Heckler & Koch P30SK: A Carry Gun You’ll Want to Carry to the Range!

Check it out at HK: https://hk-usa.com/hk-models/p30sk/

Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=p30sk

Selecting a carry gun is a very personal choice, and everyone will have their own criteria for weeding out the non-contenders. However, with the market so rich today in high quality and reliable small pistols, no matter how strict your personal requirements are, there are likely a half-dozen or more to choose from. Well, you can add another one to that list – because the new HK P30SK from Heckler & Koch ticks all the boxes.

Aside from the obvious things like size, capacity, and reliability, one of the things I look for in a personal carry gun is for it to be a fun shooter. Why? Because if it’s fun to shoot it – I will. I’ll keep in regular rotation at the range, and I’ll get very proficient with it.

I’m deliberately avoiding using the word “train” here, because that seems like work. I don’t want shooting my carry gun to feel like work, I want it to feel as natural as breathing – and hopefully it will help me continue to do just that.

Up Front – The Specs

The P30SK is a true H&K, made in Germany and sporting the traditional HK controls. The gun is fully ambidextrous out of the box, with a slide stop lever on both sides and the signature dual magazine release paddles at the bottom rear of the trigger guard. That mag release is usually the polarizing factor – some love it and some hate it. I have found them very easy to adapt to and use and I’m not afraid I’ll forget how to use the button style. The slide and barrel are finished in a black “hostile environment” finish, which I think means that you can carry this gun at Liberal gatherings. The P30SK is the tiny carry version (the ‘SK’ is for “Sub-Kompact”) of the famous P30. And yes, the magazines from your P30 will fit – as will those from your VP9 – because they are the same. We just need someone to make a sleeve!

The Ergonomics

With the caveat that how a gun feels in the hand is a purely subjective opinion from the owner of that hand, I find the P30SK to be one of the most comfortable pistols to hold and shoot among all compacts. It’s even far better than many full sized duty pistols. It all starts with the grip. The polymer frame is molded into a familiar looking HK grip that includes pronounced finger grooves on the front strap, the interesting “bacteria under a microscope” stippling pattern, and the back strap or palm swell that is a changeable part. HK provides three with the pistol – S,M,L. You’ll need a punch to swap them out, but it’s pretty easy to do and easy to find one that feels “just right” to you.

One of the most criticized elements of the stubby compact pistols is the “dangling pinky” complaint. Unless you have extremely tiny hands your pinky will indeed dangle (or wrap beneath, as I prefer) at the bottom of the P30SK. A future nice-to-have would be a 12-round extended magazine with a pinky rest. Controls are, as mentioned, fully ambidextrous and very easy to find and use.

Both the slide stop/release and the magazine disconnect can be used without any adjustment to your shooting grip. Both controls also function very smoothly and facilitate speed reloads well. Another element of ergonomics that is important to me, yet seldom discussed, is whether any of the pistol’s controls will interfere with or cause discomfort with a “thumbs forward” grip.

That is my preferred shooting style, and it’s amazing how many gun makers put a takedown lever or slide stop right where it will either cause me pain, cause me to interfere with the action, or both. On the P30SK, my forward thumb rests comfortably at the front end of the slide stop lever with no problems. This gun is very comfortable to hold and to shoot.

Trigger(s)

My copy of the P30SK has the LEM (Law Enforcement Modification) double-action only (DAO) trigger and a bobbed hammer. Other variants of the P30SK have a double-action / single-action (DA/SA) trigger with a spurred hammer. This is a key distinction between SKUs – the others being the options of night sights and external safeties. I have fired hundreds of rounds through both trigger types with the P30SK, but I’ll focus on the LEM primarily because I’ve used it more frequently and more recently. I will say that the DA/SA version is about as good as DA/SA gets, unless you have a tuned revolver. The DA pull is long and heavy, but surprisingly smooth and grit free, with a crisp break. The SA follow-ups are equally crisp but there is a short amount of pre-travel.

The LEM trigger is my preference, and I waited extra time to get the P30SK configured with it. I’m not averse to a DA/SA gun, but given a choice I’d rather have a consistent trigger pull. That’s what the LEM gives you – a lighter consistent trigger pull every shot, first to last. This essentially makes it a hammer fired gun that behaves and feels more like a striker fired gun. What you give up is a de-cocker. That control is standard on the DA/SA models (a push button to the left of the hammer) and safely drops the hammer over a loaded chamber without the possibility of firing. This is far preferred to de-cocking the hammer Western-style, where a slip could result in a loud bang.

The LEM is either hot and ready to rock, or has an empty chamber – there is no third option. However, unlike a striker fired handgun the LEM trigger does provide a second strike capability – albeit a very heavy one. The trigger can be pulled with the hammer un-cocked (having perhaps just fallen on a round that did not fire) as many times as desired. The pull is long and heavy, but was not designed for ordinary use. It’s a nice “best of both worlds” feature.

