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The Cult of the P7 seems to be alive and well. HK discontinued the pistol in 2008. There are agencies in Europe that still use it. When HK discontinued it they said they would support the pistol for ten years. Tens years is now long gone. I wonder how the users of the pistol manage to squeeze on with an orphan.
When Nevada started shall-issue concealed carry in the 1990s, my first permit had a PSP model on it. The pistol is a marvelous piece of mechanical ingenuity but its low capacity and curious design left me cold while the pistol heated up to the point of not being able to hold it after fifty rounds through it in short order. The HK USP Compact seemed like a better answer and I moved on.
Note the P7 came about in the 1970s when the German government wanted a ready-to-shoot pistol without an external manual safety (as in the then popular P1/P38). Walther provided the P5, a lovely pistol now only seen in films. Sig provided the P6, which is known here as the P225. These are traditional double action (TDA) semi-autos with a long and heavy first trigger pull.
The P7 with its squeeze cocker action provides a single-action trigger that is inert when at rest but readily deployable without clicking off a safety as in a 1911. It is great. And the aesthetics of the pistol are impressive. But for extended range sessions to master the pistol it leaves a lot to be desired. I would rather use the TDA design, which I have always favored despite striker-fired mania.
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