HK P7 & Steyr M

These arrived last week, & I shot them both today.
Both are unusual pistols.
I have always lusted for a HK P7, but there were few available & expensive when they surfaced for sale.
Not as high as a SIG 210, but still too high for me to buy.

It is an early one, returned to HK in trade by some German police units, then exported to the U.S.
Frame, slide, & box match.
It has some surface pitting near the muzzle. Perhaps from contact with a wet holster.

Very comfortable to shoot. Very high build quality.

Accuracy was very good at short distance, but dropped off at 25 yds. How many rounds have been fired from this barrel is not known.
Shooting it is unlike anything else.
From the squeeze cocker to the fluted chamber to the gas piston.

The trigger works in SA mode only when the front strap is squeezed, cocking the striker. If the trigger is not squeezed, then releasing pressure on the front strap de-cocks the striker automatically.
Should you want to shoot it in DA mode, pull the trigger all the way to the rear before squeezing the front strap, then with the trigger fully depressed, squeeze the front strap. This action sets & drops the striker & the pistol fires with your three outward fingers.
The barrel is fixed to the frame like a Walther PP, but instead of being a pure blowback action, the P7 uses the gas from firing to push a piston forward (My Desert Eagle also uses gas to push a piston, but it pushes the piston rearward to cycle the slide) to delay the action of the slide until pressure drops after the bullet exits the barrel.
The fluted chamber allows gas to escape & get between the case & chamber wall for easy extraction. I have a Russian SVT-40 & a PTR-91 with fluted chambers.
The barrel has no conventional rifling. It is polygonal. Just like a Glock, Desert Eagle and Cz82.

Striker at rest;


Striker cocked & ready to drop.



Next is my Steyr M9-A1
Mostly plastic ( Educated folks call it polymer; what's the difference? ), this pistol reminds me of My Glock ( Model 20 ). Back of the slide cover, mushy plastic trigger, itty bitty slide release, & the slippery as an eel feel of the plastic skin.
The Steyr came in a package deal. I was offered a beautiful Benelli model 76 pistol, but I remembered the trouble I had with a broken extractor in a Mauser HSc & a Madsen M47 where replacement parts were not available, so I passed on the pretty Italian gal & chose the more practical Steyr.
It is DAO, but the trigger is light & has a short stroke just like a SA pistol, so it shoots like a single action. I did not notice a spot on the trigger movement where you can short-stroke it to get off a quick follow-up shot like on a Glock.
It has a rod that passes from the breech face to the rear of the slide that lets the shooter know if the pistol is "Hot" ( Ready to fire ) with a chambered round.
The rifling is standard & reloaders can shoot lead bullets through the bore.
The rear sights are unique. The front post is like the top of a triangle & the rear sight is a trapazoid, or like the base of a triangle. Just align the two sights & fire. If the sights are adjusted properly ( Mine were not ) your rounds should be on target.




I like em both.

That HK is a nice piece of engineering. Congrats

Bitwise wrote:Those look great. I've always wanted a P7. Does the fluted chamber mark up the brass? I have an HK MP5 clone with a fluted chamber and it leaves long dark marks on the brass where the flutes are.

Yes, the spent 9mm brass has the telltale scorch marks from the burning gas.
I like it. I always know what pistol ejected the brass with the striped scorch marks.

Those are both some very interesting guns. The HK seems waaaaay too complicated to me, but neat nonetheless! The steyr recently caught my eye as well so I'd be interested in seeing you keep us updated with how you like it.

jakeg823 wrote:Those are both some very interesting guns. The HK seems waaaaay too complicated to me, but neat nonetheless! The steyr recently caught my eye as well so I'd be interested in seeing you keep us updated with how you like it.

Yes, they are interesting handguns. When offered up, I could not decline them.
The HK is very easy to shoot. The design allows safe carry with a loaded chamber, & requires a deliberate action to fire each round.

The Steyr is the oddball, but it is comfortable & accurate; built better than a Glock.
I am awaiting a sight pusher to adjust the front sight to the point of aim.
Hammer & drift just won't do the job without damaging the sight/slide or the drift.
My SIG shoots to the left of aim & the Steyr shoots to the right of aim.

Should you find a Steyr for a good price in good shape with all the goodies, you will enjoy the experience of ownership.

One unexpected feature of the Steyr was the location of the importer;
Steyr-Mannlicher of West Point, Mississippi.

I've always want to shoot an hk p7. Its a neat gun.

I really like to carry my P7. I see the safety as adding that extra level of protection from accidentally pullin the trigger while carrying, but also requires no effort to disengage that safety and get it into action.