H&K P30 Gun Review
In a world of compromise, some don’t.
Thus reads the unofficial tag line of Heckler & Koch, whose products I can only dream of owning…not just because they’re expensive, but because they won’t sell me the really neat stuff they make. Since 1949, the good folks from Oberndorf have been supplying excellent firearms to just about any government willing to pay for them.
H&K’s achievements are numerous, but since that’s not the point of the article, I’ll be brief; they have been tactical since before tactical was cool. They revolutionized the use of plastics and polymers in firearms, popularized polygonal rifling, designed a rifle that didn’t need any of those silly brass casings, and still make everything from target pistols to heavy machine guns. All that being said, let’s take a look at their latest pistol offering. Meet the H&K P30…
Isn’t she beautiful? You won’t find any blued steel or wood grips here, but I think she’s pretty in the same way a shark is. Just like those monsters of the deep, the P30 is highly evolved and looks downright predatory.
The slide is smooth and streamlined, interrupted only by aggressive cocking serrations both fore and aft. The low profile, fin-like sights only add to the overall sleek look of the handgun. The pistol’s size is in the intermediate class: she’s neither compact nor full size, but somewhere comfortably in the middle, much like the GLOCK 19. In fact, it’s only 1/10th of an inch shorter than that model GLOCK and just a tad wider if you include its much larger slide release. And the P30’s about an ounce heavier.
The frame and grip are H&Ks usual fiber re-enforced polymer, and everything looks sharp, from the standard accessory rail to the checkering on the front of the trigger guard to its 0h-so-comfortable grip. But more on those later.
Technically speaking, the P30 is more or less the classic link-less Browning tilting barrel action, just like the H&K P2000 before it. And before that, the infamous H&K USP. If it isn’t broke, there’s really no reason to even think about fixing it.
The slide (which, by the way, is machined from one solid billet of steel) and any important metal parts wear H&Ks proprietary “Hostile Environment” finish. It’s essentially a black oxide coating and it’s resistant to just about everything up to and including 5 megaton airbursts, if H&Ks website is to be believed.
The P30’s offered in quite a few configurations. Caliber-wise, you can get it in 9x19mm or .40 Smith and Wesson. You can chose a SA/DA trigger, a DAO law enforcement trigger, a manual ambidextrous safety, spurred or bobbed hammer, a built in gunlock, and even a RFID chip if you’re either European or too lazy to actually read off the pistols model name, information and serial number.
Regardless of the set-up you chose, the heater comes with H&Ks outstanding 3.86’’ polygonal rifled barrel which is supposed to increase muzzle velocity and barrel life. It also means that not only does H&K cold hammer forge their pistol barrels, but they also design them so that even if completely blocked (say, with dirt, mud, blood or the bullet from one of your friend’s handloads) you can still fire a round without the gun going grenade on you.
I personally witnessed a P30 brought back from the firing line with a severe problem. The slide was locked back, and would not move forward. The culprit was a bulged barrel due to a round being fired after a squib became lodged. The pistol was sent back for warranty work, the barrel was replaced, and the owner was quite happy that he still had his shooting hand.
One novel feature of the gun are its interchangeable grip panels. Quite a few pistols on the market have interchangeable backstraps, but someone at H&K had the idea that maybe that wasn’t the only part of the stock people might want to adjust. The pistol comes not only with three interchangeable backstraps (in small, medium, and large), but also with interchangeable side panels.
The backstrap, which is kept in place with a small roll pin, keeps pressure on two removable side panels, one on each side of the gun. They slide into place allowing a shooter not only to change how the back of the pistol fits the hand, but also the sides. What’s even better is that the side panels can be set up asymmetrically.
This allowed me to put a large, somewhat bulkier panel on the right side of the grip to fit the concave shape of my particular palm profile and a flat panel on the other side to get maximum grip with my very high thumbs-up shooting style. Not only are they modular, but the panels are textured quite aggressively. Not to the point where they feel like they’re going to cheese grate your hands, but textured in such a way as to dispel any worry about keeping a good grip on the gun after dunking it in a barrel of motor oil.
