I already have an HK carbine that I love, but I don’t know much about their pistols. I’ve been on the HK boards, but the folks their are so one sided with their opinions that you can’t even say the word Glock. So I was pretty close to getting a Glock 19 and my eyes caught a few guns on gunbroker. I’m more than likely going to get a new gun for my ccw but I couldn’t help shopping. What are everyone’s thoughts on the P30 or even the USP?
The USP is a little bit big for CCW but doable if you wear the right clothes and use the right holster.
The P30 on the other hand is a great pistol for CCW. The only downside to them is the high cost of the mags and the lack of accessories.
Glocks are pretty good pistols, the 19 is one of the best sizes of glocks for CCW. The mags are cheap and it is easy to find any accessory for any glock.
If you did go with the glock you could get the gun, mags, custom sights and ammo for the cost of the HK and I can’t say you get much more for the cost of the HK.
Search on P30 yields over a dozen pages worth of threads, few of those are below.
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=73074
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=69619
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=78191
There is no reason to choose a P30 over Glock 19 unless you have a specific reason why you want to choose a P30 over Glock 19. Both of those have some advantages over another, neither is better in a global sense. I own both; I can critique either of them on certain points.
Identify your specific needs and demands, and the choice will not be that difficult.
“I’m more than likely going to get a new gun” doesn’t sound like a specific need, more like general desire, in which case read all the posts and get whatever appeals to you.
Last I looked, P30 mags were $35, with M&P and Glock mags creeping in price to the point where the cost difference is negligible – so magazine cost should not be a reason to buy or not buy a P30.
Hrmm… $35 to $40 for P30 mags, $22 in most places at the most $25 for a glock mag. 10-18 bucks is a pretty big difference to me. On top of that p30 mags are harder to find.
I own both and i carry my G19 over the P30 because it is relatively smaller than the P30 and the i dont want the sandpaper grip of the P30 to rub against my lower back.
The Glock is my beater gun
Sorry I had mentioned in a previous thread that I’m looking for a ccw and one that is accurate as I plan on shooting with it quite a bit at the range. Glock accuracy has always been a concern for me. Also by the time I replace the trigger and add a match barrel, I’d be right there at the same cost as the p30. The price of mags is pretty negligible for me. It’s pretty easy to find a Glock to check out in person, but finding a p30 at the local gun shop is a little trickier.
Buy what feels good to you. The P30 is more expensive but if it is what you shoot well, I would have no reservations carrying it.
Not sure if you have bought Glock mags in the last month, but Brownell’s is 34.95 in stock, and Bravo Company is 32.95 out of stock, and Midway is 24.95 and out of stock. Again, even if there is all of a $10 a magazine difference, can’t imagine that being a determining factor for as important a decision as this is.
My Glock 19’s are plenty accurate to shoot steel to 100 yards – most guys wish their M&P 9 was as accurate as a Glock 9. The G19 carries smaller, but the P30 with a hammer is attractive for IWB, especially appendix carry. Both the P30 and G19 are fine choices, and as said already, come down to your personal preference.
There is absolutely no reason to replace the trigger and barrel in a Glock 19, unless you just like spending money.
Maybe I just need practice because there is no way that I could consistently hit targets 100yds away. The gun shop employees had put it in my head that they’re just not accurate to begin with.
I CCW a P30 and I love it. I’m a lefty and carry OWB at 8:00-8:30 ish and the gun conceals very well while still being a “real” sized handgun. Mags aren’t too expensive and easy enough to find. There isn’t a huge accessory market for the P30 but I don’t really see where there needs to be either as the gun is pretty solid from the factory. My trigger turned out to be pretty nice after about 500 rounds.
I love the P30, but I made the decision to go with Glock. There is nothing that the P30 does that is significantly better than the Glock. The Glock 19 is similar in size, and has a 15 round capacity. The manual of arms on the Glock is more simple. The cost of replacement for the Glock is much less. In fact if you were to join GSSF you could buy two Glock 19’s or a Glock 19 and 26 for $850 plus tax.
