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Women and the P7

By Nancy Dawkins Reprinted from Sentinel, 1993 Edition

Crimes against women are increasing at an alarming rate. According to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, violent crimes against women jumped 23% in 1991. If this continues, a woman in the 1990s has a 1 in 5 chance of being a victim of a violent crime.

Unfortunately, the police in today's society are reactive. A female crime victim is not likely to have any contact with the police until after a crime is committed. And as incredible as it may seem, recent Federal Court rulings (Warren vs. the District of Columbia) has upheld the decision that police are not responsible for the safety and defense of individual citizens, their obligations are only to the general population in their districts.

This means if your life is threatened or even if an attacker breaks into your home, there is no legal requirement for the police to respond to your call. With law enforcement personnel and resources stretched to the breaking limit in most cities, to avoid victimization, a woman must be prepared to take responsibility for her own safety. Most often this means making minor changes in daily routines and using common sense; but it can also mean making a major decision -- to be armed.

There are some simple procedures that can help lessen the chances of a woman becoming a victim. Most of them may require a change in attitude about her own safety:

Become aware of the surroundings. Don't always be thinking about the day's activites. Think or observe what is happening around yourself as you travel from place to place.

Try to recognize potentially dangerous situations before it's too late. For example: Don't park in obscure locations. If you will be returning to your vehicle at night, don't park in an unlit location. Go through a safety check when you are at home, or in your hotel room. Install movement sensitive light fixtures in strategic locations inside and outside your home.

Have a phone within reach at night. Install a car phone if location and finances permit. Have emergency numbers readily available. Service and maintain your car.

Buy a pistol and learn to use it. Choose one that you are comfortable with, NOT one that your husband, boyfriend, or salesperson picked out for you, but one that you are most comfortable with. But remember, the decision to own any firearm requires a commitment to learn its safe operation and keep it out of the hands of minors or other unqualified individuals. If you are not willing to accept these responsibilities, choose another method of protecting yourself or your loved ones.

You can keep the pistol out of sight if you like, but close to the phone, especially at night. With proper permits, travel with the pistol in your car or on business trips.

HK makes two pistols that are ideally suited for a woman. The P7M8 [similar to the P7M13] shoots a 9mm cartridge and weighs about two pounds. The P7K3 is slightly smaller and lighter and is available chambered to shoot a .380 or .22 caliber bullet. These two cartridges are less powerful than 9mm, and while not generally recommended for self-defense use, they have been used for this purpose. The magazine capacity for both the P7M8 and P7K3 is 8 rounds.

The operating principal is the same for all P7 pistols and contributes to making this pistol exceedingly user friendly. Most women, once they have familiarized themselves with the function of the pistol, probably will not go to the range on a regular basis.

This means that the operating principals must be simple and easy to remember especially under stressful situations. The high tech design of the P7 makes it fit this criteria perfectly. It is simple, safe, and highly accurate.

The P7 has a lever located along the entire forward section of the grip and is actually incorporated into the grip. This lever serves as the cocking/decocking lever and the safety.

Depress this lever by gently squeezing the entire grip of the pistol and the gun is cocked and the safety off. Release tis lever by relaxing your grip but without changing the position of your grip hand and the weapon is decocked and safe, yet ready in an instant to be recocked. The pressure needed to depress this lever is 13 pounds, bu only one pound of constant pressure is needed to keep the pistol cocked. This 13 pounds is less pressure than you would ordinarily exert on the lid of a new jar of mayonnaise.

This pistol looks different than any other pistol because it was ergonomically developed to fit the contour of a human hand. It sits lower in your hand in order to take advantage of natural pointing reflexes for sight alignment.

When the pistol is held in a comfortable shooting position with your trigger finger resting in a safe position outside the trigger guard and along ths slide, you will notice that your finger and the barrel are almost in perfect alignment. Sight alignment is a matter of lining the front sight dot and the read two dots up in a straight line. Luminescent night sights are also available.

Regardless of which pistol you choose, always follow proper gun safety. Always keep you trigger finger off the trigger and completely out of the trigger guard when handling any weapon. Your finger should only be on the trigger when you have identified your target in your sights and have made a conscious decision to fire the weapon.

Always point the barrel in a safe direction when handling any firearm. Never assume any weapon is unloaded when it is handed to you or [when] you pick it up, even if it is your own. Always check it first.

The P7 pistol can be purchased from any HK Authorized Dealer. Check your local yellow pages or call HK directly for a listing of dealers in your area.