BROKKEN P7M8!!

[H&K 4 LIFE]

The story goes like this. Yesterday my uncle and I made another trip to our local range, we bought with us mostly 9mm’s including both his and my P7M8. I shot the better part of a 100rnd. box without any problems. My P7M8 chewed out the center 10-ring of the Shoot-N-C target just as usual. I then put the gun away and switched to something else. After shooting every other gun we had I decided I wanted to shoot my P7 a little more as there was still plenty of 9mm left.

Upon loading the pistol like usual and going to fire, I noticed the firing pin was not cocking and protruding out the back like it should. The squeeze cocker felt unusually light and the pistol simply refused to function. I could not get the gun to work and counted it as, for all intents and purposes, “dead”. I unloaded it and put it away. When I exclaimed to my uncle, “my P7 is busted”, he stared at me with wide eyes in disbelief. I could certainly share those feelings. His P7 by the way never skipped a beat.

So I took it back to his house for the normal gun cleaning regimen. Upon field striping the pistol, a metal piece fell right out of the slide. I could clearly see where the “control arms” tab had broken right off. This is the part that controls the cocking of the firing pin and it became very clear to me then why the gun shut down. I located the broken part, removed the handgrips and squeeze cocker, then removed the broken piece. Part #26, “Slide Stop” had broken. The tab that makes contact with the firing pin parts was completely broken off of the arm.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/9899/dsc01436rb7.jpg

This raises more then a few questions for me. Why in gods name is there a hole in this part? The part has clearly broken right along where the hole was and it seems like this part would have much more integrity had a hole not been placed there. The hole is also present in the same part on my uncles P7. Furthermore, what would cause this part to break? This pistol has been fired a grand total of about 500 rnds. and has never been abused in the least. Could this have been user error in some way or pehaps metal fatigue? Could this have had something to do with the refinishing or other parts needing adjustment? Also, has anyone else broken this part and what did you deduce the cause of it was?

I still love my P7M8, and there is no way that’s changing. The gun shoots too great to ever dislike it. I also understand that it was necessary to run this pistol to this extent before ever carrying it as I still consider 500rnds within the “break in period.” I would rather have the pistol fail at the range if it is going to then in a desperate situation. However, it is sad to see the obvious flaw that is present in the integrity of this crucial part. In addition, it is a sad sad day when the SIG and Glock keep running and the P7 quits. :(

In conclusion, I have ordered the part from my local dealer. But if anyone has a source for this part that has overnight shipping available please feel free to point it out to me. Needless to say I am desperate to get this gun back into working order. Sorry for the long post but this is very frustrating. Thanks for reading.

[vicelord]

Sorry about that! But hey, get on the phone to Trussville asap and request
service tech Travis Teague or Jeff Sweiger. Explain the problem and they
will assist you getting your P7M8 back on line. I say you will have that piece
back in 7 to 10 days good as new.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Sorry about that! But hey, get on the phone to Trussville asap and request
service tech Travis Teague or Jeff Sweiger. Explain the problem and they
will assist you getting your P7M8 back on line. I say you will have that piece
back in 7 to 10 days good as new.

This part is very easy to install, I removed the broken piece in about 2 seconds. I am 100% dis-interested in the idea of mailing my P7M8 out. Thanks anyway for the suggestion. Are you aware if HK USA will simply send me the part?

Also, if for some unforseen reason it is hard to put back together I have my uncles P7 to serve as a blue print and a local gunsmith's help through my local dealer if all else fails, free of charge of course. However, I am very confident I can reinstall the new piece without trouble.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Just called Trussville and left a message for Jeff, apparently he's the parts man. So we will see how that pans out.

[CZ-75]

Yours is only the second example I have seen with that particular failure.

Chances are good that you can get that part from HK. Occasionally, they insist that you return the pistol for them to inspect if it's a warranty coverage. If you just want to order the part, then they'll send it to you.