It may seem like a gimmick (it did to me, at first) but the modular grip makes a huge difference in practice. I’ve shot and handled a lot of different handguns and I can say without doubt that after setting the grip panels the way I liked, this pistol fit my hand better than anything else I’ve ever held. With a fully loaded magazine, the balance was darned close to perfect. It pointed very naturally, just like an extension of my arm, just the way a gun in this class should.
But the real question was how would it shoot? I started off with the 9mm version going fairly slowly, plinking at paper targets at different ranges just to get a feel for the firearm and to get used to the SA/DA trigger. I have to admit, I’m spoiled rotten when it comes to triggers. I’m used to nice 1911 designs with fairly light triggers. Also striker fired pistols, specifically my GLOCK, with its boringly predictable bangswitch and super crisp reset.
To be frank, the P30’s go pedal bothered me from the first shot to the last. Not just because of its weight, but because as I pulled the trigger back, my finger would uncomfortably rub across the top of the paddle-style magazine release located at the bottom of the trigger guard. I had to shift my trigger finger placement slightly to the left, but after doing so, the mag release wasn’t a problem.
Predictably, the double action pull is long and heavy. The single action trigger pull, however, is a breath of fresh air. In DA, it starts out a tad mushy but then stages and firms up, allowing you to very easily take up the slack to press through the last bit and drop the hammer. In SA, it’s fairly light, although the pull was a bit long for my taste. Both modes, though, were smooth and consistent and by the time I was done with my warm up, I had more or less figured out the trigger.
Well, almost. The one thing I couldn’t abide about the P30’s trigger was the reset. Or, should I say, the almost complete lack thereof. The reset is so far forward and so hard to feel that it’s almost not worth bothering with. This is probably the single biggest detriment to an otherwise outstanding handgun.
The H&K’s sights are a typical 3-dot configuration and are placed far enough apart to allow easy alignment. They use a proprietary H&K luminous paint and are easy to pick up quickly at my favorite indoor shooting range.
The pistol’s magazines are very well made and sport a black finished steel body. And unlike many double stack mags, they’re fairly easy to load. I didn’t need any special tools – or shred my thumb – to fully pack the P30’s fifteen rounders.
With my initial familiarization of the pistol completed, I borrowed a Blackhawk! SERPA holster, strapped it on, and got down to business.
Over the course of a quite enjoyable afternoon, I burned through over five hundred rounds of ammo in various flavors. From high quality American made to imported steel cased ammo with funny animal names, the P30 eagerly devoured everything. The gun cycled perfectly only one malfunction…and that was a failure to fire from a bad primer. Being a double action, I theoretically could have pulled the trigger for a second strike and tried that stubborn primer again, but I automatically tap-rack-banged and cleared the round before I thought of it.
Any pistol will behave well when you baby it and shoot slowly. But with H&Ks reputation, and the P30’s obvious intention as a duty firearm, I figured it deserved a sterner workout. The vast majority of my test was conducted by firing as quickly as I could yank the trigger.
My method was to use the pistol’s excellent de-cocker, mounted on the back of the slide, to de-cock the pistol on a full chamber, holster it, draw, and fire. I varied between drawing and firing a controlled pair and drawing and firing a Mozambique drill (two rounds center of mass, one round to the head). Regardless, the rapid fire portion of my test was done at the seven yard line from the holster, with the first shot fired double action.
And that was where the pistol really shined. With the exception of a few flyers (most likely from the much longer initial double action trigger pull), I kept the vast majority of rounds where they would be needed to stop a threat.
Groups like this were standard and pretty easy to achieve, even shooting as fast as I could manage, flash sight picture and all.
The pistol’s paddle-style mag release is located in a style endemic to many Germanic designs. And although it may not be immediately familiar to most American shooters, the trigger guard mounted mag catch is just big enough and in almost the perfect place (for me). I had to slightly roll the pistol in my hand to dump the magazine, which drops free quite readily, thanks to their sturdy all steel construction. The pistol also had a decent flair in the magazine well so speed reloads were a lark.
