Update:

If anyone has a holster they would sell, or a source for the P9S 45 please contact me.

Got it... pictures I just took!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/S4Z89RQ3JXSVFtot5

Owners, past or present, is there any downside? I am looking at one which has only 7 rounds fired and 2 mags, and wonder if you all like the gun? I assume parts are hard to find if something breaks and mags are impossible to find. How does it shoot? Robert

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tschiemer,

The P9S is largely a collector's piece. They will certainly appreciate in value over time. As a shooter, be advised that the first thing it will likely need is a new recoil buffer. It's an elastomer insert located in the frame. Over the years, they harden and lose their elasticity so if you shoot with an old worn out one, it can lead to a cracked frame.

Parts are a real challenge to obtain. Magazines are very expensive and hard to come by. They are also quite fragile due to the fact they were originally intended to be 9mm and I believe HK used a thinner gage of steel for the .45s. There used to be a Navy guy in North Carolina who seemed to have cornered the market on all things P9S. He had parts a plenty. Replacing them is an equal chore as unlike modern designs like Glocks, the P9S is essentially Rube Goldberg machine that shoots. The armorer's manual has a detailed list of specialized tools used to overhaul them.

As a pistol, the P9S was originally a 9mm. Upgrading to .45ACP makes the likelihood of breaking parts more likely. Years ago, I made the mistake of purchasing a surplus P9S without first inspecting it thoroughly. Sure enough, it had a cracked frame and I ended up trading it back to the store for a different pistol.

They are amazing works of functional art. From an engineering and quality perspective they are really special. However, I would certainly relegate any P9S I purchased to a very limited firing schedule due to the lack of spare parts and the difficulty in replacing them should anything break.

Fixed barrel autoloaders have a distinct accuracy advantage over the Browning tilting breach design



I bought mine with the hopes of one day suppressing it

It is also kind of ICONic and a good piece for a collection

There are many millions, perhaps tens of millions, of guns out there that are hard to find parts for. That is not a reason to stop shooting them.

If something breaks then worry about it.

With the advancements in metal 3D printing, there are lots of hard to find parts that are getting easier to replace

By the time you break the P9S it might not be a problem any longer

Make sure the recoil buffer has not turned into goop - I became aware of this after the buffer housing broke on my P9S .45 Target. At the time I had to modify a 9mm housing until I could source the correct part.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/604280

Having owned several over the last 30 years or so, and much as I like these guns, since they are long out of production my thoughts on them are consistent with what Belgian Blue posted. I had an assortment of new internal parts, but they went with the last P9S I sold. It might take some effort to replace those parts now....

Work of art. Not the gun for the daily shooter. Suppress fairly well.

I bought one because.... Rick Hunter had one. His was 9mm, possibly. Mine shot fine but the Euro heel of the hand mag release was not for me so I sold it.

Love my Target model. The trigger is awesome.

Is the buffer --

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/604280

-- used for both the 9mm and 45asp versions and a simple drop in procedure? as I see no housings are available so sure do not want to damage it so wonder if replacing the buffer will be easy to do. Robert

quote:

Originally posted by jsbethel:
Make sure the recoil buffer has not turned into goop - I became aware of this after the buffer housing broke on my P9S .45 Target. At the time I had to modify a 9mm housing until I could source the correct part.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/604280

quote:

Originally posted by tschiemer:
Is the buffer used for both the 9mm and 45asp versions and a simple drop in procedure? as I see no housings are available so sure do not want to damage it so wonder if replacing the buffer will be easy to do. Robert

Yes, it's easy - removal of one screw from a slotted nut after field strip.

Good info here - http://www.parkcitiestactical.com/manuals/P9S.pdf

I had one in 45ACP a long time ago, it shot ok but I never was crazy about it. A screw stripped out of the sheet metal frame so I got rid of it. I do still have a couple in 9mm, a 1971 model unfired and a 1980 that I have shot some. The 80 model has an awesome single action pull, outstanding for a factory gun. I wish HK would make an updated version with the same action and trigger but with a stainless or polymer frame with a conventional mag release.

quote:

Originally posted by jsbethel:

quote:

Originally posted by tschiemer:
Is the buffer used for both the 9mm and 45asp versions and a simple drop in procedure? as I see no housings are available so sure do not want to damage it so wonder if replacing the buffer will be easy to do. Robert

Yes, it's easy - removal of one screw from a slotted nut after field strip.

Good info here - http://www.parkcitiestactical.com/manuals/P9S.pdf

You will want to use two hollow ground gunsmith screwdrivers of the correct size and it will take one screwdriver to hold the female screw in place and the other one to back out the male screw. Take your time and be careful not to over torque the screws upon reassembly.

I have owned two of them in .45 over the years (still have one).

Cool gun, but as others have said, mostly a collector's item now.

They are kind of fragile and parts are getting very difficult to come by.

One thing I recall, there were two versions of the .45 magazine, the early one would not feed well in later guns.

The later magazines are marked "IA .45" on the base plate. I can't recall what markings the early model magazines had, if any at all. I think the main difference is the feed lips. It was back in the 1980's when I had the two different style mags so my memory is a bit fuzzy on this. I currently have only the IA .45 mags with my current pistol.

Many thanks everyone. I have located manuals for the gun from on-line searches and am picking up copies from my printer to study.

Here are links to manuals in case it helps some of the members:


http://s3.amazonaws.com/hk-man...struction_Manual.pdf

http://s3.amazonaws.com/hk-man...9S_German_Manual.pdf

http://www.parkcitiestactical.com/manuals/P9S.pdf

I have several in 9 and 45. The mags are like $150 apiece or more if you can find one in 45. If you find one buy it, cause they are scarce and are HK collector gold. The long hunter barrel is HK collector platinum. The P9s is a soft shooting and accurate pistol and an over engineered work of German perfection. I think you will love it and recommend you snag it.

Update: at top

I bought one and carried it, off and on, from 1979 until 1990, or so. I really liked it at the time. It shot well. I liked the DA/SA for carry, with the manual safety for bedside. Bianchi made a thumb-snap holster that worked well.
If I remember correctly, my serial number was 402 380. Not too far off yours.

Mine was made in 1976 and has some interesting German eagle stamps on it (not only the usual "Eagle over N"). Some years ago I tried to find out what they depict at HKProforum.com and someone believed that the pistol was used by the GSG9. I bought mine from AIM Surplus 15 yrs ago or so for $600. It came in the original box with an extra mag and manual.
One of the softest shooting pistols in 9mm.

quote:

Originally posted by kaschi:
Mine was made in 1976 and has some interesting German eagle stamps on it (not only the usual "Eagle over N"). Some years ago I tried to find out what they depict at HKProforum.com and someone believed that the pistol was used by the GSG9...

The Eagle markings you were asking about are probably Buro (Police acceptance) stamps, seen in this photo next to the serial number.

Thanks for the info. The eagle stamps on yours are definitely the same as on mine. I've never heard the term "Police Buro acceptance stamps". Which other pistols used by the German police have these stamps? I think my Walther P4 MAY have them but will have to check to be certain. Come to think of it, I've never seen them on any other service pistols (ex. Walther PP) so it's kind of mysterious why some models have them and some don't.