(Left) The USP magazines are double stack but single feed. (Right) As an importation requirement, the "visible" loaded-chamber indicator does the job. On a dark and stormy night it is useless.

The hammer of the Compact is flush with the slide while the Standard has a knurled section, making it possible to thumb-cock the larger pistol. (I can't imagine why I'd want to, but it was possible.)

The Standard came to me in OD green, which comes closest to Pantone 4485. That ink color is created by mixing 14 1/2 parts yellow, 1 1/2 parts ruby red and six parts black. Yellow and red, to get green, and darkened with some black--go figure.

USP Tactical
Unlike the two .40s that came in hard-plastic cases, the Tactical came in a zippered nylon case. Inside, the case has pouches for a pair of magazines, a suppressor, a laser aiming module and the pistol. The suppressor and laser are not HK-made items, so you'll have to contact a manufacturer for those. The case is a transport system, not a tactical case, and getting the pistol or any components out of it is a range event, not an operational event.

The Tactical is available in both .40 and .45, and of the two I would pick the .45, which is what HK sent me in Desert Tan. While the Standard USP is bigger than the Compact, the Tactical is much larger than the Standard. The Tactical slide has the same forward length as the Standard, is longer in the rear and is wider, taller and heavier.

The Tactical barrel protrudes from the slide. In keeping with the Mk 23 origins (the Tactical is a scaled-down Mk 23, to be more normal in size like the Standard), the muzzle is threaded for a suppressor, and the barrel lockup right behind the muzzle features an O-ring for greater accuracy.

As a polymer frame, the USP has its serial number on a metal plate cast in place in the frame.

The sights are large. The front is a "billboard" reminiscent of the front sights seen on bull's-eye guns, and the rear is an adjustable--both set in standard HK dovetails. At first I thought to myself, This could benefit from a low-mount sight installation. Upon further inspection, I wonder if there is room in the top of the slide for a low mount while still being able to clear the firing-pin tunnel. A low mount may not be possible--not that any HK owner would subject his pistol to the care of anyone other than an HK-certified armorer.

As I've pointed out, the Tactical is big. For that size you get a .45 that holds 12 rounds and makes nails look like fragile tools. Tan for HK seems to be Pantone 466, a mix of a half-part ruby red, a half-part process blue, 11?8 parts yellow and 131?8 parts transparent white.

Mk 23
The Mk 23 is a pistol designed by a committee (excuse me, an "Offensive Handgun Weapon system"--you cannot sell anything to the Defense Department unless it is a "system"). The specifications as laid down were impressive: It had to have a service life of 30,000 rounds of .45 ACP+P ammunition. It had to have match accuracy. It had to hold 10 rounds (later increased to 12), and it had to be capable of accepting both a suppressor and a laser aiming module. As a 1911 aficionado and an IPSC shooter, I am amused that the committee did not spend so much as five minutes considering that the 1911 could have met all requirements (as many have).

CHRONOGRAPH DATA FOR HK USP
Ammunition	Compact USP, .40	Standard USP, .40
135-gr. Cor-Bon Powrball	1,155	1,238
165-gr. Rem. Golden Sabre	994	1,020
165-gr. PMC FMJ	876	904
180-gr. FMJ Black Hills Blue	875	930
	Tactical .45 ACP	MK23
165-gr. Cor-Bon Powrball	1,104	1,111
230-gr. JRN PMC	788	804
230-gr. JHP Cor-Bon +P	897	999
220-gr. JRN PMP	843	857
230-gr. JHP Speer Gold Dot	827	842
230-gr. SXT W-W Ranger	833	845
230-gr. JRN Black Hills Blue	813	844
230-gr. JRN IMI	886	887

This thing is huge. It makes the USP Compact look like an ankle gun. My test-fire crew spent a lot of time fondling the Mk 23, and all came to the same conclusion: The grip is too big. But if you are going to make a polymer-framed gun that holds 12 rounds of .45 ACP, you'll end up with a big grip. The triggerguard is large enough to get three fingers in there, not that you'd need them to pull the trigger.

One thing that can be said about the HK modern trigger system on the USP models is that it is uniformly nice. The Mk 23 in particular, in single action, was very useable. I've shot a lot of matches in the past with custom guns whose triggers were not as crisp and clean as the Mk 23 had right out of the box.