Overall, I was pretty impressed. My shooting with the P30 was only marginally worse than what I can do with my regular carry pistol, which has a significantly longer barrel, better sights, and a much lighter trigger. I think this sort of practical accuracy is owed to the pistol’s superior ergonomics, very fine barrel and build quality.
Once I’d shot through most of my ammo and without letting the pistol cool down, I pulled up a chair to the bench, got out my sand bag rest, and braced the pistol for some longer range accuracy testing.
The initial results were not encouraging. The front sight’s fairly wide, and the trigger, even shooting single action, isn’t exactly God’s gift to target shooting. I got the distinct feeling, however, that the pistol, with a 5.85″ sight radius, is still capable of outshooting me. I did manage to achieve some good quality groups at twenty five yards, such as the one below.
After I fired my last round, I loaded up my range bag and decided to be kind and clean the test pistol before I returned it. Breakdown is very conventional. Lock the slide to the rear, drift out the slide catch, pull the trigger, remove the recoil spring and then the barrel and the disassembly is done.
After five hundred rounds – most of which were reloads or cheap imported ammo – the pistol was mighty dirty. But the gun didn’t seem to mind it at all. Even after some tender loving care with a tooth brush and rag, the pistol’s action and function were just as smooth dirty as they were when clean.
In conclusion, I don’t have much bad to say about the H&K P30. It’s accurate, reliable, and very easy to shoot and use. The trigger certainly isn’t to my taste, but I think someone who’s more accustomed to the whole SA/DA trigger thing would have great results.
The price, however, is another matter. I’d have to think twice – and maybe a third time – before laying out that much lucre even though the gun’s generally a joy to shoot. That’s a lot of money to lay out for a gun when our Austrian friends produce something at least as reliable at about half the price. That being said, I have no doubt that this pistol could be rode hard and put away wet for years and years and still provide faithful service.
Specifications:
Model: H&K P30
Caliber: 9x19mm
Magazine capacity: 15 rounds
Materials: Fiber re-enforced polymer frame, steel slide
Barrel Length: 3.86’’
Weight: 1.43 pounds without magazine
Overall length: 6.99 inches
Sights: Fixed three dot with luminous paint
Action: SA/DA
Finish: Matte “Hostile Environment” Black
MSRP: $1023, about $850 street
Ratings (out of five stars):
Style * * *
As in all things, it’s a matter of taste. If you’re into the whole polished blued steel and walnut look, this isn’t the heater for you. But if you’re looking for something that’s all down to earth, no-frills tacticool, she’s the Mona Lisa.
Ergonomics (Carry) * * *
This pistol is light, points intuitively, doesn’t have anything that will snag and is wicked quick out of the holster. She is, however, a little on the chubby side. The P30″s probably more at home on a duty belt or in tactical holster, but she’d still be OK to carry in an IWB holster, or, if possible, an OWB holster with a very loose shirt or light jacket.
Ergonomics (Firing) * * * *
All the controls are in the right place – once you get used to that paddle mag release. It’s accurate and is a pleasure to shoot. I’d have given it full marks except for that trigger, which is the biggest drawback to the gun.
Reliability * * * * *
Come hell or high water, this pistol is going to work. What else could you ask for?
Customize This * * *
With the choice of 27 different grip options, a Picatinny rail and a fair selection of replacement sights and holsters, there isn’t much you can’t do to this pistol. The only limitation is the fact that the pistol is rather expensive and fairly uncommon, so there aren’t tons of aftermarket options.
Overall * * * *
The pistol feels great in the hand, is quite accurate, handles flawlessly and is about as reliable as you’d want a handgun to be. It lives up to H&Ks legacy of building excellently crafted, reliable firearms with mediocre triggers.
As I was a brain dead high schooler in 1996 and don’t remember a lot of what was going on in the realm of gun ban stupidity, how does a law get struck down in 1995 as unconstitutional, and then a year later gets passed and everything is good to go? I guess if you keep throwing B.S. spaghetti laws at the wall, eventually something will stick.
