Remember, the P30 has a stepped chamber (as does the VP9) which puts slightly greater demands on the case material to behave properly. It is engineered for brass, use brass.
Remember, the P30 has a stepped chamber (as does the VP9) which puts slightly greater demands on the case material to behave properly. It is engineered for brass, use brass.
With brass ammo, how had the long term reliability and durability been for those of you who own P30s?
Right now I carry a P-07. It’s stupid reliable, but I like the idea of DAO guns. The local gun shop has two V1 Lem P30s for $750 each. Not sure if that’s a good deal or not.
Trigger springs break at about 14,000 rounds. With full charge 9mm the P30s are very trouble free.
I have been shooting them since about 2013 with no trouble other than trigger springs and aluminum case ammo.
P30Ls seem more sensitive to not cycling with light loads.
Reliability with my P30, and two SK’s has been excellent, using AE, Lawman, Blazer Brass, Fiocchi, etc...most of these rounds have been 124gr, including the 450 HST I ran through it.Originally Posted by TheNewbie
$750 is a bit high, IMO, but considering the current climate, if your really wanted one, not terrible.
The P30 is a Bomber gun. Reliability and durability were major determining factors in my choice of it. By far the most problem free pistol I've used, very low maintenance.
I keep two identical guns, one to carry, one to practice with. I replaced a heavy TRS on one gun after breaking it in dry fire. Then I set up both with light Trigger Return Spring (TRS). The heavy TRS springs have a reputation for breaking earlier...for whatever reason...it's a square spring that seems less flexible, maybe that's why.
Have yet to replace a light TRS, despite gobs of dry fire over the last 5 years. I keep expecting my practice P30 to break a TRS
I should probably replace a recoil spring, but I haven't yet. I keep a couple spares, but they just sit lonely.
It's got to be among the most trouble free pistols made. Probably in the rarified company of the USPs, HK45s, and little else. You could check out Todd Green's 90k round test of a P30 on Pistol-Training.com. His P30 finally gave up at over 90,000+ rounds, but likely would have gone much farther but for the heat and aggressive firing schedule. HK folks told him to expect a 25,000 round maintenance schedule. However 25k rounds is probably optimistic, at least for TRS springs.
My P30L V1.5 LEM has been superb. HK US's support has been superb. While the action components within the receiver is far more complex than a Glock, intrinsic component and assembly quality render it largely unnecessary to get into things deeper than field-stripping for most maintenance. I encountered a bit of backstrap movement with mine; HK CS took care of things for me very expeditiously, and the issue was more one of "it bugs me" than of any real operational significance.
Regarding aluminum cased ammunition: While I've switched over to brass pretty much exclusively, I have shot Federal Champion aluminum-cased .40 through botrh my P30L and VP40 with absolutely zero issues. However, after each match/shooting session, I field-strip, clean and lubricate, and my matches/firing sessions these days are rarely more than 100=125 rounds per session. I've concludeds that while brass-cased ammunition in an HK is more ideal, provided the gun is properly maintained and lubed for light-to-moderate sessions (approximately <200 rounds-my definition), I doubt there will be any issues or adverse effects. However, if given a choice, I'd recommend sticking with brass-cased. But these days, we're pretty much satisfied to shoot whatever we can get our hands on...
Best, Jon
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