Sidearm History:
From 1989 to 2004 my department issued the SIG P226 chambered in 9mm. In 2004 we transitioned to the SIG P229R chambered in .357 SIG. In 2007, our P229R's were converted to .40 S&W due to ammo costs. In 2013 our department adopted the HK P30 lite LEM chambered in 9mm. Our current issued duty load is Winchester Ranger T 124gr +P and our range ammunition is Winchester Ranger 124gr NATO.
Given our relative brief history with the HK P30, I have recently come to the following conclusion. When placed in an officers holster and exposed to the day-to-day elements associated with police work, the SIG Sauer pistol is a more reliable and forgiving platform when directly compared to our HK P30's. This is a departmental observation, not a blanket declaration. This is my opinion based on 19-years as a police officer and several thousand observed rounds down range.
I conduct quarterly training sessions and qualifications annually for my department and each officer fires between 250-300 rounds of 9mm and another 150 rounds of 5.56 per quarter. Given our area of the State, I would venture to say that we shoot more than any other department in SW Ohio. Since our adoption of the HK P30, I've witnessed a large increase in stoppages.
When conducting a post mortem of the stoppage, two things have been found with great regularity. The lack of lubrication and a poor grip. I never witnessed so many consistent stoppages with the SIG as we do with the HK P30. All of our HK pistols have an estimated 2,000 rounds of 124gr ammunition through them. The most commonly observed malfunction is a failure to extract.
Although the HK pistols function fine while dirty, they must be lubricated in order to function as designed (shocking I know). Back in 2013, I would have never believed that I'd be making this statement, but given a sample of 20 HK P30's and carried by both male and female officers from differing backgrounds over a period of two years, the P30 is not as forgiving as the SIG P226/P229 when a lack of maintenance and varied skill sets are at issue.
Now we are faced for the first time I might add with the requirement to routinely spot check every duty weapon to ensure proper lubrication and maintenance. Should we already be doing this? Yes. Have we had to in the past? No.