LOUD
Same type of thing just happened in Connecticut…and you know about that state’s gun laws:
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/3-Shot-in-Large-Scale-Waterbury-Gun-Battle-251781421.html
I bought P30 2 months ago in local gunshop in Philippines and very happy with it. The ergonomic is superb, most accurate hand gun i ever shoot. The down side is the price, it me cost 2100 USD+ 200 for license ( i cried only once ha ha ha). But the quality is topnotch. Never had any any issues about trigger SA/DA ect, stock parts works fine for me. I understand that this pistol is designed as combat handgun…..(not for shooting empty cans & bottles)……If you want reliable, accurate & comfortable guns…HK P30 is the way go…….Life is too short to carry ugly guns!
H&K makes quality stuff, but like FN, are a military contractor, and only sell to us civilians as a sideline. So we get crazy prices on the guns, and even more so on parts, magazines, and service. I carry HK’s, but keep a Glock around just in case.
I have many HK pistols, FLAME DELETED
if you are such a 2nd A absolutist, why can’t I buy RPGs and howitzers and rail guns 🙂
I smell a conservative hypocrite 🙂
They can partner with Elvis Presley for all I care. Get your commemorative Graceland/ctd pin here, yeah, that would sure be one to jump on, Randy
Note how easy it is to ignore the words of a constitution or to claim, “I know it says this, but it really means that…” Any compromise and any ground given in an attempt to placate gun control freaks only results in more control and less freedom.
This is good to hear! I’m seriously considering 300BLK for my next build and I was hoping you guys would put up a review of this scope. Thanks Nick.
Man , the combo of tacticool black and glaring chrome is ugly as home made sin. It might be a great gun, but it looks like something a low class pimp, and there is no other kind, would use.
wanted to know what the pros and cons are of of an h&K usp 40 full size dao lem vs p30 dao light lem
dont know as to which one to purchase.
and from what i have learned the ups 40 is very hard to get and is on back order
All that talk about the PPQ makes me sick, The quality is far from HK’s P30, no were near as solidly built and the grip feels nothing a like other than shape. Yes PPQ’s trigger reset is awesome, Whoppty fucking due, A Glock with a $170 Pyramid Trigger feels loads better in ever way and over all is cheaper. The PPQ is so tapered that the sites look dumb and let’s no forget PPQ’s undersized eject port making the gun just like the PPS stovepipe a lot. 400 rds through mine and I had enough I sold it, It’s cheaper, because folks it’s a cheaper gun. Deal with it, Like the the Sigpro 2022 is a poor man’s 226, the PPQ is a poor mans P30. No one should be ashamed to own a PPQ it’s a great gun at that price, but it’s no P30 or far from the tank built 226.
Its 2013 There’s no need for a Double Action Pistol with a High Bore Axis and with a price over 1000 dollars ! I wish I had a dollar every time I’ve heard it spoke .
I made my third transition to DA/SA Pistol back in 1995. And I still use the SA/DA Pistol = A SIG P229 in 40cal..
I’ve been wanting to go back to 9mm because I’m getting older and bullets like federal 124 +P HST will do fine for CCW use.
Pistols I looked at.
SIG M11A1- I’m a sig owner but no way will I test the new DASH-1 Slide and long extractor. If it was made to M11 specs I would of bought it .
GLOCK 19 – to many reports of problems!. Great job screwing up a nice pistol guys!
S&W M&P 9mm Hit and Miss . reports of 8MOA groups. And it seems they don’t care.
Walther PPQ – Hey its German 9mm But I don’t see LOTS of mag’s , parts, holsters
HK P30 9mm . German made. has a good rep. Parts/Mag’s can be bought at HK Parts. Lots of holsters to be had.
I chose a P30S V3 9mm . Its about the only Pistol I trust to be GTG out of the box
I would of trust a SIG MK25 and the Beretta M9 etc! but they aren’t compacts!
and the only thing that might need changed on the p30 is the sights. But I would of done that with a Glock right..
