Samourai Arsenal: The H&K P7

Every gun owner has a handful of firearms that are on their dream list. These are those guns that are quirky or rare or expensive or all of the above.


For me, the top slot on my firearm dream list would be the Heckler & Koch P7 9mm. I first heard about this handgun in John Gardner's James Bond novel Icebreaker. After doing a bit of research, I concluded the P7 sounded like an incredible pistol, and a great choice for 007. With its unusual mechanism and authoritative sounding name, it seemed like something Ian Fleming would have approved of. Alas, Bond only carried it in this one book.


The H&K P7 is notable for his trigger set up. From the excellent article at World Guns:

The P7 uses a striker fired mechanism, which is cocked for the first shot by depressing the large cocking lever at the front of the grip; for all subsequent shots, striker is cocked automatically as slide recoils. As soon as the grip and the cocking lever are released, the striker decocks automatically. Because of this, P7 has no manual safeties and designed to be safely carried with round in chamber. To open the fire, one must just grip the gun securely and release the trigger.

The squeeze cocking system offers the best of both worlds. You have the shootablility of a single-action auto with the safety of a double-action. Plus, there is no manual safety to worry about, making the P7 especially easy to operate one-handed. This is one of the reasons Greg Rucka armed his bodyguard character Atticus Kodiak with a P7. Real-life bodyguard Leroy Thompson also carried one as a backup to his main sidearm, a Browning H-Power. The GSG-9—the elite counter- terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police—also have issued them as a backups to their Glock 17s.


Every day people also see the appeal of the P7. I recall reading an article (I believe by Massad Ayoob) about a convenience store owner who had been repeatedly robbed. He decided to buy a pair of pistols to keep at the store. He bought two P7s, operating on the theory that if one of them was taken away from him by force, the thief wouldn't know how to depress the squeeze cocker. As fate would have it, the store owner was robbed and his gun was taken from him. The perp tried to shoot him, but, as predicted, didn't depress the squeeze cocker so the gun was unable to fire. The store owner was able to get to his second P7 and shoot the robber and would-be murderer. He later credited his choice of a P7 with saving his life.


I've only had the chance to fire a P7 on one occasion as a rental at my local indoor range. The first thing I noticed handling the P7 was how flat it was. It's quite slim, especially in comparison to the fat gripped "wondernines" that seem to dominate the market nowadays. It also sits very low in the hand, making it a natural pointer. Depressing the squeeze cocker wasn't difficult at all, and if anything helped to make sure you have a good, solid grip. The trigger was super crisp and light. All in all, the P7 was a joy to shoot and very easy to shoot well. The only drawback? Being a blowback-operated semi-auto, the P7 can get rather hot rather quickly. This isn't really a big deal unless you plan on shooting hundreds of rounds without taking a break.


Sadly, the H&K P7 is no longer produced. It was a very expensive pistol to manufacture. Luckily, used models regularly pop up on the used marker, especially the more common PSP variants. Prices start at about $700 but can climb to over $1,500.


I plan to purchase one someday. After all, I already drive a Saab. This would be just another step in my Le Samourai-as-Gardner's-James Bond fantasies.