D9Firearms

I have recently started shooting H&K’s, which are manufactured in Germany, by a socialized, peace loving, and tolerant peoples. (Have you ever thought why peoples like this manufacture guns, they can’t own them?) However, I’m glad they do, because like Para Ordnance from our Canadian friends, I know these guys aren’t limp wristed, big girl’s blouse wearing, uber liberal, feminists either.

I recently picked up a two different USP’s, the USP Compact in 40SW and the Expert in 45ACP. I have written about the Compact and am still in the process of developing my Compact skill set and the verdict is still out on the pistol. The Expert is immediately and obviously a step up and has the distinct German industrial feel and look. (The Compact is also robust but not to the extent of the Expert.)

The HK Expert is a full size pistol and has a 5.25” barrel with a gasketed “O” ring. It has a double stack 12 round magazine and a chambered round indicator. The indicator is barely perceptible and primarily on detectable by the shooter. It has a fully adjustable and marked rear sight with a solid black front sight. The pistol can be fired in SA and DA and has a ambidextrous safety and de-cocker. It comes in a tactical carry case for extra mags, cleaning kit, and for you lucky peoples, a silencer for those times when “silence is golden”.

I was able to take it out for quick test when I was back home in rural Missouri last weekend. Since I was on limited time and had limited ammo, which is typically not the case, I was able to immediately set up on the 50yd line. My goal was just to fire a few clips to see how it handles as well as “they” say. I had access to several clay pigeons lying around and tossed a few on the burm.

My first impression after loading 12 rounds of 45ACP and slamming the clip in this testosterone supplement was the balance and overall weight, especially compared to a standard full size 1911. It is exceptionally well balanced. The next sensation was releasing the slide with solid forward motion of a 230grn 45ACP round impregnating the chamber of the 5.25” barrel. Impressive.

My first shot was in the SA mode. I lined up on one of the clay pigeons and prepared for the recoil. As the first round flew as was immediately lined up for the next shot not realizing until I was half way through the clip that the recoil was more on line with that of a 9mm. Secondly, was the accuracy, which was hard to gage at 50yd, but not unnoticeable as dirt and mud was flying all around the pigeon. It was firing all well within the parameter of the target not one way or another, which was me combined with the distance.

I loaded up another clip and proceeded with my second round and within about 3 shots dispatched a potentially threatening clay pigeon lying on the ground. (They become dangerous if the person throwing doesn’t know what the hell they’re doing, fortunately this wasn’t the case today.)

Another aspect of this little test was the gun was taken straight out of the case to the range. Each round was cleanly and robustly impregnated and ejected. I loaded another clip and tried the DA mode out. Once again, this takes a little practice to master, but even in DA the full trigger pull is very manageable and controllable prior to going SA.

Overall I was impressed and was a noticeably different shooter and not just from an accuracy standpoint, but in overall robustness, recoil control, and just the overall feel of handgun befitting of the KSK (Die Kommando Spezialkrafte), our Special Forces, and anyone who demands performance.

Currently HK has drastically reduced the importation of these pistols, and will become a rare commodity in the next year. I believe they will still be available on an extremely limited basis and of course at a higher market price. If you’re looking for an industrial grade pistol or for an investment which will allow you to shoot it and sell it down the line for a decent return or break even at minimum this seems like the pistol to do it with.

We still have access to these on a limited basis. I have seen prices start to increase and most of the vendors we use are no longer stocking them. If you’re interested in an H&K Expert in 45ACP we can deliver or if you’re interested in another HK model we can provide that as well.

Thanks and look forward to hearing from you

About 2 months ago I received a call from a Texan who was inquiring about the DPMS LR-260 w/24” stainless bull barrel I had advertised.  He stated he had never shot or owned an AR style rifle and didn’t much care for them.  However, the .260 caliber intrigued him and with a battalion of hell raising, trench digging, belligerent, feral hogs he needed some semi-auto (full-auto would have been better) fire suppression.  His decision to go with an AR rifle was not an easy decision, but with all those hogs raising hell and violating his private property rights, the AR was an obvious choice.

I spoke with him for about an hour, not all necessarily discussing the DPMS and gained a lot of knowledge myself.  He had a variety of rifles and had done some hunting in Africa, which was a story in itself.  We also discussed optics which he had experience with a variety of optics ranging from cheap to expensive.  This is one area I always like to find out from rifle shooter’s what their thoughts are.  He was of the opinion don’t skimp on optics because you will pay for it some early morning or late evening.  He also made an interesting comment about one brand and the glare from normal daylight shooting.  My opinion is along with some others is “you get what you pay for”.  I told him about IOR and how I had inadvertently stumbled across them and could solidly recommend them.

