HK P30 - Great... But No Soul

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maksim

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So I bought, then sold a P30L. Been thinking about it 8 years and ran accross one at a gun auction... bought it... and now thinking of selling it?

Having thought about it... I think just like the Sig P226... the gun is without soul...

It is a terrific gun in terms of combat readiness and reliability... BUT, I don't feel like throwing it in the range bag.

Here is the video... anyone feel the same way?
 
In my opinion the soul and the beauty of guns like the HK P30 and SIG-Sauer P-226 is in the quality of the materials, beauty of machining, technology of construction, engeneering and performance. "Cold" products but top notch.
 
Face it, the P30 (and P30L) and the other polymer offerings are meant to be tools.

Saying it doesn't have a soul is like saying a hammer doesn't have a soul, who cares as long as it drives nails?

I converted my P30L to a V0 (Light LEM, maintaining the decock and spurred hammer), added a set of Trijicon HD sights, then sent it off to Lazy Wolf Guns for an action job and reset reduction. It's now positively my favorite service sized pistol. I've run it through a bunch of multi-day defensive pistol classes and it's yet to bobble. IMHO, the light LEM is about the perfect defensive trigger (same setup on my CCW P2K). IF the "Zombie Apocalypse" happened tomorrow, I'd reach past a bunch of "soulful" pistols to grab it because at that time I'd need a "hammer".
 
If you don’t like the gun or it doesn’t trip your trigger that’s fine, but I find mine to be a very reliable, accurate, and easy to shoot carry option. Same with my VP9 and HK45.

I guess I don’t understand why you’d buy a second one since you clearly don’t care for it much. Just so you can make jokes about HK owners? And the comments about impressing your friends? :confused::confused::confused: My HKs are reliable tools that work, and they’re made of plastic so I guess I don’t get it.

What’re we doing here?
 
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maksim

Never have been one to assign gender identification or soulful recognition to inanimate objects. My guns are tools, just like all of my tools; no more, no less. They are what they are and basically what I require of my guns is that they are reliable, durable, accurate, and ergonomic.

I have owned a number of HK products over the years and while I believe they were all well made guns they came up a bit short with their ergonomics. Had nothing to do with their "innate being" or "soul"; just that they weren't a good fit for me.
 
You can't use the term "no soul" for HK that was already coined for Glocks.:)
 
How can you claim the 226 has no soul? I think it's one of the best looking guns out there that's not a 1911.

The P30 feels great in the hand and I shoot it OK, but I just hate HK hammer fired triggers and greatly dislike the location of the decocker/safety controls.

I'll take a Sig or CZ, thanks.

Now the VP9... Different story
 
Guess we will need the definition of Soul for a Handgun?

I own dozens and not a one has "it" that I am aware of.
 
Soul for handguns. Nothing made with much plastic, so my P30 is soul-less, as are my glocks, though my g48 moves the needle a tiny bit because for me it fits so well.

Anything that has class and history, steel and wood, fine craftsmanship and was not designed and constructed using computers. The more human work in it, the more soul.

My ruby .25 acp hammered out in some long ago shut down and forgotten shop in the basque region of Europe has it. My stainless cz75b matte stainless has it. My pair of colt 1903s definitely have it. I can feel the pride of the men who made them.
 
Never owned a gun with a soul.

Me neither. And I hope I never do. Watching a doll get a soul back when I was a kid was bad enough. Just imagine if chucky had been a gun. I Might even get one of those with an evil soul that the media keeps telling me about. No way man. I'll take my soulless guns

That said, I own a lot of glocks and a Taurus or two so their lack of soul should negate any souls brought by my M1s, old Colts and Smith's, savage 99s etc. I should be pretty neutral I suppose.

I do own a few HKs (all hammer fired) and have yet to be as impressed as most owners are. The 226 (and especially 220) though I really like. Different strokes I guess.
 
That is what some Harley riders say when someone on a Kawasaki Ninja ZX screams by them like they are standing still, "that Kawasaki has no soul". Makes them feel better somehow I guess.
 
So I bought, then sold a P30L. Been thinking about it 8 years and ran accross one at a gun auction... bought it... and now thinking of selling it?