Yep, Ellie, Jodie, River and Kaylee. And yes, that’s a Firefly reference.
I suppose Matt in Fl has to be good for something! (Don’t flame me. I am seriously being sarcastic)
As seen in the last dash-cam clip at the hotel,the fourteen year old by his T-shirt (disguise) was actually the Green Lantern, a fellow Crime Fighter, no professional courtesy these days I guess.
Fired it. Bought it. What a fantastic weapon! It’s even better know that I swapped the grips. Thanks for the feedback Kyle.
Got rid of my glock 9mm’s because this gun is perfect.
Love HKs but they are not all perfect. i also own Glocks, Sigs, Springfield 1911s, Ed brown 1911s, and various Colts and Smith revolvers. I had a early Springfield Xd slam fire in my living room upon chambering a round from the mag. My friend’ SW M&P is a total POS several failures. This is a good honest review. Kudos. For all you HK haters who talk smack about HK pricing-Hers a hint- find a police supply outfit who sells to the public. Buy an HK police turn in for less than a springfield XD/XDS or a SW M&P. Most of my HKs are turn ins and I have had ZERO problems with them. My Glocks function pretty well but they shoot high with factory sights in my hands. They do go bang every time and the value is Ok except the model 19 I am looking at is north of 600. I and an issue with my P 30-wrong variant in the correct box- HK fixed the issue within a week. Not bad. Helluv a lot better than Springfield or Smith.
My father and I owned a gun shop during the Brady period. I had the opportunity to to try out a lot of the most popular handguns at the time. I purchased my first HK back in the 90’s. As for many gun owners, financial problems forced me to sell my HK USP 40. But I have always collected firearms and had a opportunity to purchase another HK USP 40 recently. I also currently own an XDM 4.5 45, Gen 4 Glock 32 357 sig, Gen 3 Glock 20 SF10mm, and Canik 55 TP-9. I am not a fan boy of any company, but was collecting compensated c model Glocks, and RTF models for the last couple years. At the time I also had a Glock 22 RTF 2, Glock 22c, and Glock 23c. I had the chance to shoot all of my 40 cal. together at one time. I was pleasantly surprised and quickly remembered what I had been missing. The HK USP 40 out shot every one of them, no failures from any of the guns, just talking accuracy. Felt recoil is significantly less with the HK USP 40, I do not shoot my HK in double action, so I can not speak to that, single action trigger pull is awesome and accurate…way more accurate than I could shoot my 40 cal Glocks. I prefer carrying cocked and locked, just a personal thing but I can drop the safety while drawing to fire. Only draw back in my opinion is a lack of the standard picatinny rail which has been solved with the newer models. The gun has re-immpresed so much, I sold my 40 cal Glocks. If I ever find a better shooter in any caliber, regardless of manufacturer, it will be replaced. My personal collection I am sure will continue to evolve. I am not trying to sell you an HK, I am giving my opinion. 1st reliability, 2nd accuracy and so on…
In my opinion a lot of these negative comments are made by people who have never shot an HK. I never give my opinion to a gun I have not shot. I have owned and shot a lot of different handguns, I had forgot the huge differences, at least in 40 cal between HK and its competitors. Price is a big deterrent to trying out a HK I understand that, is it worth the price difference? Emphatically YES, try out a rental at your range and shoot your gun side by side with the HK USP 40, you might be surprised, and purchase one…..
Cheapness prevails in the good ol’ USA!!! HK P30 owner for 6+ year and love it. Yeah, I coulda bought a brand A, brand B, brand C or a horrid butt-ugly glock. Its a sometimes carry piece and would only trust a glock or HK, with my life, and as I said before the hideous glock is not for me.
Thanks for writing this article it was very informative. I am buying my first gun and want to buy the best handgun on the market in 2015 (I do not care how much money the gun costs). I want an excellent tactical handgun – I’m going to to use it for home self-defense and to practice at the range. Is the H&K P30 9mm still the best handgun in 2015?
