H&K P30

The other gun that I brought out for the first time last Saturday was the H&K P30.

The grip on this gun has to be felt to be believed. It fits my hand like it was custom designed for it.

This one has the LEM V1 trigger. It's a hammer-fired, light double action design.

The trigger has a different feel from the striker-fired pistols I'm normally shooting and will take a bit of getting used to. It's certainly longer but with a smooth release that allows for quick aimed shots.

It's very accurate out of the box, and 100 rounds later there were zero misfeeds or issues of any kind. The pistol came with Meprolight Tru-Dot night sites installed so it is all set to be a carry pistol. The hammer design also makes it a tad safer to carry appendix style than a striker-fired pistol, as if you re-holster while pressing down on the hammer with your thumb, you can prevent the pistol from firing, as you will have prevent the hammer from moving. You'll also immediately feel if anything has snagged the trigger as the hammer will start to move under your thumb.

The magazine release on the P30 is an ambidextrous paddle release on the trigger guard. Even though I had not used one before, it was very easy and intuitive to adjust to and mag releases were quick and easy, without having to have your dominant hand thumb search for a mag release button. It's a feature that you'll either love or hate and I must say I'm siding with the "like it very much" side of that argument.

The magazines hold 15 rounds, 2 rounds less than the M&P 9 of just about comparable size. Allegedly that's to enhance the reliability of the magazine. The very sharp feed lips do not however enhance the magazine reloading experience, but that seems to be an H&K standard.

Since the release of the VP9, which takes the same magazines as the P30, spare magazines have been almost impossible to find. I'd like to buy a few more and give this pistol a go in USPSA production competition but with only three magazines that's not going to be in the cards just yet.

Overall it's a great gun and seems more accurate than I am. I do need to take it out and shoot it more, and soon. I think we'll do the standard 2000 round test on it and I don't expect any issues.

Now, If I could just find some more magazines . . . .

My first impression is very, very positive in terms of ergonomics, reliability and function, but we'll see how the second impression goes.