Florida Shooters Network

lakelandman wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:28 am Just stick with what you have.

lakelandman wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:30 am Sounds good save the $$$ for ammo. LOL

I 'mostly' went with your suggestion

I ordered an enhanced mag release, night sights and 357sig barrel for the USPc. The mag release and night sights arrived yesterday and I installed them. Very happy with both items. Normally, I am not one for modding or customization on a pistol. Particularly a pistol I'm going to carry for defense. However, I consider night sights as an acceptable and functional change (particularly on a Glock to get rid of the plastic dovetail protectors, lol). The enhanced mag release was suggested by 45caldan and it was an excellent suggestion. It really made a difference from the stock part. So I'll put that down as a really functional 'mod'. Should be a stock part imo.

When the 357sig barrel comes in the USPc will be a great 3-in-1 pistol. So at least for now, that is my choice between the three in my OP. The P2000 I have is a 2-in-1 pistol and is a great second choice. At some point I'll add a 9mm barrel. I found out a stock HK 9mm barrel is all that is needed.

Pics of the muzzle end of a P2000 with a 40 S&W barrel and a stock 9mm barrel are on page 5 of this thread:

http://sepboard.us/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=255&start=40

I did some research about his and folks that have done it on the HK board say it functions just fine even with the slightly larger gap. So down the road maybe.

Good to hear man the mag release is a must and the only thing I modify on the older Hk's.

The Rim Country 357sig barrel arrived as I noted above and I've taken it to the range. It did outstanding and I'd recommend RC to anyone. Looks and shoots like a high quality barrel. So this completes the HK USPc as a 3-in-1 pistol. For now I'll leave the HK P2000 as a 2-in-1 pistol. I have several other 9mm pistols so it's not like I'm lacking in that area. And this now gives me two go-to pistols capable of shooting 357sig so I have the '2 is 1 and 1 is none' covered. As a side note, the 9mm barrel does operate in the 40 slide on the USPc however accuracy, as I suspected, was wanting. I'd have several shots that were fairly tight and then a flyer, rinse and repeat. So it would be more of an 'in an emergency with no other options' sort of option. Fortunately, the complete 9mm slide is easy enough to put on and take off should I want to convert it back. For now I've got the 40 upper with the 40 barrel as the primary way I will carry this pistol.

As expected, the USPc was very soft shooting with either the 40 S&W or 357sig barrels. And exceptionally accurate. I had to tweaked the front sight a hair for the second range trip and now feel very good about it.

In regards to my thoughts on getting a Glock 23.5 and making it a 3-in-1 pistol, I had liked the Glock 23 since it came out. However, I just never got around to getting one till 20 years later. A Gen 3 that I liked, however, I just don't care for finger grooves on a Glock compact. So I had hoped they'd eventually come out with a Gen 5. When it came to light that there were in fact going to be coming out with Gen 5's I thought 'great'! I'll turn that into a 3-in-1 pistol. But along the way I picked up that HK USPc. After that the desire for a G23.5 started to fade. One concern is the long term durability of the 2-pin design. I know that Glock beefed up the slide and the G22.5 in Brazil supposedly passed a 10K torture test. And I have no reason to doubt that. But I also know that a local PD had Glock 22's and 23's as their duty issue for many years but they also had issues with breakage. I don't know if they still have them or not but it was something that was talked about amongst the local firearm instructors. Don't know round count or recall what was specifically breaking but they were either Gen 3 or Gen 4 three-pin models. They just weren't getting the hundreds of thousands of rounds we have on our Glock 21's. So is a 'beefed up' two-pin Gen 5 going to have issues down the line? We don't know yet but we do know that the round beats up the pistol more than the 9mm or 45acp pistols. And as noted, most of these 40 pistols are simply redesigned 9mm's. So for folks reading this, your Glocks in 9mm and 45acp are very likely, with at least a modicum of care, to got into the hundreds of thousands of rounds. In other words, it's very, very likely you'll never shoot out the gun or break it. A Glock that shoots a steady diet of 40 S&W or 357sig I wouldn't be too sure about.

Enter the HK USP and USPc that is designed specifically for the 40 (and thus it would be just as capable with the 357sig). So the more I invested in my USPc turning it into a 3-in-1 pistol the more I figured I just didn't need a G23. IMO, the USPC has better ergonomics, no finger grooves, built like a tank, wonderfully manageable recoil and is hammer-fired which I prefer with a smooth DA/SA trigger. I also like the safety/de-cocker. So it's just a big win for me all the way around.

Does this totally take the G23.5 off the table? For the time being, yes. They are suppose to be coming out in a few months give-or-take. If/when that happens I'll see how they fare. I normally don't buy a pistol for at least a year after it's been introduced. So maybe I'll see how they're doing in say a year and a half. I do like that they won't have finger grooves and they will be FS models (from what I understand). But I'm no longer in any hurry. The HK is simply a better pistol all the way around in several key areas imo.

Pics of the Gen 5 40 S&W pistols compared with Gen 4 here:

http://sepboard.us/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=30&start=60

As you can see, the Gen 5 models are going to be quite a bit thicker. Just shy of the current 10mm slides. So I think that's going to pretty much be a deal breaker for me on getting a Gen 5 40 S&W Glock. I'll be sticking with the HK USPc and P2000.

Someone on GT just got a Gen 5 G22 and G23. The G23.5 with empty magazine weighs in at 26.7oz. My USPc in 40 S&W weighs 27.36 ounces with empty magazine. That is just over a half ounce difference. Considering the Glock has one additional round that should put the weight about even.

So that makes me feel pretty good about the choice of the HK. IIRC, I got the HK before I knew about the Gen 5's coming out in 40 S&W. I've always liked the G23 and it's probably my overall favorite Glock model. But with the weight begin pretty much identical I feel very good about the HK choice. Particularly since the HK has more of the features I prefer.

My 3-in-1 USPc. Complete 9mm and 40 S&W slides with the Rim Country Mfg 357sig barrel.

Been almost 6 months since I updated this thread. So the Gen 5 Glock 23 isn't even a thought anymore. Just lost all interest in it. If someone gave one to me that would be fine, but other than that...

The USPc is in my carry rotation. I ordered a nice leather holster for it as well as a flush base plate for the mag I carry in the pistol. That way it doesn't snag like the extended mag tended to do. While it's hard to choose my favorite in the carry rotation, the nod would probably go to the HK. I love how it's a 3-n-1 pistol. I much prefer hammer-fired DA/SA pistols with a de-cocker/safety. And I have always liked the 40S&W caliber. So it's a big win all the way around.

The P2000 will eventually be moved into a HD role.