Please forgive the lack of brevity. I originally thought I’d write this up as a range report for the USP Expert 45, then decided to write it as an article for the LSA quarterly magazine and have added some of the things at the end specific to HK fans and the capabilities of me, the Expert 45, and how those things might mean anything to the people on this forum.
Short version - shoot Bullseye, it is fun.
Long version -
My shoulder is a bit sore and I’ve found a new shooting sport that I intend to pursue. I arrived at Palo Alto Gun Club the morning of September 26, 2015 and shot my first Bullseye match. It is an interesting game that forces pistol accuracy fundamentals to their extreme. Over the years I’ve dabbled in a variety of shooting competitions and I think Bullseye is (as a shooting buddy of mine says) the*ne plus ultra* of trigger control exercises.
Recently I was hanging around some LSA board members who started talking about Bullseye and how they have opened up the pistols available to be shot from the previously restrictive guidelines. This piqued my curiosity as I have a USP Expert 45 that I wanted to push to the limits and I have a .22 that is commonly used in the competition.
Bullseye is properly shot at up to 50 yards while holding the gun with one hand. The match I shot was at a reduced distance of 25 yards using targets that are proportionally sized. The NRA B-16 25 Yard Slow Fire target is 9.66* wide, with a *X* ring of .67* and 10 ring that is 1.51* in diameter. The 7 Ring is the last black ring, giving you a 5.32* black circle to focus on at 25 yards. It looks pretty small downrange. Holding the gun with one hand isn’t foreign to me, but today set my record for shots fired one handed. The total course of fire is 180 rounds. You begin with a .22 LR , then a center fire over .32 caliber, then a .45 ACP – each for 20 rounds of slow fire, 20 rounds timed fire, and 20 rounds rapid fire. Many choose to shoot their 45 for the center fire portion as well, but some prefer other calibers, with 9mm being the most common. A complete proper match would be fired at both 25 and 50 yards, and with a total of 270 rounds. Details of a complete course of fire can be found here - www.bullseyepistol.com/comp.htm
The weekend prior to today’s match, I shot my HK USP Expert at 25 yards to zero and felt pretty good about the results. Here is where I will confess I didn’t realize Bullseye is fired exclusively one handed. One handed shooting is different than two handed shooting. I was also shooting the 50 yard target at 25 yards. Never forget pride goes before the fall.
I was lucky enough to cut my teeth on a Smith & Wesson Model 41 chambered in 22 Long Rifle. My father bought it new from Gretna Guns before I was born and as I grew up the 41 was what I shot. I’d guess I’d put no less than 15,000 rounds through it before he gave it to me on my 30[SUP]th[/SUP] birthday and it served me well at the match. I got to Palo Alto a little early, played around with my zero a little, but was pleasantly surprised with how well the .22 shot and felt like I was relatively well dialed in with my USP Expert 45.
I did have one thing figured out going into this match. I understand that there are only two things that matter when it comes to pistol accuracy – trigger control and sight alignment. Years ago I took a class with Tiger Mckee, director of Shootrite in Alabama, and he took my pistol shooting past a plateau I was stuck on. To this day I hear his gravely voice in my head as I take a precise shot – *Front sight… press.* I believe you press a trigger – not squeeze – because words mean things to our subconscious. If you are holding a gun and you think the word squeeze, that is something you do with your whole hand. You don’t want to change your grip as you break the shot. You press a button as you press a trigger. Align the front sight, focus on the front sight, and press the trigger. I also believe you want as simple and positive a mantra as possible. The subconscious doesn’t recognize negative qualifiers; telling yourself *Do not jerk the trigger* is putting thoughts about trigger jerking in your mind. Simple and positive – front sight, press. Tiger studied the training habits of Olympic shooters and passed that on to me, and it translated into this sport very well.
The first two strings are comprised of ten rounds fired out of two magazines with five rounds each. You have ten minutes to shoot ten perfect shots. I was happy to turn in a 91 out of a possible 100 points. While my card recorded a 92, that was a bad math on the part of my shooting buddy – let’s call him *Dan* - who gave me a free point for good luck. The rest of the 22 course went well, and I was a few points ahead of my shooting buddy. Everything was going smashingly as we proceeded into the centerfire portion. I had decided to shoot my Expert 45 in the second and third parts of the match.
