The H&K USP45 is a highly regarded option for those who take using a 45 to be a way of life. It was built to last and has seen much use still to this day. People and Police Departments that have had the pleasure of using this beast have favored it immensely. It does come at a high price, but will make up for it with a long service life and a pleasant shooting experience that overshadows the performance of the competition.
There are a few reasons why the USP45 is so highly regarded among those who use 45 or want what the round has to offer. For one, it is hard to find a highly reliable 45 on the market that is built to withstand years of service in harsh conditions.
The 12 round capacity of the USP45 is a winning attribute that is still respected to this day. The only other pistols offering this kind of capacity are the Walther PPQ and the FNX45. Today, it is not uncommon for pistols in 45 to be limited to only 9 or ten round capacities. Most of this seems jto be due to them wanting to narrow down the grip to achieve better ergonomics that more shooters will find appealing.
The USP seems to have the best ergonomics in terms of having the better trigger reach that most shooters find manageable. The PPQ may have a bit of an edge over the USP on ergonomics and just flat out having better trigger reach, but the USP was ahead of its time in my opinion. The FNX45 seemed to have an unacceptable thickness that made holding it more of a chore than anything. The fat grip of pistols chambered in 45 can be one of the deciding factors for people looking at using a 45 caliber pistol. I know that for me, the USP is still the top pistol as far as ergonomics and trigger reach, except for the PPQ, which is striker fired and therefore not much of a valid comparison.
The 12 round capacity of the USP45 is a winning attribute that is still respected to this day. The only other pistols offering this kind of capacity are the Walther PPQ and the FNX45. Today, it is not uncommon for pistols in 45 to be limited to only 9 or ten round capacities. Most of this seems jto be due to them wanting to narrow down the grip to achieve better ergonomics that more shooters will find appealing.
The USP seems to have the best ergonomics in terms of having the better trigger reach that most shooters find manageable. The PPQ may have a bit of an edge over the USP on ergonomics and just flat out having better trigger reach, but the USP was ahead of its time in my opinion. The FNX45 seemed to have an unacceptable thickness that made holding it more of a chore than anything. The fat grip of pistols chambered in 45 can be one of the deciding factors for people looking at using a 45 caliber pistol. I know that for me, the USP is still the top pistol as far as ergonomics and trigger reach, except for the PPQ, which is striker fired and therefore not much of a valid comparison.
The sights on the USP45 are kind of small in comparison to the overall size of the platform. The white dots do rub off pretty easily, which would explain why my right rear sight dot is about halfway gone. I do appreciate the fact that the sights do allow for one handed manipulations and are made of steel instead of polymer.
The trigger on the USP45 is one of the better ones in the community of the double action 45 caliber pistols. The double action pull on my USP45 seems to have hit a plateau at about 8 pounds and change. The trigger can be further helped by using a lighter match hammer spring and sear spring if you so choose. The reset on the USP is the shortest and arguably the nicest of all the H&K pistols to come after the USP. I would tend to agree for the most part, even though I do not view trigger reset to be important for the shooter themselves.
The recoil reduction system of the USP45 is one of the biggest reasons why it is highly regarded. This spring system makes it to where the platform is uneffected by the use of +P ammo, and other ammo that would generally pound other platforms into oblivion. The spring system of the USP45 is made up of 2 springs. I see them as having separate purposes.
The outside spring is a light weight spring that I can only guess is there to push the slide back into battery. The smaller spring captured underneath the bigger, lighter spring is the heart of the system. It is heavy, yet has enough give so that the slide can have a little more rearward movement, but not enough to compress it all the way. This heavy spring is the one thing that is stopping the rearward movement of the slide. It completely absorbs and stops the slide from moving.
In other pistol designs, the recoil springs work to slow down the slide throughout the travel of the rearward movement. After the full length has been traveled, it is expected that the frame of the pistol can withstand the remaining force of the slide pushing rearward.
The design of the other H&K pistols seem to have left this double spring system behind in favor of a heavy flatwire spring and a nylon buffer to act as a sacrificial piece to absorb the force of the slide coming to the rear. The system seems to work in providing longevity and slight recoil reduction on the 9mm, but I feel like the .45 and .40 get a bit more recoil with this system. Perhaps H&K are compromising to save some dough?
In other pistol designs, the recoil springs work to slow down the slide throughout the travel of the rearward movement. After the full length has been traveled, it is expected that the frame of the pistol can withstand the remaining force of the slide pushing rearward.
The design of the other H&K pistols seem to have left this double spring system behind in favor of a heavy flatwire spring and a nylon buffer to act as a sacrificial piece to absorb the force of the slide coming to the rear. The system seems to work in providing longevity and slight recoil reduction on the 9mm, but I feel like the .45 and .40 get a bit more recoil with this system. Perhaps H&K are compromising to save some dough?
Thoughts have been floated around that the USP line of pistols are outdated and that any day now, they could get the ax. Though this seems like the thing t do for many popular manufacturers, I do not see that H&K has seen a viable reason to rid themselves of the task of building more USP pistols, much less the beloved H&K USP45. What do you think?
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