9s in my area and I wasn’t impressed over my G19. I have an old picture somewhere with them side by side I’ll have to find it. Glad to see they improved! And the post above showing going From a pile of glocks to a few HKs with mags made me chuckle. Mags were $$$!!! |
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Quoted: The VP9 is a full size gun. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/278546/620E2029-87C6-4586-82E1-77593716663F-2157008.jpg Quoted: Quoted: Dimensionally the G19 and the VP9 are very similar, but to me the VP9 just seems to carry "bigger". The VP9 is a full size gun. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/278546/620E2029-87C6-4586-82E1-77593716663F-2157008.jpg |
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Quoted: As always, great write up and thank you for your splendid contributions. But I have to wonder how the Glock 19 would have done in the same accuracy tests. My personal experience is the glock can hold its own out to 25 yards but tend to really open up at 50 yards |
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Quoted: Dimensionally the G19 and the VP9 are very similar, but to me the VP9 just seems to carry “bigger”. It’s the current trend of putting a compact slide on a full-size frame. I personally think it’s a terrible idea and the worst of both worlds, but I’m not everyone else. I can bang a silhouette at 100 yards with a VP9. Despite that, I just can’t run it fast. Too flippy in my hands. |
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Quoted: I know people like to talk shit about HK. The VP9 is a superb striker fired pistol. It is very accurate and reliable. The only thing a 9mm Glock has going for it over the VP9 is slightly cheaper mags. Glock pistols are cheaper and more widely available. Any VP9s with factory red dot cuts? Attached File |
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Quoted: Glock pistols are cheaper and more widely available. Any VP9s with factory red dot cuts? /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/simpsons_nelson_haha2-36.jpg yes |
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Quoted: I know people like to talk shit about HK. The VP9 is a superb striker fired pistol. It is very accurate and reliable. The only thing a 9mm Glock has going for it over the VP9 is slightly cheaper mags. almost all modern striker fire guns are better than glocks. |
| I started with a VP9 end of summer and have since bought a P30L and USP Expert, my last full size Glock sold a few days ago (still have a 42/43/43X for carry). After 15 or more years I finally admited to myself that the Glock isn't as naturally easy for me to shoot and there are better options for me. |
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Quoted: Better in what way? Quantify it in a measurable way. Are you not emotionally capable of admitting that perhaps a certain platform performs better for certain individuals than others? Man I love Glocks, I really do, for all that they are. But also not so much for all that they aren't to me. I wish they could be, the magic doesn't happen. Now an M&P 2.0, or a VP9, that's where the magic happens for me. For whatever reason. Oddly I shoot both about the same. The only Glock I seem to shoot as good is the 48 strangely.... |
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Quoted: better looking, options for thumb safety, better material zytel and nylon and tungsten filament as opposed to regular toy plastic, same reliability and accuracy but none of the block, looks better. better triggers I must say, this is probably one of the most drag responsibilities I've read in a long time. I could barely read it and it sounded like a very boring monotone voice in my head. But you are right, much better trigger. |
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Quoted: Are you not emotionally capable of admitting that perhaps a certain platform performs better for certain individuals than others? Man I love Glocks, I really do, for all that they are. But also not so much for all that they aren't to me. I wish they could be, the magic doesn't happen. Now an M&P 2.0, or a VP9, that's where the magic happens for me. For whatever reason. Oddly I shoot both about the same. The only Glock I seem to shoot as good is the 48 strangely.... |
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Quoted: Glock pistols are cheaper and more widely available. Any VP9s with factory red dot cuts? /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/simpsons_nelson_haha2-36.jpg All VP9s made beginning in 2020 are RDS capable. |
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Quoted: better looking, options for thumb safety, better material zytel and nylon and tungsten filament as opposed to regular toy plastic, same reliability and accuracy but none of the block, looks better. better triggers Lol acting as if Glock doesn't use Zytel polymer. |
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OP, thanks for the report. I like my VP9s very much. Only complaint I've ever had is that they are slightly tall for a 15-round handgun. I haven't yet bought one of the 17-round magazines. The VP9 and PPQ are class handguns in the polymer striker field. I enjoy shooting both of them a bit more than my Glock 19s. I'm looking at a Walther PDP and may have one sometime this winter. That said, neither of my G19s are going anywhere. They are good solid guns if not the most ergonomic and natural pointing handgun.......for me anyway. Thanks again, OP. |
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Quoted: Who did the machining on your slide? @Molon Jarrod at Parker Mountain Machine in New Hampshire. Notice what he calls the "lightening cuts" on the slide. He removed the exact weight of metal from the slide to offset the added weight of the RMR. That gun, as it sits, weighs exactly the same as a stock VP9. To 1 gram. So no need to swap springs, worry about different ammo, etc. |
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Quoted: Posts like this make me not want to sell my last VP9 and focus on the P30/2000 V3's I like. Do it! I walked away from strikers over a decade ago. Wait until you test convert one of your V3s to V1 LEM, like I did. Then switch that to a Grey Guns short reset V1 with a V3 trigger return spring. ( you get a trigger that is surgically precise, and the reset is guess proof when it "drops") |
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Quoted: Is this the model that if dropped or a strike on the butt will allow the striker to slip and catch on the safety block? No, this is the model that one guy was able to do that with when held it at a specific angle and hit it with a rubber mallet, and no one else easily duplicated it, and no one Has had anything remotely similar happen in actual use. |