You could also try Numrich to see if they have that part.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

CZ-75, thanks for the reply. Was there a known cause of the part breaking in the other case you have seen? This did seem like a rare occurance to me as well. I have seen instances of springs snapping but never a metal component.

As I said, I not only ordered the part from my local dealer but also called Trussville and left a message. I am confident my local can get the part for me but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try Trussville if I can get it overnighted. If I end up with two parts then all the better, nice to have spares on hand. I am admittedly very impatient with this kind of thing and having a gun that cost me 1k that is in pieces and sitting in a ziplock bag just annoys me to no end. :mad:

[HK4me]

Had a similar problem- Part #28 (elbow spring). Pistol was shooting fine, then would not fire. Spring broke. Easy (jeweler's magnifer w/light, micropliers) and I was up and running. Thought they were indestructable. If you need help-PM.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Had a similar problem- Part #28 (elbow spring). Pistol was shooting fine, then would not fire. Spring broke. Easy (jeweler's magnifer w/light, micropliers) and I was up and running. Thought they were indestructable. If you need help-PM.

I am thinking the pistol wasn't as NIB as I originally was told. I can only fathom that the pistol was fired frequently, possibly with +p ammo, prior to refinishing and this is what caused the wear on the "slide stop" part. No matter though, considering the price I paid for it. :) Once I get the part it should be back up and running

I have full confidence that once I obtain the part I can reinstall it without incident. From a fellow P7 owner in CT, thank you for the help though.

As I was writing this, I recieved a call from Jeff at HK Trussville. He informed me that my local (K-5 Arms Exchange) had just called them and they will be shipping them a slide stop for my pistol. So far I am very pleased with the service, both from HK and espescially my local, as I only told my local after it happened yesterday afternoon! That kind of attention is appreciated greatly. :)

[CZ-75]

Hk used to get a really bad rap regarding customer service, but since they opened up in Trussville, I have heard nothing but praises.

[Geohans]

Date code?

[Greg45FL]

I just purchase a brand new P30 that arrived with a frame defect. Emailed a description of the issue with photos to Jeff at H&k and I received a phone call from him a couple of hours later. In my case the P30 will be replaced. Customer service like that is very hard to come by these days.

[DayWlker7]

I just purchase a brand new P30 that arrived with a frame defect. Emailed a description of the issue with photos to Jeff at H&k and I received a phone call from him a couple of hours later. In my case the P30 will be replaced. Customer service like that is very hard to come by these days.


Makes me want to run out and get one.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Date code?

This is an early 90's P7M8. The date code was apparently polished off/covered up by Tripps when it was refinished because there is no date code present on the gun. The 16-***** serial number indicates an early 90's model.

[Greg Bell]

You can never tell. That is a real rare parts breakage. The metal could have been flawed, it could have been handled/forced in when it was apart before. There is just no way to tell. I have an insanely high mileage P7 that hasn't had a single part break in 17 years.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Thanks for the reply Greg Bell.

This struck me as very strange as well. The P7 has a great reputation for durability. Aside from making myself feel better, I can only chock this up to a worn or factory defective part. :)

No matter. I should have the replacement part sometime early next week.

[G3Kurz]

Thanks for the reply Greg Bell.

This struck me as very strange as well. The P7 has a great reputation for durability. Aside from making myself feel better, I can only chock this up to a worn or factory defective part. :)

No matter. I should have the replacement part sometime early next week.

Rare, unusual breakage in a P7. Not sure if you said this was a new or used gun. The hole in the part is for heat treatment and finishing. If new, likely that part could have been britle due to materials or heat treat issue. The sear lever takes a lot of pounding from the wing of the firing pin each time the gun is squeeze-cocked and released (not fired) and when fired. I know P7's with over 60K rounds with no such failure. Unsettling maybe but just a fluke I would guess. You shuld check your drop safety in the slide also to insure it is still in place and not damaged.

G3Kurz

[bspring]

You may want to add a safety block spring to your order, this is a semi-common part to break. Happened to me twice, nice to have a spare.

Bill

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Thanks for the helpful replies.

