# How much play between slide and frame is normal on a vp9?



## Usafammo3 (Jun 8, 2020)

While cleaning the lint out of my carry vp9 this morning I noticed that there is a small amount of play between the slide and frame. It hasn't caused any problems and the gun runs fine. I'm just curious if anyone knows specs or what HK says about this. If you take the assembled gun and squeeze the the business end, the slide will move towards the frame about 2mm. It leaves just enough space for lint to get in between the slide and frame.


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## Budlight_909 (Aug 31, 2020)

Usafammo3 said:


> While cleaning the lint out of my carry vp9 this morning I noticed that there is a small amount of play between the slide and frame. It hasn't caused any problems and the gun runs fine. I'm just curious if anyone knows specs or what HK says about this. If you take the assembled gun and squeeze the the business end, the slide will move towards the frame about 2mm. It leaves just enough space for lint to get in between the slide and frame.


all my polymer guns do the same thing. Glock 17, Glock 21, Canik TP 9 SF, and Taurus G3c....

what you need to remember is that you have a slide (metal) , which has a "track" or rail, which goes from front to back, right?

then the frame itself, only has 4 "rail tabs" or runners, very short in length, right?

if those "rail runners" were as long as the slide itself, like say an all metal/steel or aluminum gun?

then there would not be much, if ANY side to side movement.

on the polymer guns, should there have been the at least 2 more "rail tabs" more closer to the end of the slide (forward, somehow mounted in the dust cover), then it would be way tighter.

so, it's normal.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Usafammo3 said:


> While cleaning the lint out of my carry vp9 this morning I noticed that there is a small amount of play between the slide and frame. It hasn't caused any problems and the gun runs fine. I'm just curious if anyone knows specs or what HK says about this. If you take the assembled gun and squeeze the the business end, the slide will move towards the frame about 2mm. It leaves just enough space for lint to get in between the slide and frame.


I have a VP 9, VP9 SK and a VP 40 they all do the same thing. It's normal on polymer framed guns as explained in Post #2.

Actually having a little space and play is not a bad thing. No matter how tight a gun is it's going to accumulate lint and dust if carried on a daily basis. If a gun has close slide to frame tolerances it will be affected more by this. The buildup of lint and dust only exacerbates the problem. As the dirt and dust accumulates the gun will get even tighter as there's less space which creates more friction.

Obviously guns that have more play are not as affected by this problem. You can for all intents and purpose drop them in the mud and they will keep on ticking. Standard issue 1911's are famous for having loose slide to frame tolerances. More than likely this was intentional as they would be subjected to harsh conditions out in the field such as in a war.

A loose gun will remain accurate as long as the barrel seats into the slide the same way after each shot is fired.

I have a wide variety of polymer framed pistols, Glocks, Shadow Systems, Sigs, Springfields, Walther, Ruger and of course HK's. In my opinion HK makes thee best polymer framed pistol on the market today. Especially their VP series. I just wish they would come out with a VP 45 or even better yet a VP 45 SK. I'd even settle for a VP 40 SK.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

I personally call them Dust Busters


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## Usafammo3 (Jun 8, 2020)

Thanks, guys. I didn't figure it was a problem. I was just curious as this is only the second polymer frame gun I've carried in my life. I had a glock in .357sig 20 years ago and after I sold it I just never saw the need for one (until I shot this vp9). After carrying a full size and compact 92s and a 1911 for YEARS, this vp9 is like a feather. Some would say it's too big but everything is relative.


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## Usafammo3 (Jun 8, 2020)

Budlight_909 said:


> all my polymer guns do the same thing. Glock 17, Glock 21, Canik TP 9 SF, and Taurus G3c....
> 
> what you need to remember is that you have a slide (metal) , which has a "track" or rail, which goes from front to back, right?
> 
> ...


It's not side to side, up and down but not much. Only noticable to an OCD person like me. I have an ak that has a very slightly canted rear sight leaf and it drove me crazy until I put a railed gas tube and red dot on it. The gun is damn straight for an ak but I still notice a difference of a millimeter.


