Any time HK comes out with a new product, there is always lots of excitement about it. There’s just something about the HK semi-automatic handguns that sets them apart from the pack: great ergonomics, smooth triggers, and fantastic reliability.
For years now, there’s been one thing missing from the HK line of pistols, and that’s a duty sized, striker fired, polymer framed handgun to compete with the Glocks, S&W M&Ps, Springfield XD’s, as well as the rest of the duty pistols on the market. HK is not new to striker fired pistols. Having built the HK VP70 and the HK P7 lines in the past, neither of these pistols quite fit into the “duty pistol” category.
The new HK VP9 is going to fill that “striker fired duty pistol” void:
The VP9 will be chambered in 9mm, and use the same 15 round magazines as the HK P30. With the 4″ barrel, and 15 round magazine, the VP9 will be right about the size of the reputable Glock 19 which should make it suitable for concealed carry as well as duty use. This all sounds great, but it gets even better!
The HK VP9 has an MSRP of $719, which is considerably less than the P30 and other pistols in the HK line.
In the above video, we heard mention that the VP9 will have a short trigger with a positive reset. With the growth of concealed carry and shooting sports in the US, we’ve noticed pistol manufacturers spending more time on getting pistols that leave the factory with a great trigger. Glock introduced a new connector after the the Gen4 pistols hit the market, and S&W also made changes to the triggers in their M&P line recently. Walther introduced the PPQ line of pistols a few years back, and they took special care to hit the market with a duty pistol that has a wonderfully smooth trigger.
HK seems to have noticed the Walther PPQ and it appears that they are going for something very similar with the VP9. The VP9 and the Walther PPQ have very similar exterior dimensions, both advertise great triggers, same capacity, nearly the same barrel length, similar styling, etc.
We’ll certainly be doing a full review of the HK VP9 just as soon as we can get our hands on one, so stay tuned!
