There are a lot of comments posted on line about how the P30 is a "better" pistol than the VP9.  This isn't usually discussed in terms of personal preference but of design and materials.  I get how ergonomics can make a big difference in what a guy prefers.  However the comments are often not about ergo's but design and material.  For me the P30 has a couple of things that make it less comfortable to shoot than a p30 and I'm not talking about that trigger.  The trigger trough and the slide takedown lever are not comfortable.  However I'm thinking about picking up another one and dealing with those issues, sand the trough out and change my thumb placement to make it work.

So, why is the P30 materially better?

I had a VP9 right upon its first release. Now this is a sample of one, but the first round through the gun was a light primer strike. This was with S&B ammo, so a quality factory range ammo. Throughout that first range session, I had a few more. Took the same rounds and put them through the Glock I had as well, they shot off just fine. The VP9's striker did feel sluggish/weak in feeling.

Took it apart and cleaned out the channel and did not see much of any residue or shavings of any kind. Put it back together and did not have issues again. That said, I sold the VP9 shortly after and added the disclaimer of what happened out of the box. I recently purchased a P30 and it feels for some reason more substantial. We shall see how it does, but I have a good feeling so far. The hammer strike feels very confident.

So for me, I just had a bad experience that left me feeling less confident early on. In addition, something about the wire trigger spring (I believe its related to the trigger) on the inside of the grip on the left hand side made me pause. When cleaning the gun, it seemed to get bumped pretty easily and is quite exposed.

That said, I am glad to see people enjoy the VP9, it does have a nice trigger! I think people may just prefer what HK has been known to be good for, solid DA/SA (or LEM) hammer fired pistols. With how successful the USP was and continues to be even today, HK fans may be a bit more set in their ways and have mastered the DA/SA by now.

Seems like the same material to me. HK plastic and steel. Even the grips feel the same to my caveman hands. I always thought they were two different designs for the people who wanted striker fired and the people who want da/sa. Doesn’t make one better than the other in my mind.

So... I have a lot of HK pistols, but I don't really have the poors vs. worthy attitude that a lot of HK owners seem to have.

I think there's a stigma attached to the US made/assembled guns as that somehow they are inferior.  So since a lot of VP9s are US made, they got this stigma automatically.

People also to get uppity about price points. The VPs came in around $600 if I remember right while P30 and P2000s were in the $800s when they hit the shelves. So they're for the poors.

Honestly, this is all silly.

My P30L and P2000SKs are a great DA/SA pistols. My VP9s are an equally good striker fired pistols.

Boils down to hammer or none.  If you opt for a P30 LEM version, then why didn't you just get the VP9?  Have both, prefer the striker version.  Same build quality.  Remember when the USP was $600 and the volksgun?  I do.  Lot of P7 owners were uppity or maybe they were just asses to begin with.  

The stippling on the P30 is rougher, and its grip feels a bit less ergonomic. It also has a higher bore axis and a pretty meh trigger. I had a P30L and a VP9, shot them side by side, and I sold the P30L. YMMV.

I'm the opposite.  I prefer the P30 LEM over the VP9.  I appreciate the VP9 for what it is, but after years and years of carrying a Glock and then trying the LEM and then using it, I am a convert.

I would tend to agree but I don't have a p30 to do a side by side.  I have seen quite a few guys who claim it is just a more durably built gun.  

Yeah,  I had kinda forgotten about this.  That really is a thing.  There is another HK forum* that I joined a while back.  There was an early thread there about how they did not like the newer HK guns because they were too cheap.  Basically let anyone buy them.

After that I never went back.

*not HKpro.

I have a P30. It is my one concession to a modern handgun. I reload everything I shoot. Due to current reloading components conditions I cannot get my preferred bullets, primers, or powder. I fully expect this is going to last for quite a while. In the plastic gun arena I've had two G17s, two G19s, a G43, a G30, and a S&W Shield. All were great guns but there were repeated misfires due to light striker impact. The fault was 100% the ammunition - my reloads. It could have been primer seating or who knows what type of primers, I also use small rifle primers in handgun ammunition.

