Stateside, the P7 was adopted by the New Jersey State Police in 1981. Greece and Mexico produced licensed variants of the pistol while other countries around the globe adopted the P7. The P7 was officially adopted as the PSP, and it wasn’t long before other law enforcement agencies in Germany embraced the pistol as well as special forces in the German military. The H&K P7, along with submissions from SIG and Walther, won contracts. The pistol also needed to be fully ambidextrous, safe to carry with a loaded chamber, have the ability to be quickly drawn and fired instantly, and have a service life of at least 10,000 rounds. Part of the criteria for the new pistol required that it be chambered in 9mm, weight was not to exceed 35 ounces, and the pistol’s size could not be more than 180mm × 130mm × 34 mm - that’s 7.08 in. The P7 was designed by H&K to replace the 7.65mm caliber pistols used by West German police in the early 1970s. Other features in the pistol actually over shadowed the gas delayed-blowback system like the squeeze-cocking grip, striker-fire single-action trigger, and a number of other features that made the P7 stand out from the other 9mm pistols of that time. At the time, the P7 was probably the most expensive pistol on the market. From 1979 thru 2008, the P7 series was positioned by H&K as the finest, most reliable and most expensive - yes they actually used that tag line in advertisements - pistol available. The Heckler & Koch P7 is iconic not just because it employs a gas delayed-blowback system but for other features designed into the gun. The P7 is a hefty pistol, given its metal frame this extra weight pays off in the accuracy department, helping it keep on target.The P7 design is also intriguing due to its lack of slide rails the slide stays in place through the barrel, which makes it truly easy to manipulate.What set the P7s apart from contemporaries of the time and today is their unique squeeze-cocker grip, which were the pistols' only safety.The Heckler & Koch P7 series was touted as the company's finest, most reliable and most expensive pistol line in its run from 1979 to 2008.Heckler & Koch's P7 series of pistols are truly unique, not only due to their delayed-blowback system, but also due to their peculiar squeeze-grip cocking mechanism.

Hk p7 serial numbers and dates