Handgun Review: HK P2000 SK

4
Handgun Review: HK P2000 SK

Handgun Review: HK P2000 SK

Looking for a really good feeling sub-compact in the luxury pistol department? The HK P2000 SK may be your next handgun.

Guns have a certain feel about them. And because of that, I have certain feelings about guns. Some guns feel chunky and plasticky and gimmicky. These guns make me feel like trying my hand at plastic surgery in order to trim them up or tone them down. Some guns feel heavy and stiff. These guns make me feel like giving them a massage to help them loosen up a bit. Some guns feel thin—functional but not outright durable. These guns I am afraid to shoot, let alone carry for self-defense. Guns like these I want to wrap in duct tape to help keep them together.

Not all guns have a bad feel. In fact, some feel just right in terms of fit and finish, functionality or how they fire. You can tell much about a gun’s feel just by hefting it in your hand. You can tell much more, however, after a session at the range. Sometimes you’re surprised by how a gun feels after shooting, but most often the range time simply confirms the suspicions you had before shooting it.

No surprise, there’s lots of subjectivity in this matter of determining how a gun feels. It might be impossible to fully quantify, but I’m going to give it a shot.

The Heckler & Koch P2000 SK felt good when I first tried it out. Not in a nonspecific way but truly and functionally. Since HK is one of the premier firearms designers and manufacturers in the world, this came as no surprise. Frankly, with a retail price of $983, we’re in the luxury class of handguns, so it had better be outstanding.

In-the-Hand Performance

The P2000SK (subcompact) is similar to slightly larger P2000 model and combines characteristics of the elements of the HK USP Compact pistol. It is available in 9 mm, .40 S&W, and .357 Sig with an MSRP of $983.
The P2000SK (subcompact) is similar to slightly larger P2000 model and combines characteristics of the elements of the HK USP Compact pistol. It is available in 9 mm, .40 S&W, and .357 Sig with an MSRP of $983.

A sub-compact pistol available in 9mm, .40 and .357 SIG, the P2000 SK feels good when I’m just holding it in my hand—remarkably good in fact. I’m not just talking about how I heft the pistol and appreciate the ergonomics or the balance. It’s more than those. For example, the simple action of removing the magazine, a downward push on the ambidextrous magazine release, feels sure and confident. There’s no mush in the controls. You won’t eject the magazine on accident. When you do want the magazine to drop, it springs out perfectly. Put the magazine in and it seats perfectly. No extra push needed. No wondering whether it’s fully seated.

With the magazine out, the simple action of pulling the slide back to check for an empty chamber demonstrates superbly engineered, mechanically perfect motions, noises and feels. Dry-fire it and the trigger stroke, a light double action known as the law enforcement modification (LEM), feels perfect, even as it is a bit longer than most trigger strokes. Yet it is smooth, sure and consistent and one of the best I’ve ever felt.

Besides shooting the P2000 SK, which I will address shortly, the other action worth mentioning is the loading of the magazines. Pushing in nine .40 caliber rounds revealed just the right amount of resistance from the spring under the follower. Loading rounds seven and eight and nine showed no classic signs of fight.

On-the-Range Performance

Shooting the P2000 SK was pure joy because the gun got out of the way of the shooting experience, so to speak. In other words, all the mechanisms worked together so well, so smoothly, that nothing stood out during the range session. I just squeezed the trigger, again and again, and the HK sent every round down range, right on target.

The balance was superb and the sights were easy to acquire, shot after shot. But the best part of shooting the P2000 SK was the LEM trigger. More than just a double action-only trigger, the HK LEM trigger incorporates a 7.3- to 8.5-pound pull in an action that combines a precocked striker with a double action hammer. So it’s double action-only but it’s light and smooth, with just slightly increasing pressure required as it travels back. You’ll see the hammer move back and fall with every stroke. It doesn’t jerk, grab or stutter in its travel. If a round fails to fire, the LEM trigger system allows for second and third strike capability, though I never needed it.

Handgun Review: HK P2000 SKThe LEM trigger felt much lighter than the advertised 7.3- to 8.5-pound pull, but I attribute that to the ultra-smooth trigger travel. Even with its gradually increasing resistance, I couldn’t discern by feel if the trigger was nearing its breaking point; when the HK fired it surprised me every time but I was never unprepared for it. Indeed, after a while I could tell when the gun was about fire because it was always when my finger pulled the trigger back to exactly the same point. Shooting quickly—about two rounds per second—was remarkably easy, intuitive and fun.

Notice that I haven’t yet mentioned recoil. That’s because recoil on this handgun, while present, is aptly managed by the mechanical recoil reduction system—a dual captive recoil spring and polymer bushing. The system works so well in absorbing recoil that you have to actively think about the recoil in order to remember it’s there.

