Hello. I am new to this forum but not new to the world of firearms or to the HK brand.
After searching all over I am posting here in the hope that someone can help me shed some light on an issue I have experienced today with my P30L.
About a month ago I bought a lightly used P30L from a reputable local gun shop. It is a V3 with the standard SA/DA trigger/decocker set up. I have had it out to the range once prior to my session today and did not have any issues. During my previous range session I was running short on time after zeroing an optic and putting some rounds through a new rifle so I was only able to run 4 mags through the P30L. But, it ran those 4 mags with no issues. That was 2 weeks ago and today I intended to run 400 rounds through it. I was shooting Winchester white box 115 gr 9mm FMJ which is my go to for range sessions and is also the same ammo I used last time I shot the P30L.
Today I started randomly experiencing the gun failing to go into battery. It was just the smallest bit out of battery - maybe 1/8" or less. This happened 5 times at random points with both magazines. It happened in the middle of the mags between the 5th and 10th rounds. Each time it happened I racked the slide and the round ejected, but it felt a bit tight. This tightness could have been in my head though since I am not used to the guns feel. However, I am an experienced handgun shooter and this gun normally moves very smoothly so I do not think I am imagining the tight feeling. After ejecting the round the gun ran fine until I loaded it up again with a fresh mag. This happened with each magazine I ran through the pistol and after 5 mags I stopped shooting it.
I did do some range troubleshooting. I had isolated the 5 suspect rounds that were in the chamber when I experienced the failures. I tried placing the rounds back in the 1st position of an empty mag, inserting the mag, and racking the slide to chamber the round - same problem. I tried placing the round back on top of a partially loaded mag - same problem. I tried locking the slide back and putting the round directly in the chamber then gently bringing the slide home - same problem. In each case the slide would just not close the final 1/8" or so. I also tried pushing the slide forward manually with a moderate amount of pressure but there was no give and I stopped short of forcing the slide home so as not to cause damage or completely lock it up.
Then I took the same 5 rounds that the P30L would not seat and I put them all into one mag and loaded it into my Glock 43. It ate them and sent them down range without the slightest issue. No weird recoil - no tightness - no inconsistent ejection patterns. Just ran them like it always runs.
Am I right to think this is an ammo issue? I had other guns to shoot today so, even though I suspect it is an ammo issue, I stopped shooting the P30L today because I wanted to get it home and more closely examine it prior to putting more rounds through it in case I was missing something more serious while at the range. Upon returning home I field stripped the P30L and closely inspected it along with the remaining ammo in the box I had been shooting from. I do not see anything out of the ordinary. I have not put micrometers on the ammo yet but my guess is that it is within normal factory tolerances because I ran 6 more mags through my Glock out of the same box after I put the P30L away.
Are the tolerances of the P30L so tight that small inconsistencies in the factory loads could have caused them not to seat completely into the chamber? Am I right to think this could be an ammo issue or am I missing something elsewhere? Since I can not visually find anything wrong with the ammo or the internals of the P30L I am thinking maybe the Glock has looser tolerances that allowed it to run the cartridges when the P30L would not? There is definitely a difference in the fit and finish between the two guns with the HK having noticeably better fitment and tighter tolerances. However, I cant find anything about any of the P30 models being picky about ammo...
I always clean and lubricate between range sessions, so the gun was not dirty or lacking lube. It was also not over lubed - I oiled it as per the recommendations in the HK operators manual.
My other thought is that possibly this could be a break in issue? I do not think that is likely because, again, I can not find any known issues related to this with a P30L. In fact, everything I have read refers to the opposite which is incredibly hard use and high round count testing with no major failures.
The reason I mention break in is because I did buy it used but it has not been fired much. And no, I am not basing that based on what the gun shop clerk told me (he didnt say that anyway). Instead I am judging by the condition of the gun. My best guess is that it maybe had, at most, a few mags (as in 1 or 2) through it before I bought it? I say this because there was barely any wear on the mags, followers, barrel, feed ramps hood or the breech face. Even the extractor and ejection port etc were free of any wear. I have put more wear on it after the 8-10 mags I have run than what it came with.
I am at a loss. It was shooting factory new ammo, stored correctly and not old stock, different lots, a clean P30L and a different handgun fed/fired the same rounds with no issues. Any ideas or input would be appreciated in helping me diagnose what the issue may be or where I go from here. Thanks in advance.