Accuracy also came up in our discussion since he was a bolt action shooter.  It took some time to somewhat convince him that the DPMS would deliver sub MOA accuracy.  I also told him though, with the DPMS rifles, the accuracy is definitely enhanced by going with the JP Adjustable trigger.  Even DPMS says their number one upgrade is the trigger.  But sometimes it’s a matter of just getting the rifle first and then doing some upgrading.  And this ties right in with buying the right optics.

However, we covered the issues and I really enjoyed the conversation.  I would like to say that these guns and optics sell themselves, but when you’re from Texas, and you’ve never heard of DPMS, IOR, or much less a guy from D9Firearms who is also a northerner, you’re going to be skeptical.  I don’t know if it was the thought of the hogs taking over or my belief in the products that sold him, but he chose the DPMS LR-260, with a 6×42 IOR Valdada, and a JP adjustable trigger.

I then proceeded to get everything moving.  Since I had the rifle I just needed to order the optics.  I use this group out of Georgia called USA Optics to get my IORs from.  Unfortunately we had some delays getting the optics from IOR, but true to from Fred and his daughter Laura came through.  I installed and tuned the JP trigger and had about a 3lb pull and then mounted, aligned, and bore sighted the IOR.  Through the course of this I made a few calls down to Albert to keep him posted and let him know I hadn’t absconded with his hard earned dollars.  Put it this way, it was a faith-based program on his part, and we sincerely appreciate that.

About two weeks after shipping the rifle, I get a call at my office and Albert is on the other end.  He proceeds to tell me about his excursion to the rifle range.  He didn’t come right out and say this thing is the best thing since sliced bread and my family and I have been dining on roast hog ever since.  He provided me with a faith-based story on how he progressed through 4 rounds of shooting, by starting off saying the first round was a hard 3” right and was barely holding a 3” pattern.  Faith paid off, because each progression of his four round four shot test inched closer to the bulls and closer to the sub MOA.  During his final round, Albert said he had fired 3 shots and could barely tell the difference and was debating going for the fourth shot so as not to throw the last round.  But being a real man, he did it.  Now we all know those guys who say, yea my shots all fit under a dime, all the while we know “BS” you couldn’t hit a fricken barn, but not here.  You can hear honesty and combined with the products he was using I knew when he said I could fit all four rounds on a nickel he was telling the truth.
Thanks for your interest and if you’re interested in a DPMS please contact us here at D9.

When opportunity presents itself we take it here at D9.  I had to travel to Texas to work over the weekend and when in Texas a carry gun.  For that matter carry gun when ever you can, you never know when you may need it.  I was also able to meet up with old collage friend of mine to indulge in a few of our favorite pastimes which are of course shooting and enjoying some cool, frosty, refreshing adult beverages to wash down the lead and cordite taste in our mouths after blasting several hundred rounds. (I can only think of one thing better.) And since we both were free from domestic duties, me more so them him, it was the perfect opportunity to retest the HK USP Compact.

So I met up with my friend Jerry down at Red’s in Austin, Texas to punish some would be paper terrorist.  Seeing if my shooting with a new pistol was true to form I started out with the HK USP 40SW.  Overall the gun is a very robust piece of German engineering and what you would expect from Hans.  It also has a good feel when handling and shooting it.  It’s not a single stack so it does have a wider body on it.  The trigger pull is what you would expect from a law enforcement/military duty style gun.  It pulls around 5lbs on DA, and maybe a 1lb or 2 on SA.  So it’s that first shot on DA that you need to acclimate yourself to.

I warmed up a little (actually that’s an excuse for not drilling them like I wanted to) at 5 yards not holding much of any pattern.  I proceeded on with a few couple more 10 shot rounds and started to pull them in.  The pistol was shooting low and left and so it’s little bothersome and then to overcome the desire to try and compensate just to put in the bulls and loosing focus of what my goal was, grouping, grouping, grouping.

I put the gun down and shot a couple with my Glock 23.  Not to deviate but it is hard to beat for the money and ease of use.  I also just picked up a Glock 19 for my wife to start her on, so we’ll see.  (That will be a topic for another day and I’m actually looking forward to it.)  However, back to the HK USP 40SW, I picked it back up and shot about 5 more 10 round clips (it holds 12, but I just go with 10 for testing purposes). By the last round I was definitely pulling my groups in.  I was probably at a solid 3” at 5 yards.  It’s still not where I want it to be but more of that is due to me I suspect then the gun.  But I am staying with the pattern of taking about 3 or 4 times out with about 50 rounds each time to settle in.  I suspect next time I will be able to report more on the accuracy and then add a little more substance about the pistol as well.

I also just recently picked up a couple of other HK’s in the FS and Expert both in 45ACP.  So I definitely like the HK, but you do pay a premium for it.  My next test will be with the USP 40 and the Expert 45 and I suspect I’ll have some more improvements to talk about.

So if you are looking for a new HK, have some questions on pistol shooting, or happen to be in Overland Park and would like to see or test one of these out give us call.  Thanks for your interest.