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## Usafammo3 (Jun 8, 2020)

desertman said:


> I have a VP 9, VP9 SK and a VP 40 they all do the same thing. It's normal on polymer framed guns as explained in Post #2.
> 
> Actually having a little space and play is not a bad thing. No matter how tight a gun is it's going to accumulate lint and dust if carried on a daily basis. If a gun has close slide to frame tolerances it will be affected more by this. The buildup of lint and dust only exacerbates the problem. As the dirt and dust accumulates the gun will get even tighter as there's less space which creates more friction.
> 
> ...


Before this HK I only carried 92s but as soon as I shot this vp9, HK had me for life. The groups I got out of this gun on my second range trip were equal to or better than any handgun I have. Cant argue with groups. I had one failure to cycle but not a big deal because the ammo was weak and this gun has a heavy recoil spring to allow it to be used in the vp40 and for 9mm NATO. I will be using HOT ammo if my life depends on it and NATO if SHTF so who cares if I had one weak bullet. I was so impressed that I got a usp9c to keep it comany in my safe.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Usafammo3 said:


> Thanks, guys. I didn't figure it was a problem. I was just curious as this is only the second polymer frame gun I've carried in my life. I had a glock in .357sig 20 years ago and after I sold it I just never saw the need for one (until I shot this vp9). After carrying a full size and compact 92s and a 1911 for YEARS, this vp9 is like a feather. *Some would say it's too big but everything is relative.*


I like the SK version out of the three that I own. I bought a 13 round magazine for it in addition to the 10 round mags that came with the gun. I can also use the fifteen round mags from it's full size brother. I bought my VP 40 first then the VP 9 then they came out with the SK version so I hadda' have that one too. I would have thought that since they came out with the VP 9 SK that a 40 SK would soon follow. Maybe, possibly, hopefully a .45 version? I'm still waiting and hoping for either or.

The only thing I did to mine was swap out the plastic triggers for aluminum Lobos triggers. I also added push button slide plates from HK Parts. Push button slide plates makes removing the striker assembly a lot easier. I always like to clean that assembly and it's channel every time I clean those guns. I added those to my Glocks too. A must have accessory in my opinion.

*VP9/VP40 Type 1 Trigger, 2nd Gen. - Lobos Industries LLC*

*Quick Detach Slide Plate - Hex Button - VP9, VP9SK, VP40 ...*


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## Usafammo3 (Jun 8, 2020)

I've got the trigger on my to do list but the uspc needs a trigger upgrade much more so it will prob ve first. How much difference does the Lobos trigger make?Does that slide plate have an indicator to let you know it's cocked?


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Usafammo3 said:


> Before this HK I only carried 92s but as soon as I shot this vp9, HK had me for life. The groups I got out of this gun on my second range trip were equal to or better than any handgun I have. Cant argue with groups. I had one failure to cycle but not a big deal because the ammo was weak and this gun has a heavy recoil spring to allow it to be used in the vp40 and for 9mm NATO. I will be using HOT ammo if my life depends on it and NATO if SHTF so who cares if I had one weak bullet. I was so impressed that I got a usp9c to keep it comany in my safe.


There's just something about those VP's that say: "They're just right for me". The ergonomics, the overall quality and dependability. They're the ultimate polymer framed pistol as far as I'm concerned. Once you try one you're spoiled. I still wish that HK would make and offer more of a variety of their VP series of pistols. Just like Glock.

Heckler & Koch has been a leading designer and manufacturer of small arms and light weapons for law enforcement and military forces worldwide. Their civilian market is secondary.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Usafammo3 said:


> I've got the trigger on my to do list but the uspc needs a trigger upgrade much more so it will prob ve first. How much difference does the Lobos trigger make?Does that slide plate have an indicator to let you know it's cocked?


I haven't noticed any appreciable difference in the trigger pull or that there's anything inherently wrong with the stock trigger. I just don't like the feel of a polymer trigger and swap them out for aluminum one's on all of my guns that come with polymer triggers if aluminum one's are available.

