HK P30 Initial Impressons / Review or Welcome to 2009 :)

C

cslinger

New member
So I recently picked up an HK P30 in 9mm because I had magazines left over from when I sold my VP9 and selling the magazines or just keeping them in rotation with my P2000's made entirely too much financial sense so I bought a gun, as I am to do. :D

First and foremost let me say that I sold the VP9 because I just didn't gel with it. It never "felt" like my other HKs and although I had no real issues with it I found it just never did it for me like I had hoped. I think I am basically at heart a traditional hammer fired DA/SA guy, especially when it comes to HK's. What can I say crappy triggers and I speak to each other.

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So lets get this ball rolling by addressing the first of two elephants in the room. All ratings are out of 5.

VALUE - 2
I mean let's be honest here. As she sits my P30 is a $950.00 plastic gun. I have the financial sense of Pac Man Jones in a strip club and even I get palpitations over this. That being said lets break it down vs. a Glock 17 from the same vendor.

A Gen 4 Glock 17 costs $539.00 but lets be honest we need to ditch the dovetail protectors and put sights on it so lets add say $110 bucks to that. So lets round a bit and call it $650.00 for the Glock.

So what value do I get for $300 extra dollars. Beyond all the typical HK fanboy answers of testing and plugging barrels and all in house part and QC etc. which all do have some merit, I really only see 3 major benefits for the extra 3 bills.

1-Much nicer slide finishing and finish. The machine work on most HKs is just second to none as far as production pistols go. They look great, they feel great and their Hostile environment process is as good as Glock's Tennifer and the finish itself is WAY THE HELL MORE DURABLE then the current Glock finish, although not as tough as the last finish Glock used.

2-Fully ambidextrous controls. I personally love the magazine release and I like the slide "release" levers. I know there are folks who would argue for the minimalism of the Glock controls and they are not wrong. That being said I both like the HK layout and I am sure more money is spent to provide this.

3-That LEGO configurable grip. At the end of the day nobody offers this level of customization. Again is this needed? Is it worth part of those 3 bills for the average person? I dunno. For me personally yes it is.

So there you have it. If you are looking for a value proposition most HK's probably are not your first stop shop, but that being said the P30 does provide some unique features and impeccable build quality.

TRIGGER - 3
So on to elephant number two, the DA/SA V3 trigger. I'm gonna say it...........the P30 has a good double action pull. Is it SIG good? No but its not HK45 bad either. The single action pull is good too. The reset.........well its a hell of a lot less good. Now I spend a lot of time shooting revolvers and cut my teeth or DA/SA guns so reset doesn't drive my bus so to speak. That being said I have basically had Glocks seemingly double due to the short reset.....if this is your thing.......ummm yeah lets just say you are not gonna get the P30 to double :D So all in all not a horrible trigger like folks make it out and frankly the SA is better then most striker pulls by far.

ERGOS - 62
Ok so here is the weirdness part. I had a VP9 and it took me several range sessions to dial in the right combo of side panels and back strap and having the ability to do so is a huge benefit........I thought the P30 would be the same process. Nope, absolutely perfect out of the box.

I know people complain about the stippling but I like it. I prefer it to the less aggressive VP9.

As for the controls they are great. 100% ambi, great slide "releases" and the oft maligned, often misunderstood paddle mag release, which for me personally is a YUGE selling point.

RELIABILITY - 5
I know this is going to be heresy but in my experience HKs tend to need a break in period. They should be cleaned and oiled out of the box and shot with a box or three of either hot or heavier rounds. I started off with a combination of acouple hundred rounds of Winchester Nato Spec 124 grain and Speer Gold Dot 124 Grain +P. It swallowed those slow, fast, one handed, week handed, limp wristed etc. It never even gave any indication of a potential function issue. It ejected all brass very smartly and well away from the shooter.

subsequent range trip I tried the dreaded crappy 115 grain powder puff stuff. Winchester white box for this test. Every single round ran perfectly, with perfect ejection, no back to the chest and just absolutely perfect function. So I am very happy with the reliability so far.

RECOIL - 5
Its a fairly big honkin' gun with a perfect grip shooting and itty bitty cartridge. Recoil is very easy to deal with and very easy to get back on target. The recoil impulse is completely different then the VP9. Not lighter per say but different. I never liked the recoil on my VP9 as I basically could feel the slide go through its motions. I don't feel this with the P30.

ACCURACY - ????
I dunno ask somebody who can shoot. I am fairly happy at my initial shooting at 8-10 yards and all of it was done fairly quickly, in addition to my one handed, weak handed etc. etc. function testing so I am going to say the gun seems very mechanically accurate and double action first hits were easy.

