HK P30 SK Pistol with LEM Trigger ~ VIDEO Gun Range Review

By Graham Baates
YouTube personality, Graham Baates, gives us a video breakdown and review of the HK P30 SK with LEM Trigger.

USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Despite reviewing hundreds of handguns I hadn’t spent much time with an HK pistol.  To me they appeared to cost more than most, and have a limited presence in the civilian market.  HK fans to me were likely those just trying to justify their expense.  All of that changed when I had a chance to try out the HK P30 SK with the LEM trigger.

The HK P30 SK is a subcompact variant of the hammer-fired P30.  The LEM trigger is a unique DAO that is effectively pre-staged by the slide.  It’s not quite a single-action, but it shoots like one.  Should the round fail to fire the trigger can be pulled again with a double-action pull weight.  While the trend has been to move to striker-fired pistols there has also been a trend towards appendix inside-the-waistband carry.  This combination can be very dangerous as mos striker-fired guns have only a dongle in the trigger for a safety.

Being able to rest your thumb on a hammer while holstering gives positive feedback if anything presses the trigger.  For this reason, I think modern hammer-fired guns have merit in modern carry, especially if the hammer doesn’t obnoxiously protrude.

Without sparking a debate about carry positions let’s take a look at the HK P30 SK’s construction and features:

Specifications below are taken directly from HK’s product webpage:

• Caliber: 9x19mm
• Length: 6.42″
• Height: 4.47″
• Width 1.37″
• Barrel Length: 3.27″
• Weight (with empty magazine): 23.99oz

After becoming acquainted with the controls and adjusting the grip size to fit my hands better I headed to the range.  As always range testing broke down into three simple tests.  The first was to fire the pistol with a full magazine plus one in the chamber.  As simple as that sounds not all guns can run this way and not all magazines run smoothly through their entire capacity.  The second test is known as, “What’s for Dinner?”.  This test can be the most interesting as I ran ten different loads through the gun.  From 165gr subsonic loads all the way down to 65gr.  Hollow points, ball ammunition, and flat-nosed rounds.  Steel cased aluminum, and brass.  The intent here is to see how the gun interacts with all of these different bullet profiles, recoil impulses, and case materials.  The final step is a quick five-shot group form seven yards using Nosler 124gr Match ammunition.  The accuracy portion isn’t so much a test of the pistol (too much human factor involved) as much as it is a chance for me to concentrate on the shooting experience.  You can see how the P30 SK LEM did in the video below.

After a brief range session, I’ve had to change my opinion about HK.  They are not over-priced elitist guns, rather they are likely the best money can buy.  Yes, there are less expensive options that may perform similarly, but they won’t come with the piece of mind that HK provides.  Since a piece of mind is a large part of why we carry it makes complete sense to me why HK fans tend to defend their choice so avidly.

About Graham Baates

“Graham Baates” is a pen name used by a 15-year active Army veteran who spent most of his time in the tactical side of the Intelligence community including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Post-Army Graham spent some time in the 3-Gun circuit before becoming a full-time NRA Certified defensive handgun instructor and now works as an industry writer while curating a YouTube channel and blog on the side. Visit Graham on Youtube .