HK VP70: Rare Hands-On with the First-Ever Polymer Pistol

The HK VP70 might never have become a mainstream favorite, but its radical design changed handgun history.

This neat little handgun might be unassuming to some, but it utilized a revolutionary polymer frame years before the rest of the market caught up.

During an exclusive visit to Heckler & Koch, I got the chance to spend time with the MP5SD and the HK VP70, which is the first handgun to use a polymer frame, plus its rare select-fire military counterpart, the VP70M.

Thanks to HK USA, I also toured the company’s headquarters, visited the famous Gray Room and interviewed James Williamson, HK USA vice president of product development. Of all the firearms I saw that day, the VP70M was the one I most wanted to shoot.

That may sound strange to shooters who remember the VP70 as an awkward, heavy-triggered oddball. In the United States, the pistol never earned much affection. But judged in the context of its time, it was one of the most forward-thinking handgun designs of its era.

Why the HK VP70 Was Ahead of Its Time

In the late 1960s, the West German government wanted a 9mm pistol that was simple to operate and inexpensive to produce. The concern was rooted in Cold War fears that a Soviet invasion could force the government to arm large numbers of civilians quickly.

HK’s answer was the VP70, short for Volkspistole. Introduced in 1970, it was the world’s first polymer-frame pistol. That alone makes it historically important.

The rest of the design was unconventional too. The VP70 used a stamped-steel slide, fixed sights, a heel magazine release and a cross-bolt safety at the base of the trigger guard. It operated as a direct-blowback pistol with a fixed barrel and a heavy recoil spring wrapped around the barrel. There was no slide lock or release.

Its striker-fired system had a famously long, heavy trigger pull, and the pistol fed from an 18-round double-stack magazine. That combination may not sound impressive today, but in 1970 it was a radical package.

The VP70 arrived long before polymer pistols became normal, and long before most shooters understood where handgun design was headed.

There were several versions of the pistol. The VP70Z, or Zivil, was the civilian model, and for a time it was imported into the United States. I remember seeing them in gun shops, where they were often dismissed as junk.

That judgment ignored the reason the pistol existed in the first place. The VP70 was not designed to feel refined. It was designed to meet a specific military requirement.

READ MORE: HK MP5SD Review: The Benchmark for Suppressed Submachine Guns

What Made It Different

HK also produced a military version, the VP70M, and that is where the story gets much more interesting.

The VP70M used a detachable polymer stock that also served as a holster. When attached to the pistol, the stock interfaced with the fire-control system and allowed the gun to fire either in semi-auto or in three-round burst. In that sense, the VP70M had more in common with old stocked machine pistols than with the service handguns most shooters are familiar with today.

The stock attaches at the base of the grip and at the rear of the frame below the slide. Its front edge is U-shaped, allowing the shooter to maintain a proper grip with the stock installed. On the left side is a selector marked “3” and “1” for burst and semi-auto fire.

That setup made the VP70M one of the most unusual guns I handled during my visit. The standard VP70 already stood out because of its place in handgun history. The VP70M added another layer entirely, turning an already unconventional pistol into a genuine Cold War curiosity.

Of course, a burst-fire machine pistol raises obvious questions. Was it practical? Was it controllable? Did it solve a real problem? Maybe not by modern standards. But this pistol has to be judged by the era that produced it. It was built for a very specific role, in a very specific time, and HK has long had a habit of pursuing solutions that make more sense in context than they do at first glance.

READ MORE: HK VP9CC: First Look at HK-USA's New Micro-Compact Pistol

Shooting the HK VP70M

Of all the firearms I saw that day, the VP70M was the one I was most excited to shoot. In the United States, these pistols are extremely rare, and because parts are scarce, nobody wants to be the person who damages one. For that reason, we kept the shooting session short.

After firing a few rounds in pistol mode, it was time to see what made the VP70M famous. Once the stock was attached, the pistol was ready for burst fire.

The rate of fire is startlingly fast. According to my research, the VP70M runs at about 2,200 rounds per minute, which helps explain why the three-round burst feels almost instantaneous. By comparison, that is substantially faster than the rate usually cited for a Glock 18. In practical terms, the VP70M empties its burst before the gun has much chance to rise, which made it easier to control than I expected.

It was also over very quickly. The pistol’s 18-round magazine suddenly made perfect sense.

The experience drove home what the VP70M really was. This was not a commercial gimmick or a range novelty. It was a purpose-built answer to a Cold War requirement, and whether or not a shooter agrees with the concept today, it is hard not to appreciate how boldly HK approached the problem.

Why the HK VP70 Still Matters

The VP70 was discontinued in 1989, and time has been kinder to it than many early shooters were. Civilian examples are now prized by HK collectors, and clean guns can bring serious money. A quick check at gunbroker.com shows a starting bid of $1,100 and a buy-now option at $1,400.

That renewed respect makes sense. The VP70 may have been awkward, and it may never have been loved in the way later HK pistols were, but it was undeniably important. It got to the polymer frame first. It explored high capacity early. And in VP70M form, it pushed the concept into territory that still feels unusual even now.

I feel lucky to have had the chance to shoot the HK VP70, and even luckier to have fired the VP70M.

My thanks to HK USA, especially Tommy Brooker, Bill Dermody and James Williamson. This article series would not have been possible without their hospitality and support.

Editor's note: More visits to HK's Gray room are on the horizon. Next up will be the HK USP platform that began in the early 1990s, and the oft-misunderstood HK Mark 23.