The funny thing is on the second target below with the 115 grain Winchester ammo I have 3 egregious flyers/bad shots one at the bottom and two under the gun, none of which were double action all were single action.

200 or so rounds. Mix of 124 grain NATO and 124 grain +P Gold Dots. Slow, fast, one hand, weak hand etc.
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100 rounds Winchester 115 grain White Box Bulk.
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CARRY-ABILITY - 4
Much like the VP9 it carries way better then it has a right too. I don't know if its the grip shape, the rounded contours or what but the fact is for a fairly large gun it carries smaller then it is. The aggressive stippling can be a little irritating on bare skin but all in all it does work as a carry gun if you so desire.

I prefer the P2000 in this regard and the P30 wasn't specifically bought for that purpose.

EFFICIENCY - 3
What do I mean by efficiency? One of the biggest knocks against HK products are the fact that they tend to hold a couple less rounds then the competition. Now 15 rounds vs 17 rounds, I could care less. I honestly don't think that makes a whit of difference as far as real world capability. (7 rounds vs. 10 is a much bigger distinction but I digress).

What I mean when I talk about efficiency is that if they are going to have a 15 round capacity maybe try to design the gun around it and make it a bit smaller. I am sure there are a myriad of engineering reasons for this blah blah reliablity etc. but the fact is when it comes to efficiency Glock rules the roost when it come to size/weight to capacity. Even if we take into consideration striker architecture vs. hammer.

SIGHTS - 5
The Meprolight night sights on this pistol are excellent. Trijicon HD's are better but these come with a damn good solid set of nights that can also be used to actuate the slide very easily.

So where does that leave me personally. I didn't "fall in love" with the VP9 so where does that leave the P30?

I FRIGGIN LOVE IT!!! I love the P2000 platform as it fits my hand like a glove. The P30 may very well hold equal standing given time. I very, very much like this gun. Put a set of charging supports on it and it would be perfect for me. WHAT?? I LIKED THE VP9 EARS. DON'T JUDGE ME. :p

As always take care, shoot safe and understand everything I write is about my PERSONAL observations for me and the me in question is a low speed, high drag guy who's most violent thought or fantasy involves killing pixelated Nazis or possibly carjacking the occasional poor soul on the mean video game streets of Los Santos.

Chris
 
Great review, really enjoyed it.

As a guy who's never bought an HK (due to reason #1), I still found this fun to read. And heck, if it's good enough for John Wick, it's good enough for me.
 
My own P30 V3 SA/DA is as accurate and reliable as the day is long, so no sales pitch required here, I'm already bought & sold on the P30.

OP, you didn't mention which trigger variant yourvP2000 is, but I'm assuming it's a SA/DA like most of them out there. When I get my P2000 it will definitely be a V2 LEM trigger variant.
 
I HATE the LEM triggers. Feel great dry firing drive me crazy live firing. Something about the reset and movement of the hammer. All my HKs are V3/V1 da/sa.
 
Nice review. I'd been thinking about a P30L for conversion to .357 Sig. I've been waffling for a couple years due to price. That might change depending on the tax return...
 
I bought a HK p30s NIB for $700. A couple of years later I bought a HK p30sk NIB for $539. Loved everything about both pistols, but the triggers. The triggers aren't bad; they just aren't nearly as nice as the HK USP Tacticals' and Experts' triggers. None of which are as good as the HK Mark 23, which is a tad too heavy.

I especially like the balance and feel of the p30's.

Good review!!!:D
 
So ERGOS is 62 out of 5? Must be really, really, good! :eek:

The P30 is very high on my most admired list. I was considering the VP9, but eventually went PPQ after a long period of consideration, mostly because the PPQ is a bit slimmer and more tapered. No regrets on that decision, although I am still hungry for more HKs to compliment my current arsenal.

HK is one of the few manus that has relatively recent products that can skyrocket during good economic times due to extreme fanboydom----namely the P7 and P9S!! The P30 doesn't have a similar cult, but it nonetheless holds very good resale value should you need that option one day....
 
I prefer my Walther P99 to P30L. The trigger is better in both DA and SA in the P99.

The elongated mag release on the P99 is better in my opinion.

The texture wears fast on the P30.

I didn't find a grip set up in the P30 that fit my smaller hands any better than the P99.

P99 has the same SA trigger as the PPQ-PPQ is the gold standard on SA in polymer at this point.

Meh. I liked the P30L, but it was too big (bulky feel) and expensive compared to the P99 in the end while giving nothing better.
 
The P99 was ahead of its time and is a great gun. It is my wife's gun and has been since like 2001 or so. Never a bobble or issue.

