Just wondering if anyone can provide comment (good or bad) on this one.
Happen to spot one when I had stopped to pick-up some ammo. Casually asked for a lookie, and felt pretty damn good. Fit my hand actually better than the M&P9 I owned for awhile, which tended to squirm a bit for me, I think because of the rather narrow frontstrap. The HK P30 has a broader frontstrap along with finger grooves, which I’m one of those people that actually like if they are not too deep or narrow (the P30’s felt perfect). Like the M&P series, backstraps are interchangeable, but for the P30 the side panels are as well. Would all this accommodation allow me to finally improve on the less-than-perfect fit my current Glock 19 provides?
Donwsides? The USP-ish slide is bulkier than I’m used to, but maybe I’d get used to that. Likewise, the DA-to-SA transition would definitely take some getting used to, but I can see there being an advantage with that feature for a self-defense piece. Never had a gun with the lever-type mag release, so not sure on that. Likewise, the decocker is a button on the back end of the slide – never even seen that before. Last but not least, the price tag is typical HK hefty.
I am so far utterly ignorant on much else: handling, reliability, longevity/ruggedness, replacement-sight options, etc. Anybody got anything to add from a owned-one/shot-one perspective? Would appreciate any edification – thanks.
Oh, and here are some pics I borrowed off the HK web site. I think it’s a fairly nice looking piece, if that matters.
Shooting is expensive. You’ll spend thousands of dollars on ammo, hundreds on match fees, perhaps several hundred more on training, then even more on accessories. The gun is usually the cheapest part of the whole shooting equation. If you don’t shoot alot, then sure, the gun is expensive. But then again HK weapons are not made for the guy who throws down a box of ammo a month.
I had the chance to fondle one and I liked it. I posted a review of the similar HK45 on here somewhere, so check that out for my opinions. If it’s as reliable as the larger HK45, then you’ll have no worries.
If I were to go back to shooting a TDA (“DA/SA”) gun, the P30 would probably be my first choice. The triggers are mediocre and the mag catch is not as ergonomic in my opinion as a traditional reversible button, but the guns are accurate and reliable. I, too, was concerned about the decocker location but after shooting one a bit it’s a perfectly functional location.
Find someone doing a decent action job, find some night sights, and it’s a wholly acceptable sidearm.
I had one issue that resulted in my selling the P30. If you use a thumbs forward grip, your shooting thumb may ride the slide release putting just enough pressure to prohibit it from locking the slide back on an empty mag.
I chose not to alter my grip for one handgun. I’ve been shooting like this for years and didn’t want to re-train and change muscle memory. I’ve read that there are others who have this issue. We’re probably the exception rather than the rule.
I’m in the same boat as you. I finger raped a P30 awhile back and I was really impressed. It’s a little pricier than I like, but I’d still like to get one in the future.
I have been running a P30 for a few months now and have been very impressed with the results. My only legitimate complaint is that trigger reset is long and sloppy compared to other pistols.
Prior to my P30 I had been running P2000s in V3 and V2 (LEM) with great success. I have never experienced a malfunction in any of them despite thousands of rounds, deliberately not lubing them, and generally trying to get them to hiccup. No luck, just stone cold reliable.
Accuracy in my P30 has been exceptional. And although the DA trigger stroke was rather stiff when new it has slicked up very nicely and compares favorably if not better than the well broken in DA triggers on my P220-series SIGs. It is good and I’m not a fan of lightening mainsprings.
The P30 is becoming one of my favorite nines. Although, my P2000 in LEM holds the throne right now.
There is simply no mag release system faster or more secure than HK’s paddle. It must be used to be appreciated and works best with the trigger finger.
The HK P30 is the Mercedes of mid-sized service pistols. You will not be limited by its performance.
I purchased one recently. Only several hundred rounds through it, so I can’t comment on reliability at this point. However, as WD pointed out above, Larry is very complimentary of both the reliability and accuracy of the gun. That endorsement covers the reliability issue for me.
I am switching from a G19. I am holding noticeably tighter groups inside 25-yds with the P30 compared to the G19. For me, it is a much more comfortable gun to handle. I have small hands, so I am using the small backstrap and side panels. Even though the grip is slightly longer than the G19, I find that it conceals quite well for me because it is relatively slim. The DA/SA takes a bit of getting used to, but I am adapting quickly. I am a lefty, and find the paddle mag release to be extremely fast. In addition, I find that the mags drop free much more quickly than my drop-free G19 mags. Like the M&P, the P30 also has an ambi slide stop. However, it is much more substantial than that on the M&P. This has made my slide-lock reloads much faster, as I can operate the slide release the same way right-handers take for granted - no need to come over top and rack the slide. I have had no problems riding the slide stop. My support thumb sits nearly on the pivot point, so it just doesn’t have enough leverage at that point to prevent the slide from locking.
