The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > Hogan's Alley > Handguns: The Semi-automatic Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old October 2, 2012, 10:21 AM   #1
TunnelRat
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 22, 2011
Posts: 12,181
HK P30 Woes

Hi all,
I posted this on the HK forums. What follows is a summary of my first week with my HK P30. Maybe it will help some others who run into the same issues.

9/29
So I have read the threads that talk about breaking in a P30. I just picked mine up today. I cleaned it, lubed it, and took it to the range. First I ran 100 rds of 124 gr American Eagle. Most of the rounds ejected straight back, some to the right, some even to the left. I had no malfunctions, stoppages, at all. But the rearward ejection has me worried. I tried 100 115 gr Federal Champion just to see not expecting it to be better. Most of these ejected rearward into my chest and arms, some ended up going to the left?, and some just sort of popped out and dropped right down. I never had any of these issues with my brand new P2k, USPc, or HK45c out of box. In fact I broke in a new P2k with the same 115 gr ammo last month, no issue.

Should I be worried? I have some Winchester NATO I plan to put through tomorrow. I expected some weak ejection but this is more than that. Any thought are appreciated.

Update 9/30:
Another 300 rounds through today. 100 rds of Winchester Nato went 6 feet out at 3 to 4 o'clock. Same with 20 rds of 124 gr +P Speer Gold Dots. 100 rds of AE 147 gr went about the same distance, slightly more rearward at 4 to 5 o'clock. Finished up with another 100 rds of 115 gr Federal Champ. Same issues present themselves. Most cases ejecting rearward or skipping off my right arm.

I'm inclined to say the recoil spring at this point. My only question is I have 500 rds through the gun at this point and it's still doing this. How long might I expect the break-in to be?

On a positive note, the accuracy of this gun with the stock DA/SA trigger is amazing. I can use a blank sheet of white paper if need be and just make groups inches apart. I also wasn't remotely sore with 300 rds downrange today and I haven't shot that much at once in some time.

Update 10/1:
I'm leaving it locked back all this week and I spend a few minutes each day just cycling it by hand. I have another 200 rds of hotter stuff to run through it this weekend, and I hope it will start running the 115 gr.

A call to Hk was somewhat less than helpful. First they blamed it on the break in, but said that should be 500 rounds. When I said I had done that then they quite bluntly blamed me saying I was limp wristing and to be sure to grip tightly. When I mentioned I didn't have any issues with any of my other 9mm HKs they said "well the P30 is a completely different design". I replied, "well it's not radically different from the P2000, a brand new one of which I broke in last month with 115 gr out of box". At this point I got the silent treatment, literally the guy just stopped talking to me. Gentleman seemed very annoyed to have me on the phone. I know a quick response would be, "well what did you expect?", and honestly that's true I guess. It's not truly malfunctioning so what can I expect. Seems weird though to spend thousands of dollars with a manufacturer and have them give you attitude, reminiscent of SIG.

Maybe it is me, idk. I'm hitting the gym again all this week to try and mitigate me. I brought one shooter last time who also had the issue, I'll try another one this time too. My enthusiasm has waned a bit tbh.
__________________
Know the status of your weapon
Keep your muzzle oriented so that no one will be hurt if the firearm discharges
Keep your finger off the trigger until you have an adequate sight picture
Maintain situational awareness

Last edited by TunnelRat; October 2, 2012 at 11:54 PM.
TunnelRat is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 11:03 AM   #2
Rick F
Member
 
Join Date: October 2, 2012
Posts: 71
I had similar problems with my P30L at first with 115 gr. The casing would just sort of trickle out. My girlfriend would have the casing get stuck on the extractor mouth (what's the proper term?) keeping the slide from going into battery. After maybe 250 rounds, and a switch to 124 gr, all the problems went away. I never kept the pistol with the slide locked back. I'd just keep shooting and not worry.
Rick F is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 11:03 AM   #3
Crow Hunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 27, 2012
Posts: 1,078
Sounds like a Glock 19....

It is probably a combination of a new stiff recoil spring and slightly lighter than the gun was designed around 9mm loads.

The Gen 4 9mm had/has the same problem. They design around Euro (CIP)9mm rather than American (SAAMI) pressure curves.

Locking it back so it took a "set" would be what I would have done.

There isn't anything weird looking on the extractor (chipped, moves freely) or ejector (broken, bent funny, mushed) is there?

Try shooting without the magazine and see where the round goes. It might also be that your magazine springs are really strong and pushing the round out of the extractors grip before the slide makes it back to the ejector and it is more noticable on lower pressure 9mm rounds that don't have the same slide velocity.

How far back is the ejector from the breechface?