I don't like the newer full trigger guard release however and much prefer our old small paddles and the HK paddles.
 
OP, great detailed review. I have a bromance going with my P30 V3 as well. Of the many pistols I own, my favorite, go to pistol is my P30.
 
Quick follow up. I ran a box of "dreaded" low powered Blazer Brass 115 grain tonight. I ran it fast and the P30 never missed a beat. Not even a hint of an issue.

I stand by the fact that HKs need a little hot ammo out of the box and then will run most anything.

Just wanted to add to the interwebz data points for anybody looking.
 
Cslinger, thanks for the information! I'm considering getting a p30, without the thumb safety.

Your input has helped me with quite a few things

One question I have for you regarding the trigger: (perhaps I just couldnt interpret what you had to say about it properly) How is the reset? I have heard it is quite long, and far out beyond the break. Is this correct? Glad to see yours is working well for you.
 
It is a very long reset compared to some others, yes. It is equal to the long PX4, P-09, etc.

It is not equal to the P99/PPQ/ canik TP9 clones of the Walthers.

I've owned/own all the above.
 
okay, thanks wildcat. That is kind of a bummer to here, I like a short reset :( though I could just practice practice practice!
 
It's not long compared to say......a revolver. :p

If reset is your thing you will be disappointed. At the end of the day it's not a great trigger. Its not awful but great it's not. My example has a fairly smooth decent double action pull an ok break a long reset and single action breaks fairly well but again long reset.

Basically the three negatives (besides price) that you hear about the P30 are...

Trigger - mostly true but not as awful as some would make it out to be.
Grip texture - it is rough and you will feel it if carrying against bare skin.
Trigger Trough - this rubs some folks fingers. It generally doesn't bother me unless I get a poor trigger pull/hold. I can see how it would bother somebody with larger fingers.

To some folks any or all of the above are deal breakers. To me they are fairly trivial.
 
The biggest complaint I see about the P30 trigger and HK triggers in general is the long and heavy DA pull but it is a combat pistol designed to contract specs which included being used with gloves. Yes reset is long just like most other non SIG SRT hammer fired pistols but for the vast majority of us who are not trying to be a top level competitor it probably does not matter. Some of the out of the box CZ triggers have a much worse DA trigger pull. A DA pull terrifies most of those who were brought up shooting SF pistols which is a very large percentage of pistol shooters in the last couple decades.

Nice thing about an HK is 500 rounds fired and couple cheap spring changes and the DA trigger will be MUCH better. I spent $9 on springs for my P30LS and it now has one of my favorite trigger actions in SA and DA. The SA on all my HKs has been REALLY nice out of the box - crisp with no grit and very little travel.

I have to laugh when I see a Sootch video as he RAVES about short trigger reset on the latest and greatest but if you watch him shoot, unless he is shooting very slow, he lets the trigger all the way out between shots and so do most other reviewers. When he shoots really slow he holds trigger back until after recoil/back on target and them slowlyyy lets out the trigger until he hears/feels the reset click LOL.

Many don't even understand what reset is it seems. I read all the time where someone prefers LEM because first they avoid DA and the "reset is shorter". The reset is shorter? It is exactly the same on my P30LS and P30SK LEM.

For decades I shot revolvers and classic P series SIGs so I always let the trigger fairly far out and that will not change.

When I evaluate a new pistol trigger reset and bore axis do not even come under consideration. I use a live firing session to see how a pistol works out for me and for me HK P30 series works extremely well. It has so many terrific attributes including grip, ergos, reliability, durability, accuracy, soft recoil, comes right back on target, fit/finish, and overall quality.
 
I cannot say for "decades" but I too have spent a lot of time / cut my teeth with da/sa guns and also very much enjoy shooting double action revolvers (that are shot DA 95% of the time). So like you trigger reset isn't a big deal to me as under any kind of stress I let fairly far off anyway.

If I concentrate on the reset of a Glock, for example, I will run it to reset and back but that is much less natural to me.

Triggers are religion to most of us Gun nuts though and the those of the church of DA/SA shall look down upon the apostate striker heathens while the Striker faithful shall obey no God other then Gaston the perfect. Yet the truly enlightened have been blessed by the heavenly John Moses (I mean MOSES!!! I tell you) and shall not stray from the teachings divine straight pull.......or drink or dance or use zippers. :p

Seriously though I am of the mindset if you have decent fundamentals you can learn to shoot damn near anything fairly well and frankly on most modern guns there aren't too many completely unserviceable triggers out there. It's mostly about which one blows your skirt up or dare I say trips your trigger the most.
 
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