9teeneleven

I'd like to add that I've got nothing but good things to say about Bill's Outpost. In my experience there, they have by far the best customer service around. I've bought three guns from them and have done 4-5 transfers. They are always very helpful, and seem genuinely thankful for transfer business; they also have the best transfer prices around. Customer service is most important for me and the store has always made me feel welcome. I also got to spend quite a bit of time with the USP compact at the range tonight. I am really sold on this gun. The trigger is really crisp, especially compared to other HK guns I've owned. I took it and my new M&P 9mm, and I was shooting this gun much better. As i mentioned in my recent M&P review, is gun has made me think that the whole ergonomics trend is a bit overrated. This gun is a bit of a square brick compared to more recent entries in the hanpndgun market, but it still shoots great and feels nice in the hand. This is a keeper.

Well, that whole one gun thing didn't last too long, especially since I was without a handgun host for my suppressor. I was browsing gunbroker for threaded 9mm stuff and came across the recently released M&P 9mm threaded kit for $499. The kit comes with a standard full sized M&P 9mm, two mags, and an extra threaded barrel. Pretty good deal for $499 so I jumped on it. •The Threaded Barrel The second barrel looks to be a threaded barrel from an M&P pro. It's 5" and sticks out a good way extra from the standard slide. The threads are in 1/2x28 and are well cut and are a good fit for the suppressor. •Ergonomics I'd held some compact M&Ps before and really liked the feel, so I was willing to take a chance on the full-sized model. I wasn't too disappointed. The feel of this gun is a clear upgrade from the glock 17. The backstrap design is also really well implemented except the tool removal required using the butt of the magazine the first few times, and even now, it's still a very tight fit. I've settled on the medium grip, but really like the small, too. The M&P doesn't quite feel as good as the P30, but still feels smooth with a nice grip. However, after shooting my HK USPc for a bit, I've come to the conclusion that the whole ergonomics trend is a bit overrated. That thing is a brick, but feels good and shoots just as well. •Features - I don't really like the sear disconnect method of taking down the gun. The first time I did it, I had the slide slam home on my finger. I don't want to have to wrestle that tool out of the grip every time I want to strip the gun. - The slide serrations on this gun are the best I've felt on any handgun hands down. Great gripability. -Stock sights are nice. I like the thinner front sight and I like that in this price range the sights aren't plastic. However, the white paint has started to come off the front sight after only 500 rounds. Weak. - Mag release is nice and IMO better than the Glock. The ambi slide release is nice, but the traditional side release seems to work better than the left-handed side release. -Trigger is gritty out of the box, but the grittiness is in the takeup so that's not a huge issue to me. The trigger break is a bit mushy, but no worse than most other factory triggers. -Mags are ok. I prefer the plastic covered Glock mags, but the trade off is grip size. The M&P has a really thin grip considering it holds 17 rounds. The mags make the difference in this regard. •Shooting unsuppressed - Nice accurate gun; I shoot it pretty well. While the bore axis is higher than a Glock, it is still lower than most and gives a nice quick follow up. - Recoil is comparable to other full sized 9mms even though the M&P is a little heavier than most. - Ejection is consistent, but seems a little weak. •Shooting Suppressed Here is where I ran into problems. I am fairly certain that S&W just decided to thread an M&P pro barrel, stick it in the box and call it a threaded kit. The slide is fairly heavy and with the extra barrel length and weight, the gun does not like most subsonic loads, or most factory loads for that matter. The extra length outside of the slide puts the suppressor further from the gun, thus inhibiting cycling. I used a LCD booster on a Trident-9. On every other handgun I've run this setup on, I've had good success running lighter subsonic loads. On this gun, I used my usual powder (VV N320) and took it up beyond max loads and still couldn't get the gun to cycle. So, I tried WWB ammo; no luck. Speer Gold dot +P worked fine, but that defeats the purpose. I've been playing around with different subsonic loadings, and have gotten Unique to cycle the gun reliably when loading close to max. I don't love the idea of having to run hot loads all the time through my suppressor, though. More powder=more gas and dirt and more wear on the gun. I may experiment with some lighter recoil springs in the future to see if I can load down a bit. Also, as the gun breaks in, it may get better. Overall, for the price, its a keeper, but not without some flaws. Side note: I picked up an M&P BB gun for extra practice, and I've gotta say it might be the best $35 I've ever spent. The feel is very similar to the real gun, and it is really really accurate up to about 25 yards.