Upon reading this I examined the gun's slide further. I also looked at the P7 schematic again. I believe I have identified the drop safety inside the top rear of the P7's firing pin assembly. Is this the tab/lever the slide stop (broken part) tab makes contact with to move it forward? If so, it appears to be intact, undamaged and moving forward against the spring fine. The spring is also returning the lever once pressure is released. Thanks again for the help.

The gun was touted to me as new before refinish but breakage like this makes me doubt that it actually was. More likely it was used before refinishing and not fired after refinish was completed. The price paid makes me not really care one way or another, as I paid nowhere close to NIB price.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Well I thought I would have this ironed out by now but my local has still not recieved the replacement part from HK yet. I am hoping like hell it is here by the end of the week. :(

[H&K 4 LIFE]

UPDATE: 3/14

Ok. So upon looking more at the P7 schematics here:

http://www.hk-usa.com/images/shared/P7%20Manual.pdf

It turns out I was looking at the PSP diagram instead of the P7M8 one, mostly due to the fact that the parts diagrams are not labeled as to which pistol it is refering to. The parts lists are labeled, the parts diagrams are not. Turns out the piece I need is part #27 "Sear Lever", not part #26 "Slide Stop" as if you were looking at the PSP part diagram which is the page above the P7M8 part list, which is exactly what I did. HK could do away with this confusion by simply LABELING THE PARTS DIAGRAM. The only indication that I had it wrong is the parts diagram I was looking at initially didn't have a heat sheild on it. Oh well my bad.. but on with the story.

So I get a call today that my part came in, and I know what you are thinking at this point, like I was, that I ended up with part #26 for either the PSP or the P7M8 (in either case the wrong part) right? Well you see, that actually would have made sense due to my confusion, but to my absolute shock that is not what actually transpired at all.

HK shipped to my local dealer part #32 P7M8 "Slide Removal Button" instead. TOTALLY 100% the wrong part and part number any way you slice it. HK Trussville really screwed this one up big time. I couldn't blame them if they sent me a PSP part instead of the proper M8 part, that would be entirely my fault and understandable, but they sent out a completely arbitrary piece that was never even requested! My local ordered exactly what I told them, it was HK that screwed it up! This begs the question, if HK can't even get their own part numbers right then how in hell am I as the customer supposed to make sense of confusing unlabeled parts diagrams?

My local left a message for Jeff at Trussville and is awaiting a return call. Needless to say I am livid about having to reorder the now properly identified part and wait more. I told him to overnight the part whatever the cost, I no longer care, I just want my damn part! :mad:

[Catalina]

Not that rare

http://www.parkcitiestactical.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=005993#000000

http://www.parkcitiestactical.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=013113

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Thanks very much for the links Catalina, very informative. The first picture in the first link shows a broken sear lever that broke in an entirely different place then my own!

Obviously this is proof postitive that this is not an isolated case.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Update: 3/25/08

I have literally scoured the Earth looking for this part.

Numrich Gun parts- No P7 parts.

www.hkpartsonline.com- No P7 parts.

Hkspecialist- No P7 parts except mags.

Mark at Hkpartsonline is a GREAT guy. Even though he did not have the part in stock he was very helpful and friendly. He also called to see if he could get the part from what I suppose was HK in Va. but to no avail. He is also the one who directed me to the other sources although they were also out of stock as well. In any case he is a great guy and I thank him for his help.

Mark at Hkpartsonline also directed me to a man named Matt Nassar at Hk Trussville. I was told he was the sales manager and that he was a stand up guy as well. This means alot to me coming from Mark, as one upstanding man can usually clearly recognize another.