When I compared a Glock to a M&P 9c and a Sig P226 the Glock ejector sits noticably further back so the ejector hits much earlier in the extraction process on the M&P & Sig which gives less time for weird crap to happen.

I would leave my mags fully loaded for a while too so the mag springs take a "set" and see if that helps.

Last thing, you could buy a new recoil spring from HKparts.net and see if that helps. There will be some variation in spring production that my vary the spring rate some, you might have gotten one on the heavier end of the tolerance band.

(It isn't limp wristing, you have too much experience for that.)
__________________
I am no longer participating in gun forums.

Good luck.
Crow Hunter is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 11:45 AM   #4
Rick F
Member
 
Join Date: October 2, 2012
Posts: 71
I also wanted to add to my above comment, that I'm a firearms noob, and my experiences should be taken with a grain of salt.
Rick F is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 11:56 AM   #5
PSP
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 2, 2006
Location: Bowling Green Virginia
Posts: 4,485
I'm not sure what problem you are having. Is it that the ejection isn't as vigorous as you'd like?
PSP is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 12:19 PM   #6
TunnelRat
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 22, 2011
Posts: 12,181
Quote:
Sounds like a Glock 19....
Trust me the irony isn't lost on me.

It is locked back for now so hopefully that helps. The extractor seems fine as does the ejector. I didn't think about loading up the mags, but that's a good idea too will do when I get home. Worst comes to worse I will try a different recoil spring, but I am hoping I can break this one in.

Quote:
I also wanted to add to my above comment, that I'm a firearms noob, and my experiences should be taken with a grain of salt.
Not at all. From what I've read it's an inconsistent problem with it appearing for some P30s but not all. I have been feeding it a better diet and it likes that.

Quote:
Is it that the ejection isn't as vigorous as you'd like?
It's that the ejection pattern for 115 gr ammo has been very rearward.
__________________
Know the status of your weapon
Keep your muzzle oriented so that no one will be hurt if the firearm discharges
Keep your finger off the trigger until you have an adequate sight picture
Maintain situational awareness
TunnelRat is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 12:53 PM   #7
Crow Hunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 27, 2012
Posts: 1,078
Quote:
Trust me the irony isn't lost on me.


How does it shoot? (Other than throwing projectiles 180 degrees apart?)

I have been really itching to try one out along with a P2000 SK.
__________________
I am no longer participating in gun forums.

Good luck.
Crow Hunter is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 12:56 PM   #8
TunnelRat
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 22, 2011
Posts: 12,181
With hotter ammo it shoots great. 300 rounds in a session and I wasn't remotely sore/tired. Accuracy seems very good as is the trigger. I think the design is a good one.

I know Scotch loves his P2kSk. I have a regular P2k and it's my favorite gun of the 25 handguns I've owned (some repeats).
__________________
Know the status of your weapon
Keep your muzzle oriented so that no one will be hurt if the firearm discharges
Keep your finger off the trigger until you have an adequate sight picture
Maintain situational awareness
TunnelRat is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 06:25 PM   #9
mete
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 14, 2004
Location: NY State
Posts: 6,575
Weak ejection ?? Get a P7 ,that'll put it 15' away !!
__________________
And Watson , bring your revolver !
mete is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 08:55 PM   #10
sigarms228
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 29, 2011
Posts: 1,765
Congrats on the new HK P30 TunnelRat. What a wonderful pistol. I am betting that after a couple hundred rounds more of Winchester NATO ammo you will be good to go. Keep us posted.

You seem to like the trigger on your new P30 which is great news. How does it compare to the HK45C you bought a little while back? If I remember correctly you weren't too thrilled with the trigger on that one out of the box.

Last edited by sigarms228; October 2, 2012 at 09:00 PM.
sigarms228 is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 09:38 PM   #11
TunnelRat
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 22, 2011
Posts: 12,181
Infinitely better trigger, IMO. Not quite SIG good, but very smooth and definitely serviceable.
__________________
Know the status of your weapon
Keep your muzzle oriented so that no one will be hurt if the firearm discharges
Keep your finger off the trigger until you have an adequate sight picture
Maintain situational awareness
TunnelRat is offline  
Old October 3, 2012, 07:11 AM   #12
loose_holster_dan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 5, 2011
Location: NE Ohio
Posts: 2,461
Quote:
Sounds like a Glock 19....
i was thinking the exact same thing!
__________________
Favorite range gun for the money - CZ 75B or STI Spartan V 9mm
Go-to carry setup - Walther PPS or PPQ in FIST kydex holster 1AK
Favorite semi-auto design - HK P7
"A Sig is like a lightsaber - not as clumsy or random as a Glock."
loose_holster_dan is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:54 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.06357 seconds with 10 queries