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There are few firearms manufacturers as respected and revered as Heckler & Koch. The company has been in business since 1949 when they started making machine tools, but it wasn't until 1964 that they introduced their signature weapon: the MP5 submachine gun. Today, H&K is best known for its handguns, rifles, and shotguns; however, this article will focus solely on its handgun models.
The company's first handgun was the P-38, which became standard equipment for German officers. It was retired from service in 1990 as newer designs took its place, but it remains a sought-after collector's item and status symbol among firearms enthusiasts.
In 1976, H&K introduced their most famous firearm: the MP45 (known to civilians as the UMP). Since then, the pistol has been used by militaries worldwide, including Canada's Special Forces, who adopted it in 1988. To date, there are more than 50 countries that use this design or versions of it.
One of H&K's most popular handguns is the H&K P series of handguns. This series was the first H&K pistols to use polymer as part of the manufacturing process. The MP45 was polymer-framed, and in 1982 H&K introduced the VP70Z (a semi-automatic version of their earlier pistol), which was also polymer framed with a steel slide on top.
In 1985 they followed up with the USP line of pistols - designed specifically for military and law enforcement purposes where reliability is critical. They have been adopted by over 30 countries around the world, including Canada's police forces, who switched from Smith & Wesson revolvers to HK's USP pistols in 1988. To date, more than 500,000 units have been produced worldwide, making it one of Heckler & Koch's most successful firearms models ever made.
The HK P2000 series of handguns is another popular model that has seen success among civilians and law enforcement alike. Introduced to the public in 2001, this firearm was an improved version of their older USP models with a design more akin to the Glock line. This firearm features polygonal rifling, which provides for accuracy and longevity when firing jacketed ammunition through it. The early model P2000 handguns did not have a manual safety or decock lever due to their manufacturing process, but later variants are equipped with these devices.
The HK45C or Compact model (alongside its full-sized counterpart) are some more modern models from Heckler & Koch that have seen significant success among both civilian shooters and law enforcement agencies alike. These guns marked their debut at the 2010 SHOT Show, where they won "Handgun Of The Year" awarded by the American Shooting Journal.
Another popular seller for HK has been the H&K P30 series of handguns, which is a full-size, improved version of the H&K P2000 series of pistols. Introduced in 2006, the P30 series also spawned off several variants, including the P30L (Longslide model) and the P30SK, a compact variant of the P30.
Each one of the links below leads to a page set up for specific holsters for each specific H&K handgun model.