With my CZ, Beretta 92, Browning High Powers, P38s, revolvers, 1911s, and P30 there are no misfires. When ammunition choice is optimal it doesn't matter. Now it does. You shoot what you have, and this is what I have to shoot. That's I prefer the P30 over a striker fired model.

To me the P30 slide seems to have a better engineered firing pin/safety system.  I don't like the horizontal pivoting firing pin block of the VP9. But I do own both.  Just a preference.

Sample of one but I didn’t like the weak lock up. It’s inherent to strikers as opposed to hammers but the VP9 I shot for a bit seemed a bit more weak than other strikers I’ve fired. The USP and P30 as hammer fired guns felt more “solid” to me. I did like the VP9 trigger though.

Something about the slide release placement is wrong on the VP9.

I own both. VP9 longslide with SRO is my EDC now. Never, ever carry or shoot the P30 anymore for me the VP9 does everything better, smoother, faster, more accurate.

I’ve owned multiples of both and put a lot of rounds through them and honestly I’ve never had any mechanical issues with any of them. One of the vp9’s is my uspsa gun, and I can’t recall ever having a malfunction with it, and my current p30 has over 16k rds through it. I do have a gray guns short reset kit in that one though, and the trigger is pretty good.

If you want a striker fired gun, get a VP9. If you want a hammer fired one, get a P30. If you want the toughest, best polymer handgun you can get, buy a USP.

I have 2 already.  Expert and factory threaded barrel version.

This is more of talk me into one or another HK pistol.  

I bought 2 VP9s, basic black and the RAL8000 with night sights.   I'll pick up either grey VP9 OR or a VP9L OR next week.  Both are on layaway at the lgs.  I was gonna buy a longslide kit to toss on the black one...it was cheap enough but then the shop got in the VP9L.  That one was a reasonable price so I'm just buying the whole gun.

I've had a 9mm P30 for about 10 years and a 9mm VP9 for around 4.

The P30 is a more complex design but it is what I carry because I like the LEM system and that it is hammer fired.  It has north of 25K rounds on it and I have replaced the trigger return spring once.

I have not shot the VP9 nearly as much, maybe 1K rounds, and all were my reloads.  It has never failed to function and I have never cleaned it since I bought it. For the money I think it is a really nice pistol compared to the other striker fired options on the market.

VP = Volkspistole.  HK is telling you right there that its the "commoner's choice".  

Mercedes and/or BMW > Volkswagen.

See a theme? Heehee.

Why is the P30 better than the VP9?

The VP9 is striker fired.

The P30 is part of the DA/SA master race.

I can do this all day long with VP9s/striker fired/SA pistols.  Not so much with P30 variants, believe me, I've tried.  Close, but not like this.  Usually carrying cocked and locked.
15 Yards out.  Four ten round strings.


1st range session with it - 15 yards out.  Sights were not centered for me.  Kentucky windage verified on smaller silhouette.  


Double taps on center mass.


Drifted sights, so now centered.


Same Tactical with OR slide.


Now with 508T X2 G

I shoot my VP9 much better than the V3 P30S I had. I firmly believe that they are equal in quality, so it came down to having a better trigger, or having a manual safety and hammer.

I chose the VP9, and it’s turning into a tack driver for me.

Hammer fired pistols for AIWB, for me.  And I like the P30 LEM trigger over the VP9.

I totally agree with you. I was issued a Glock 23 for 15 years and had other Glock’s as well. First time I picked up the P30sk I thought it was the best feeling plastic gun. Bought the lem version and it felt like a striker fire but different. Thought the paddle release was different but that too was an easy adjustment. With getting in and out of the twenty to thirty times a day and being left handed I found my magazine unseated a few times even with quality holster. Now have the P30 in lem as well. The only way I will part with them is getting an optic’s ready if they become available.

I’ve got many of both. VP9s are better, hands-down.

Better triggers in the VP9, better ergonomics, WAY better recoil/follow up behavior.

I shoot way better with the VP9s. Love my P30s still, but they just sit in the safes now.