In 2012 I was fortunate enough to tour the HK manufacturing facility in Oberndorf, Germany. I was already a true believer and have spent some time shooting the HK USP line of pistols. That trip reinforced to me that they are made to an exceptionally high standard. After my first string of slow fire I was again very pleased. At first glance, I had one right outside the black in the six or seven ring … no big deal, slow down a bit, use more of the time allotted… and then *that guy* showed up. The miss. A clean miss. One round that had failed to generate even single point. The next string I fell apart and went from 8 in the black to 4 and then fatigue began to rear its ugly head. My lead from the 22 portion had disappeared and I was now behind my buddy in the points. I decided to throw a Hail Mary and pulled a SIG 220 out of my range bag for the 45 portion. I am a fan of the 220 and have shot it a good bit, and at 12-15 yards with two hands it will reliably punch out the center of a target. With one hand I instantly regretted my decision; my scores further plummeted. I pulled the USP Expert back out and went on to finish reflecting on how much more I need to work out my shoulder if I’m going to continue shooting this discipline.
12 years ago I made my first trip to Thunder Ranch and after being taught how to properly shoot, and then shoot and move, and then shoot moving targets, and then put that all together. Afterwards shooting a stationary target while standing still seemed a lot less challenging. After today, I suspect that if I can get to the point that I can settle down and master the skills well enough to keep the bullets where they belong in the black, shooting with two hands will be a little easier.
Getting started is easy. You’ll need a reasonably accurate 22 – the field is full of everything from basic Ruger 22/45s to high end full custom pistols. The rules appear to accommodate a variety of pistols these days. A 45 that can shoot a 4-6* group at 50 yards is probably sufficient to get started, particularly at 25 yards. Realize that most centerfire Bullseye guns are purpose built and shoot as tight as 1.5* at 50 yards, so if you get hooked this is a great excuse to buy at least one and as many as three guns. I’m inclined to think that if I do my part, my S&W 41 and USP Expert 45 are mechanically capable of getting me to *Expert* classification. The only variable I see that may cause me trouble is the trigger nut.
Things I learned about the Expert 45 –
My Expert 45 has a Bill Springfield Hybrid LEM trigger that is lighter than I’d suggest for carry, duty, etc use, but for this application it is sublime. The pistol is otherwise a stock, late model Expert 45 bought about 3 years ago on close out from CDNN for $899. I wish I’d bought two.
So we discuss accuracy a lot here on the interwebz and I can’t shoot half as well as many apparently can. With that said I did shoot 93%-ish my first time out at a Bullseye match using my Smith & Wesson 41. I’ve shot my fair share in USPSA and at various training classes over the years.
I have relatively large hands. Tiger Mckee, one of the best firearms instructors in this country, refers to them as birth defects. The engineers at HK used my Deutsch Doppleganger to make the USP 45 frame – it fits very well and a one handed grip isn’t a problem. The grip did wear on me after a while. The aggressive texture of the front strap had me thinking cover up or sand paper thoughts. If you haven’t spent a lot of time holding a weight out at full arm extension for a while, it starts to get a little harder to get that perfect hold and spikes chewing into your fingers is further distraction.
I shot a 2.75* group with my 41 which has a new Clark upper. I haven’t shot it with any other ammo like this enough to start forming any conclusions but I’m very pleased with this initial experiment. My best 9 out of 10 rounds with the Expert 45, discounting that #10 off target flyer, was about 4.5*. I mainly shot factory CCI 230 gr FMJ. I’m excited about that accuracy potential out of a $900 polymer gun – I suspect with practice, working up some light reloads, a little more shoulder exercise and enough dry work I can get this baby shooting 4* or less (fingers crossed) which is acceptable for my purposes. I’d bet the mechanical potential is less than 2* at 25 yards based on these results. If I make Expert with this Expert I might be tempted to spring for some Ransom Rest inserts and pay someone to test this hog’s leg true mechanical potential.
