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Originally posted by bac1023:

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Originally posted by FenderBender:

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Originally posted by rock185:
Ken Hackathorn once described the P7s as the "Porsche of pistols." I get it. Like a Porsche, it is expensive and many other much less expensive vehicles will reliably get you from point A to point B.

very insightful, and just like the Porsches of it's time, they're extremely expensive, still great cars but have been surpassed by modern options.

Not sure how many people are buying them because they're great carry options these days. They buy them for nostalgia, uniqueness, and high quality.

just like how you wouldn't daily drive a Porsche 930

While I have never even handled a P7 or shot one, some comments seem a bit off to me:
Limited capacity? - for decades wars and streets were controlled with 6-9 shot pistols that can be just as effective today
Weight? How many people still carry an all steel 1911?
Just because new designs pop up and appear to offer some advantage’s doesn’t discount the quality or performance of the older models.

There are plenty of cars today for example that could out maneuver or accelerate an old classic cobra or 60’s 70’s muscle car with ease. But the old ones like the P7 or some older designs have a panache that can’t be surpassed

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Originally posted by V-Tail:

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Originally posted by MacGyver:

The M8 grips will function on a PSP-style P7, but they won’t be an exact contour match, depending on which iteration of the heel magazine release latch you have.

Mine has the later (wider) release latch.

They should line up pretty nicely then. You’ll just have two small empty “slots” on either side of the trigger guard (where the magazine release paddle would be on an M8).

The New Jersey State Police and the Utah Highway Patrol had the HK P7 as their duty weapon back in the '80s. To me the only disadvantage is the unique manual of arms. I would be very comfortable carrying mine if it was the only pistol I practiced with.

I believe Jersey was P7M8 only

I owned one for a short time.

I found its weight to be off-putting. Once the weight and the chosen holster interacted so that the pistol fell out of the holster onto the concrete garage floor. Not good.

I also found the "instinctive" squeeze cocking can, with limited practice, create situations where you think it is cocked and locked, and it is not. Dead trigger. Not good.

The lack of cleanliness inside? Not good.

The need to clean a buffer tube frequently? Not good.

All the hoopla about low bore axis and fixed barrel and accuracy resulting? Not different. I can shoot the center of the target out with a H&K VP9 Match. Rapid fire, from holster. And, I can do this with a S&W L-frame revolver, with a super high bore axis. And a Sig P229. And a M&P 9 Compact. All having a higher bore axis than the P7. So, we can say with some certainty that a low bore axis is not required.

I think the P7 is a token of wealth and taste, much like the purchase of 23-year old Pappy Van Winkle. If you can, why not? If you question the value, you already know the answer. Don't.

One of the very last firearms I'd even consider getting rid of.

^^^ Interesting. Did your mag come this way, or did you refinished it? Hard chrome?

Can't tell from the pic, but is the inserted mag also in that finish?

Very nice Para it appears new. Did both magazines come silver?

Oops sorry Rawny asked the same question as I was typing.

In 1999, I bought four P7 magazines which had been hard-chromed. Total cost with shipping, 110 bucks. Yep.

This is one of the 1500 last-run PSPs from HK, proofed 1997. Cost me 1100 bucks. Yep.

The magazine in the pistol is blued, as was the other mag which came with the pistol. I just added the HC'd mag to the photo for flair. The HC'd magazines are proofed 1988.

BTW, that's a great example of a properly-lit photograph, if I do say so myself.

Yes your photo came out well. Mine pistols never do on a white background maybe because I don't have enough light on them?

Anyway a picture of an old ad I have.

$2400 seems to be the low end to get one right now.

Not sure that number is gonna go down though.

Last time I looked on GB the P7s were listed for $2,000+ and P7M8s $3,000+ with certain ones like NIB, M13, M10, and commemorative ones closer to $5K.

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Originally posted by parabellum:
In 1999, I bought four P7 magazines which had been hard-chromed. Total cost with shipping, 110 bucks. Yep.

This is one of the 1500 last-run PSPs from HK, proofed 1997. Cost me 1100 bucks. Yep.

The magazine in the pistol is blued, as was the other mag which came with the pistol. I just added the HC'd mag to the photo for flair. The HC'd magazines are proofed 1988.

BTW, that's a great example of a properly-lit photograph, if I do say so myself.

Were the HC mags aftermarket-refinished at one point, or did they come that way from the factory?

^^^ I don't think H&K ever offered hard chrome finish. Too flashy for them.

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Originally posted by parabellum:
In 1999, I bought four P7 magazines which had been hard-chromed. Total cost with shipping, 110 bucks. Yep.

That's a tremendous deal. I had my PSP hard chromed by Tripp with six mags back in 2005. I'm quite sure it costed more than $27.50 per mag even back then.

I doubt P7 prices will drop barring something very out of left field happening.

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I think the P7 is a token of wealth and taste, much like the purchase of 23-year old Pappy Van Winkle. If you can, why not? If you question the value, you already know the answer. Don't.

I think this is fairly spot on although I think the P7 is still an extremely capable arm as well in all the ways that matter (accuracy, durability, reliability, safety etc.). Like I said it’s one of the perfect gun geek guns. You don’t buy one these days, hell you didn’t buy one in those days, if you just want a good self defense arm. You buy it for far more than that. If you need a GUN go buy whatever tactical Tupperware meets your needs. If you want a piece of kinetic art you could do far worse then a P7. Besides then you too can be as pretentious and overbearing as the other HK folks. Hell you’ll even be a tier higher. .

I keeed, I keeed I have many HKs.

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Originally posted by MacGyver:
Were the HC mags aftermarket-refinished at one point, or did they come that way from the factory?

They were refinished.

Wasn’t the P7 the first gun to use a 3 dot sight system like we all take for granted now of am I misremembering?

^^^I don’t know if the P7 was the first, but I do think that HK is credited with introducing the three-dot setup.

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Originally posted by MacGyver:
^^^I don’t know if the P7 was the first, but I do think that HK is credited with introducing the three-dot setup.

Beretta was an early adopter of it as well.