The combination of the HK’s balance, ergonomics, LEM trigger and recoil absorption system worked in harmony with the three-dot sights, allowing for easy follow up shots. It was easier to shoot this gun faster and more accurately than most others I have fired.

HK P2000 SK Additional Features

HK includes a modular grip accessory to increase the depth of the stocks. My medium-to-large sized hands enjoyed the P2000 SK’s stock in its standard configuration so much I didn’t bother with the extra piece. Some might prefer flush magazine baseplates, especially for concealed carry, instead of the two included nine-round magazines that feature a baseplate with a pronounced lip. I actually liked how these felt.

All the controls on the HK are ambidextrous. I’m a right-hander so I would right thumb the slide release on the left side of the slide but use my right middle finger to push the magazine release on the right side of the trigger guard. The P2000 SK also featured a tactical rail for lights and lasers. For a carry pistol, I found this to be a bit superfluous and would have preferred a skinnier dust cover and slide.

I have to admit, prior to shooting the HK P2000 SK I was skeptical that the $983 retail price was justified. Sure, I knew of HK’s reputation for excellence, durability, reliability and accuracy. But once I experienced it first hand, the luxury price of this sub-compact pistol seemed more tenable. I just had to feel it for myself.

44-Targetposters-pack-GD-reduced-300

Next Step: Get your FREE Printable Target Pack

Enhance your shooting precision with our 62 MOA Targets, perfect for rifles and handguns. Crafted in collaboration with Storm Tactical for accuracy and versatility.

Subscribe to the Gun Digest email newsletter and get your downloadable target pack sent straight to your inbox. Stay updated with the latest firearms info in the industry.

4 COMMENTS

  1. $983??? Wow! I just bought one for under $750, albeit, after handling this handgun – I would easily have paid more, i.e., the fit and finish is outstanding (especially when you have it disassembled and you can see how much attention to detail went into engineering this handgun).

    This is a quality handgun that will last my lifetime, along with my heirs.

  2. I have a P2000sk in .40 and really like the gun. It is Uber concealable and is the most accurate sub-compact I have ever fired, by more than a little bit. However, given that I have large hands (long hand and fingers, but normal width) The gun is simply too small for me to shoot well consistently well. The result is that I have to focus on how I am griping the weapon to get the most out of it.

    As such, it is relegated to ‘church gun’ status for me. When I really need to be concerned about ultra concealment it is my choice. However, I do have less confidence in my ability to draw quickly and be absolutely confident that I can reach out and touch a target 15 yards away, under tremendous stress, without the possibility of an errand shot. The SK is definitely a capable tool at such distances, just not in my hand. It is a fine weapon, operates flawlessly, and is inherently accurate and balanced. It also deals well with recoil.

    That said, in real world situations you are highly accountable for each bullet/trigger pull….therefore the stakes are different from being at the range and the potential to throw a fast shot wide of the target is a moral and liability ‘no-no’. So, my edc is the slightly larger P2000. Same exact weapon characteristics as the SK, just with an extra bit of grip and slide/barrel length. This slight difference is all that it takes to eliminate any concerns related to a fast draw, having to think about my grip, throwing a shot wide, or being concerned about fast follow-up shots.

    So, my P2000Sk has really become my wife’s tool. In her smaller hands, it is everything to her that the P2000 is to me. I do some times use it. On a shorts and T-shirt day I can disappear it on my body to a degree that exceeds the P2000.

  3. HK guns are somewhat of a prestige item but they sell for double the price of most plasticky pistols. In comparing them to German Walther’s the Walther’s are every bit as good and for half the price. My Walther P99 has a much better trigger pull as well mainly due to the fact that it is striker fired rather than hammer fired but in all fairness hammer fired guns are way more reliable when it comes to the ignition system. Doubt my word, of course you do so see for yourself. Take an empty case and seat a primer high (not all the way down into the pocket) and then insert the empty primered case into the gun and pull the trigger. Walla! Miss fire with a striker fired gun and bang-0 with a hammer fired one.

    My HK p30 gun has no steel frame rails in it, the steel frame rides on a plastic frame. This is most disconcerting to say the least. My Walther and Glock have carbide buttons for the slide to ride one. You would think for the horrendous price HK chargers that you would at least get frame rails with the gun. Accuracy with my HK was no better than my Walther and only slightly better than my Glock.

    Reliability was top notch right out of the box for all three of my cheaply made plasticky pistols but in all fairness the guns are light weight for carrying and the frames do not rust either. All three have a Teflon type finish that is fairly durable and very rust resistant, they look ugly with their roughly machined slides but they are practical for every day use, they are crudely made tools not collectors items nor will they ever compare in quality to the guns of yesteryear with their highly polished finishes and eye popping appeal.

    • The slide rides on nitrided steel inserts that are molded into the polymer frame. They might appear to be plastic, but they aren’t. It states this in the owners manual.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.