The LEM continues to demonstrate general versatility and capability for precision. I have a few different LEM triggers at various weights but I find them all easier to shoot well than anything else. The short reset versions are, in my opinion, the best pistol triggers out there. I prefer them to anything else for carry, even the 1911 – the feeling of the light take up then a defined break and short reset make for an extremely predictable and repeatable experience.
In other news, I took 5 shots with my USP Expert 9 before the match. I’d brought it in hopes it shot even easier/better than the 45. I frankengunned a USP 9 C/C with the hybrid LEM Competition trigger lower and Expert 9 upper so that I could have my beloved LEM with that extra sight radius and accuracy factor. 5 rounds of Federal 147 gr grouped a little high and left, and with a slightly larger group than the 45 had turned in when I verified it’s zero, so it stayed in the range bag. I’m going to have to get some other ammo and a rest involved to see what is going on there.
I believe HK is making the best handguns in the world these days. While the USP is long in the tooth, so is the 1911 and no one is putting them on the shelf. I think the overall track record of reliability, durability, accuracy, the LEM trigger, unique magazine release and general ergonomics make it one of the best choices available. With the advent of the Streamlight TLR-3 made for the USP rail, the one shortcoming is presented with a compact, modern LED option. While the HK45c and VP9 represent the ongoing evolution of excellent HK polymer handguns, the USP line will long continue to sling copper and lead downrange with the best of them for some time to come.
PS – With regard to the SIG 220 – I figured I would see if a gun with a reputation as one of the most accurate factory guns could put me back on top and found that two different West German *sharp hammer* 220’s shot slightly larger groups than the Expert – more problematically they weren’t perfectly zero’d which led to my scores dropping out the bottom. I’m a fan of the 220 but it would need better sights and maybe some trigger work as well.
Pictures - first picture of the Expert being held in front of a target was the result of two hands at 25 on a 50 yard target, second picture the view from 25 yards, third is my group/scorecard from the 22 portion, fourth is a pic of my buddy's shooting box, aka a "proper" Bullseye set up, fifth is my first target from the match with the USP.
Short version - shoot Bullseye, it is fun.
Long version -
My shoulder is a bit sore and I’ve found a new shooting sport that I intend to pursue. I arrived at Palo Alto Gun Club the morning of September 26, 2015 and shot my first Bullseye match. It is an interesting game that forces pistol accuracy fundamentals to their extreme. Over the years I’ve dabbled in a variety of shooting competitions and I think Bullseye is (as a shooting buddy of mine says) the*ne plus ultra* of trigger control exercises.
Recently I was hanging around some LSA board members who started talking about Bullseye and how they have opened up the pistols available to be shot from the previously restrictive guidelines. This piqued my curiosity as I have a USP Expert 45 that I wanted to push to the limits and I have a .22 that is commonly used in the competition.
Bullseye is properly shot at up to 50 yards while holding the gun with one hand. The match I shot was at a reduced distance of 25 yards using targets that are proportionally sized. The NRA B-16 25 Yard Slow Fire target is 9.66* wide, with a *X* ring of .67* and 10 ring that is 1.51* in diameter. The 7 Ring is the last black ring, giving you a 5.32* black circle to focus on at 25 yards. It looks pretty small downrange. Holding the gun with one hand isn’t foreign to me, but today set my record for shots fired one handed. The total course of fire is 180 rounds. You begin with a .22 LR , then a center fire over .32 caliber, then a .45 ACP – each for 20 rounds of slow fire, 20 rounds timed fire, and 20 rounds rapid fire. Many choose to shoot their 45 for the center fire portion as well, but some prefer other calibers, with 9mm being the most common. A complete proper match would be fired at both 25 and 50 yards, and with a total of 270 rounds. Details of a complete course of fire can be found here - www.bullseyepistol.com/comp.htm
The weekend prior to today’s match, I shot my HK USP Expert at 25 yards to zero and felt pretty good about the results. Here is where I will confess I didn’t realize Bullseye is fired exclusively one handed. One handed shooting is different than two handed shooting. I was also shooting the 50 yard target at 25 yards. Never forget pride goes before the fall.
