H&K basically invented the polymer-frame combat handgun when they came out with their VP-70. Glock popularized the idea back in the late 1980s, and ever since then a lot of companies have been designing polymer frame combat handguns in an effort to keep up with the trend. The USP (Universal Service Pistol) is H&K's entry into the new polymer market, and is it ever a good entry. H&K's motto says it all: "In a world of compromise, some don't." The USP has a sturdy metal-reinforced frame that is still lightweight. It's got an ambidextrous magazine catch, which is pretty standard on most H&K handguns. It is a traditional double action, which means your first shot is fired double action and every shot thereafter is single action. It's got a combination safety/decocking lever so you can carry cocked and locked if you like, or you can safely drop the hammer for a double-action first shot. The USP's frame has a built-in accessory rail forward of the trigger guard for attaching various accessories such as scope mounts, laser sights, tactical lights, and so forth, and the base of the grip has a scallop on either side so you can use your fingers to get more leverage to remove a stubborn magazine if need be. The USP uses a unique double recoil spring which helps reduce the felt recoil and also helps increase the service life of the handgun's parts. When H&K was evaluating the USP, they torture tested it to the extreme, including firing it underwater, baking it, freezing it, blasting it with corrosive chemicals and salt water for hours on end, and even jamming a bullet halfway down the barrel and firing a live round behind it. It worked flawlessly under all these conditions (and even in that last test the USP continued to work perfectly - that test produced a slight bulge in the barrel but it did not affect function or accuracy). Tokyo Marui's may not live up to that sort of testing, but as far as spring airsofts go, it's a nice one.

Appearance

  As usual for Tokyo Marui, the detailing is superb on this pistol, right down to the "Eagle N" proofmarks on the frame, slide, and barrel. The magazine looks just like the polymer magazine on a real USP, and is marked ".40 S&W" but has "TM" for Tokyo Marui in the factory code box rather than an actual H&K factory code. One detractor from the pistol's appearance is that the slide is cast from a grey plastic which doesn't look right. It doesn't match a real USP's slide color at all. I suppose they did this to emphasize the difference between the polymer frame and the metal slide, but you don't see them doing that with Glocks now, do you? One neat thing, though, is that they put a small metal strip in the frame ahead of the trigger guard. This is where the serial number is etched on a real USP, and it's a feature that TM doesn't put on their Glocks which have a similar setup for their serial numbers in real life.

Function

  The USP fits well in my hand and feels nicer than the Glocks (mainly because I don't like the grip angle on a Glock). The USP points naturally for me and instinctive shooting should be pretty easy out to around fifteen yards against human targets. The magazine feeds and functions flawlessly, but seems a touch loose in the magazine well and can rattle a bit. The trigger is both double and single action (though only single action is used for firing BBs). When firing BBs, the trigger pull is a bit stiff but at least it's crisp and short. The slide has a strong spring and a long travel to cock it. It's difficult to cock by pulling it back conventionally (pistol pointing away from you with your left thumb on the right side of the slide and your left index finger curled around on the left side of the slide. Usually what happens is you'll pull the slide back to where you think it's cocked, let it go, and the realize you failed to pull it back all the way. In this case, you've got a BB in the chamber but the piston's not cocked so you have to remove the magazine (to avoid double loading) and try cocking it again. The way I find easiest to cock the USP is to (reverse directions if you're a lefty) hold it in your right hand with the gun pointed to your left, and put your left hand over the top of the slide with your thumb sticking out so it engages the grip grooves on the gun's left side, and then curl your fingers around on the other side of the slide and grip tightly, then cycle the slide. This allows me to get enough purchase on the slide to cycle it reliably every time.

Accuracy

  Here the USP is no slouch. It groups well at seven yards, however it shoots about two inches low and to the left at that distance (also see VARIABLE's review). It's not a real problem at that range against human targets, but the farther away you are, the more accentuated it's going to be, and the more you'll have to compensate for it.

Overall Impressions

  All things considered, the USP would be a good pistol for use as a backup or for indoor all-spring tournament use. At longer ranges, compensating for the skewed point of impact would get tedious. If you learn to cycle the slide properly, it works fine. If you've got any real USP accessories, they'll fit right on this Airsoft's accessory rail, which would be handy. If you could mount a laser sight and adjust it properly, you could totally correct for the fact that the sights do not match the point of impact. If that was the case, I would even recommend this pistol for outdoor use (provided you had a laser that was daylight-visible).