Heckler & Koch P7 PSP Prototype - Number 93

Look at the slide marking on this one. It doesn't read P7. It reads Mod. PSP, the original Polizei Selbstlade Pistole designation that Heckler & Koch used before the pistol entered series production and took on the P7 name. That single roll mark places this gun at the very front of the line, among the pre-production trials pieces HK built for the German police evaluations of the late 1970s.

The layout shows several details that didn't survive into the production P7. The slide carries a tall, blocky rear sight and squared cocking serrations rather than the rounded later style. The polymer grip panels are held by a screw on each side, a feature dropped once HK settled on the molded wraparound grip. Up front sits the squeeze-cocker that defines the whole family, the front strap lever that cocks the striker as you take hold and acts as the passive safety the instant you let go. Gas-delayed blowback runs the action off a fixed barrel, and that bright, sharp bore tells you the rifling is strong.

The finish is where this example really talks. The flats of the slide wear a deep, almost mirror-bright blue that fades to a warm plum where the light catches it, set against a matte black frame. You'll find proof marks and an antler inspection stamp on the right side of the slide and frame. Honest handling marks sit on the high edges, nothing that distracts from the early character.

And it comes complete. The original P7 box, the German-language manual, the cleaning brush, and a factory 25 meter test target marked PSP with a tight machine-rest group all travel with the gun. For the HK collector who already owns the production guns, this is the piece that comes before all of them. The pistol that was still called PSP when nobody yet knew it would become the P7.