|
39,653 rounds |
1 stoppages | 1 (*) malfunctions | 1 parts breakages |
On the very first round of the first day of this past weekend’s Aim Fast, Hit Fast class in Indianapolis, the HK45 delivered a light primer hit that failed to set off the round of 230gr Winchester Ranger Talon that had been chambered since my flight touched down the night before. This was the first simple stoppage the pistol experienced since the beginning of the test.
As you can see from the photo on the left, the primer was clearly struck but just slightly. Because I wanted a photo of the round for everyone to see, there has not been a chance to drop the hammer on it a second time. While I sincerely doubt it will fail to fire, should that happen, pistol-training.com will erase the stoppage from the gun’s tally. (edit 21-Oct-2010: the round fired properly on the second strike)
The pistol subsequently fired 336 rounds without a bobble of any kind, shooting both the Winchester Ranger and CCI Blazer. The pistol was also fired by half a dozen of the students in class on Sunday afternoon without incident.
The only other (somewhat) noteworthy incident of the week was the disappearance of the rubber o-ring from around the barrel. Since no one (including the folks at HK) seems to believe the o-ring does anything useful, and as the loss apparently did nothing to hamper the pistol’s inherent accuracy, this will not be counted as a “breakage” for the purpose of the test. The HK45 comes with replacement o-rings which are, presumably, meant to be replaced at some regular interval. The fact that I never bothered isn’t the gun’s fault.
F.A.S.T. runs during the class turned out ok. The cold run on Saturday really was cold, after being outside in low-40’s weather with no gloves for two hours: 5.87 clean. The end of day run was a nice 4.67 clean. Cold run on Sunday was 5.11 clean, end of day was 4.66 clean, the best run of the weekend. It must have been the orange paint I put on the HK45 logo, right?
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
Previous HK45 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:
Definitely the orange paint.
I would check the firing pin safety plunger for peening.
I was impressed with the way it fit my hand, and it blew big holes in the target right where I was pointing.
I thought the trigger blew chunks, but that’s probably because I spend all my time with either 1911s or DA Smiths…
How ironic, my last IDPA Match, my HK45 had a light primer strike. I was using Federal AE 230gr. The round fired on second strike. I chalked it up to a hard primer.
If the round fires, what is the basis of not considering it a stoppage? Calling it a hard primer?
Tom — If the round fires, it’s counted against the gun. It’s if the round fails to fire on multiple strikes that it gets blamed on the ammo.
The HK45 Operator’s Manual says to replace the O-Ring at 20,000 rounds. It says nothing of replacing springs, recoil assemblies, etc. Where would one find these manufacturer-recommended parts replacement intervals referenced throughout this test?
*biting my tongue and refraining from commenting on the fact that the HK45 comes with an “Operator’s Manual” instead of an “Owner’s Manual”.*
Operator’s Manual? Does it come with the warning “Not for Civilian use”?
Winchester Ranger ammo is notorious for light primer strikes. The agency I work for has had multiple light primer strikes in different weapons (Glock, Sig, and H&K) on the same day at the range, which probably explains why they got the low bid. I use Winchester at the range and carry something else when out on the job.
I’m dying to know why “operator’s manual” is any less appropriate than “owner’s manual?” It is the way the term was meant to be used.
SLG — When you become an Operator, we’ll tell you. 8)
SLG,
It’s a joke. Relax.
Todd,
You know my take on the whole thing, but this seems pretty legit to me.
Tam,
I’m perfectly relaxed, but since you were biting your tongue, it sounded like you weren’t. Maybe you had a take on it that I hadn’t heard before.
SLG — I think Tam was just exercising her snark muscle. 8)
To be honest, I try to avoid using the term (“operator”) simply because so many different organizations have such vehemently held beliefs on what does and does not constitute a True Operator (cue angels singing). Some folks will go to the mat fighting over it, and others use it pretty blindly.
Todd, can you please email me with a recommendation for a good instructor for basic handgun skills in Northern Virginia. I don’t know if you do individual instruction or not. I have a friend down there who wants some professional instruction.
Also, I would like to get pricing information on hosting a Law Enforcement only class.
Thanks
Why all the nonsense with the “operator”? Why can’t a policeman be called a policeman and a soldier be called a soldier? The only “operator” I knew was years ago and she worked for MaBell. I do however know alot of policemen and soldiers some of whom are on a SWAT Team and some who in elite military units.
Just to add my experience with the HK45: I’ve fired more than 17,000 rounds so far and never had a single malfunction or misfiring (I’ve used various kinds of ammo, but not from Winchester–My personal favorite is Geco). I’ve noticed though that in some cases, when I’m trying to shoot very quickly a “double-tap”, the hammer stays down, in the double action “mode” after the second round. I can still fire the next couple of rounds, but starting again with double action. I would appreciate if you guys could test your guns and tell us if you ‘re having the same “problem”. Many thanks
VK — No. If the action works properly, the gun should always go into SA (aka “LEM”) mode. Check your sear spring and your hammer rebound spring to be sure they’re both properly installed and not broken.
What is your opinion of the usefulness of the barrel oring? I’ve heard that some established shooters couldn’t detect any difference in accuracy with or w/o it. Is this some worthless marketing gimmick?
Dcowboyscr — Personally, I doubt it makes enough difference to be worth the hassle, but that doesn’t mean it’s just a marketing gimmick. I’m quite sure there is some HK engineer somewhere who believes with all his engineering heart that the long-term accuracy of the gun benefits from that little ring.
Todd-
As far as the primer strike goes, It does look shallow compared to a fired case, but when a round fires does the primer also deform a little (making it look like a deeper primer indent)?
I’m just curious becasue whenever I see a FTFire on most guns they have light primer strikes but there is no explanation for the light strikes. I’m just wondering if all primer strikes look light but when the round ignites the primer deforms to look like a more solid hit.
JoshM — A proper firing pin indent is substantially deeper. While it may deform a bit during the firing process depending on various specifications (spring weights, firing pin material, etc.) a light primer hit is usually pretty easy to identify visually.
http://www.hk-usa.com/civilian_products/hk45_general.asp
“The HK45 uses an HK proprietary O-ring barrel for precise barrel-to-slide lockup and optimal accuracy.”
On the picture, how was the HK45 on the grip done in red? I would love to do that to mine!