H&k P7m13

[spook]

I was reading the approved guns list on the www.ipsc.org and no longer saw my precious little P7 listed anymore. Does this mean it's no longer IPSC production legal? Please tell me they just forgot to add it to the list. It would really piss me off if I couldn't use this $1200 production gun for my favourite game anymore.

[Vince Pinto]

Spook,

The H&K P7 Series (and the Springfield XD Series) were originally on the IPSC Production Division "approved gun list", but both series were withdrawn because they are single-action-only pistols, as defined by IPSC:

"Single Action" means activation of the trigger causes a single action to occur (i.e. the hammer or striker falls).

"Double Action" means activation of the trigger causes more than a single action to occur (i.e. the hammer or striker rises or retracts, then falls).

"Selective Action" means that the handgun can be operated in either "Single Action" or "Double Action" modes.

The above definitions have already been adopted by the Production Division Committee and they have also been proposed for inclusion in the draft 2004 Handgun Rulebook.

We regret the need for this action, but the primary criteria of IPSC Production Division is "No single-action-only pistols", and we were therefore bound to remove the subject guns.

[spook]

Ahh hell, now all of a sudden I own a very expensive paperweight . Thanks for the info anyways Vince.

[Vince Pinto]

Spook,

Thanks for your understanding. While we always try our best not to adversely affect competitors or their equipment, occasionally we have to make hard decisions.

I doubt it's any consolation, but I have a P7 and it's one of my favorite guns, but I can only use it in Standard Division, although I would not be very competitive - the fact that I'm also a fat old fart is irrelevant

However I still think it's a great carry gun, although there are not many holsters around.

[spook]

Yeah it is a great carry gun. Unfortunately, carrying a gun over here is a big no-no. I guess I'll just trade it in for a glock (shudder )

[Vince Pinto]

Hi guys,

I was just asked in a private email: "Why doesn't the rulebook include other definitions such as 'Safe Action' as stated in the current IPSC rulebook?".

A good question, and I hope this is a good answer.

Descriptions such as Glock's "Safe Action", Springfield's "Ultra Safety Assurance" action and Daewoo's "Fast Action" are all proprietary terms protected by trademark and, eventhough we could quote them in the rulebook if we used the "TM" symbol and so on, where would it end?

It's conceivable that next week another gun manufacturer will come up with "XYZ Action", and we'd end up looking more like a gun encyclopedia than an IPSC rulebook. It's far "cleaner" for us to use traditional, non-trademarked terms and to state what we believe are the traditional and correct definitions.