Things like the simplistic manual of arms and the low grip to bore ratio are major pluses. Unless you are a first class shooter you will not be able to tell a difference in the accuracy between the two. The edge certainly goes to the HK, but with the Gen 4 Glocks the difference is negligible. There are fewer parts in the Glock, and those parts cost less. Parts are also more readily available for them. A Glock can be detail stripped in about five min. I would never dream of detail stripping an HK.
For CCW you need a hammer. A hammer is a tool. If you were to loose that hammer, you go buy another hammer. If, God forbid, you had to use your CCW to defend your life; you would likely loose it while the investigation was going on. During that time you need to have a backup to carry (if legal).
Again, I love HK’s. I have a few of them. They shoot great. Get a Glock, and a backup for that Glock, the but the P30.
TC
Gun Shop Commandos opinions are worth about as much as you pay for them. The G19 or the P30 will be more than good in the accuracy department right out of the box. Do yourself and keep whichever gun you get stock until you get your fundamentals down (ie. trigger control, sight alignment, etc.). Once you have your fundamentals down then you can experiment with slightly lighter trigger combination. There should never be a reason to change the barrel out in either gun unless you are wanting to move to a threaded barrel. I’m no gun shop commando but that is my 2 cents.
Thanks for all the great info from everyone. Part of the reason for considering the p30 is that I’m a lefty and I’d also carry it IWB. I really love how easy the Glock is to clean. Is the difference in hammer a big knock against them for being ccw?
A bunch of people switched to P30 from striker-fired polymers because of hammer and additional safety margin when reholstering; many of those folks favor AIWB mode of carry. I personally wouldn’t carry Glock AIWB, but have no problems carrying it in conventional IWB/OWB positions.
I actually do share your sentiment about Glock’s accuracy. I personally can’t shoot mine to my satisfaction beyond 25 yards, and I have shot tighter groups with my P30. This is approximately with 23:1 round count ratio in favor of Glock, and mine does have a match grade barrel. I am aware that tons of guys do very well with Glocks, stock or otherwise, at all conceivable distances, but this is not quite relevant to my personal experience with Glock.
YVK brings up a good point. Both guns or more than mechanically accurate enough but you may shoot one more consistently than the other based on hand size / grip angle. This is were the P30 really shines with how customizable it is. I am just one of the lucky ones that has huge hands and can get a good grip on the 2x4 that is the Glock. If I had smaller hands or found the grip angle of the Glock not condusive to my shooting then maybe the 45%-50% price difference for the P30 would be worth it.
I have Glocks, M&P’s, and HK’s, and have carried all of them, a good deal. Glock 19 is the tightest carry package of them all, and is a wonderful choice. M&P 9 and HK P30 have slightly longer grips - almost G17 length grips, but a good holster and decent belt truly minimizes the deficit there, such that, for me, it’s not a consideration. Lately, I’ve been carrying exclusively the HK P30S. While I admit that the P30 has grown on me, it’s not because I consider it superior to these other excellent pistols, which it may or may not be. I just like to know what my holster customers are experiencing. It’s true what was said about the abrasive grip on the P30. It’s quite abrasive, but, IMO, no more than a minor annoyance, and I almost always wear undershirts anyway, making it a non-concern. With a proper holster managing the position of the grip, the shape of the slide makes the P30 a natural for comfortable IWB carry. You’ll love the P30 at the range, too. The triggers on my V3 DA/SA and V1 LEM examples are very nice, and there’s no doubt HK did a great job on the grip shape, which is adaptable to user preference, via the interchangeable back straps and side panels.
I still think I might like the M&P 9 just a tad more (I waffle back and forth on that), but I do highly recommend the HK P30. If you like the pistol, go buy one, with confidence.
Well I just happen to find a mint condition used p30 with nights at a local shop by my office for $800…Sold!
That is your problem. Don’t listen to people that work at gun shops, they are usually only slightly more intelligent than your average sliding glass door.