Hey,
I’ve been eyeing G19( gen4) and P30. I had a gen3 G19 before, best glock I’ve ever had, even compare to G34. I had couple of USP, but never P30.
I know the gap in price is wide. I can almost get 2 G19 for that. This will be my everything gun, meaning, CCW, range, nightstand, SHTF, zombie, etc gun. If you can only have one handgun for the unforeseen future, which of these would it be?
I’m also open to G17&P30L comparison as well.
Thank you!
I would look for a slightly used Glock 19 3rd Gen with a letter serial number starting with K, L, M, or N
Stay away from new model Gen 3 and Gen 4 models
If you have the extra cash and dont really care about having spare parts of your own get the Hk P30 its incredible,
I have a Glock 19 and an Hk45c and love them both…
My P serial number Glock 19 had some weak ejection and Glock Inc. replaced the ejector, havent had a problem since although I have only shot 200 rounds since
Two totally different trigger systems. A better comparison would be the G19 & PPQ. Triggers are about the same. Price is about the same. Just different mag releases.
The G19 is more size efficient, and more price efficient, to be sure. The trigger is easier to run well. Having said that, the chance of getting a Gen4 pistol that works properly is pretty slim. I’ve had SIX G19s in the last 1.5 years, all have been bad (erratic ejection and malfunctions).
The P30 is noticeably longer in the grip, so it does not conceal as well for most people. As you pointed out, it costs twice what a G19 does, and magazines are about 50% more expensive per piece. Parts and accessories are more expensive, and it’s a more complicated pistol to work on, if you feel inclined to be a home gunsmith. The LEM trigger is very nice, but not as easy to run FAST as the Glock. The DA/SA trigger is hit & miss - nearly all the DA pulls I’ve felt on various pistols were VERY heavy; the SA triggers ranged from VERY nice (short reset and crisp break) to pretty pathetic.
All that aside, the P30 grip is the most comfortable of any pistol I’ve ever used, the P30 is significantly more accurate (especially noticeable to me at the 25 yard line, and, most importantly, it has shown PERFECT functional reliability.
So, when all is said and done, while I’ve been a died-in-the-wool Glock guy for several decades, there’s a P30 on my hip right now, and I don’t see much likelihood of that changing anytime soon.
Regards,
Kevin
Of this rather artificially dichotomous choice, I would pick the G19.
Tough one. Two very different handguns. They both give you good reliability and accuracy. Glock wins in price and aftermarket supports and the HK wins in grip, “ambidextrous-ness” and atheistics (if that even matters). I think it’ll come down to if you want DA/SA or DA only. Then again you can always get the P30 in V2…
I ridded myself of all glocks to procure more hks. I feel the p30 fits me better, and I prefer using the trigger finger to hit the mag release. Its hard to beat a p30 LEM with light springs. As previousoly stayed, if cost is a concern look elsewhere though.
Thanks everyone for your honest reply.
I am well aware of the different between two system. I don’t mind any type of trigger, strike fire or drop hammer. it just a matter of getting use to and training, hance only one handgun. Give me a thousand round down range and I’ll be good with any. It’s the felt recoil, shoot ability, and reliability that I am after.
Perhaps I should tell you more about my limited experience with a number of handguns. Here’s each one of them listed out from best to worst in each category;
Softest, fastest shooting
Most accurate
Middle of the road
Worst felt recoil
Easy to conceal
Like many people, I can completely break down Glock in less than 5 minutes and work on any parts by myself. Now, It isn’t the same with any other guns. But, the issues Gen4 G19 I’ve hered, is more like luck of a draw to me. You might get lucky, you might not, and that’s where a high ticket, better quality manufacture like HK comes in. I just don’t wanna have to deal with fixing, and shipping, and the wait, and all that. Remember, this will be my ONLY handgun.
Now to my question; I guess what I really want to know is if the P30 is an old whiskey in a new bottle? If it shoots like P2000, I’m gonna have to pass since I really hate the sharp recoil of the P2000. It reminds me of Walther P99 I had( the reason why I never thought of PPQ).
Thanks y’all
I’ve only ever shot 2 glocks and my one H&K…but if you have the funds for either I think you’d be crazy to go with the glock…H&K all the way! 
I just got rid of a P30L, and I hated it’s trigger. It is da/sa, but theres a mile of take up on both.
First off, :nono: to the Gen4…look for a Gen3 as previously stated.
Second, only YOU can make this decision. Go hold em, rent em, etc. Hearing from those who own/owned both is good to hear but I would take it with a grain of salt. Your belt, holster, body, skills, etc. all play into which would be a better decision for you
Here’s my grain of salt 
I had a G19 and loved it. I picked up a P30 and was hooked. Even more so after shooting it. For my grip and preferences the P30 was the bees knees. So I recently sold the G19 and within an hour picked up a used (200 rounds) P30 and paid the difference of $75. For me, it was a VERY easy decision. Almost the same price, and the features and ergonomics of the P30 far outweigh the Glock, in my opinion. If you must buy new, then you are looking at quite a price differential. Yes the P30 is a little bigger than the G19 on paper. This is where youtube/the internet may influence your decision. I’d take a look at both and see if you think that difference in size is perceptible. I just ordered a holster with a little more forward cant to combat the bit longer grip…net wash in the size department.