This morning I called Trussville again. I have not recieved a call back from Jeff in well over a week now. Multiple messages were left for him by both myself and my local dealer. This morning I left a message for Matt Nassar instead, and was told by the secretary "in Jeff's defense he has been at a training seminar for the past week". Well thats all well and good, but in the meantime you have NO ONE there to take parts orders and I still have a broken pistol. :confused:

I am now awaiting a return call from Matt Nassar and we will see if that gets me anywhere. It seems finding parts for a P7 is about as fun as shooting yourself with one. :(

[Horseman]

I left a message wanting to place a parts order over a month ago, and never received a call back after being told that the parts people were in training. Apparently, they constantly train, and only sell to us lowly civilians on an interim basis.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

I left a message wanting to place a parts order over a month ago, and never received a call back after being told that the parts people were in training. Apparently, they constantly train, and only sell to us lowly civilians on an interim basis.

Truly it seems like getting parts from them is like squeezing blood from a stone. Esp. if it's for an "out of production" P7. I quote my local dealer as saying, "They won't sell parts to civillians...they just won't".

Whether thats true or not, I simply will not stop until I get my part and will explore every possible avenue to obtain it. So you see HK, your stuck with me for the long haul and this thread will continue to be "bumped to the top" and updated with all relavent information until I recieve my part, whether this shows HK customer service in a good light or otherwise. This will in turn allow all who visit this solely HK dedicated forum to review the facts about exactly how HK Trussville treats those who are in need of parts to repair their products. Instances where excellent service is paid to a loyal customer will recieve all praises due, while those areas where service is lax will be duely noted as well. You see, I quite matter of factly "call it like it is."

Keep in mind, I did previously get a part... it was just the completely WRONG part. :D

[stinx]

When amy agency carried P7M8's we had 5-6 break like that.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

If you mean a police agency, then I have also heard stories of PD's breaking P7s in this manner. From what I read, these people said the PD armorer fixed the gun in under an hour, but you see, you must have the replacement part to be able to fix it! :)

[Coogan]

Man, that's tough. I hope HK pulls their head out of their rear on this one.

I hope the training seminar is to help properly read part numbers, the time frame seems right.... :)

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Update:

At about 5:00 today I recieved a call back from Matt Nassar at HK Trussville. He told me they do not have the part and do not expect to see it from Germany for 45-60 days! He told me to call back in about a month to check in. Also, when I asked if I could be added to a list for one he told me they don't do that kind of thing. While I am pleased with his fast response time, this is obviously not the news I wanted to hear at all.

The fact that they won't take my order or put me on a list bothers me more then anything, because this essentially means when the parts do come in the dealers will probably have first dibs and buy them all up. This only stands to reason when the parts are this hard to get making huge price mark-ups a justifiable thing.

P7 OWNERS TAKE NOTE!

[Coogan]

Wow, that is unacceptable.

I assume that HK is still producing parts for the P7 series, but what happens when they decide to stop? Obviously this is a tough part to get right now........

[Mark71]

Sorry to hear that. Parts availability is one of the few downfalls of owning a P7. Post up a WTB thread for the part you need on here and over on the Park Cities Tactical site.
www.parkcitiestactical.com


I am sure someone has an extra they will be able to sell you.

[Kirtsky]

Numrich doesn't carry the part, or just do not have it in stock? They have a listing for it, and the site doesn't show it as out of stock. ETA, Sorry, they do show that part as out of stock, part# 27 in the diagram.

http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=1570zP7M8

I just placed an order from them for a firing pin collar pin. Makes me wonder if they actually have any in stock.

[Horseman]

This may be a stupid question, but has anyone looked into directly contacting HK in Germany to obtain parts?

[cueist]

This may be a stupid question, but has anyone looked into directly contacting HK in Germany to obtain parts?

HK Germany will refer you HK Inc to obtain the parts if you live in the US.

[Coogan]

Another possible option is to have a member from Europe send one to you. I do not know how involved this may be (or if it is even possible), but worth a shot?

[CZ-75]

There's a guy in Germany who can get HK parts... I cannot remember who it is, but a few years ago, when P9S buffers were impossible to find, he was able to get them and sell them to people over here.

His reputation was great, and there's nothing illegal about buying that part from overseas... so long as you're only doing it for personal consumption.

Maybe someone here will remember they guy and have his contact info.

