Recently, I decided to mothball my trusty Glock handguns and try a different gun for concealed carry. Note to all the rabid fan boys, I still like Glock. They are very solid pistols and I wouldn't criticize anyone for choosing Gaston's genius creation. My Gen 3- 9mm pistols served me well for many years. But polymer pistols have further evolved, and I wanted something that was more suitable for me. I still have the Glocks, but they are all in long term storage in appropriate packaging. The Glocks are now in reserve status in case the balloon goes up, the sh*t hits the fan and more weapons are needed when society breaks down. For every day use the H&K VP series 9mm Luger pistols are on active duty. So why the VP?
I found the VP series pistols (nearly) ideally suited for my needs. First, I like polymer, striker fired pistols. I've gotten used to them over the years. I still like all metal construction, hammer fired guns (including big chunky revolvers). But for every day use, polymer semi-autos are pretty tough to beat in overall practicality. The first thing that attracted me to the VP is the controls. I'm a dyed in the wool Southpaw. The VP has ambi controls (magazine and slide release). Some of us lefties have gotten used to guns designed for right handed folks. But even after 50 years of shooting, I really want no compromise, lefty friendly firearms.
The VP is not truly an ambi or lefty handgun. Yes the controls are basically ambi, but the ejection port is still on the wrong side lol. There are a few left eject pistols, most notably a gorgeous left handed only 1911 made by Cabot Arms. It's a really slick handgun. But at somewhere around six grand plus extra magazines it's not for those with average sized wallets- but I digress. The VP is, in my opinion, lefty friendly. The Euro style, paddle type mag release is great. It takes a little getting used to coming from the side button style, but the HK mag catch is easily accessible from either side. The starboard slide release is smaller than the one on the port side of the gun, but it is well placed and works just fine.
The second feature that makes the VP lust worthy to me is the grip. I love the grip angle. To me it feels very old school 1911ish. I carried my Glocks for years. Although I shot them proficiently (for an average self defense shooter) the "Glock hump" never felt quite natural to me. The VP is like coming home. I learned to shoot with my grandpa's 1911, way back when heinous deeds were the result of the evil in men's hearts not the availability or the efficiency of their tools. The VP grip angle just plain feels right.
An even bigger Wow! feature on the VP is the ability to re-configure the grip. Many pistols allow the shooter to use different back straps to vary the overall grip size. The VP goes further; it also comes with replaceable side panels in different sizes. One can mix and match back straps and side panels in many configurations for a semi-custom fit. This is my favorite feature of the gun. I have weird hands. Gloves were the bane of my existence, I never went into a store and bought gloves that fit right. Finally, I broke down and had some custom gloves made. Overall my hands are a size large. But, the custom glove maker told me that my proportions were all wrong. Basically, my finger to palm size ratio was far outside the norm. I don't know whether this particular genetic defect elevates me to professional victim status. Maybe I can whine and claim discrimination (handy-capped?). Do I get leftist exalted status like a gay, transgender, Syrian refugee? I digress again! Anyway the VP grip is phenomenal for me. I have three different size panels on my VPs and they fit like a (custom) glove.
The third feature of the HK- VP series that clinched the deal was quality/reliability. The gun, at least the samples I have, are very well executed. The fit and finish is excellent. The parts appear to be made to endure many years of hard usage. Before jumping into the VP pool, I researched the gun community's real world experience the original VP9. With few notable exceptions it seems that the VP is a solid, reliable unit. Collectively, I have about a thousand rounds through four VPs (two full size, two compacts). Not one hiccup to date.
So that's why I bought the VPs. I purchased 4 VPs at once, two VP9s and two VP9SKs. That was kind of an expensive day. HKs are pricey; they get a 25-50% premium over most popular priced, competing handguns. Plus the cost of magazines ($40-50 a pop) is very steep. I'm a "you can never have too many loaded magazines" kind of guy. I keep at least 25 magazines for each gun ready to rock. Adding up the 4 guns, 100 magazines and enough defensive quality JHP 9mm to fill them all, I'm into the VPs for the price of a decent used car. Plus, spare parts, optics and more magazines will be coming in the near future. When all is done the VP project will put me in new car price territory. So long as the VPs perform well, I'm good with the money to be spent. When it comes to defending myself and my family the best I can get is a great value.