So, I found myself without a primary carry gun. I was looking hard at the 10mm Glocks and stopped by Bill's Outpost in Alcoa to see if they had any in stock. All they had at the time was the full sized Glock 20, which I found to be massive and simply too big in my hand. I had resolved to by a SF Glock 20, and have it transferred when I spotted a used USP Compact in .40 that had just been traded in. I've owned a few HK guns in the past: a Full sized USP and a P30. I liked both enough, but had sold them along the way. However, I'd never seen or held a USP compact in person. My first impression was how much slimmer it was than the full-sized USP. The grip is often criticized as being blocky, and while the USPc is certainly no P30, I found the grip to be very comfortable, and the gun points very naturally. The gun dates to 1996 and came with 3 mags. The only hitch was that they are ban mags so are limited to 10 rounds. The USPc has two varieties of floorplates, flat or extended for the pinky finger. While I don't prefer pinky extensions on any compacts, I found that on my old Glock 26 the pinky extension actually served a purpose. On the USPc, however, the pinky extension is superfluous because the grip is big enough to fit my whole hand (I've got medium to large hands). I've since ordered a 12-round magazine, but they are expensive at around $40 after shipping. The feature that I've always liked on the USP series is the ability to have a safety and decocker in the same spot. It looks like HK has made this lever more ergonomic on the newer models. On the USPc the lever does hurt a little while firing if you use a thumbs over safety grip like a 1911, but not onerously so. The FNP/FNX have a similar design, and while some reviewers have commented that you can decock the USP while firing, I can't get it to do so. The decock function simply occurs too far down the lever's travel. In contrast, this was a constant problem for me on the FN series pistols. HK triggers have always been among the worst offerings in my opinion, and one of the weak spots on otherwise very well thought out pistols. The problem got worse with the introduction of the rear mounted decocker on the p2000 and P30 guns. While the trigger on this USPc is not in W. German SIG territory, it is the best trigger I've found on an HK. The creep is minimal, and the break crisp in SA. The DA pull is smooth and consistent. Though I've only put a few hundred rounds through the gun, I've been able to shoot it very accurately. Much more so than my old USP full sized. The recoil is a bit stiff, but I chalk that up to me only shooting handloaded 9mm plinking loads for the last few months. Overall, I am very satisfied with this pistol, and will soon be adding a 357sig barrel which is a straight drop in conversion. The gun has some minor holster wear, but judging by the barrel wear I would bet that less than 200 rounds have made it down the pipe. I will soon be only a one handgun man, and I'm confident that this USPc is the best gun for the job.

As evil as I could build it. Sorry for the crappy cell pic.

Good stuff. I've had the safetly detent tube come unpinned in a 1911 before, but I'd never thought about it in relation to the grips, particularly to using "slim" grips.

Watch his other videos. Fake.

Luthiery

I build guitars in my spare time and do 90% of the work with routers. Routing without some sort of table, bearing, fence or edge guide is bad juju and a really quick way to end up in the ER. All the above listed methods are fine for controlling lines. My preference is to use templates and pattern routing bits with bearings.

My recent ones were two months and three months. Both done in spring

I can't recommend Bill's Outpost enough. Nothing but very positive experiences there. $20 + $10

I've got a Glock 26, and 19 and a P30. My experience has been somewhat counter-intuitive. I find that the 26 is the fastest for follow-up shots. It has the double recoil spring and shorter barrel which I think are part of it. However, all that is dependent on getting a solid grip on a little package. I use the talon grips and a pinky extension on one mag. When I owned a USP in .40 I thought that the dual recoil spring made a noticeable difference in making the gun less snappy. However, in 9mm, the recoil on the Glock 19 and P30 are about the same. The Glock makes faster follow ups just because of the lower axis. I know this isn't what you originally asked, but one way that the P30 beats the glock hands down is the layout of the controls and the ergos. The feel of the p30 is better than anything I've ever held. The controls are the best I've used, too. Reloads are significantly faster and all the controls can be manipulated with ease without changing from your shooting grip.

Haha, delete. Not worth stirring a well stirred pot.

I wish. Damn those things are expensive for what they are. I've wondered if I should just buy one then rent it out to my shooting friends for $10 a go to just get the $100 they cost back.

I've got one and I really like it. The 500 bullets pushed the value over the top. I got mine with a nice $50 off $500 coupon from midway so I ended up getting it really cheaply. The only quirk that I've found with it is that you have to constantly tighten down the shell plate screw, but that's no big deal.

Yup, that was me.

Sorry, no, I have a 9mm suppressor, so I wanted a 9mm glock.

Suppressor

When I had a 23 I looked into this. My ultimate decision was that if I wanted a 9mm glock, converting the 23 wasn't the way to go. I used a 357Sig conversion in the .40 and had no problems with it, but the 9mm was a bridge too far for me. The .40 guns are not designed for the 9mm. I've since sold the 23 and bought a p30 and G26.

Well, just to prove I meant my +1, I just bought a Glock 26 from Bill's Outpost

+1

maybe it was a bacon at-at walker:

Ccr refinishing is in east tn. My sig p225 is there right now.

Thing is, a good lawyer is going to cost 15x the price of that pistol. I'd suggest not carrying a loaded gun without a permit and chalk it up to a $1500 lesson and hope you don't end up with a intent to go armed citation to with it.

Hair of the dog is the only way. I believe (may be wrong on this) that it is the sugars in the alcohol that cause the hangover, not dehydration. I've found that if I eat something sugary and drink, that those are the worst hangovers.