The LEM. It R.I.P.s

I have never had particularly fast splits. I have also never really cared about that, though it certainly is impressive to watch a good shooter pull .13-.15 splits with high accuracy. My P30L LEM has allowed me to consistently pull splits faster than I normally can. If a “normal” bill drill for me is .17-.20 splits, my LEM is .15-.17 more often than not. I pull individually faster splits than that with the LEM on every run, but it is not something I can do repeatedly. So, the LEM is plenty fast for me.

The LEM also really shines when shooting one handed. The light press makes things easier when you only have one hand on the gun. My LTT LEM is basically a really nice 1911 trigger, with a lot of slack to take up for the first shot. It has a flat trigger that breaks perfectly vertically, and fits my hand and finger exceptionally well.

The LEM is very simple yet pretty safe. Let go of the trigger and the hammer goes back to rest. No decockers or manual safeties to deal with. You can still trap the outer hammer with your thumb and prevent ND’s when holstering. Another long touted benefit of the LEM is how safe it is when dealing with criminals. The long trigger is said to make it easier to stop the trigger press if you decide not to fire, and at the same time, make it less likely to have an ND than a gun with a shorter trigger.

I think those last two are basically true, but the trigger is certainly not the whole story. I have stopped my trigger press on bad guys when they have changed their behaviour, using all sorts of triggers, and I have investigated or been privy to investigations of ND’s with longer and heavier trigger pulls. Those are much more rare though. People are capable of amazing things and can mess almost anything up. I do think a longer heavier trigger pull makes it less likely to have an ND, but I think the weight matters as well as the length of pull. So, the LEM may be better in that regard than a 1911, but I think it is inferior to a true DA pull.

Unfortunately, only a few of us have discovered just how shootable the LEM is, and HK has decided to discontinue them. At least for now, you can still get LEM parts and convert DA guns if you like.

As a fan of the press out, shooting the LEM came very naturally to me. A quick recap may be in order. The press out describes the act of moving the gun from the holster or ready position, to the target, with the muzzle pointed at the target, while pressing the trigger. This allows the gun to go off as soon as it hits full extension (not arm lockout, just a fully formed shooting position). Some call that trigger prep, which is certainly fine. I like to distinguish between trigger prep and what some call prep and press, where you stop the trigger after prepping it, confirm your sights, then press it the rest of the way through. I am not a fan of that, though it may be necessary under extreme circumstances.

The press out, or correct trigger prep, does not involve stopping the trigger. Some call this rolling the trigger, though I make a small distinction between them. Either way, I prefer to move the trigger continuously until it breaks, rather than stopping and starting it. Because a correct press out starts the trigger finger on the trigger as soon as the gun is pointed at the target, the long light part of the LEM trigger can be done away with before the sights are confirmed on the target (if needed). This allows you to begin pressure on the actual sear engagement sooner, which is important for fast accurate shooting with the LEM. If you are slow taking up the slack of the LEM, you are much more likely to disturb your shot when it breaks.

And this is where I think most people get in trouble with the LEM. In slow fire people seem to really like it, but when things get fast, they are not used to moving their finger as fast and as early and so the trigger does not reward them. If things like tactics and draws are best done sooner rather than faster, the LEM requires sooner AND faster. As soon as the gun is pointed at the target, your finger must take up the slack as fast as possible, or you will get to extension and still have slack to deal with. This can certainly be done, but most people do better when they have a light but firm trigger to pull, rather than extremely light slack, followed by a distinct wall and then the rest of the actual sear engagement.

Many people prefer traditional double action (TDA) guns for this very reason. A heavy-ish DA trigger can be pulled through in one motion very well, but the light slack of the LEM, followed by the actual weight of the trigger at the wall, messes many people up. Truth be told, I too prefer a TDA gun. Not because it is clearly superior (it may be in some ways but not in others), but simply because I like having a heavier trigger when the gun is at rest. It is no impediment to me when I want to get going, and the subsequent single action trigger is about as good as it gets. Yet it is as safe as can be, short of adding a manual safety to the gun.

Many people have tried to make the “ultimate” pistol. I suppose that to me, a P30’s overall features and function, combined with a 1911’s ergonomic safety and single action trigger, might come the closest to perfection. Since no gun has a safety that equals the 1911’s, I am quite content having a TDA, and enjoying all the other benefits that modern gun design can provide. If you learn to shoot a TDA correctly, you do not have to choose between performance and safety, or performance and reliability, or performance and anything else. Like all guns, the TDA or the LEM will perform if you will.