Originally introduced for sale in 1993, the HK USP is an overbuilt tank of a pistol that first came to market chambered in .40 S&W.
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Originally introduced for sale in 1993, the HK USP (Universelle Selbstladepistole or Universal Self-Loading Pistol) is an overbuilt tank of a pistol that first came to market chambered in .40 S&W. While many other pistols at the time were suffering from cracked frames and other issues due to taking 9mm designs and tweaking them to fit the bigger and higher pressure .40 S&W, the USP was designed from the ground up with this cartridge in mind. Some 9mm and .45 ACP variants would be released later.
Revisions through the years were limited to changes in both 1996 and 2006 respectively, in which changes were made to the firing pin assembly, as well as the hammer and control latch mechanism, which was altered from a single piece unit to a two-piece unit. These updates are required for compatibility with the factory match trigger if a user wishes to install one in an early model USP model.