Obviously it’s up to you, if you can find a deal/have the cash, the P30 is a no-brainer. If you’re looking for the Civic of handguns, the G19 is where it’s at. To clarify, not bashing Glocks, just relating a Civic’s reliability, ease of maint., abundance of aftermarket parts, seemingly infinite operational life, etc. I hate car analogies in the gun world but it made sense
Fun read on the beating of a P30 here: http://pistol-training.com/archives/2668
ETA: if you get tired of the trigger there’s a few options
-LEM conversion, if you don’t already have it installed
-Bill Springfield trigger work (under $100 and a few days to get done)
-Gray Guns trigger work (over $300 and at least a month-two to get done)
Coming from a hardcore HK fan I’d go with the P30. but that’s also due to the fact that I have over 15,000 rounds with a P2000, and 7,000 rounds with my HK45 and I just fired my P30 and DAMN it is one SWEET pistola! But then again I usually lean toward the HK anyway.
Good luck.
P30. Best combat autoloader currently produced in my opinion.
I like both Glock & Hk. However the P30 will cost you some coin and plan on sending it in for a trigger job which is sort of a shame on such an already high priced pistol.
I hate, hate, HATE my P30 trigger. That said… it’s still an awesome pistol, so i’m keeping it in the hopes that someone out there figures out how to make the P30 have a Glock trigger.
I semi-retired my HK and have been shooting the Glock much more in the past year.
Relating to the grip of each:
The P30 size wise is basically a Glock 17 with the slide of a 19, the P30L being absolutely identical in size, but so much more comfortable.
Personally I prefer the fuller grip of the 17, sure that half inch less of the 19 is slightly easier to conceal, but over the years I owned it I had trouble with my hand fitting the size of the grip, and went to a 17Gen 4. I’m not a big guy and find carrying 3-5:00 very difficult being thin front to back, any size pistol seems to stick out very noticeably, but AIWB 12-1:00, full size pistols disappear on my body. So take into account where you’ll carry and what feels good in the hand.
Personally I’ll stick to Glock until something else becomes more common; parts, magazines, etc. are very accessible, and working on them takes 2 minutes. But if I had the cash to jump into another platform(pistol, magazines, sights, holster), it would be a P30 and that’s what I would carry without a doubt. Although I’ve been holding off on one for when/if the striker-fired version appears.
H&K P2000 is closer to size of Glock 19. As previously stated the P30 is more the size of the Glock 17.
The H&K LEM (i.e. preloaded double action) is my preferred H&K trigger. According to your needs/tastes there are a variety of spring combinations to achieve different trigger pulls.
The ergos of the P30 are superior to the P2000, but the P2000 does have three backstraps to choose from. And the P2000’s grip is nonetheless very, very good.
My only gripe with the H&K is the position and configuration of the slide release. It makes a thumbs forward grip a bit problematic, but maybe that’s just me.
I have a P2000 and a P30, and both have been absolutely dependable since their first round.
The P30’s ergonomics are superior. That said, the Glock’s are very easy to adapt to, and with the shorter butt heel (compared to the G17) it’s not that difficult of a struggle at all.
In a part-for-part comparison, I don’t think that there’s any doubt that the HK is of superior materials and manufacture; however, in the real world, that has actually provided to be of little, if any demonstrable difference/advantage.
While I’m not happy at all over the seemingly ongoing issues with late Gen 3 and Gen4 Glock extractor issues, and Gen4 recoil spring (finally resolved) and ejector issues, Glock does seem to be stepping up to the plate to resolve the problematic guns. HK’s aftermarket support is legendary in its contempt for consumers, seemingly of the attitude that superior German engineering trumps any real-world vicissitudes…
Glocks are probably the easiest guns in the world not just to field-strip, but to detail strip-and reassemble. To detail-strip an HK seemingly requires 3 hands, an engineering degree, and specialized tools.
Additional Glock magazines are inexpensive and readily available; conversely, additional HK magazines are expensive and sometimes appear to be made of unobtanium.
Glock triggerpulls are usually fairly nice right out of the box, and easily reconfigurable with easily available and inexpensive varieties of connectors and springs; every time I’ve come close to acquiring an HK, I’ve been off-put by their triggers, especially the DA, which inevitably seem to be significantly heavier and grittier. Of course, you can subject the gun to the ministrations of either HK or a number of aftermarket gunsmiths, but this seems to be an inordinate requirement for an already significantly expensive gun; Glocks can be had for literally half of the price of a comparable HK.
While I doubt that you’d regret getting a P30, and it’s ergos are very nice (especially given its swappable side panels and backstraps, particularly nice not just to configure to yourself, but nice if you’re going to be sharing it with a significant other), I think that the Glock provides a superior value, and you can utilize your cost savings in training, practice, and competition so that you can truly utilize the gun to its (and your) best advantage.
Best, Jon
Definitely a superior value with Glock. I must be a tolerable sheep of a customer, I don’t find an issue with Glock or HK stock triggers. Sure it’s heavier but I don’t expect anything good out of a DA trigger.
Jon;
I read your post above, and pretty much agree with most everything you said, except your comments about HK’s customer service…They DO NOT have contempt for the customer…That may have been the way of the past, But things have changed…In my case, 3 yrs ago, I had bought a NIB P-2000 LEM, after I got it home I noticed it did’nt engage in LEM mode when it was supposed to…It was broken from the factory…I called HK’s CS on the following Monday, from work, I got someone on the third try, I explained my problem They told me I’d have to send it to them, and they’d fix and send it back…So, I did, I had it back within 10days, They fixed the orginial problem (broken spring) and then went through the pistol looking for anything else wrong…They found a out of spec firing pin spring replaced it as well, test fired it and sent it back, I never had another problem with it. The one other time I called wanting parts to convert the LEM to a light LEM, Each time I had called they were courteous, listened to me explained what parts I needed when changing the LEM, and sent them quickly…I don’t have any complaints…I thought their CS was’nt bad at all…