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HK P30 Range Report/Compare to Sig 229

27K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Mark71 
#1 ·
I was lucky enough to find a P30 this past weekend. For those who are interested in the price I paid $825 which I consider fair considering these are very hard to come by and I was told by H&K that it could be another 30 to 60 days or more until the next batch comes in once this one is gone. The store I went to had only gotten 3 in and I got the last one.

Initial impressions - The grip on this gun is probably the best of any handgun I have owned. The next runner up would probably be my CZ PO1 which has a great grip. On my first range trip I left the grips with medium panels all the way around as I didn't have a punch handy to change the sizes. The gun includes 3 sets of panels/backstraps in small, medium and large with 2 magazines. The trigger pull on d/a mode is a bit long and hard. My trigger gauge only goes to 8 lbs and I would guess it is a little over 10. In single action mode the trigger is a little under 6lbs.

Size compared to my Sig 229R Elite. This is just an eyeball comparison but these 2 pistols are very similar in size. Barrel to back of grips is just about identical - but if you include the beaver tail on my elite than the 229 is longer. Height is almost the same with the Sig magazine coming up about 1/3rd the way of the base pad on the P30. Width seems pretty close - the 229 visually looks a bit wider but I think it is actually thinner as the HK won't fit in a 229 holster.

1st Range trip. The P30 shoots very well - the grips feel great. My Sig 229 has a better trigger on both the first pull and each successive shot, but I would expect this as it has the upgraded SRT trigger. That being said - my accuracy was very similar between the two, but I actually found as I got tired I was keeping a little better accuracy with the P30. I did not clean out the factory "gunk" from the P30 before shooting it. I did get a couple of errors in the beginning and the most annoying problem was getting brass in the face and on my shoulder. It would sometimes put the brass so perfectly on my shoulder that I had to shake it off. Overall I was pleased with my purchase but I knew it needed a good cleaning and more break-in time.

I did a thorough cleaning and lubed with FP10. I found that I could push out the pin to change the straps with a punch and no hammer. It was quite easy to push in and out and I hope it doesn't get too lose in the future but I don't plan to change the panels very often. After experimenting some I found I liked the large side panels with the medium backstrap, which I believe some others here have mentioned finding to fit them as well.

On the 2nd range trip the gun performed much better with most brass being ejected well to the side, still a few rounds off in the beginning but by the end of the session the brass seemed to being flying off nicely to the right. I was able to introduce one failure to feed by purposelessly limp-wristing early in the range session but the more I shot it the better it seemed to get.

Two of my friends shot the P30 one of which owns the P2000 in V3 and he liked the P30 a little better because of the improved grips - the two guns are very similar. The mags from the P30 will fit the 2000 but stick out a little bit as the grips are shorter.

Overall this is a very impressive gun. I was able to tear jagged holes in the target with the P30 which was harder to do with my Sig 229 despite the better trigger. It really showed me just how much ergonomics play in accuracy and being a 1911 guy I also know the importance of a good trigger. I think the more I shoot this gun the more I will like it. I really love my Sig 229 and have broken it in and shot a variety of ammo in it so it is my primary carry gun. To be fair my Sig needed a little break in as well. My P30 needs a good holster and a little break in - tritium night sights would be a nice addition and I believe it will make a very good carry gun and is certainly a little lighter than the Sig. I think HK has a winner here and I will definitely be keeping this one. I hope this review is helpful for others considering this gun. I used to have an HK Compact 9 and 45 but had sold them some time ago to a friend - it is nice to have an H&K back in my safe again.
 
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#3 ·
I brought my first two HK's in the last month or so, and despite cleaning gunk carefully, found the first round ejected, but the second round misfed on both. After that they both ran fine, though I found with a P2000SK that a slightly firmer grip and all the rounds were off to the right, but a loose sloppy grip brought them back on top of me.
 
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