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  #1  
Old 03-18-2021, 06:49 AM
CLASSIC12 CLASSIC12 is offline
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Default HK P8

LGS here (Switzerland) has been struggling due to COVID, especially the shooting range which is a big part of the business.

He enhanced his website and made some promotions to offload some of his gun stock and bring in some needed cash.

So as a gesture of support I bought a gun I did not really need, a NOS HK P8.

The P8 is a modified version of the USP deployed by the German Bundeswehr. It differs by a specific safety and decocking as well as a preferred land and grooves rifling instead of the polygonal profile.





















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Old 03-18-2021, 06:57 AM
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"Need"? What is this need you speak of?
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Old 03-18-2021, 07:36 AM
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How much was that interesting pistol?
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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt
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Old 03-18-2021, 07:58 AM
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Is that a 'backward" frame mounted safety?????????????????
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Old 03-18-2021, 10:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BAM-BAM View Post
Is that a 'backward" frame mounted safety?????????????????
Yes.

That was one of the Bundeswehr requirements. The pistol was phased in over several years alongside the Walther P1 as its eventual replacement starting back in the 1990s.

Since it was to be handled by everybody including innocent draftees it was considered important that the safety operated the same direction as the Walther‘s.
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Old 03-18-2021, 10:08 AM
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I just watched forgotten weapons video on it

Ian explains that the Bundeswehr wanted the same safety as the predecessor, the Walther P1 (the post war P38 with a lightweight frame)




H&K P8A1: The Bundeswehr's USP - YouTube
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Old 03-18-2021, 10:16 AM
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How much was that interesting pistol?

A round $ 1000
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Old 03-18-2021, 10:43 AM
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I just watched forgotten weapons video on it

Ian explains that the Bundeswehr wanted the same safety as the predecessor, the Walther P1 (the post war P38 with a lightweight frame)
...
I like Ian‘s videos. He is well-informed and good enough that I enjoy catching him in little mistakes

The P3 was not the Astra 300, of course, but the 600/43.

And in contrast to the P1, P2, and P3, which were indeed bureaucratic designations, the P4 and P5 were actual factory model names.

PS: In case anyone wasn‘t aware, a P51 isn‘t just a fighter plane, it was also the designation for the 1911 in German service. I‘ve never found out why they jumped that high in numbers; I mean, P45 would at least have made sense

Last edited by Absalom; 03-18-2021 at 11:07 AM.
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