I was lucky enough to cut my teeth on a Smith & Wesson Model 41 chambered in 22 Long Rifle. My father bought it new from Gretna Guns before I was born and as I grew up the 41 was what I shot. I’d guess I’d put no less than 15,000 rounds through it before he gave it to me on my 30[SUP]th[/SUP] birthday and it served me well at the match. I got to Palo Alto a little early, played around with my zero a little, but was pleasantly surprised with how well the .22 shot and felt like I was relatively well dialed in with my USP Expert 45.
I did have one thing figured out going into this match. I understand that there are only two things that matter when it comes to pistol accuracy – trigger control and sight alignment. Years ago I took a class with Tiger Mckee, director of Shootrite in Alabama, and he took my pistol shooting past a plateau I was stuck on. To this day I hear his gravely voice in my head as I take a precise shot – *Front sight… press.* I believe you press a trigger – not squeeze – because words mean things to our subconscious. If you are holding a gun and you think the word squeeze, that is something you do with your whole hand. You don’t want to change your grip as you break the shot. You press a button as you press a trigger. Align the front sight, focus on the front sight, and press the trigger. I also believe you want as simple and positive a mantra as possible. The subconscious doesn’t recognize negative qualifiers; telling yourself *Do not jerk the trigger* is putting thoughts about trigger jerking in your mind. Simple and positive – front sight, press. Tiger studied the training habits of Olympic shooters and passed that on to me, and it translated into this sport very well.
The first two strings are comprised of ten rounds fired out of two magazines with five rounds each. You have ten minutes to shoot ten perfect shots. I was happy to turn in a 91 out of a possible 100 points. While my card recorded a 92, that was a bad math on the part of my shooting buddy – let’s call him *Dan* - who gave me a free point for good luck. The rest of the 22 course went well, and I was a few points ahead of my shooting buddy. Everything was going smashingly as we proceeded into the centerfire portion. I had decided to shoot my Expert 45 in the second and third parts of the match.
In 2012 I was fortunate enough to tour the HK manufacturing facility in Oberndorf, Germany. I was already a true believer and have spent some time shooting the HK USP line of pistols. That trip reinforced to me that they are made to an exceptionally high standard. After my first string of slow fire I was again very pleased. At first glance, I had one right outside the black in the six or seven ring … no big deal, slow down a bit, use more of the time allotted… and then *that guy* showed up. The miss. A clean miss. One round that had failed to generate even single point. The next string I fell apart and went from 8 in the black to 4 and then fatigue began to rear its ugly head. My lead from the 22 portion had disappeared and I was now behind my buddy in the points. I decided to throw a Hail Mary and pulled a SIG 220 out of my range bag for the 45 portion. I am a fan of the 220 and have shot it a good bit, and at 12-15 yards with two hands it will reliably punch out the center of a target. With one hand I instantly regretted my decision; my scores further plummeted. I pulled the USP Expert back out and went on to finish reflecting on how much more I need to work out my shoulder if I’m going to continue shooting this discipline.
12 years ago I made my first trip to Thunder Ranch and after being taught how to properly shoot, and then shoot and move, and then shoot moving targets, and then put that all together. Afterwards shooting a stationary target while standing still seemed a lot less challenging. After today, I suspect that if I can get to the point that I can settle down and master the skills well enough to keep the bullets where they belong in the black, shooting with two hands will be a little easier.
Getting started is easy. You’ll need a reasonably accurate 22 – the field is full of everything from basic Ruger 22/45s to high end full custom pistols. The rules appear to accommodate a variety of pistols these days. A 45 that can shoot a 4-6* group at 50 yards is probably sufficient to get started, particularly at 25 yards. Realize that most centerfire Bullseye guns are purpose built and shoot as tight as 1.5* at 50 yards, so if you get hooked this is a great excuse to buy at least one and as many as three guns. I’m inclined to think that if I do my part, my S&W 41 and USP Expert 45 are mechanically capable of getting me to *Expert* classification. The only variable I see that may cause me trouble is the trigger nut.