Also, considering it is my first pistol I was told i should get a 9mm and not a .40 cal or above – what are your thoughts?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
bottom line:
Get the pistol that works for you!
your own personal ergonomic fit is what matters.
If you can, go shoot a bunch of different makes and see what you are more comfortable/accurate with.
Any name brand firearm these days will function the way they are supposed to.
I have always bought 40 S&W. not just because of the added power but because if I want to shoot 9mm, I just buy a 9mm conversion barrel.
Have not fired a P30 in 40 cal. That said, a Glock model 22 in 40 cal has noticeably snappier recoil than a model 17 in 9mm. I would expect the difference is big enough to make most shooters less accurate with a 40 than a 9. You won’t go wrong with a 9, though many will say otherwise.
If you really want a bigger caliber, go with a Glock 21 Gen 4. Recoil on a 45 ACP is more of a push than a snap, and the G21 is a really soft shooter. The frame is very large compared to the G17, so you may not like it if you have small hands.
If you don’t like how the Glock feels in your hand then go with an m&p, just get a new one. The triggers on earlier ones were less than great.
So many ppl complaining about the up front cost of hk pistols. The extra few hundred dollars you spend is what, a few trips to the range? If you like the hk over a cheaper gun but don’t wanna pony up a few hundred for it then you’re just cheap plain and simple. Say what you want about hk but their stuff is top notch quality and yes you have to pay a little more for that level of quality.
Have been shooting pistils for 3 years now. Have bought some of the popular models (p226, M&P 9, XDM, 1911) and shot them for a few months to find what works for me. Fell in love with the G17 Gen 4 a year ago. Nothing else grips, points or shoots as naturally for me than this bad boy. I’m WAY more accurate and consistent with it than the rest. My search was over!!
Then I had to go and buy a P30 in 9 with the light LEM trigger. Took a few hundred rounds to get used to how the trigger feels, but damn….after 500 rounds I’m as accurate and consistent with the P30 as I am with the G17.
Keeping the Glock, still love it. Just wish I could find mags for the P30 since the VP9 guys are gobbling them up.
Bottom line, both work fantastic for me. I’d put the quality of the GLOCK right up there with the HK; the P30 is just way tighter and more sleek. I think Glocks are pretty, too.
I will say, the LEM trigger is freakin amazing. It is a work of genius to make a trigger light enough to stay on target while completing the pull stroke yet long enough to be safe. I shot a rented PPQ and a Sig P320 at a range in the fall, and both triggers are too light for me to feel comfortable with in a stressful situation.
If you’re going to get an HK, absolutely go with the LEM trigger. Best kept secret out there.
I’m so sick of all the babies out there that whine about the double/single action trigger pull on this pistol. I’ve spent 2 years in my service with the Marine Corps, first on the 2nd Marine Air Wing Rifle and Pistol Team and later shooting with the 2nd Marine Division team shooting on the National Match course with match 1911’s and match M-14’s. Nothing even got by in pistol competition that was anywhere close to 5 lbs. trigger pull. Generally you had to have at least 6 lbs. before they would even let you through to the firing line. Mine was closer to 9 lbs. If you want to learn how to fire a pistol like the P-30 accurately, first of all you have to grip that SOB like a man! Children and little girls need not apply. Dry firing is essential. You pull that trigger straight back in a swift motion without disturbing the sight picture in double action. If you can do that then the single action trigger pull is a breeze. I’ve been practicing with the P-30 and I’m telling you there is nothing wrong with this trigger.
