Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns HK P7 squeeze cocker

I know there’s options for a carry 9mm that make so much more sense, but damn they’re sexy.
Anyone with first hand experience care to post pics or give an opinion? Got some gun $$ burning a hole in my pocket, and going down the list I’ve scratched most itches except for a few, and this is one of them.

When I worked at the gun shop we bought a crate of European police turn ins, they may have been German I can’t recall.
We had $400 apiece in them and were selling the nice ones for $800 and the more worn ones for $700. I could have bought one for $500 but wasn’t into 9mm at the time. Should have bought a box full at those prices.

They’re heavy, and sort of complicated to completely disassemble. Ours were single stacks so ammo capacity of a 1911 and with the silly heel release mag catch. But every one I fired was accurate as a rifle. Once you had it cocked they had a very good trigger pull and the small slide and shape of the frame kept all the weight down in your hand so they were easy to shoot. Pretty cool guns.

My favorite handgun of all! I have two P7M8 's,i like them alot.One is
almost new in box with all the paperwork,tools,etc.The other is my carry gun.I HIGHLY recommend them !
Are there smaller,lighter,higher capacity ,more modern handguns with lights,lasers,red dot sights available ? Sure,but i think once you fire one you ll be hooked.

I seem to recall Shrapnel, a poster here on the Campfire, has a 13rounder. You might PM him and ask him about it.

One of the guys I used to shoot with, had one, he liked it, but he liked weird stuff, he also had a MAB PA-15 (French pistol) that I like a lot better than his HK. I never saw the appeal, but those who have had them either like them a lot, or no longer want any part of them after fooling with them. The compactness is good, but they are heavy for their size, which I don't much care for. HK was then known for coming up with oddball designs, like the VP-70Z and the P9S, so I dismissed it and went on with my CZs and HPs.

Bought one years ago. Found it to be cumbersome, of small capacity and not that accurate. Sold it for a nice profit.

They have a following. I can't understand why, but somebody likes them enough to drive the prices on them stupidly high.

I had a gun store employee try to sell me on the supposed superiority of the P7. He was all enamored with the "safety" of the squeeze cock and he thought being able to remove the firing pin was another great safety feature. The gun seemed so "safe" that it was of no use.
I bought another 1911 that day...

Had an incident that caused me to give up revolvers for serious encounters where they might need a reload. I was also in a position where I could never appear to be armed.
Read several articles on the upcoming P7 then stumbled upon one a couple of months later in late 1979. Bought it then ordered a Galco Miami Special, so early that it came with a Jackass harness. After thoroughly learning its manual of arms and practicing its heel mag release I gained 100% confidence with it. Found that even being butt heavy, it was fast out of the holster, accurate and easy to control. Mag changes have been plenty fast. Finally had my first two failures to fully feed four years ago. New recoil and mag springs cured that. Remember to check all springs at least every 40 years.
One must train in its unique procedures. This is critical since should there be a finger on the trigger before the grip lever is cocked, it will instantly fire when the lever is pressed. Just be aware.
Even with a safe full of handguns, when things go bump in the night my P7 still rides with me.

Shrapnel…..

Back in the 1990s, I was working at a small gun store when a shipment of those came in. The police in Germany had switched to something else, and they shipped out all their P7s for sale on the US surplus market. As a result of the sudden flood of them, they were pretty inexpensive, but in fine working condition. I regret not picking one up at the time.

they are an interesting gun for sure. its mostly for people who just have to have something different

Find a P7 M8 made in Chantilly Va that wasn’t a police trade in. In the box with the scraper tool, target, manual and extra magazine in excellent condition can go for 3500.00.

Shot one in my early teens in the mid/late 80s. Loved it and always wanted one. But they are too rich for my blood now. if i were to splurge on one it would be the 13 round model.

If I recall correctly, back in the 1990s, we were selling the German police trade ins for somewhere around $400.00 to $450.00. Mechanically perfect. Just a bit of holster wear.

I worked in a small gun shop in the 90s and we got the only H7 I had ever seen. It was a pristine commercial model and was selling for $600. I can't tell you how many times I fondled it but couldn't afford it at the time. One of those decisions I could kick myself for now. BYW, I did shoot it and it was extremely accurate.

In late 1980, I acquired one of the newly introduced H&K P7s with its intriguing mechanical design, superb handling qualities and impressive accuracy. However, when shooting more than just a few rounds, the frame above the trigger would start to get noticeably hot, due to the blowback-delaying gas cylinder being located just under the fixed barrel. By the end of the second eight round magazine in rapid fire, it became uncomfortably hot for my tender trigger finger. When it later developed some reliably trouble, I coulda fixed it, but instead simply traded it off for a 659, which was itself later replaced by this outstanding 5906:



H&K put plastic heat shields and plastic triggers on its later P7s to protect fingers against the heat.

I owned and carried a P7M13 for several years in the late 80's. It was the most accurate semiauto pistol I've ever owned.

In a fit of utter stupidity I sold it for more than I paid for it and have regretted it ever since.

Ed

It is accurate, it is a bit portly, it is very cool. I have a holster that I never used.

P08, P7, P9 (45)

Accurate, easy to conceal. Expensive pistol for the day. I bought this one new in the mid 90s for around $1100.

[/url]