Optimizing the Modern HK Pistols

Spending considerable time with my modern HK pistols has taught me that many people don’t really understand how these guns are meant to be handled. A large part of that is the unique magazine release, but the guns have other features and benefits that are worth understanding. We are talking today about the P2000, P30, and HK45 families. The USP certainly fits in there but as much as I like them, I find the others to be superior.

The P2000 and the P30 are handled identically, while the HK45 is slightly different. I wish they were all identical, but more on that later. All of mine are the traditional DA/SA variants (TDAs), so that is what we will focus on. The “TLG” LEM variants are really excellent as well, but I generally prefer the TDAs.

On the P2000 and P30, the decocker is on the left rear of the slide. This allows a right-handed shooter to use either their right thumb or their left thumb to decock the pistol. I prefer to use my right thumb, but it really depends on your hand size and flexibility. The position of the decocker makes it slightly more awkward for most people to decock the gun, compared to something like a Sig 229. The benefit of the HK decocker is that you cannot inadvertently hit it like you can with a USP-style decocker. A trade-off for sure.

The paddle magazine release is another trade-off. If you insist on a Browning-style button release, then nothing I say is likely to appease you, but if you can be a little flexible, the paddle works very well. I have had button releases activated while my gun was in the holster. There was nothing wrong with the spring tension or the holster, but very occasionally, the button can be depressed. The paddle release pretty much removes this possibility. This of course makes admin reloading in the holster harder, as you have to pop the HK up and out of the holster a little bit in order to access the paddle release.

When purposely releasing the magazine, like for a speed reload, I prefer to use my trigger finger, rather than my thumb. If you can use your thumb fast and effectively, then that is good too. I remember some years ago when this topic came up, some felt that using your trigger finger was somehow unsafe and that the trigger finger should not be used for any weapons manipulations when not pulling the trigger. This is not generally the case but is also dependent on your hand size, finger length, and dexterity, so you will have to figure out what you are capable of.

When you are holding your pistol in your firing grip, you should ideally not be able to reach any of the controls with your shooting hand. Because of this, I have to rotate the pistol to drop the magazine. This is the case with a button release, or with the paddle release. As I rotate the muzzle to the left, my trigger finger comes into position to depress the right side paddle. Never say never, but I have found this motion and position to make it basically impossible for me to hit the trigger while doing this. On a slide lock reload, this is obviously not really an issue, but on a tactical load or in battery reload, it could be. The way to avoid this as much as possible is to rotate the gun first, then go for the release with your index finger. If you move your index finger first, you are much more likely to get into trouble. By moving the gun away from your finger, you solve this problem nicely.

The slide release lever is ideally sized and shaped for me. Once the magazine is seated, it is then a very fast and easy motion for my strong hand thumb to reach forward and drop the slide. If I leave the gun in the firing position, I can’t do that, but once it has rotated for the mag release, everything drops into place nicely. The magazine well would benefit from a redesign, ala the Gen 5 Glocks, but it is certainly usable now.

The HK45 changes things slightly, as they did away with the decocker on the rear of the slide, and went back to a safety/decocking lever, like the USP series. This works fine, as long as you don’t press on the lever while you are shooting. As a longtime 1911 shooter, I prefer to press on the safety while shooting, so while this is not ideal, I somehow still manage to make it work. Most people will find this type of decocking lever easier to use. If you do lean on the lever while shooting, you will decock the gun. Not a desirable situation as it can lead to hesitation while you figure out what happened, but still not a big deal once you understand how to handle the gun.

There are a few little things that can be done to these guns to make them more user-friendly. A standard-sized mag paddle can be swapped onto the P2000 in about 1 minute. This makes reloads much easier for me, but make sure your holster will not cause issues if you do that. Mine all work fine.

The factory HK DA trigger pull has been much maligned over the years, but I actually find it to work very well. Part of that is my years of DA shooting, but these HK pistols simply fit my hand exceptionally well. Maybe better that anything else out there. This makes pulling the trigger very easy for me. A nice thing about these guns is that all of them are pretty adjustable, so if it doesn’t fit your hand out of the box, you can often correct that. Though I am very happy with the factory triggers in my guns, the Greyguns flat trigger, combined with an LTT trigger job, does make for a very nice trigger pull. I notice it the most when shooting left-handed, as that hand needs all the help it can get. If I had to use a stock DA/SA setup from the HK factory, I would never complain. They used to be fairly awful, but all the guns I have handled in the last year or so have had very good triggers on them as is.

I don’t think the flat trigger actually matters in any way, but I have grown fond of it. With normal tactical gloves, it is no issue for me, but with heavier winter gloves, the flat trigger does take up a bit more of the trigger guard than the factory curved trigger. My speed and accuracy are identical with both triggers, but the flat trigger does break at an almost perfect 90 degrees if you are into that sort of thing. It also has less flex, as it is metal.

TDA pistols are not for everyone, just like 1911’s are not for everyone. If you can’t or won’t learn to decock the gun when coming out of a shooting position, then something like a LEM makes much more sense. If you are willing to learn to decock appropriately, and embrace the DA shot (never treat it as something to get past) then you can take advantage of some truly great shooting guns.