Having thought about it... I think just like the Sig P226... the gun is without soul...

It is a terrific gun in terms of combat readiness and reliability... BUT, I don't feel like throwing it in the range bag.

Here is the video... anyone feel the same way?

I know what you mean about the HK. I bought a P2000SK and it was perhaps the most uninteresting-to-me gun I've owned in my life. Out of a hundred or so, I'd estimate. I just couldn't find anything about it that appealed to me. I wanted it GONE, so I sold it.
 
I agree. No soul. I sort of like the gun in theory but just not interested in owning.
 
you traitor, maks!
how dare you diss the P30L and all its German glory!
I'll take it off your hands for $50. :D
 
I understand, I have a P30 in my gun safe and I just never feel like taking it out. I probably should have gone with the SK version. It is a classic case of buying a gun because someone else said that I would like it.

The idea is that it had everything I liked in my PK380, but in a 9mm. It sounded good in theory, but in practice, as you say, no soul.
 
I get the idea of liking a gun with “soul”, you’re certainly not alone there.

That said, if a gun having some “soul” is a requirement, why select a polymer pistol to begin with? There isn’t one made now or likely ever that will scratch the same itch a blued gun with wood/bone/ivory grips and some wear on it will.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for it in your collection though. Maybe it’s not the gun you take out just to admire or show your buddies, but it can most certainly be a fantastically reliable tool.
 
I generally attribute "soul" to items that may be arguably lacking, outdated, or nostalgic in nature. I like the look of wood and steel. I am really close to picking up a SA Loaded because of that. I find the 1911 oozes soul. It also weighs 40oz, holds less than half of a similar sized 9mm, and at times can be a bit picky with ammo (some of them. Not a blanket statement).

I've got a covertable Blackhawk I'll never part with and a 12 gauge pump sporting walnut is the granddaddy of a utility based firearm looking good doing it.

That said, if it's made out of plastic I just don't feel the need to attach "soul" to the gun. I've got an FN 509 by my bed and a full size P320 in the next room. Neither are what I would call heirlooms or soulful. However, they are the first line of defensive arms I had at the ready to protect my family as my long arms are stored more securely. I find a brutal amd cold beauty in their design. Strip out the heart and replace it with steely purpose. I find a warm comfort in knowing they will do their job if I do mine.

I even feel thw same way about my pocket guns. The BG380 in my pocket has no soul to it. One of a million+. Black on black and completely stock short of the dab of paint on the front sight. However, what it lacks in personality, it makes up for in loyalty and readiness. See, that dab of paint on the front sight is a bit of nail polish that my 8 year old made. Its coral orange and works, plus it reminds me of why I carry: To protect and/or get home to my family. The gun itself is boring. However, I do take comfort with it in my pocket. I like the feel of its rough polymer when I put my hand in my pocket.

Almost none of my guns have what anyone would call soul. But they function like the reliable tools they are.
 
I think about the P30 in the opposite sense. Let's leave aside the quibbling over the precise nature of soul (although @AZAndy has the funniest comment I've read on THR in a while) and agree that plastic 9mm semiautomatics don't have much of it.

Here's what's great about that: drop it in the mud? Who cares? Let it go without cleaning for 2,000 rounds? Been there; done that. Put some scratches on it? So what? It's a well-designed and ergonomic tool, but it is a tool that wants to be used, and it's not picky about how.

I get what you're saying, though. Some firearms just don't click with some people for one reason or another. There's nothing defective about the firearm or about the person.
 
My P30 is one of my best shooting guns, the way I have that modular grip set up it fits my hand better than any other pistol I own. And I think HK build quality is top shelf. But what works for me may not work for others...
 
Where does assigning soul to a pistol begin? Apparently a plastic frame doesn't qualify, so using the 1911 as a guideline.
Does a $400 RIA have soul? If not why not? Its metal.
How about a $900 Colt? Did doubling the price or branding it with pony give it a soul?
How about Dan Wesson? Does lack of MIM equate to a soul?
I've got an Ed Brown. If the Colt has soul does this pistol have more soul? (If soul is equated with price).

Please God, don't let anyone bring up that "dark side" nonsense.
 
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