This year, I’ve reviewed two different HK VP9 9mm variants, the normal HK VP9 (factory optics-ready model) and the HK VP9 Match. You’re welcome to read both those reviews here and here.
Prior to these reviews, I hadn’t paid much attention to the HK VP9 other than shooting a friend’s gun back in 2017. (It shot very nicely). And that’s the thing, they’re great guns; overengineered and extremely robust, and not to mention accurate to boot.
In many ways VP9s also remind me of Walther PDPs. Not only because both come from Germany, are striker-fired and use a stepped chamber, but also because of their reliability and functionality. There’s certainly some nuances between the families, but they’re very much cousins of each other in a way. I confess that my affinity for one begets the other.
The HK VP9 Match in particular has been one of the best-grouping handguns I’ve reviewed all year and it really impressed me. Ever since I picked it up and brought it home, the HK VP9 Match also evoked a certain feeling that I can’t seem to shake. Mind you, I’ve already written my review, linked above. The following isn’t a review as much as just some fun commentary on HK pistols and the VP9 Match in particular.
The Heckler & Koch Mythos
Perhaps it’s due to HK’s serious business reputation and the legendary to hell-and-back reliability it designs into its products ever since the 7.62mm NATO G3 and 9mm MP5 became household names. Heckler & Koch has always been serious about building reliable duty-grade weaponry. Especially once the company “modernized” its duty-grade sidearms, starting with the HK USP back in the early 1990s. In fact, the USP can still arguably keep up with today’s latest and greatest in duty-grade polymer-framed service pistols (aside from mounted optics).
Perhaps it also has to do with the enigmatic qualities by the on-screen characters that HK firearms come to be associated with. I fully admit this is all based on my own evocative emotion about these firearms, not unlike when I wrote about Creasy and his Glock 34 in Man On Fire.
Allow me to state my case:
It’s hard not to think about Tom Cruise’s Vincent character in Michael Mann’s Collateral or John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves in the first John Wick film. Sure, it’s true that neither character carried a striker-fired VP9 and instead relied on the HK USP 45 and the [compensated] HK P30L, both hammer-fired service pistols. But that doesn’t matter because the association still sets in like drying concrete.
Plot development aside, it’s implied that both characters are very good at what they do. They are consummate professionals in their chosen career field. Likewise, the viewer can also see this professional level signal via either characters’ sartorial habits: smart-fitting and properly tailored suits in a neutral color palette. There’s no frump, there’s nothing slacking and not one article looks like it came off the rack from a suburban shopping center’s menswear store.
Casting aside nitpicky gun-guys and gun-gals, it comes as no surprise that these stern characters would be equally equipped with “pro-grade” gear. The characters, their mannerism, the way they dress and their gear all play off of each other to paint viewers a picture. Despite how fine of a gun it is, if John Wick carried a Smith & Wesson Model 14, that K-frame .38 Special wouldn’t make the same impact as his HK P30L does.
Creasy and his Glock 34.
Dirty Harry Callahan and his .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson Model 29.
James Bond and his Walther PPK.
You get the idea.
HK VP9 Match ~ Vibes
Something I didn’t cover in my original written review of the VP9 Match was how I felt when unboxing it. Feelings aren’t germane to gun reviews proper after all; good thing this isn’t technically one.
The HK VP9 Match is a considerably large handgun. With its 5.5 inch barrel, the VP9 Match edges out the even longer-than-standard HK VP9L in length. From striker plate cover to muzzle, it measures approximately 8.5 inches.
Pulling it out of the box, it feels large and in charge, which is a nice feeling. That’s something that also drew me to the Glock 34, when I first started shooting those too.
Heckler & Koch ships each VP9 Match with four 20-round factory extended base pad magazines. With the magazines inserted, the entire vertical plane of the pistol feels almost as long as the horizontal one. HK duty-grade pistols tend to have generous sized trigger guards for winter uniform carry, and the VP9 frame obviously checks off this box. I find that it adds to the aura as well.
Even though slide-mounted red-dots render sight-radius irrelevant, that extra-length slide and barrel still foment a modicum of sheer confidence in accuracy. In the case of the VP9 Match, it’s not a bluff because it will actually perform too. Its pre-tensioned striker-fired trigger is also a big help in this, too.
The HK VP9 Match Slide
The HK VP9 Match’s slide also has those classic German sharp lines and corners. It’s hard not to think of a German Shepherd’s snout (especially because of how the last 1.5 inches of slide tapers to the muzzle). Similarly, the slide’s boxy angular lines can also remind one of the front half of a Messerschmitt BF-109 fighter plane.
The aggressive weight-reducing slide cuts found all over the front of the slide add to the VP9 Match’s serious demeanor too. Perhaps the rows of these neat and parallel slide cuts is what makes one reminisce about the engine vents of fighter planes with in-line engines from the propeller age? The handgun’s roll marks also add to its panache.
On the left side one sees “HK VP9 MATCH” and then “9mmx19” further back. The word “match” especially evokes feelings of authority. On the right size, one finds the serial number, the country-code for Germany “DE” and the classic German antler proof mark from Ulm.
The right-side wall of the barrel’s chamber is clearly exposed through the slide’s ejection port when the handgun is fully in battery. Here one also sees the gun’s matching serial number stamped onto the barrel, another caliber stamping that reads “9mmx19” and the Heckler & Koch monogram.
Hugo Boss Longslide
I’ve been shooting the HK VP9 since late June and finally put my feelings to the page. For all its German styling and professional-grade vibes, I found Hugo Boss Longslide to be a fitting nickname.
For more information, please visit HK-USA.com.
