P7's from CDNN

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Spinnerblade

Joined
Apr 11, 2002
Messages
178
I bought two. The first one shot so well I thought I should get another one while they were still available.

The first one was a grade A, but I have to admit I was a little dissapointed when I first pulled it out of the package. The slide was plum colored and it had a little more finish wear than I thought it would. However, it shot great and looked like it hadn't been shot much at all.

After checking out the Park Cities Tactical forum, I decided to order another one only this time I asked for "Marshall". I told him about my first one and asked if he could find one that was really nice. Well the second one looks brand new and I'm very happy with my new 9mm's.Patrick

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Congrats on your acquisitions spinner. This thread will doubtlessly attract the several P7-ophiles that inhabit these forums.

So tell me, you P7-ophiles, why do you like these pistols so much? Just about anyone who owns one raves about them.
 
As far as HK's go, I prefer the big P9. With that said, I think that the other 2 candidates in the German "police pistol" competition, the Walther P5 and the Sig P6 (P225) are more to my liking than the P7. I haved owned a P5 and a P220 and my brother owns the "new" .40 S&W version of the compact single stack Sig. Very nice guns.
 
zenheretic said:
Congrats on your acquisitions spinner. This thread will doubtlessly attract the several P7-ophiles that inhabit these forums.

So tell me, you P7-ophiles, why do you like these pistols so much? Just about anyone who owns one raves about them.
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Accuracy: The P-7 has long been known for accuracy, the fixed barrel/gas operated system is inherently accurate. Because you have removed a moving part from the system lock up shot to shot can be more consistent than the Browning tilting barrel design. Another of this type is the Steyr GB, again very accurate due to a fixed barrel system.

Safety: The "squeeze cocking" system allows decocking by merely relaxing your grip, no shifting of the hand is needed to reach a safety lever. Yet the gun can be made ready to fire faster than any other safety system.

Reloading: The squeeze cocker also serves as a slide release, again no need to shift grip to reach the slide release, no need to rack the slide. If you reload with the squeeze cocker in the ready position it will automatically close when the magazine is seated.

Ambidextrous: The P-7M8 is a truly ambidextrous handgun.

These are the main reasons I like my P-7M8 but there are some others as well. For example should your handgun get into the wrong hands during a fight there is a good chance the bad guy will not be able to make it go bang, many LEOs have been killed with their own guns. (there were several documented cases of this happening with the New Jersey State Police) Also the gun is a great size for CCW, points naturally (for me), is very robust, feeds just about any ammo, is not as picky about bullet weight to function like recoil operated guns can be, and it looks good to boot.

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So tell me, you P7-ophiles, why do you like these pistols so much?
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I had a P7M8 and a P7M13.
What I liked:
-The collar that holds the striker on my M13 broke once, but I could still hand cycle it and fire rounds.
-It was also the fastest reload because the squeeze cocker releases the slide. The slide also seems to cycle very quickly compared to non-gas guns.
-The M8 is a neat little package, I even shot IPSC with it for a season and moved up a class, which was pretty good with a minor class gun and a belt full of 8 round mags.
-You've got to love a factory 3.5# trigger.

What I disliked:
-The M8 ergonomics were better than the M13 (think brick), but the M8 slide ate my large sized hands.
-They heat up big time if you go to a class with them. I used a bandaid around my middle finger during schools.
-They also rust in high humidity. Shot my M13 in a match in NC and the grip was orange by day's end.
-Detail stripping is next to impossible if you aren't an armorer. I took my M13 down to the frame, and thankfully had my M8 to use as a guide to get all the parts back together. If it weren't German, it would only have half the parts.
-Generally speaking, they run any ammo with two exceptions: 1) lead bullets will plug the gas system and kill them stone dead, and 2) whatever rare cartridge it just doesn't like. We had some Win 124gr NATO ball for range use and had nothing but problems with it. Winchester checked the ammo and it was spec, all other pistols ran with it, but the P7s would experience stoppages. I'm sure it wasn't bullet weight, but a gas issue. It was the only round we ever had problems with.

Get a spare heat shield, a spare trigger return spring, and the collar that holds the striker in the slide. They run fine without the shield, you just get burnt more, you can use half the rounds in your mag by hand cycling if the collar breaks, if the return spring goes, it's DOA until fixed. Don't take this to mean they are more prone to breakage than other pistols, they aren't.

I got rid of them because I can carry anything I want to now, and I got my money and more out of them even after shooting them for tens of thousands of rounds and several years.
 
Accuracy and one of the best guns for concealed carry !
 
Besides being a fixed barrel (which makes it more accurate than most any 9mm), because of where the mechanisms are, it crams a full 4"+ barrel in a package shorter than other compact pistols with shorter barrels. For example, HK USP9C has a 6.81' overall length with a 3.58" barrel. The P7M8 has a 4.13" barrel in a 6.73" length. Sight radius is also comparatively high for its small package.

You can also easily and quickly remove (and replace) the striker from the back of the gun making it safe and unable to fire when not in your possession (like locked in your glovebox).

I don't own one yet (or any gun), but the P7M8 is my dream gun for CCW. Unless they put a singlestack .40S&W or .45ACP P7 into production (one can hope).
 
