(Right) The MK 23 muzzle is threaded for a suppressor. (Left) German proof law: All barrels must be marked with maker, caliber, serial number and acceptance proof. Good thing there is room.

Enough of the overview--how do they shoot? As you'd expect an HK product to shoot, they are utterly reliable and with superb accuracy. Lacking Ransom-rest inserts for them, I had to content myself with shooting off the bench for accuracy. All the HKs shot as well as some custom guns I had with me on the same range session. The Mk 23 was particularly accurate, and I was able to shoot several groups under two inches at 25 yards using plain old ball ammo. (Hey, I'm no Ransom rest. Two inches at 25 yards with iron sights and blasting/non-match ammo is really good.) The 100-yard gongs were not safe from any of them, the Compact included. A clean trigger break on my part would always lead to a satisfying "clink" from downrange.

For such large guns, the HKs all rolled in my hands more than I like. More than one test-fire volunteer commented on the muzzle rise, particularly in the Mk 23. Archimedes, once he got over the shock of firearms, could tell us why in a moment: It was the length of the lever arm. The axis of the bore on the USP pistols is higher than on other pistols. The Mk 23 in particular has a bore that looks like it is a foot and a half over your hands. With more leverage, the USPs can pivot more. It's not that the recoil is harder, or even objectionable, just that you'll see a lot more muzzle action than you're used to.

I happened to have a selection of 1911s and a Browning Hi-Power along on the same trip, and the differences were noticeable. Later, one of my fellow club members showed up with his French MAB-15, and it also has a higher bore than Browning pistols do. In shooting it, we noticed that it has as much muzzle rise as a 9mm, as the Compact USP did as a .40.

I am not picking on the USP. The fact that the muzzle rises higher does not mean it kicks harder. And for fast shooting, you will spend more time aiming than in recoil recovery anyway, so muzzle rise doesn't matter.

The HK mechanism lock key. If you lock your guns, don't lose this tool.

The longer barrel of the Mk 23 also gave us more velocity than any other pistol along that day. If you're starting with +P ammo, the longer barrel of the Mk 23 is going to boost the velocity even more. Even standard ammo ended up delivering near bowling-pin-load velocities, and the +P ammo was hotter still.

Which would I select? Of the offerings sent me by HK, I think I'd have to give the nod to the Tactical in any kind of practical shooting competition. The size and mass dampen recoil, the magazines give good capacity, and you can't beat the accuracy or reliability. For the size and caliber of the .40s, I found the bulk a bit much for the Compact to be compact, and the recoil of the Standard felt the same as the Compact. If I were going to carry one on duty, I would consider the Compact as a great uniform duty gun. None was small enough to tempt me into concealed carry.

As for the "utility" of putting a suppressor on a handgun, were I in the position of going after very bad people using a suppressor, I'd much rather attach a can to an M4 or an MP-5 than turn the already large Mk 23 into an even bigger gun.

The big Mk 23 in its nylon carry case.

And the color? I'd go with OD green. The gray, as I mentioned, is just a little too blue for me. Desert Tan is not a color I can get into. But OD green? I can go for that.