The HK VP9 Match: Best Competition Ready Pistol?

HK gives competition shooters exactly what they need out of the box with the feature-packed VP9 Match.

April 11, 2024 By Frank Melloni

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When the HK VP9 hit the scene, gun owners were blown away by its ergonomics, adaptability, and, of course, its now legendary trigger. Everybody from professionals to civilian CCW holders wanted a version to fit their needs, and over time, HK accommodated them. Busy making guns for the hordes of folks looking to trust their lives to this platform, those looking to punch holes in cardboard had to take a backseat until now. Late last year, HK released a model of this famed pistol that leaves zero doubt of its intended arena: the new HK VP9 Match. The idea behind the gun was simple: build it for competition and throw any effort to remain compact to the wind. Essentially, as long as the gun fits in the USPSA measuring box, it was good to go. With that, HK set out to build the Match with as long a slide as possible.

hk-vp9-match-pistol-review-02 — Though not compact, this VP9 is built to win matches.

The long slide stretches the sight radius beyond 7.5 inches. Additionally, it features an optics cut for use in the Carry Optics division. The more I looked at it, the more I appreciated the work done on the slide. HK machined a generous lightening cut at the 12 o’clock position. This ensures the gun points well and doesn’t take a nosedive during your presentation to the target. Aiding this cut are six more located on each side that also serve as ultra-aggressive cocking serrations, which adds two features with a single machining operation. Grasping the frame was like shaking hands with an old friend. Finger grooves are a controversial topic in the handgun community. They either force your fingers together or spread them apart. I have always liked the direction that HK took with this, as they are shallow and wide, making them a good fit for nearly any hand. Some might find otherwise, but that brings us to the other defining feature of the VP9 frame: complete customization.

hk-vp9-match-pistol-review-03 — The HK VP9 Match comes with interchangeable backstraps and side panels, ensuring a proper fit to any shooter’s hands. 10- and 20-round magazine options accompany this HK competition pistol.

Most polymer-framed pistols now have interchangeable backstraps. However, few take it as far as to modularize the side panels as well. The HK Match comes with three options for each dimension, allowing a gunsmith-like fit. Perfecting fit puts your fingers in an optimal position to hit the controls. The HK VP9 Match comes with an ambidextrous slide stop, which allows shooters of either dexterity a more balanced means of depressing it. Mechanically, anytime something needs to go down, it is never best to do so from an offset. Having a joined lever with depression points on each side makes it exponentially easier to activate this control, which saves time and increases your score. Of course, if you’re running the 20-round magazines, you aren’t going to see a lot of reloads. Bilateral slide stops aren’t groundbreaking, but something new (for HK, at least) is the push-button magazine release. Don’t worry. If you’re a fan of the classic paddle style, that is still an option for the Match. Just like its predecessor, this catch will also support left-handed operation; it just needs to be reversed to do so.

At the time of testing, there weren’t many holster options. Luckily, I was able to make a universal Safariland 576 Pro-Fit holster work. This brought me to ammunition selection. Some say heavy bullets at low velocity produce softer recoil, whereas others feel a short snap will settle sights faster. I chose Federal’s 150-grain Syntech Action Pistol load to represent the heavyweight camp and Fiocchi’s 115-grain Training Dynamics load for the lighter side. Splitting the difference was CCI’s 124-grain aluminum-cased Blazer load. After unpacking, I set out a chronograph to see where each round fell in the USPSA power factor spectrum and to see how well each shot. To my surprise, the less expensive CCI Blazer grouped the tightest of the three and, not surprisingly, ran without a hiccup. After my first magazine, I took a closer look at the barrel and realized that what I thought was a rubber O-ring to keep a thread protector in place was actually a rubber barrel bushing to provide forward support of the launch tube when the gun is in battery. Judging by the performance, it worked, as 1.25-inch 15-yard groups are nothing to sneeze at.

hk-vp9-match-pistol-review-04 — For competitors interested in the Carry Optics division, the slide has an optics cut.

All three rounds met the minimum power factor, so I grabbed the leftover Federal and Fiocchi ammo for the practical examination, as these were closest to the minimum. Serious competitors try to stay as close as possible to that magic number because anything over produces excess recoil. Starting with a pair of static silhouettes, I practiced single-shot transitions and controlled pairs. I found the longer slide assembly helped the gun swing easier, and with the right ammo, it settled right back where it was pointed. Landing center-mass splits in the teens was no trouble at all, with a large part of that credit going to the snappy reset of the trigger. Sliding over to the pepper poppers, I found the 150-grain Federal load did a better job of retaining its velocity and knocked them down more reliably. However, it was evident that the lighter Fiocchi ammo helped the gun to recover better. If I were to run this pistol in a match, I’d bring both loads and fill my magazines in accordance with what the stage offers. Between shredding cardboard and pinging steel, I felt that I got a great feel for what HK crafted for the competitor. Stretching out a successful design can go one of two ways, but with their track record, I’m sure most of us already knew this would be a hit. Overall, HK's VP9 Match handled great, ate everything I fed it, and although it shouldn’t matter, it just plain looks sexy. If you’re looking to add a supersized favorite to your collection, this is one pistol you shouldn’t walk past.