9,704 rounds
7 stoppages, 0 malfunctions, 0 parts breakages
As you can see from the numbers above, things this week did not go as planned.
The gun had another extraction failure early in the week, which prompted me to detail strip the pistol for a stem-to-stern cleaning. The extractor and extractor channel were very dirty, but nothing appeared damaged. Seven hundred rounds were fired through the pistol the next day without a single problem.
But yesterday, seemingly out of the blue the gun suffered four more extraction failures. After the first, the gun was lubricated. After the second, the chamber was cleaned with a bore snake. When two more FTEs occurred within about 50 rounds, it was time to call HK.
We all agreed that seven extraction failures in two weeks was not what any of us expect from the P30. So many owners have reported sewing machine-like consistency with their P30s that this one has clearly got a gremlin somewhere. So the pistol is on its way to Heckler & Koch’s facility in Columbus, GA for inspection. Therefore, this will be the last P30 Thursday until we get the gun back and can start testing again.
Luckily, I have a spare P30 which I’ll be carrying and practicing with in the meantime. Because notwithstanding the test gun’s funky behavior, I’ve definitely come to appreciate the shootability and ergonomics of the P30. For example, earlier during Week Seven I shot four clean sub-5 second F.A.S.T. in a row, tying a personal best for me. My best score in the run was a 4.47, which also tied my personal best with the P30. On the fifth run, I dropped a head shot. Can’t blame the gun for that …
I’m consistently getting first-shot draw times in the 1.10-1.20 range, from concealment using my appendix carry Looper and an untucked polo shirt. So the whole idea that the longer trigger pull of a DAO gun slows down your first shot is pretty much put to bed there. And how does that “long” reset affect split times? I’m easily pulling splits in the high teens while still getting all my hits on an 8″ plate at 25 feet. This isn’t “double tap” speed, it’s consistent for strings of sustained fire 4-8 shots.
One good thing that I learned as a result of detail stripping the gun: with some strategic TW25B placement on the action, it’s easy to reduce and smooth out the LEM trigger pull even more. My trigger pull is now down to five pounds, ten ounces … a full pound lighter than before the grease was applied to the internals.
As soon as we hear from HK, we’ll let everyone know the details and resume the test as quickly as possible.
Now for this week’s Gray Room picture. Pictured below is the P30 endurance test gun along with Heckler & Koch’s famed GMG full-auto 40mm grenade launcher. Not quite the same category of weapon as last week’s classic HK4, is it? In the background you can see some of the prototype .45s that led to the Mark23 SOCOM pistol contract. You can click on the image for a larger view.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
Previous P30 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:
- Week Six
- Week Five
- Week Four
- Week Three
- Week Two
- Week One
- Initial Report
Sad to hear the P30 is suffering from issues. I have a number of rounds through my P30 and my impressions walking away from the firing line are quite similar to yours.
I had an opportunity to shoot 400-rounds yesterday through my P30 and was managing 1.3 to 1.4 second draws from a level-2 holster and was managing all -0 hits from 10-yards. I long feared the transition from a striker fired platform until I made the move to the P30. My splits are not as good as yours, but I did manage some splits in the teens, but I was primarily hitting in the .20-.28 range with consistency. If I go faster, my accuracy pays the consequences.
It will be interesting to see what the issue is.
As the only P30 armorer hopefully you will know what is the maintenance schedule for the gun (ie the slide spring, recoil buffer, mag springs, etc)? Manual is silent on these issues. Certainly not forever.
Have you had to replace the chewed up P30 mag followers? Mine got chewed up after 1000 rounds.
Perhaps you could post some pictures of the strategic location of the lube on the action too. We assume you have the P30 v2? When are the other variants going to be available in the US?
“Luckily, I have a spare P30”
Quote:Originally Posted by Papershooter
Had to get both
ToddG Industry Professional
Dude, you’re killing me …
My turn,DUDE YOUR KIlLING ME! lol
http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=13631&page=5
Todd keep up the great work.
gtmtnbiker98 — Do a search here for “sight tracking” … that and some trigger reset drills should help you get more consistent on the splits. But anything under 0.25 is good. Once you reach 0.25, everything else is more for show than performance. Watch videos of world-class IPSC guys and except on very close wide-open targets, 0.20-0.25 splits are pretty normal.
P30Man — I doubt HK will release a replacement schedule publicly. Most companies don’t. The unofficial advice I got during the one-on-one armorer training was to replace the entire recoil assembly at 25,000 rounds. This isn’t required, just the easiest (though more expensive) approach. The rod itself doesn’t have to be replaced at that point, and I don’t think the buffer is expected to need it then, either. But given the cost of replacement vs. the cost of 25,000 rounds of ammo, just replacing the whole thing seems like the easiest solution to me.
I’ve had no problems with my followers, at least none I’ve noticed.
Papershooter — The difference is that my spare P30 didn’t cost me anything. 😎
Must be nice!! I had to pay for both of mine, but it was money well spent.
“Papershooter — The difference is that my spare P30 didn’t cost me anything.”
I knew that was coming !
Hey Todd, what’s the status on your repair/inspection? Curious to learn whether or not your repair/inspection was expedited – given the test.
Received the Return Authorization number late Friday. Send the pistol out via FedEx Next Day Air yesterday (Monday) so it will arrive today.