After searching all over I am posting here in the hope that someone can help me shed some light on an issue I have experienced today with my P30L.
About a month ago I bought a lightly used P30L from a reputable local gun shop. It is a V3 with the standard SA/DA trigger/decocker set up. I have had it out to the range once prior to my session today and did not have any issues. During my previous range session I was running short on time after zeroing an optic and putting some rounds through a new rifle so I was only able to run 4 mags through the P30L. But, it ran those 4 mags with no issues. That was 2 weeks ago and today I intended to run 400 rounds through it. I was shooting Winchester white box 115 gr 9mm FMJ which is my go to for range sessions and is also the same ammo I used last time I shot the P30L.
Today I started randomly experiencing the gun failing to go into battery. It was just the smallest bit out of battery - maybe 1/8" or less. This happened 5 times at random points with both magazines. It happened in the middle of the mags between the 5th and 10th rounds. Each time it happened I racked the slide and the round ejected, but it felt a bit tight. This tightness could have been in my head though since I am not used to the guns feel. However, I am an experienced handgun shooter and this gun normally moves very smoothly so I do not think I am imagining the tight feeling. After ejecting the round the gun ran fine until I loaded it up again with a fresh mag. This happened with each magazine I ran through the pistol and after 5 mags I stopped shooting it.
I did do some range troubleshooting. I had isolated the 5 suspect rounds that were in the chamber when I experienced the failures. I tried placing the rounds back in the 1st position of an empty mag, inserting the mag, and racking the slide to chamber the round - same problem. I tried placing the round back on top of a partially loaded mag - same problem. I tried locking the slide back and putting the round directly in the chamber then gently bringing the slide home - same problem. In each case the slide would just not close the final 1/8" or so. I also tried pushing the slide forward manually with a moderate amount of pressure but there was no give and I stopped short of forcing the slide home so as not to cause damage or completely lock it up.
Then I took the same 5 rounds that the P30L would not seat and I put them all into one mag and loaded it into my Glock 43. It ate them and sent them down range without the slightest issue. No weird recoil - no tightness - no inconsistent ejection patterns. Just ran them like it always runs.
Am I right to think this is an ammo issue? I had other guns to shoot today so, even though I suspect it is an ammo issue, I stopped shooting the P30L today because I wanted to get it home and more closely examine it prior to putting more rounds through it in case I was missing something more serious while at the range. Upon returning home I field stripped the P30L and closely inspected it along with the remaining ammo in the box I had been shooting from. I do not see anything out of the ordinary. I have not put micrometers on the ammo yet but my guess is that it is within normal factory tolerances because I ran 6 more mags through my Glock out of the same box after I put the P30L away.
Are the tolerances of the P30L so tight that small inconsistencies in the factory loads could have caused them not to seat completely into the chamber? Am I right to think this could be an ammo issue or am I missing something elsewhere? Since I can not visually find anything wrong with the ammo or the internals of the P30L I am thinking maybe the Glock has looser tolerances that allowed it to run the cartridges when the P30L would not? There is definitely a difference in the fit and finish between the two guns with the HK having noticeably better fitment and tighter tolerances. However, I cant find anything about any of the P30 models being picky about ammo...
I always clean and lubricate between range sessions, so the gun was not dirty or lacking lube. It was also not over lubed - I oiled it as per the recommendations in the HK operators manual.
My other thought is that possibly this could be a break in issue? I do not think that is likely because, again, I can not find any known issues related to this with a P30L. In fact, everything I have read refers to the opposite which is incredibly hard use and high round count testing with no major failures.
The reason I mention break in is because I did buy it used but it has not been fired much. And no, I am not basing that based on what the gun shop clerk told me (he didnt say that anyway). Instead I am judging by the condition of the gun. My best guess is that it maybe had, at most, a few mags (as in 1 or 2) through it before I bought it? I say this because there was barely any wear on the mags, followers, barrel, feed ramps hood or the breech face. Even the extractor and ejection port etc were free of any wear. I have put more wear on it after the 8-10 mags I have run than what it came with.
I am at a loss. It was shooting factory new ammo, stored correctly and not old stock, different lots, a clean P30L and a different handgun fed/fired the same rounds with no issues. Any ideas or input would be appreciated in helping me diagnose what the issue may be or where I go from here. Thanks in advance.
