Thanks for the great review!
OK, our first range outing with the new CC9 yesterday was nothing short of spectacular. My Wife and I shot 650rds in ours without any malfunctions of any kind, and that's without any cleaning or lubing since purchase/pick-up. There were three (3) additional range patrons who took turns trying out the CC9 while comparing it to their Hellcats and Blocks. They put an extra 60rds downrange with our CC9 and they each stated that they were impressed enough to look more into this new HK USA offering. The ammo ranged from 115gr practice/range ammo all the way up to Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P hollow points (no steel cased stuff in my/our pistols, if I can help it).
I can say that there is more "snap" when shooting 115gr ammo, a little more than when shooting my Walther PPS M2 and was the same as the stock SIG P365 we rented at the range. We used 200rds of Winchester 115gr FMJ white box range ammo on steel targets at 7 and 10 yds in fast and slow shooting. No issues/problems were experienced but like I said, there is a bit of some "snap" to it with the 115's. Even shooting with one hand and purposefully using a "limp wrist" did not produce any malfunctions. The CC9's "memory pads" and a proper grip mitigate any shooting discomfort, so who really cares...
The CC9 felt great shooting the 124gr stuff we had from Federal, Winchester, and Speer. 250rd mixture of FMJs and JHPs that all cycled/fired without any issues, and by this point both 12 and 10 round mags were starting to break in nicely to the point that a MagLula was not needed anymore for full loading. When shooting the 124's, there was noticeably less "snap" to the point where my Wife and I both feel that the CC9 is a more pleasing shooter than my PPS M2 and the regular P365. The Hellcat guy on the range also agreed that 124gr ammo shot well and felt the same as his Hellcat (w/ light and optic). Same 7 and 10yd distance but on paper B-27 targets with decent 3" groups. The +P ammo did have some more "push & pop" to it in the CC9 but felt better than shooting the same seeds out of my PPS M2, so I may be looking at a new CCW after more range shoots and familiarity.
Of course, the 200rds of 147gr ammo (FMJ & JHP) was the best out of our CC9. Not only were there still no issues in shooting the CC9 with this ammo, it also "felt" the best. We tried to induce failures with one handed shots, more "limp wristing", and even off-axis/unsupported "gansta' sideways" shots. No malfunctions at all, and the empty shells all ejected in the same arch. I plan on even more 147gr and 124gr ammo this coming week after we do a good striping and cleaning of our CC9.
We shot the CC9 as 12+1 and 10+1 and the mags had no problems fully seating with a single "tap" to load them. Each empty mag ejected cleanly with gusto. The large backstrap worked just fine for me, but my Wife will stick with the medium one. Neither of us had any issues with the ambi-magazine release when shooting with right or left hands, and neither did the other 3 range shooters who also shot with it. No inadvertent mag drops as some of us feared, as the ambi-mag release is in the optimal location. I did have to make a minor adjustment to my grip in order to drop a mag one-handed. The 12rd mag's "pinky extension" is just right for our hands, and the 10rd mag is very serviceable for providing a solid grip while shooting and less printing for concealed carry (my Wife likes either mag for her hands). The sights are great for anything under 10/15yds but I'd personally like a "u-notch" for anything past that. The front sight picture is clear and the front dot is easy to pick up. The lume is bright and helpful in low-to-no light settings, and I look forward to more dusk/night stuff with the CC9. The left and right slide releases will take some more breaking in, as they are still a bit stiff (especially the right side) but they're getting there. The slide locked back to the rear after every emptied mag except for one time with one of the range patrons, as he rode the slide release accidentally during a mag dump. The slide is starting to become more easier to rack as the RSA is also breaking in more, but will still be a potential issue for those with weak/compromised wrists. The slide serrations are good, but they are flat/flush without any "wings" to assist charging the CC9 with it's stout recoil spring. No sharp edges on the slide or frame (except for the leading lug of the 1913 pic rail), and the trigger guard is just about perfect (gloves or no gloves) as I have somewhat "caveman" hands/fingers. The combination of the front finger grooves, trigger guard undercut, rear "beavertail" on the medium & large backstrap, the good texture on the grip, and the 12rd mag "pinky ext" all contribute to a locked-in feel when handling and shooting the CC9. We like it, and so did the others.
The trigger... I will say the CC9's trigger is better than a stock P365 and Hellcat but not quite as good as my PPS M2. I did notice that the CC9's trigger did start to feel better as we closed out our range time, so there's a chance it will improve as we continue to break it in. I can't compare it to my VP9SK due to it's aftermarket HKParts trigger & spring, so I'll hopefully track down a stock VP9SK this week for more comparisons. The trigger break and reset was audible and tactile, with and without gloves. Our CC9's trigger break is about as "sharp" as the Walther and better than the stock P365. The trigger reset "click" is a bit less than the PPS M2 and on par with the SIG. Good solid and predictable wall and no "rolling" or "mushy" break. Our CC9 has about a 4 1/2 lbs break, which is fine for us as a CCW. The trigger safety "dingus" is solid and serves it's purpose, as we couldn't move the trigger rearward without squarely pulling the entire trigger altogether. The curved trigger did not cause any skin pinching or bunching of glove material. There is no side-to-side trigger slop or excess movement. Nice little trigger, but I'd like to try a potential flat faced one in the future.
My Wife says that she enjoyed shooting the CC9 and that it's size & weight, recoil impulse, and ergos/shape felt just fine to her. Afterall, this will be her first HK pistol and she's already liking it very much thus far. I can say the same, and I can't wait to spend a lot more range time with our CC9 before it's potentially put into my carry rotation (with a few good holsters). If this thing goes 500 to 600 more rounds of mixed ammo without any hiccups, I'll be even more impressed and buying my own without a doubt. No light/laser or optic accessories were used, but I would not count out a good red/green dot from either Meprolight or Holosun in the future were I to dive into one to use as an EDC. As a CCW/BUG, I could go with the CC9 stock out of the very nice zippered case and action figure-like box. This is a very nice pistol and a pretty good shooter. For it's intended purpose and audience, HK USA looks to have a winner here in the CC9. Don't let the modern appearance/looks fool you (or others) into thinking this thing is not up to HK's high quality & standards. Once the complete (& proper) word on this thing gets out, good luck finding one for a while. I feel the $550 we paid for our CC9 is certainly worth it, so if you can score one at that price or less, jump on it. HK USA did a great job with this CC9, so my hat's off to them. Looking forward to seeing what else they have in store for us die-hard fans/shooters, as well as those new to HK firearms.
(sorry for the wall of text...)
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