[bzinbv]

Might be time to consider a short term fix, could you get the part brazed or silver soldered? I wouldn’t use it for carry, but you might be able to get it repaired for range work.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I will try to address them one by one.

Coogan, I would agree this is wholly unacceptable. My uncle is quite livid as he (like myself) owns many an other HK handguns including another P7M8.

Mark71, that is s good suggestion. One I might just have to follow. There must be someone out there with one of these parts as a spare. Also, my local dealer and I are exploring local HK gunsmiths that might have the part as well. I'm hoping one turns up.

Kirtsky, Numrich has a parts listing, but they do not have the part in stock, I have called and tried. Being that they are even more out of the loop with what HK Germany is doing then HK USA they have no clue when they will ever see replacement P7 parts at all.

Horseman, cueist is unfortunatly for me correct. I will not be able to get the parts from HK Germany because they will tell me I must obtain them from HK USA. And HK USA is still waiting to see the part. In other words, I cannot get the part from directly from HK unless HK Germany has sent it to HK USA, and this for some reason is expected to take 45-60 days.

CZ-75, if you or anyone else can come up with the name of the person that sells parts from Germany I would be greatly interested. Although I don't speak a lick of German. ;)

bzinbv, while that is a good suggestion, I am really not that desperate. This was never my carry gun and I have lots of other handguns to shoot at the range and use for carry. I will wait for the proper part to fix it rather then risk furthur damaging other parts on a pistol HK will not warranty.

Once again, thank you all for the replies. This is the most frustrating thing that has ever happened to me having to do with HK.

[CZ-75]

I sent you a PM with the guys email. I did a search over on ParkCitiesTactical and found it.

This was a couple years ago... I have no idea if he still gets stuff from HK, or even if the email adress is still valid.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Update 3/31/08:

Special thanks to cueist for the following lead via PM. He told me to call ML SEC PRO and see if they had the part in stock.

Well...ML SEC PRO doesn't have it either. :(

They actually told me that they had 2 in a week ago and they used them for repair!! I feel like such an ass for not calling earlier.

They also gave me some other good info, they said they don't expect the part to come back in until the "end of the third quarter of this year" and this is from HK Germany not HK USA. They have had the part on order since last year, and when I told him I was informed by HK USA it owuld take 45-60 days he told me straight up "thats bull****, we have gone through many 60 day cycles waiting for this part". He expects stock on this part is low because they used them all to make the most current AH date coded P7M8s. He also told me this is a common "wear item" and that this is a common part for people to order.

All in all, he was a very nice guy and a pleasure to deal with.

[Trapper]

There certainly seems to be a pattern regarding HK's willingness to support guns that are no longer in production. Many of us have been going through the same frustration you are experiencing in trying to locate a buffer plate for the HK4. I have spoken to reps at HK in Germany and HK USA trying to get a line of the part or simply to get the specs on the part so I can have one fabricated. No luck at all. In fact, HK Germany's rep seemed a little torqued that I would be taking up their time with a gun no longer in production.

In all fairness, they should put a warning on their product that says something like, "This Unit Not Supported With Parts Once Out Of Production".

I'm OK with the fact that they don't want to mess with it but they could definitely make arrangements for an after market mfg to keep up with demand or at least releast the spec's on specific parts that commonly fail.

I was looking for a P7M8 lately because of the great reviews I have read about them. Reading your string has definitely changed my mind. I won't buy any HK product that is too far out of production to get replacement parts. Too much aggravation no matter how great it shoots while working!

Trapper

[H&K 4 LIFE]

All I know is someone over at HK Germany needs to hop on the CNC machine and make some damn spare parts for all these P7's we are out here using everyday. It's still a very popular gun and alot of people still carry one. I have no idea why parts are this hard to get. Also, I'm completely willing to pay the insane $65 dollars for the part, as I'm sure anyone else with a broken P7 would be as well, so you can't tell me it isn't worth it for them to do it either.