Things I learned about the Expert 45 –
My Expert 45 has a Bill Springfield Hybrid LEM trigger that is lighter than I’d suggest for carry, duty, etc use, but for this application it is sublime. The pistol is otherwise a stock, late model Expert 45 bought about 3 years ago on close out from CDNN for $899. I wish I’d bought two.
So we discuss accuracy a lot here on the interwebz and I can’t shoot half as well as many apparently can. With that said I did shoot 93%-ish my first time out at a Bullseye match using my Smith & Wesson 41. I’ve shot my fair share in USPSA and at various training classes over the years.
I have relatively large hands. Tiger Mckee, one of the best firearms instructors in this country, refers to them as birth defects. The engineers at HK used my Deutsch Doppleganger to make the USP 45 frame – it fits very well and a one handed grip isn’t a problem. The grip did wear on me after a while. The aggressive texture of the front strap had me thinking cover up or sand paper thoughts. If you haven’t spent a lot of time holding a weight out at full arm extension for a while, it starts to get a little harder to get that perfect hold and spikes chewing into your fingers is further distraction.
I shot a 2.75* group with my 41 which has a new Clark upper. I haven’t shot it with any other ammo like this enough to start forming any conclusions but I’m very pleased with this initial experiment. My best 9 out of 10 rounds with the Expert 45, discounting that #10 off target flyer, was about 4.5*. I mainly shot factory CCI 230 gr FMJ. I’m excited about that accuracy potential out of a $900 polymer gun – I suspect with practice, working up some light reloads, a little more shoulder exercise and enough dry work I can get this baby shooting 4* or less (fingers crossed) which is acceptable for my purposes. I’d bet the mechanical potential is less than 2* at 25 yards based on these results. If I make Expert with this Expert I might be tempted to spring for some Ransom Rest inserts and pay someone to test this hog’s leg true mechanical potential.
The LEM continues to demonstrate general versatility and capability for precision. I have a few different LEM triggers at various weights but I find them all easier to shoot well than anything else. The short reset versions are, in my opinion, the best pistol triggers out there. I prefer them to anything else for carry, even the 1911 – the feeling of the light take up then a defined break and short reset make for an extremely predictable and repeatable experience.
In other news, I took 5 shots with my USP Expert 9 before the match. I’d brought it in hopes it shot even easier/better than the 45. I frankengunned a USP 9 C/C with the hybrid LEM Competition trigger lower and Expert 9 upper so that I could have my beloved LEM with that extra sight radius and accuracy factor. 5 rounds of Federal 147 gr grouped a little high and left, and with a slightly larger group than the 45 had turned in when I verified it’s zero, so it stayed in the range bag. I’m going to have to get some other ammo and a rest involved to see what is going on there.
I believe HK is making the best handguns in the world these days. While the USP is long in the tooth, so is the 1911 and no one is putting them on the shelf. I think the overall track record of reliability, durability, accuracy, the LEM trigger, unique magazine release and general ergonomics make it one of the best choices available. With the advent of the Streamlight TLR-3 made for the USP rail, the one shortcoming is presented with a compact, modern LED option. While the HK45c and VP9 represent the ongoing evolution of excellent HK polymer handguns, the USP line will long continue to sling copper and lead downrange with the best of them for some time to come.
PS – With regard to the SIG 220 – I figured I would see if a gun with a reputation as one of the most accurate factory guns could put me back on top and found that two different West German *sharp hammer* 220’s shot slightly larger groups than the Expert – more problematically they weren’t perfectly zero’d which led to my scores dropping out the bottom. I’m a fan of the 220 but it would need better sights and maybe some trigger work as well.
Pictures - first picture of the Expert being held in front of a target was the result of two hands at 25 on a 50 yard target, second picture the view from 25 yards, third is my group/scorecard from the 22 portion, fourth is a pic of my buddy's shooting box, aka a "proper" Bullseye set up, fifth is my first target from the match with the USP.
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