Why was the HK P7 Pistol Cancelled?

Question

I'm glad I got one before they stopped making them, but it is still something I wonder about...

Answer 1

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...

Watch this video about the P7.

Answer 2

I remember the guy at the local gun store saying that they were so ugly they dropped the price to try to get rid of them.  

Answer 3

Bummer, I didn't know that. I always wanted one of those. I am lucky enough to be the proud owner of an H&K P9 though, which is pretty rare.

Answer 4

I don't know why H&K discontinued the HKP-7 pistol.  I only ever met one person who carried one.  He was a DA Investigator (carried it in a shoulder-holster under his work coat & tie) who admonished me for carrying a Glock (Model 20 10mm).  He said to me that nearly as many officers who carry Glocks as officers who carry revolvers get shot by their own gun.  Then he went on to extoll the virtues of his P-7.  He said (essentially) that it was complex enough so that if it should be taken from him that the uninitiated would have to figure out how it works.  Then he went on to tell me about how in his career he had only had a one-shot stop in a shoot-out and that that was with a Walther .380.  I really didn't want to listen to him so I didn't ask him how many shoot-outs he'd been involved, ever.  He looked like he was a newbie into Law Enforcement (I have been in LE since 1967).  I did tell him that no one was going to take my Glock from me because I believed in weapon-retation rather than gimmicks. Truthfully?  I thought/think that the P-7 is quality handgun.  I just like my 10mm better, that's all.

H

Answer 5

They were a novelty.  The unique c0cking lever, or "squeeze c0cker" in the grip made them one of the fastest pistols in the world to draw, c**k, and fire.  However, many autoloading pistols could be carried already c0cked, and could be brought into action as fast or faster.

The design of the P7 had a couple of significant flaws which made them impractical as a mass-produced combat pistol.  First of all, they were all steel and expensive to manufacture.  At two-and-a-half times the price of the competition, they weren't exactly flying off the shelves.  Lack of sales is the primary reason the pistol was dropped.

Second, the P7 was gas operated.  This in itself is unusual for a 9mm handgun, and it had two ramifications: First, it was ammo sensitive, in that using ammo that produced a lot of ash required that the pistol be cleaned frequently.  Second, those gases are hot!  The average person could not shoot a P7 for an extended shooting session without long periods of cooling down.  

Third, as an undercover piece, the P7 was slim and easily concealable.  However, the unique c0cking lever made it all but impossible to bring the weapon into action quietly, due to the click of the c0cking action.  And then there was the muscle tension and fatigue that occurs during extended range sessions from having to hold the grip so tightly.

All in all, the P7 is a well made pistol which is meant to be carried a lot and fired a little, which is why you still see some European police units still carrying them.  But by and large, there were no advantages to the P7 that justified its expense, and when HK could get no more police contracts, they dropped the pistol from the line.