[cueist]

One thing that has to be mentioned and I think that some people here don't know, or realize is that HK is a small company when compared to other industry members. They do their production in runs and just can't switch over to another product that fast. I'm sure that they will make P7 parts again, but they have to be able to put it in their production schedule once they get enough demand for the parts. Right now with all of the P7 Police Trade-Ins, they probably used up a large percentage of their stored spare parts.

Just something to consider.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

...Right now with all of the P7 Police Trade-Ins, they probably used up a large percentage of their stored spare parts.

Just something to consider.

I have been told by multiple sources, including ML SEC, most of the parts stock for the P7M8 was used to make the current "AH" date coded P7's and this is why parts stock is so low.

Again, I have no clue how hard it is to make this part, I am just the customer. All I know is I still have a broken gun and parts "waiting game" stories like mine aren't exactly hard to come by at all. :(

[cueist]

I have been told by multiple sources, including ML SEC, most of the parts stock for the P7M8 was used to make the current "AH" date coded P7's and this is why parts stock is so low.

Again, I have no clue how hard it is to make this part, I am just the customer. All I know is I still have a broken gun and parts "waiting game" stories like mine aren't exactly hard to come by at all. :(

I know what MLSP told you, and agree with them as well so you can understand why HK would be out of parts.

This also happened a few years ago with P9S buffers. No one had them, or could get them. HK didn't have any for years since it wasn't in high demand. When the P9S Police Trade-Ins started to happen, and sell well they had a production run of new buffers.

[wwIIBuff]

could the police trade ins have something to do with the part shortage? Using the spare parts on them so they can repair and sell the guns? I feel like an idiot, I just bought one on GB, had I read this first I would have ran away from it. Oh well, i guess I own it now.

Also +1 for HK service, I finally found someone worse to deal with then Rolex USA. This will make all the rolex collectors happy over on Timezone.com



(meant to hit Reply, not Edit)

[Tabsr]

We have one but too busy with medical parts. Order at least a hundred and we may be interested.

[cueist]

could the police trade ins have something to do with the part shortage? Using the spare parts on them so they can repair and sell the guns? I feel like an idiot, I just bought one on GB, had I read this first I would have ran away from it. Oh well, i guess I own it now.

Also +1 for HK service, I finally found someone worse to deal with then Rolex USA. This will make all the rolex collectors happy over on Timezone.com



(meant to hit Reply, not Edit)



There is no need to run away from these as 99.995% of them will be fine and without any problems. As has been said before the P7 series has a great record, but this is one part that from time to time has been known to cause issues.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

We have one but too busy with medical parts. Order at least a hundred and we may be interested.

Can you seriously make this part? Have you done this before and are yours as good or better then the HK stock part?

I would be interested in possibly getting a group buy together. How much would you charge for 100 sear levers?

[Riptide23]

H&K4Life,

I don't know how good you are at patterning something, but I've always wanted to try this website for making a part...

http://www.emachineshop.com/

The bends in the part might be kind of tough, , but the machinists on this board could probably tell you better.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Update 4/25

Today my local dealer got word that P7 parts are coming from HK soon. In light of this, he allowed me to take the part I needed (sear lever) from a P7PSP he had in stock. I now have my replacement part! :100000:

Now I need a little help from the P7 gurus. I cannot for the life of me remember the proper oreintation for the squeeze cocker spring, "Cocking lever spring" Part #47. I assembled it the way I thought it should go together, but I get no return motion of the squeeze cocker once it is depressed and released. I can wait and look at my uncles P7M8, but as you can imagine I want to put this thing back together ASAP.

Does anyone know the proper oreintation of the long and short leads on the spring? What am I doing wrong? Pictures and any help would be appreciated greatly. Needless to say this thing is like a swiss watch and is the most intricate thing I have ever worked on.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Victory! Park Cities Tactical contained the answer. For furthur reference on this issue use this thread...

http://www.parkcitiestactical.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=003471

[cueist]

Glad to hear that you are once again up and running.

