I remember purchasing a DAO the first year that the USP came out. No, this isn't the USP, but my point is I've been using HK's for a lot of years now. I had wanted to step away from my love of 1911's for just a bit, and decided not go back to HK to scratch the itch. I had decided to purchase either the P30L or HK45. It was the purpose of the weapon that made my decision for me. I wanted a pistol that was 100% dedicated to home defense. That way I could add all the attachments I wanted without having to constantly put them on or off if I was using the same weapon for daily carry. In the relatively cramped quarters of a home, knowing that most of my shots would be right on target, I opted for the 45 platform, put a weaponlight on it, and an RMR. The 1913 rail works perfectly, and the weapon is every bit as awesome as you expect from an HK, regardless of model. The one HUGE improvement I noticed over my older HK's was the trigger. They have come a long way! The triggers on the original USP's weren't great, nor were they bad, but the trigger on this HK45 actually surprised me. It is fantastic. Reliability wasn't a problem, even right out of the box. I put about 500 rounds through it over the first weekend to properly break the pistol in. I fed it every type of ammo, from match loads to low cost practice fodder, and it chewed them all up and spit them out, pun intended. Recoil was extremely manageable, and my larger hands favor a more beefy pistol like this, although it isn't unforgiving in smaller hands either. The few gripes I have about the weapon are all minor. First, the night sights. Although I am definitely a fan of night sites, they run out of illumination if they sit in the dark for too long, and that sort of defeats the purpose of having them. In addition, I like a different colored front site for quicker acquisition, which this configuration does not offer. The last two complaints are entirely my own fault, so they don't impact my rating at all. After I purchased the pistol, I instantly regretted not purchasing the tactical version so I could attach a surpressor to it. As a home defense gun, it is a logical addition. So i'll have to pick up a threaded barrel from HK, which will cost me another $238, but that's the price I pay for my lack of foresight. Lastly, the gun isn't pre-drilled for RMR optics. I don't fault HK for that too much, since that isn't exactly standard for any make, model, or manufacturer, but it is one of the few improvements I could see that would make this outstanding package even better. On the vendor side of things, Buds did a fantastic job. I traded in another weapon to offset some of the cost, and his staff made the process smooth as buttered silk! And, in terms of cost, this was about the best price I could find on the weapon, which is on par with their typically amazing prices.