My interest in firearms is totally related to personal defense. I look at a gun and ask, "Where does this fit into my protection plan?"

When selecting a handgun, I look for reliability, worthwhile features and personal fit.

It's the same way that the late Jeff Cooper explained it; the gun must be reliable, have high-visibility sights, a good trigger and I add how well it fits me. If it doesn't, can it be made to fit? Price can be a concern, but it is not the only concern if a particular gun meets my needs.

Police agencies worldwide have a similar process when selecting a gun for issue. They want reliability, which is directly related to quality, though quality usually results in a higher price. They are also interested in how well it will fit the wide range of hand sizes that makes up their agency, and they also question if the gun will be easy to repair or require the services of a gunsmith.

When the Norwegian Police Services wanted a new issue handgun to replace its Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolvers, these were the specifications it wanted to meet. In the end the department selected Heckler and Koch's P-30 as the gun that best fit its needs, but it wanted a version with a longer barrel for the uniformed service that would not be concealing it. HK met this demand with its new model, the HK P-30L, which stands for Long Slide.

The new P-30L is one of the most modern police pistols to come along in quite awhile. During its development, the designers felt the most important requirements were flexibility, functionality and as much safety as could be incorporated into a weapon.

Ergonomics of the grip are probably the best on the market, as the backstrap inserts and lateral plates for the sides are interchangeable. This means the entire 360-degree surface of the grip can be adapted to fit a shooter's hand, as can the ambidextrous slide and magazine release levers. The P-30L can literally be "built" to fit the hand of most any shooter.

The P-30L has a self-decocking, double-action hammer with a firing pin block that eliminates the need for a manual, exterior-mounted safety lever. Another worthwhile feature is the open square-notch, slant-back rear sight with Luminova dots, which assist fast and accurate target acquisition even under poor lighting conditions. These sights are drift adjustable and are quite robust.

The double/single-action pistol incorporates a long first pull with subsequent short strokes. Many shooters view the first long trigger pull as a safety against involuntary discharge.

In my experience, the double-action pull of HK triggers is usually heavy, and I suspect it is due to HK pistols being used around the world where the quality of ammo is suspect at best. The hammer fall on an HK is likely to dent even the hardest of primers, so if the gun is used somewhere in Africa it will probably work.

Here in the U.S., ammo quality is excellent and the long, hard double-action trigger is unnecessary. I have always changed the stock hammer spring for one from Wolff Springs, and if I were to carry the P-30L this is what I would do.