Ah, my P7's, I am getting all wispy....
Dave, the way you explained the love bewteen owner and P7 made my eyes tear up. The P7 is a jealous mistress indeed...or should I say that the owner becomes a jealous master? You just will not want to ever use anything else.
bk40 - you are in for a great experience. Let me know if you have any questions. The P7 is very mysterious to even the experienced gun owner, so most people don't know how to do little things like release the slide or even more so: lock the slide back manually with no clip in it. You can miss out on the features if you don't have a good manual or someone to show you it all.
I have to add a few things and correct some people. I hope that no one is offended, I am just trying to help.
I have both the standard manual and the gunsmith manual for the P7 (m13). The manuals say in big bold letters "DO NOT SCRUB THE GAS PISTON CLEAN". It basically says that the gun and gas system are designed to run dirty, and that the ribbed gas piston will get gunk in the ribs, but to LEAVE IT and do not scrub with any brush or abrasive. They don't say exactly why, but I believe that it implies that it is because by scrubbing the gas piston, you will wear it down and reduce it's effectiveness, and furthermore the fouling will not hurt a thing.
Scrape out the gas chamber with the awl provided and then the brush (only needed once in a great while). That is it for the chamber. Then wipe the ribbed gas piston down with oil as best you can with just a cloth. That's it, leave it a little dirty, the HK likes it that way. It is made to be dragged through a swamp, run over with a tank, urinated on, and that is when it really starts to perform it's best
Not only that, but before I knew better, I scrubbed the gas piston clean, and within like 100 rounds it was all filthy again in the crevices! Talk about an exercise in futility. The gun is made to be run dirty (gotta love the simple German engineering) and takes minimal upkeep. The manual says to just take an oiled cloth and wipe the piston rod...that's it, leave the fouling in the ribbed crevices.
Lest anyone get the wrong idea, the P7 is a breeze to keep up. Regular cleaning and takedown is even easier than the Glock, with significantly less parts. For regular maintenance the gun breaks down to ONLY the slide, frame, and spring. Three parts, that's it! Piece of cake to takedown, clean and reassemble. Because it it so easy to clean and it is not a picky gun about a little dirt, It takes all of about 30 seconds to clean. I usually just take it down (similar style take-down as a Glock), wipe it inside and lightly oil it, grease the rails, and put it back together.
The exception, as mentioned above, is on the extensive cleaning routines every 1000 rounds. This is also simple, but a little more work. On top of the usual cleaning, remove the firing pin with a simple push and twist (the gun doesn't even have to be apart to take out the firing pin unit). And, also take the handle scales off and blow out the insides. That is it. And for me, it is an exercise in love that I actually look forward to.
Don't forget to put some grease up there in the slide rails - they are hard to reach but the difference is noticable when you get the grease in the right spot. The slide rails are hard to reach because the gun so low-profile that they had to place them high up in the slide.
I have a Mitch Rosen leather holster (on the belt, "Express Line" I believe). It works great and I use it IWB as well as on the belt. I bought it used and it has Leather Lightning in the inside, which grips the gun sorta like metal galling, but slips the gun right out like lubricant when you pull it. It is a good holster. The holster only grips the muzzle and gives you the ability to get a good purchase on the handle.
I believe that Mad Dog makes Kydex holsters for the P7. A Taylor Thunderbolt and an IWB from Mad Dog are next on my list. You can order them at www.mdenterprise.com. They have excellent retention and wear at a great price. Best in the world, IMHO ( I am a "Kydex man" myself).
The only thing I have ever heard of failing on a P7 is the springs - both the slide spring getting short and be sure to check the firing spring for cracks when you clean it every 1000 rounds. Spring wear does not surprise me, I keep a close eye on the springs of all my guns. These things are not living creatures (although my P7 talks to me sometimes
), and parts like springs wear out. That is the nature of a tool that gets used.
The only part on my P7's that has rusted is the upper-back of the handle where the webbing of my hand goes (the "backstrap"?). I keep it wiped off and I usually don't have a problem. The corrosion is mainly due to my excessive fondling. I live right on the beach, and have had no other rusting with only minimal upkeep. Once in a while I apply Tuff Cloth or oil to the outside (anything wrong with WD-40 for such things?)
I would suggest that you not shoot lead through it. I have heard two rumors, but all I know is that the manuals say not to, and I am not about to risk my P7 to save a few pennies on ammo. One theory is that the lead bullets are too dirty and foul the gas system. I don't buy that, the gun runs great dirty and the gas system is easy to keep clean. The other theory is that the lead will buildup in the barrel and blowup the gun. Whatever, I would just stick to jacketed rounds.
I have been shooting the P7 M13 (more than one of them) for a couple years now, many thousands of rounds, and NEVER a single itty-bitty hiccup.
Just point and pull the trigger.
Everyone that shoots mine instantly hits EXACTLY what they were pointing at the very first time they shoot it, and then they turn to me and say "yep, that's an HK!", or something to that effect.
Need I say that the gun is a natural pointer, and deadly accurate? I just can't compare the accuracy to anything else I have shot, and I am no newbie to the handgun arena. Okay, I'll stop. I get a little over-excited about my P7's.
I would suggest that you spend some time firing rapid fire or 'double taps' and get a feel for how quickly the P7 indexs, how low the muzzle flip is, and how you can stack bullets in fast pace firing. IMHO, that is the best overall feature of the P7, and that feature is it's combative highlight. You can instantly stack 4 rounds of 9mm into the heart at 7 yards without even trying. With some practice you can do even better at longer ranges.
You wanted some information....how is that for a start?
Enjoy!
thaddeus
Ps- lets take bets on how long it takes before you sell all other handguns you own and insist on shooting nothing else but the P7. It's addictive!
[This message has been edited by thaddeus (edited March 16, 1999).]
