Which P30 variant should I get?

[Sergei Mosin]

With H&K offering a $200 rebate through the end of the year, if I'm ever going to get a P30 I should do it now. The question, is which variant should I get? In all likelihood it will see service primarily as a range gun and will rarely, if ever, be carried. My current H&K collection includes three full-size USPs (one each in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP) and a VP9.

 

[wild cat mccane]

i picked up a p30l v3.

i sold it 2 weeks later. terrible trigger reset lenght.

 

[sigarms228]

Get the one that works bet for YOU.

My preference is the P30LS 9MM that I own and I just love it. Trigger smoothed out really nice after about 500 rounds. SA is very crisp with very little travel before break. I have recently replaced the hammer spring with the Wolf 10LB one and the DA is pretty nice too now. Also have the option for cocked and locked if I want. I also have a VP9 and WOW what a sweet shooter but I like my P30LS just a bit more.

I tried light LEM and it was pretty nice though I still prefer the DA/SA.

Good luck!

 

[tarosean]

i sold it 2 weeks later. terrible trigger reset lenght.

Wow you beat me... I sold mine 3wks later... LOL


but my VP9 is a keeper in my book...

 

[Bentonville]

P30L with LEM.

Full size pistol with wonderful ergonomics, as you already know. Not much muzzle flip. More accurate than I am , no doubt. It takes a little practice to master the trigger. There are lots of folks who can help on this forum and on hkpro.com It's worth the rebate without a doubt. I have to say that I am really lovin' my VP9 and it has caused me to shelve my P30L, for the time being at least.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

It depends a bit. Are all of your USPs set up V1? That is, DA/SA with safety/decock function on the left side? If so, do you like them that way? Do you want a P30 to complement them or contrast them?

If it's a range gun that you won't carry then you might as well get a P30L. If you are used to V1 on your UPS then a V3 P30LS would be the way to go. LEM is great but for a range gun I'm not sure what it would bring to the table.

I voted for a P30LS in 9mm. But I am leaning towards buying a P30L in LEM V1 for myself. This is because I already have six other HKs and I want to CCW it occasionally. I have a USPc in .40 cal under the reasoning that no matter how bad the ammo scares get I can always find .40 S&W locally. But I don't shoot .40 a lot and I don't really need multiple guns in that caliber. So I'm leaning towards selling the UPSc and getting the P30L in .40 instead.

You don't mention caliber much. If you're locked into 9mm (and maybe reload for it) then just get another nine. If you like the idea of being able to use whatever you can find, maybe consider the forty.

There is no wrong HK choice except no HK!

 

[JDR]

I got the P30 DA/SA 9mm. I really like that modular grip, I put the large back strap & grip plates on it and I like the way I shoot it in this config. I'm not crazy about the long & heavy DA trigger pull, but that can be reworked.

 

[Sergei Mosin]

Phaedrus, somehow I knew I'd see you in this thread...

I've been leaning toward the P30, no S, no L, DA/SA, 9mm. My USPs are all V1, but I've gotten away from C1 carry; these days I prefer the DA first shot. I don't think I'd miss the safety lever, but it might be nice to have.

I haven't ever seen an L model in the flesh so I have no idea how those balance.

I go back and forth on the LEM; I've played with it a little bit in stores, never in live fire, and haven't been all that impressed. I like SIG's DAK setup so you'd think I'd like the LEM, but it just feels spongy to me. Still, I hear so many good things about it, I feel as though I ought to give it a chance at some point.

The 9mm cartridge is one of my favorites for range use. The .40 is growing on me, but I've already got a couple of those, so I've got the cartridge redundancy covered.

Decisions, decisions...

 

[Phaedrus/69]

Hahaha! I'm one of the resident HK fanboys! I guess you don't "need" a safety if you're not gonna carry it cocked-and-locked. On the other hand there's not downside to having a safety lever, either. Nice to have on the range IMO. FWIW the P30 has a really terrible DA trigger. If I carried a Sig P226 I could probably live with DA/SA for CCW, but not with a P30! My own P30S has a nice DA trigger...now that Gray Guns is done with it.

But as you say, for a range gun it doesn't matter much. IMO the P30L balances nicely. A little longer sight radius for range use is a plus. There's virtually no difference between the P30 and P30L aside from that 3/4" of an inch or so.

Might as well just look at the deals and go with the best price. Probably a P30L V3 would suite you very well.

 

[B!ngoFuelUSN]

I voted P30 9x19 LEM. I converted my USP to LEM. Own a VP-9 and really like it. When I bought my P30 I ended up with the DA/SA because I had limited time to buy and that was all they had. But I will swap it to light LEM. I also have a P2000SK incoming with light LEM. Plus a few P7's. I don't know how exactly how to classify them but trigger pull is the is the same for each shot.
There are so many good things about H&K's but I just don't think that DA/SA is one of them. The decision about use of the safety, the difficult first shot. It made sense when that was all there was, but in a striker-fired world, light LEM provides a rough approximation while bringing along all of the H&K goodness with it. I really think that DA/SA is anachronistic at this point and its time to move on.
On the caliber, I've standardized on 9x19 for all 'black guns'. I have a few revolvers, .22LR and 1911's but they aren't what I'd choose if I needed a gun. Not wanting to start a caliber war (please) but with modern bullet design and if you don't live in a restricted mag state, having more shots is better than having bigger shots. Perhaps its just me because I would need all of the attempts I can get.
Good luck with it. Whatever you choose will be great.
B

 

[Sergei Mosin]

As luck would have it, one of the stores here had a used P30L today, so I was able to compare the L and non-L models side-by-side. There really didn't seem to be a whole lot of difference between them. If anything, the L seemed to balance slightly better. Given the choice between full-size and compact pistols, I usually choose the larger one (Government over Commander, G17 over G19, but P229 over P226) so I might go with the P30L or LS after all.

 

[JDR]

I recently got my P30 DA/SA 9mm. For me the modular grip is the best feature on the gun; with the large backstrap and grip shells it fits my big hands better than any other gun I own. I have 500 rounds through it so far and I'm very happy with the way it performs at the range. The DA trigger pull is the only thing I'm not crazy about but I don't have a holster for it yet. But when I do I will practice thumb-cocking it from the holster, which I practice with my current carry gun, a Sig P228.

 

[strambo]

I would think mastering the DA trigger pull and doing it under stress would be easier than mastering a thumb cock and doing it under stress.