I will add that during an IDPA competition I blew the extractor out of mine on the first stage, didn't realize it till the next stage when I tried to clear when I had a round left over on a stage. Shot the rest of the match with the extractor missing, never missed a beat.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Did they get discontinued because their novel operating system just didn't catch on?
 
I'm guessing one of the main reasons for there being discontinued is the high price. They have always been expensive, and when compared to Glocks and other 9mm's they seem even more expensive.

And to add to the replies you have already recieved about the P7s popularity, the P7 has a very low bore axis. I don't think I've held any other pistol that sits as low in the hand when in firing position. This, along with the comfortable grip, helps the pistol point very naturally and helps recoil recovery as well. Just another reason this pistol is easy to shoot fast.

One other thing, the squeeze cocker "safety" as has already been mentioned as being very fast also seems to me to be very positive. Hard to imagine the cocker and the trigger being activated at the same time while carrying or even casual {careless?} handling.

And one other thing I like, is that the P7 is very comfortable to shoot. It doesn't have a fat grip like some high cap. guns., and there is no hammer bite, or sharp tang to bump into your hand.Patrick
 
Spinnerblade said:
And to add to the replies you have already recieved about the P7s popularity, the P7 has a very low bore axis. I don't think I've held any other pistol that sits as low in the hand when in firing position. This, along with the comfortable grip, helps the pistol point very naturally and helps recoil recovery as well. Just another reason this pistol is easy to shoot fast.
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I can certainly appreciate that. It seems the trend is to grow away from the hand as of late. The new Walthers, the XD, etc.
 
A reasonable price for a great pistol...honey it time for a new toy!!!! After reading this tread it may be my second auto. I am a revolver man.
 
I like the P7, but for shooters used to other guns, its a bit of a departure from the norm. I know alotta guys on the local PD tried them, and a couple shot themselves in the leg because of the trigger pull.

I have an M13, and I only shot it once, and it was fun. Had an M8, but sold it to get a Steyr USR.
 
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I presently have a P7 with bottom mag release. I have had a P7 M8 and a P7 M13 which I have carried both on duty. Unfortunately I had to sell them years ago so when the money got better, I bought one of the german police guns.

I like that the fact that the gun's ejection port was designed to eject an empty shell case even if the extractor is broken.

With the cocking lever the P7 is about the safest gun you can own. When I first bought mine, my son was very small and safety was a concern around the house. Plus it was difficult for my wife to pull the cocking lever, so I felt safe after arguments, LOL.

With the slide mounted so low, and with the absence of an exposed hammer the P7 carries like a .380 but you were able to have firepower of a full size gun.

Some of the other useful features, Loaded chamber indicator, single action trigger pull ever time, when the cocking lever is pulled you can see the striker pin protruding from the rear of the slide indicating it is cocked. Not a big deal to many, but when you are in a stressful situation as many LEO's experience every day, it helps to see if your firearm is cocked. It sounds like common sense but with adrenaline pumping through your body it could save you from a accident.

The gas operated system helps reduce the recoil and helps with ejection. I have shot the P7's in training situations and yes the top of the trigger area gets hot but it never interfered with the operation or my skill.

The only real draw back to the P7's is the fact they don't shoot lead bullets. Lead will clog the gas port after a few rounds. If I was using lead, I always made sure the last rounds fired were jacketed rounds to help burn away the lead, they always clean the gun after the range, never reload and carry dirty.

Bottom line theses are some of the best made pistols ever in my opinion. I also love the Glock and have owned many, my current Glock is a mod 30 .45, which I carry off duty along with the P7 and a Kimber .45. On duty I carry a Sig 226 .40.
 
i had a P7 back in the late '80s and it was a little bulkier than i had imagined FWIW, a good pistol but a kahr PM9 has it beat all to heck for ease of carry, imho.

it was fairly reliable with certain ammo, and accurate though, imho the biggest con was not too big a selection of holsters.

some folks really really like 'em, they just never really grabbed me though, for whatever reason.
 
I never had a problem with leather for the P-7 but then I do buy good leather. The majority of my CCW holsters are either Ken Null or Kramer made in horsehide, both companies will make a holster for any gun you wish. As long as you have a good holster I don't think any one gun is easier to carry than another. Mine will digest any jacketed ammo I feed it including my reloads which consist of a 125 grain JHP with a fairly broad bullet tip, same bullet I load in 38/357 actually.
 
Absintheur said:
Mine will digest any jacketed ammo I feed it including my reloads which consist of a 125 grain JHP with a fairly broad bullet tip, same bullet I load in 38/357 actually.
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Absintheur, I have standardized on 140gr bullets in my 357 Marlin and have alot of 125gr that I don't use.

Can you tell me where I could find some reloading data that shows where I could use the 357 bullets in 9mm? I would like to use these bullets up in my P7.Patrick
 
I've got an M13 built by Jim Boland with a longer Bar-Sto barrel and a muzzle brake. He polished up all the internals pretty nicely and it shoots great. Featured in a magazine article many years ago. Just a pleasure to use.

I still see P7s in movies on occasion. I think Bond shot one of the bad guys with the bad guy's own P7 in one movie (World Is Not Enough?). Of course, the cocking indicator pin was not extended when Bond shot the guy but they probably didn't run the film by the movie armorer during editing.
 
Price? I downloaded the CDNN flyer, but of course, you have to call for pricing.
 
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