Brad's Excellent Adventure: Happy P7 Patent Day! The Heckler & Koch P7M8 at the Range

Happy P7 Patent Day! Today is the day key elements of the unique mechanism of the Heckler & Koch P7 pistol were patented by Helmut Weldle:

HK P7 Patent

Here is a detailed rundown of how the P7 works and why it is the best pistol ever made:

The HK P7 Pistol

This pistol has been a significant part of my life since I bought one as my first modern pistol and taught myself to shoot with it in 1982. Seriously - most of my online userids are “hkp7fan”, my Appleseed instructor handle is “P7”, and my license plate has been “HK P7M8” for the last 14 years, in two countries and three states. I love this pistol! So naturally I had to go to the range today and shoot it.

My Heckler & Koch P7M8.

The P7M8 is my EDC gun, as it has been for nearly 40 years. Cognoscenti may wonder how I could have bought it in 1982 when it has an IE (1984) date code. To be more precise, my first pistol was actually a P7 (PSP), purchased at the Hanau Rod & Gun Club. Right before I left Germany in 1985, I purchased the P7M8. Shortly after I returned to the US I retired the P7 and the P7M8 became my EDC gun.

Today it was also time for the semi-annual rotation of my defensive ammunition. Twice a year I go to the range with my carry guns and shoot the ammunition that’s been in them. The idea is to ensure that it goes “bang”, that the pistol functions as desired, and that I am able to hit the target reasonably accurately. After I’ve shot the full-power defensive ammunition, I generally get in some additional shooting with less expensive practice ammo. Afterwards I clean the gun thoroughly, swap in fresh magazines to give the ones I’ve been carrying a rest, and load them with fresh defensive ammunition.

All set up to shoot and to record the results.

Appleseed large silhouette drill targets at 7 yards and a steel silhouette target at 15 yards.

These days I’m carrying Speer Gold Dot 124 gr. Jacketed Hollowpoint Law Enforcement Duty Ammunition. I prefer to carry +P or even +P+, but unfortunately my last case ran out during the depth of the COVID ammo shortage, and standard pressure was all I could find (I don’t like to think about the price I paid). I prefer ammunition with “Law Enforcement” or “Duty” in the name rather than catchy marketing names like “Zombie Killer” or “Terminator”, because it would sound better if I ever had to use it for actual self-defense. This may sound a bit flip but it is a very real consideration. If you are ever placed in the unenviable position of having to defend your actions to a judge and jury, anything that can reinforce their understanding that you are a solid, responsible citizen is important.

Speer Gold Dot - "The No. 1 Choice in Law Enforcement"

Today every round functioned perfectly, and I got in some very good practice. I started off by shooting the carry ammo at a pair of Appleseed silhouette targets at seven yards. My EDC load is 25 rounds: Three eight-round magazines plus one in the chamber. I fired six strings of 4 shots each, two at the first target and then two at the second target. Out of a possible 20 points, my scores were: 13, 12, 12, 14, 19, 17. Then I shot one round at the steel silhouette target at 15 yards (hit).

The last eight rounds of carry ammunition. Two strings of four rounds, two rounds on each target.

After this I fired ten rounds of practice ammunition at another pair of Appleseed silhouette targets, following the Appleseed pistol drill of two magazines (six and four), firing two shots on the left, then two on the right, alternating until all ten rounds had been fired. My score for this was 39/50. I would have practiced more and raised this score, but the light was fading and I had another pistol to shoot. So this was it for the P7 today.

Ten rounds of practice ammo, six on the left and four on the right, fired two rounds at a time, then switching between targets. 39/50 - not a very impressive score, but definitely "minute of bad guy".

I also brought along my travel gun (a Remington R51 9mm). This is a $200 gun vs. the P7’s current ~$2,000 market value. Hence “travel gun”, so that the P7 will never disappear from my checked baggage.

This one was quick. My EDC load for this pistol is only 22 rounds, as the magazines only hold seven. I fired the first magazine fairly deliberately to refamiliarize myself. The first round failed to extract completely and thus jammed the pistol. I believe this was because I limp-wristed it, preventing the recoil force from cycling the action completely. After I cleared it and focused on a firm grip, it functioned perfectly. After the first magazine, I fired the rest rapid fire, and achieved 100% hits on target (a steel silhouette target at 15 yards) with several of the hits at dead center mass. By this time the light was fading fast, so there are no photos and this was the last shooting of the day.

After packing up and coming home, the next step was a good cleaning, followed by fresh ammunition in different magazines, and back into the holster for another six months of EDC.