The slide plates do not have an indicator. That was never an issue for me. I love the convenience of just pushing in that button to remove and re-install the striker assembly. This also avoids chewing up and damaging those plastic striker sleeves making it a one hand operation. I also replaced those sleeves with aluminum one's from HK Parts. https://hkparts.net/product/enhanced-support-sleeve-vp9-vp9sk-vp40-alloy-p17861.htm

I wish that they made those aluminum sleeves for Glocks too. They have a tendency to crack after a certain amount of use. Since they don't make them for Glocks I keep some spare plastic one's on hand. I found a cracked one during routine maintenance on one of my Glocks. However it didn't affect the function of the pistol.

Another benefit of the push button slide plates is that they push the sleeve in at the end. Instead of having to push the sleeve in with a small screwdriver or punch from the underside of the slide. That's usually where they get chewed up. You'd think that the designers would have taken this into consideration when designing these guns? When you're spending $600 to a $1000 or more for a gun another $20 doesn't make that much of a difference.

Unless you tinker with and work on guns a lot of people may not be aware of these things. At least with a striker fired pistol it's important to keep both the striker assembly and its channel in the slide clean and free of lubricants that have the potential to gum up the works.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

Slide to frame play doesn't affect accuracy. It's the lockup between barrel and slide that determines accuracy, all things being equal.

I have a PX4 compact in .40 that has a little more wiggle slide to frame than my 9mm PX4, but I can assure you it is a downright accurate shooter that hasn't hickup'd yet.

It can shoot the hair off a fly's leg at 15 yards, well, at least a muskrat at 20.


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## Usafammo3 (Jun 8, 2020)

desertman said:


> There's just something about those VP's that say: "They're just right for me". The ergonomics, the overall quality and dependability. They're the ultimate polymer framed pistol as far as I'm concerned. Once you try one you're spoiled. I still wish that HK would make and offer more of a variety of their VP series of pistols. Just like Glock.
> 
> Heckler & Koch has been a leading designer and manufacturer of small arms and light weapons for law enforcement and military forces worldwide. Their civilian market is secondary.


I didnt know much about HK other than they were expensive There's plenty of people who think Glock invented the polymer frame.


desertman said:


> I like the SK version out of the three that I own. I bought a 13 round magazine for it in addition to the 10 round mags that came with the gun. I can also use the fifteen round mags from it's full size brother. I bought my VP 40 first then the VP 9 then they came out with the SK version so I hadda' have that one too. I would have thought that since they came out with the VP 9 SK that a 40 SK would soon follow. Maybe, possibly, hopefully a .45 version? I'm still waiting and hoping for either or.
> 
> The only thing I did to mine was swap out the plastic triggers for aluminum Lobos triggers. I also added push button slide plates from HK Parts. Push button slide plates makes removing the striker assembly a lot easier. I always like to clean that assembly and it's channel every time I clean those guns. I added those to my Glocks too. A must have accessory in my opinion.
> 
> ...


I got a couple 17 rd HK mags and already had some of the +5 extensions to put on the 15 rounders that came with gun and that little dim light bulb in my head blinked and said "why not put the +5 extensions on the 17 round mags?". I obliged. Have yet to use them but it seems good. Cycles dummy rounds fine- all 22 of them.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Usafammo3 said:


> I didnt know much about HK other than they were expensive There's plenty of people who think Glock invented the polymer frame.
> 
> I got a couple 17 rd HK mags and already had some of the +5 extensions to put on the 15 rounders that came with gun and that little dim light bulb in my head blinked and said "why not put the +5 extensions on the 17 round mags?". I obliged. Have yet to use them but it seems good. Cycles dummy rounds fine- all 22 of them.


HK was the first company to come out with a polymer frame pistol the VP70 in obviously 1970. It was a semi auto with a 3 shot burst capability.

The VP9 doesn't cost too much more than a comparable Glock, maybe $50 or so? I haven't looked in awhile so don't quote me on that. Don't get me wrong Glock makes a fantastic pistol I've got several of them but they're no HK. There are certainly more aftermarket parts available for the Glock that's for sure. For people like me that loves to work on and tinker with guns.

I just love the feel of those VP's it's almost as if it was specifically molded to fit your hand.


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