Drawbacks: The sights. I’ll replace the factory sights with a decent set of night sights when available. Also, mags are roughly twice as expensive as Glock mags. I paid $31 each recently. That said, the mags are not as cramped as G19 mags. I can stuff 15 rounds in the mags and still have a little bit of play in the springs. I have to work hard to get 15 in my G19 mags, so I download them to 14. No need for this with the P30. If you carry IWB-appendix, holster availability is an issue at this point. While some makers advertise an “appendix” holster for the P30, I don’t find them to be well designed for that mode of carry. If you carry at 4 o’clock (8 o’clock for lefties), there are a number of IWB holsters available. Comp-Tac makes several IWB models for the P30. Hope that helps.
As a current P30 owner I thought I’d chime in here. After having owned one for 2+ months now, and 630 bobble free rounds downrange, I can second hand verify pretty much all of sigmundsauer observations, including the trigger(once broken in)being very much like an older representative of the Sig 220 series. Heck, one of the reasons I bought it was because HK makes guns like Sig used to. Pure unadulterated German craftsmanship(which depending on your individual tastes may, or may not be, a good thing, I happen to be a fan). Unfortunately German law prohibits the use of any radioactive material which of course includes tritium. The factory sights in turn leave much to be desired, and my only real complaint with the P30 out of the box. However, this last Monday I received my Heinie Straight Eights(the HK45, 45c, and P30 all use the same sights)put them on, and am now COMPLETELY satisfied with this pistol. Highly recommend the P30 to anyone in the market for a traditional DA/SA 9mm.
However, this last Monday I received my Heinie Straight Eights(the HK45, 45c, and P30 all use the same sights)
Tommy,
You may have just created a “mini run” on Heinie sights! I didn’t know (and I bet others didn’t either) that the sights were more or less universal across the HK spectrum.
The slidelock/grip issue is something that can come up with just about any pistol given the right (or wrong) person, so my guess is that P7M8 was exactly right that it will be a “some people” thing. FWIW, it’s a real issue for people transitioning to a SIG since the slide release lever is so far back on the frame. Nonetheless, it takes very little time to adjust your grip. The folks who seem to have the biggest issue are serious 1911 shooters, since the ideal “SIG grip method” has your strong side thumb move outboard by a fraction of an inch rather than being up against the gun. It took me about a week of serious training before my slide would lock back consistently when I switched from Berettas to SIGs. But after that, the number of times it failed to lock back could be counted on my fingers over five years and about 200k rounds.
Transitioning from a consistent trigger action to a DA/SA is also obviously going to require effort but isn’t that hard if you practice the right way. Like anything else, there are benefits and costs.
Incidentally, I am notorious for dumping pistols, good pistols because my thumb rides the slide lock. I refuse to make any major adjustments to my prefered aggressive thumbs-forward grip. If I find a pistol that it’s not compatible with, regardless of how good, I usually discard the pistol.
This is the single problem that I’ve experienced with HK’s in general; I often ride the slide stop and prevent locking on empty on my unaltered P2000s. However I quickly learned to mix up a dollop of JB Weld and build it up behind the slide lock on the grip frame, which steers my thumb away from the slide lever and averts any problems. Although perfectly functional, and it does not betray the aesthetics of the black plastic pistol, it is not IDPA-legal. So, my fix was to start shooting the P30. The slight ergonomic differences and recontouring of the slide stop lever do not present a problem to me, and required very little effort to adapt my grip and steer my thumbs just a hair under the slide lever. All is well, and that pistol shoots well.
Having used the Heine Straight-Eights on my token 1911 - a Nighthawk T3, I really like them a lot. And I’ll definitely put them on my short list of upgrades to the P30.
Anyone have any idea when the LEM version of this pistol will be available, or what would be involved in converting one of the exsisting SA/DA versions to LEM?
FWIW, that was my understanding as of SHOT. The P30 isn’t modular like the USP and HK45. The U.S. branch of H&K is trying to convince the Germans to create, in essence, a “HK9” and “HK40” to fill out the family that way.
