ronnyreagan said:
A coworker brought her P30 (DA/SA) to the range the other day and I was not impressed. It's a well built gun, nice trigger and fit my hand great but seemed really susceptible to limp-wrist jamming. The owner was getting stovepipes and misfeeds more often than not and when I tried it I had my fair share too. This was with decent factory ammo. The first time she brought it she used some of my cheap steel case ammo and we eventually gave up even trying to shoot it after it jammed so bad we couldn't get an empty shell to eject. For how much a P30 costs I would expect it to work better than that regardless of ammo or operator weakness.
HK has a great reputation and it probably deserves it. I've shot a friend's USP before and it worked perfectly. The experience with my coworker's P30 may be a fluke, but I can tell you that neither of us are recommending that pistol at the moment.
Was the P30 brand new? This does sometimes happen within the first hundred rounds or two, and when it does it's usually cheaper 115gr stuff that's kind of meek and mild. The gun is sprung to run NATO stuff. Once it's broken in there should be no issues. But if problems persist HK CS is outstanding and will get her fixed right up.
razorback2003 said:
What are your thoughts on the H&K P30, especially with the LEM trigger? It looks like a good gun that has a rust resistant finish and lightweight polymer frame like Glock, but has a hammer that you can put your thumb on when you holster.
I have a P30S (DA/SA with manual safety + separate decocker, Gray Guns trigger job) that is my normal EDC. I also have a P30L V1 LEM. I haven't had the latter as long and for me it's harder to shoot well vs the SA pull of my USPc, USPf9, P30S or VP9. It's getting better for me each time, though. LEM is a very different animal for someone used to running DA/SA. I do like being able to have my thumb on the hammer as I holster it vs the striker fired VP9.
IMOHO the P30 is a fantastic gun. The ergonomics are superb. You have three grip panels each for the L, R and Backstrap. This equals 9 removable panels with 27 different combinations. So just about anyone should be able to get a grip configuration that feels made just for them.
The stock trigger is pretty terrible DA, but I think it's pretty decent SA. The V1 (aka Light) LEM is actually pretty good. I don't know if you've fired one or tried one in the store but you get a very very light pull for the first 80% of the travel. It feels kind of like 2-stage trigger. Once the "slack" is pulled out you start to come to the wall. It's not the crisp predictable wall of a 1911 trigger but it's fairly easy to break a shot precisely.
If I was just target shooting I'd pick the VP9 probably. It's an amazing shooter. But although I have a VP9 I'm carrying my P30S and P30L a bit more. Personally I like having a hammer. In my mind it's nice to feel the hammer under my thumb as I holster. But I do like the VP9 and will CCW more once I'm more used to it.
Maybe the best part of the LEM is that you'll never 1) forget to disengage the safety or 2) holster a cocked but unlocked gun. The trigger follows the slide so it never stays cocked. And if shirt or drawstring gets in the trigger guard as you holster the gun you can hold the hammer down or at least become aware that it's rising before you put a round into your leg.
The P30 is very easy to shoot well. The LEM version has a little bit more of a learning curve but we're talking at the level of shooting tiny groups. It's easy to run an LEM gun well in the sense of A-zone hits. It runs pretty flat even when you push it hard and shoot it fast.
You don't mention what you plan to do with the gun. I use my P30S for range use and it's my primary EDC CCW gun. I find it conceals pretty well. It's certainly a little bigger than, say, a Glock 19. But if you're used to carrying a full sized gun it's not "big" by any stretch.
You don't say but I'm assuming you want a 9mm. Nine's don't have a lot of recoil but the P30 is a pussycat by any standards. And the .40 is pretty mild in my P30L. So far none of my P30 guns (2 x P30S and 1 x P30L) have ever had a FTE/FTF. Ejection if pretty tidy and predictable (better with hotter ammo). They're very accurate and reliable guns, and the ability to customize the grip is a big bonus to me.
Lastly there are plenty of aftermarket options for holsters and sights. I have Trijicon HDs on the P30S and Meps on the P30L. Mags are about $35 a pop but very well made with steel bodies. The rail is standard 1913 and most lights fit just fine (IIRC my Surefire X300 Ultra will fit, as will my Inforce APL).