I never understood why HK being so innovative and so high quality could never get a trigger right on any gun they have produced? Every pistol besides the VP9 has a extremely sloppy and poor trigger. There is no fathomable reason why the triggers on these guns should have so much slack, take up, overtravel, length of pull and pull weight they do. I have shot HK’s pretty extensively and i can say that there arent many guns, even really cheap ones that have the poor triggers that they do. Again, the VP9 trigger is pretty good but its striker fired, which is pretty simple to get right. And even then the SIG P320 and PPQ beat it on trigger. SIGS DA/SA guns simply outclass the HK guns of same trigger function. Sig mastered the DA/SA. Where HK have always fumbled with it. Again, i just dont understand why, especially being priced the way they are. A good clean trigger is about 70% of how the gun will perform and shoot for most everyday shooters. Go shoot a USP or P30 or HK45 and you will see just how poor the triggers are. I just dont get it
I have three of these as well as multiple versions of just about every other comp save Springfield’s line of plastic guns (XD?). Yes the HK is more expensive. But you will get it back on resale. Ever try to sell a Glock or an M&P? Good fing luck. The light LEM is the way to go. M&P with Apex sear and trigger is a good comp, but rest of gun is not near the quality of HK. I also like the PPQ, the trigger is awesome and build quality is fine for the money. Fun fact, P30 is actually a knock off of PPQ, not other way around. Another fun fact, P30 .40 and 9mm mags are interchangeable.
And another thing, for all of you that parrot the “you suck and we hate you” sctick. Do have any first Peron experi
Although I could never have any pride of ownership when it comes to a plasticky pistol I did buy this HK P30 as working type gun. I like the fact that it can be loaded and unloaded with the safety on (my model has a safety). Although there are those who don’t like manual safeties the fact remains that an accident can happen in a blink of an eye to anyone no matter how careful or intelligent. That’s reality and to deny it is to ignore the real world. I like the fact that I can decock it with the manual safety on as well. I have had no problem with the trigger and it is way more reliable in the ignition department than my Glock which has the anemic striker fired system. If you doubt my word load a high primer in an empty case and pull the trigger, it will not fire in a Glock but will fire in just about any hammer fired weapon. I know, I have tested many pistols in this manner and the striker fired weapons that had pre-loaded strikers (not the old fashioned full cock striker fired pistols) will fail the test, ditto for my Walther P99, it failed the test also.
The only think that worries my about this pistol is that it uses MIM cast parts which are known for very high failure rates. Hopefully HK uses a higher grade MIM cast part, if such a part even exists.
I also wish this pistol came with the option of Tritium Sights. The sights on my pistol are very bright luminous but the paint does not work if the pistol is kept in complete darkness as when it is under ones clothes. The sights need some light to glow and when they do glow boy do they glow bright. It actually helps me shoot even in bright sunlight and they are a real fireball.
Bought my P2008, right when it was first introduced. I shoot weekly, having put about 24000 rounds thru it in 7 years. I had 2 failures at the beginning using 115 grain 9mm and it jammed cause it was new. After using a few thousand 124’s and 147’s it cycles on everything now. In other words ZERO failures in 24000 rounds.
The trigger? Its fine for me. The decocker? Excellent. Duh, the DA first pull is too long and hard? How stupid is that statement.? Ya better take a beginner’s shooting class! Pull the trigger you idiots!!!!
Reliability? Second to none. Most reliable pistol I’ve ever owned, and I’ve had about 120 over the years.
BTW, about every 10th range time I use Buffalo Bore heavy 147 +p+ 9 mm’s. Accurate as hell, and these are rounds that make it almost a semi-auto 357!!!!!!
I often take with a grain of salt when people say I shot approximately so many rounds. Without keeping a book (like I do) the owner really has no idea how many rounds were fired. I find that even only 4,000 rounds of use will often cause the recoil springs to weaken causing functioning problems. When something breaks or wears out on my guns I have documentation proving how many rounds it lasted. I will note in my logs when the first part fails on my H&K but would like to hear from anyone out there that actually has documented the number of rounds fired, what type of ammo was used and how many rounds were exactly fired before the first part wore out or failed and all pistols will wear out sooner than later as they are mechanical devices not god machines that are infallible.
Patrick,
Thanks for writing, great read. I recently purchased the Harris bi-pod and also the E. Arthur Brown S-Lever to replace the OEM but cannot seem to be able to remove the OEM off the bi-pod. Any assistance provided is much appreciated.