The trigger on the LEM is quite nice. But if you’re a striker fan you will notice a few things you might not initially like. Pre-travel (or take-up) is long for the first shot, though it is extremely light. You’ll know when you’re just about there because the tension will change. There is still plenty to go… maybe another ¼” of travel, but it is very smooth. Then the break – which is grit free and crisp. There is a tiny amount of after-travel, but you’d need a micrometer to measure it. Most likely it is just the parts flexing. Reset is fairly long (maybe 3/8”) and once again there will be take-up before the next break. This is the nature of hammers instead of strikers in a DAO configuration. It only takes a short time to acclimate to the trigger and you’ll be double tapping with ease. My observed measurements of this trigger yielded an average of 5 lbs. 6 oz.

The pistol with LEM cannot be put into single-action mode. There is no spur on the hammer for manual manipulation, nor is there a catch in the mechanism where it would remain cocked.

The Four “F’s”: Form, Function, Fit & Finish

Heckler & Koch make good quality firearms. When you pick one up, or just look closely at it, you can see that it was well designed and made. No rough edges, no ill-fitting parts. No part of the gun looks like it was left as “good enough”. One minor observation is that the ‘lefty’ slide stop lever (the one on the right side of the pistol) is a bit “jiggly”. I doubt it would actually come off or fail to work, but with regular use I wonder if it might show early wear.

The quality of fit and finish continues inside, with a cold hammer forged barrel (with polygonal rifling) that is well machined and has a generous and polished feed ramp. The dual spring recoil spring and guide rod assembly is also over-engineered, using a hook/catch connection to the barrel lug as opposed to the more common partially rounded detent. What this does is transfer the bearing surface on the slide lock pin from the barrel lug where most pistols have it, to the rear plate of the guide rod. My engineering degree hasn’t come in the mail yet, so I won’t try to pretend I know exactly what this accomplishes, but I presume it creates a more stable platform and hence, better accuracy. The flat wire recoil springs help make the gun shoot flat.

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The dust cover portion of the poly frame includes a picatinny rail that is quite generous for a pistol this small. Over a full inch of mounting space and three notches should accommodate lights, lasers, or other accessories easily.

This pistol is equipped with the optional Tritium night sights. I like night sights on a carry gun. They are a three-dot combat configuration and display very well in daylight as well as darkness. Made of steel, and with a forward bevel, the rear sight can also serve as an aid to emergency slide cycling via belt, boot, or whatever is handy.

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Accuracy and Performance

Let me start with performance and just get that out of the way. In over 600 rounds of all types and brands of ammunition (including my hand-loads), this pistol never once failed to feed, fire, eject, or make me smile. It’s a shooter, and it’s reliable.

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When it comes to accuracy, my motto is that almost every gun can shoot better than I can shoot it. That is certainly the case with the P30SK, though I will say that I shoot it pretty darn well – it’s one of those guns that makes the shooter look good.

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[/one_half][one_half_last]The results of rested (but not in a vise, which means still room for human error) groups at 20 yards with a variety of the top self-defense ammo were very good. I even had to review my video of the target for one group to verify that two rounds did indeed enter the exact same hole. In steadier hands, or a machine rest, I think this gun would be scary accurate![/one_half_last]

Results at 20 yards were good for a variety of top-shelf self-defense loads.

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Carrying the P30SK

As fun as this pistol is to take to the range an put hundreds of rounds through, it was clearly designed as a concealed carry gun. As is often the case with a brand new pistol model designed for EDC, it can take the holster makers and other accessory products a little time to catch up. So I was more than thrilled when I reached out to StealthGear and they said they already have the P30SK covered! I consider StealthGear’s Onyx holster to be the Rolls Royce of IWB holsters and am grateful to them for proving me with one. The P30SK carries well. At a pound and a half, it is not too heavy – especially with some forward tilt to center the weight of the loaded magazine. In a 2-clip holster like the Onyx, you just forget it’s there.

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Before I’ll put a gun on EDC duty, even for an evaluation, I train with it. It can takes a lot of reps with some handguns before I feel like we’re on the same page – but the P30SK was feeling like an old friend after less than half-dozen draws. I feel completely confident walking out the door with this gun at my 4 O’clock.

In closing, let’s talk about the elephant in the room for a minute – the desire for a sub-compact VP9 from H&K. You know you’ve thought about it, maybe even wished for it out loud. And it may come, or it may not – but I’ll let you in on a little secret – if you pretend the hammer isn’t there… this gun IS it!

Check it out at HK: https://hk-usa.com/hk-models/p30sk/

Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=p30sk