Quick review of the VP9 Long Slide Kit

[RAZZ]

Hey everyone.  I was able to get a good practice session in with the new long slide VP9, and wanted to offer my opinion.  

In one word:  Awesome.

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In a bunch more words:  I put about 500 rounds of mixed ammo through the gun, while dodging rainstorms, in basically an average practice session.  I was surprised that I had no, zero, malfunctions right out of the box, as the first 100 rounds or so was some of my light, sub-125 power factor 3-gun ammunition.  This ammo barely runs in a G34 with a factory spring, so I assumed it wouldn't run at all in the VP9L, as it is pretty well known that the VP9 doesn't tolerate light ammo very well, especially when new.  Well, I was wrong.  It shot it just fine, without a hiccup.  No issues with any of the other ammo--it shot everything just fine.

As I expected, the L isn't noticeably more accurate than the standard VP9 up close, but as the distances get further, and the shots get more difficult, the sight radius of the L really shines. With most of my close-in drills (out to about 12 yards), there wasn't any difference between the 9 and the 9L speed and accuracy-wise, but drills where the targets were smaller or further--say where the drill incorporates a small piece of steel at 20 yards--I could tell a difference.  The barrel-to-slide lock up is very tight.  Very reminiscent of a USP Expert.

Here's some off-hand shooting at 12 yards with two magazines of 10 rounds each--the top group is 147 grn Atlanta Arms, and the bottom is 115 grn Speer FMJ.  The gun is more accurate than I am, for sure.

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The front sight is a nice fiber optic, and the rear is a quality LPA adjustable.  I really like the sights, however, I may swap the front out with a slightly thinner Dawson Precision sight, as the factory sight fills out the rear notch a little more than I would like, and I like a little more light visible on either side of the front sight.  We'll see--I may just stick with it.

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As far as holsters go, I found out long ago that a VP9 fits remarkably well in a GLOCK21 holster (Safariland, at least).  With the L, I had to modify it a little bit, but it fits very well, and until some holsters become available for the L, I will just use the modified Safariland.  Heck, it works so well, I may even use the Safariland after some others come out.

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I was also able to modify a light-bearing G21 holster for use with a TLR-1 for matches where I need a gun-mounted light.

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So all in all--it's a winner.  Two thumbs up.  Will buy again.

Edited February 19, 2019 by RAZZ

[RAZZ]

So I got impatient waiting for CompTac to make us a long slide holster, so I broke out the heat gun.  About 30 seconds later (which was about 10 seconds too long), and presto...The long slide fits perfectly.  While the front sight hangs out of the holster juuuust barely, there is enough distance between it and the sight channel, that I don't think there is any way to snag it on the draw.  I'll get a new L model CompTac when they come out, but for now this is fine.

[blueorison]

Thanks for the brief thumbs up on this; I was looking at this as my first HK. I really have to sit down and try out the different configurations of grip panels to see if the ergos fit, for me. Wish they came with Dawsons...

[GlockCanMan]

I have my VP9L kit on order.  I hope to have it this weekend and look forward to testing it out. 

[RAZZ]

On 2/20/2019 at 4:37 PM, blueorison said:

Thanks for the brief thumbs up on this; I was looking at this as my first HK. I really have to sit down and try out the different configurations of grip panels to see if the ergos fit, for me. Wish they came with Dawsons...

 

I wouldn't be too concerned about the lack of Dawson sights--the ones that come on the L are really pretty good.

[BillGarlandJr]

On 2/26/2019 at 4:15 PM, GlockCanMan said:

I have my VP9L kit on order.  I hope to have it this weekend and look forward to testing it out. 

From where did you order your long slide kit? Been looking around and haven’t found them in stock anywhere.

[GlockCanMan]

From HK Specialist.

https://www.hkspecialiststore.com/product-detail?productId=1755&categoryId=16&pageSize=10&sortBy=sequence&pageNumber=8