[arhk159]

Glad to hear that the resources from PCT and this forum helped out! I hope I don't bump into any issues w/ my M8 and Grade A!

[GARY1911A1]

That is a great Dealer who will go that far for a customer. :350: You want to do all your business with him.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Yeah it is great to have my pistol back together again. I can't wait until next Wed. when I can shoot it.

I buy ALL my guns from K-5 Arms in Milford CT. If you are in CT check them out. They carry alot of HK, and currently have the HK45 and HK45C in stock among others.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Update 5/1-

I fired this recently repaired P7M8 yesterday. Range report is as follows...

P7 fired 3 mags. 8 rounds each, for a total of 24 rounds... no malfunctions.

P7 fired another 3 mags. 8 rounds each, a total of 48 rounds... no malfunctions.

P7 fired one round, then the slide locked back. I squeezed the handle to try and drop the slide and put the gun back into action, it wouldn't work. I removed the mag. checked for a chambered round and then proceeded to squeeze the handle multiple times, the slide would not close. I tried pulling rearward on the slide and squeezing the handle. Slide would still not close. My initial impression was "OH SH*T I just killed another sear lever!". As a last resort I smacked the slide forward with the palm of my hand. The slide finally closed! After checking for function of the squeeze cocker everything appeared to be ok, the firing pin was protruding when the gun was cocked like normal.

P7 was reloaded and fired the rest of the loaded mags. (1x 7 round mag. and 2x 8 round mags.) for a total of 72 rounds. The pistol was now so hot it could easily cause a burn if you touched the barrel, I set it down to cool.

Once the P7 cooled I reloaded all 3 mags. The P7 fired another 3 mags. 8 round each for a total of 96 rounds with no malfunction. The ensuing group that was shot was all in the 10 ring and chewed out the center of the Shoot-N-C target stuck to an S-6 silhouette at about 30ft. As always accuracy was exceptional.

Test Concluded.

So there was one major malfuntion with the pistol. The slide had not moved rearward enough to allow the squeeze cocker to release it nor was it even anywhere near the fully closed position. The slide had stopped somewhere in between in "no mans land". I was told initially by my dealer that the finish had made the slide to frame fit very tight and that some "seizing" of the slide was to be expected during the initial break in period. I suppose I never broke it in enough before the part broke, and this is right in line with what he is saying. Also, some wearing of the HC finish is noticeable on the frame near the mouth of the chamber. This seems to wear more everytime I use the gun, but the action seems to get smoother. I'm guessing I just need to shoot it more.

I'm now running Break-Free for lube instead of the Hoppes oil I was using and the slide feels 100 times more smooth then it did thanks to the Break-Free.

However, if anyone knows an obvious cause of this malfunction then I am all ears. Whether something needs adjusting or there is another worn part (please god no!) that is the common cause of this type of malfuntion in the P7 I am unaware.

On the whole, the pistol worked well and shot excellent. Would I carry it though... HELL NO! I have GLOCKS for that. :p

Thanks for reading

[KURT]

We had a similar slide lock up with a friend's P7M13.
After a detailed examination, we observed that it was due to the crud in the gas cylinder. After a detailed cleaning of the cylinder, the problem has been solved.
Wish it helps.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

We had a similar slide lock up with a friend's P7M13.
After a detailed examination, we observed that it was due to the crud in the gas cylinder. After a detailed cleaning of the cylinder, the problem has been solved.
Wish it helps.

On the piston or in the gas tube itself? I used my uncles P7 gas-tube cleaning brush yesterday, it came out a little black but not too dirty.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[JoeyBones]

99.9% of the time I hear something like this happening to a P7, it's the gas system needing a good brushing/reaming. Do a search on PCT, and you'll find volumes of information regarding this type of malfunction being a direct result of either:

(A) a "dirty" gas system (even when the gas cylinder looks clean, it likely can still use a more aggresive cleaning; I use foaming bore cleaner for the gas cylinder and the barrel, as you can also verify that the gas port itself is still open and free of obstruction/crud, so long as the foam comes through into the chamber when you spray into the gas cylinder)

or: (B) (VERY unlikely scenario here) an out-of-spec piston. I'd bet a P7 it's the former, not the latter, though.

Let me know if you wanna sell that troublesome M8!!

Best of luck.

-Bones

[JoeyBones]

Also:
Forgot to ask: What ammo are you using? A guy on another forum has reported gas system seizing CONSISTENTLY on round 48 or 49 (uncannily consistent) - He was using UMC Yellow-Box every time it happened.
I have experienced similar seizing when using WWB, but more like around 80-100 rds. or so.
My solution as of late: Blazer Brass 115 for the range. Enclosed base of the FMJ keeps the P7 gas system running like a champ for 100's of rounds in between cleanings.

Hope this helps...

Regards,
-Bones

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Yes I am guilty of shooting WWB. I do notice the inside of my P7 looking much dirtier compared to the other guns using the same ammo. I chocked it up to the gas action of the P7 and more of the fouling standing out because the gun is chrome and not black.

However, failures related to ammo had occured to me as WWB is not exactly known for running clean in anything. My uncles P7, which gets just as dirty, works fine with WWB but I suppose mine may be a little more pickey.

Perhaps I will try some different ammo the next time out, at least 100rnds. will do. Thanks for the suggestion.

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Update: 5/7

Today I took the P7 to the range again. 100 rnds. of Blazer Brass 115gr. FMJ was used for this test. The pistol was cleaned and the gas cylinder brushed throughly prior to firing.

P7 fired 3 mags. 8 rounds each for a total of 24 rounds, no malfunction.

P7 fired another 3 mags. 8 rounds each for a total of 48 rounds, no malfunction.

The gun was then left to cool for about 10 minutes.

P7 fired another 3 mags. 8 rounds each for a total of 72 rounds, no malfunction.

P7 fired another 3 mags. 8 rounds each and then the remaining 4 rounds for a total of 100 rounds. No malfunction.

Test Concluded.

It is easy to see now that this particular P7 seems to prefer the slightly better quality Blazer Brass as opposed to the WWB used in the first test. Also, the lubrication used was Breakfree and I feel this helped alot as well over the previous lube used which was basic Hoppes gun oil.

I think I have finally figured this one out and I thank all those who helped along the way. HKPRO RULES!

PS: Also held a PSG-1 today... what a gun. :)

[JoeyBones]

Excellent! Very glad to hear that you have it running properly.

Once you gain more confidence in it's reliability, you simply GOTTA use that M8 as your CCW.

You'll come to trust that, when it's got a clean gas system, the P7-Series is an INCREDIBLY reliable platform.

While I've experienced 'stickiness' and 'ratchety' operation at the range (I misleadingly characterized it as "seizing" in my previous post) due to a FILTHY gas cylinder (mostly traced to WWB), my P7's have still never once skiped a beat as far as feeding, firing, nor extraction, through thousands of assorted range and carry rounds.
Carry it!:D

Oh and P.S.: Run that piston almost bone-dry. I -barely- touch the ring edges w/ a rem-oil wipe, or otherwise a -very- quick shot of dry silicone or teflon aerosol lube. It will attract less crud, and run longer in between cleanings, in my experience (with no adverse effects regarding wear on the contact surfaces).

Regards,
-Bones

[H&K 4 LIFE]

Joey Bones I thank you and all other members who helped me with my P7 issues. HK PRO is truly a great community!

However, this pistol will have to prove itself much furthur in order for me to trust it as a carry gun. Another 4-5 hundred rounds will need to be shot yeilding nothing but flawless operation for me to even consider carrying it. Honestly the seed of doubt has been cast, and it will take alot to overcome this. Only time and more shooting will tell.

I don't see myself carrying it over any of the other handguns I have at my disposal anytime in the near future. I hold carry guns to an exceedingly high standard, and I'm not exactly deprived of carry pistols whose track records total zero malfunctions. ;)