M&P 9c vs J frame

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jacob2745

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My edc is a M&P 9c, and have been contemplating getting a j frame. I carry iwb, and I was curious how the revolver would compare to the M&P in that form of carry. I'm assuming the revolver may be a bit wider, but I'm not sure. It just seems the shape of the revolver is very different. So in short, how will a j frame revolver compare to a M&P 9c carrying iwb?
 
The revolver will feel slightly, only slightly smaller due to the much thinner frame and barrel. I think you will very disappointed when you find just how close they are in overall size yet you sacrifice a lot in ammo capacity, reloading ease, sights, shootability, trigger, and just about every other factor. You didn't mention what you carry your M&P in but I carry mine in a Peter's Custom Holster. Its really thin and stable and I find it perfect for carry. I've used mine for about 4 years now. I did glue a thin later of suede on the side towards my body. You may find having the right holster would make much more difference than switching to the revolver.

If you are just looking for something smaller the size I would highly recommend you look at a S&W Shield or the like. Recently I've started carrying a S&W 3913. Its a bit slimmer than the M&P and I find it an awesome shooter. When I need something really small I carry a BG380 in my pocket holster. If I'm going out with the wife I'll carry it on my weak side opposite my M&P. I would rather have a back up weapon to arm the wife than another 12 rounds.
 
Uumm, so do a lot of weapons including the M&P9C. I've carried mine for years. And I've carried a snubby too. I think the issue at hand is whether there is anything to be gained by switching from the M&P to the snubby. A lightweight snubby would carry like a dream but holding a candle to the M&P as a shooter? Not even close. In fact pick a slim holster and lighten your M&P by only loading it with five rounds and I would say the advantage of the snubby is nil. The M&P would still have a better trigger, sights, and reload much easier.
That being said, the snubby would be good for times when you want to pocket carry BUT I find the smaller 380s like the BG380 to fill that role much better too. If you can only have one gun the snubby is hard to beat for its versatility but to supplement an already fine carry gun I think it is too close in size to offer any real advantage while giving up too much in the trade.
 
I'm not looking to replace the M&P. It will remain my primary edc. I just don't own a revolver. I thought about adding one to the safe, and maybe occasionally carry it. I was just curious about how it would carry.
 
In that case by all means get one. If I may make a suggestion I recently bought a vintage Charter Arms Bulldog. I can't even say how much I like that little 44. A 38 may be easier to find ammo for though. If you ask me stay away from any revolver less than 14 oz and stay away from ANY alloy framed 357. I don't care what any many man on here says they are MISERABLE to shoot. I had a scandium frame S&W 38 that hurt like hell to shoot and shooting it quickly or very well was must way too much effort. Years ago I had a S&W 442 that was a pretty good carry gun. If I were to buy another today, other than another bulldog, I would get one of the 6 shot K frame snubs or a Ruger SP101. I haven't tried the new breed of polymer revolvers but that may be a real option too. Polymer has a way of mitigating a little bit of that nasty recoil.
 
Learn from my mistake. Keep your pistol and forget about the five-shot revolver. Remember if you want lighter carry weapon you can always load fewer then 12 cartridges into your pistol magazine.
 
Learn from my mistake. Keep your pistol and forget about the five-shot revolver. Remember if you want lighter carry weapon you can always load fewer then 12 cartridges into your pistol magazine.
On the other hand I carry a J frame daily and fell it's no mistake at all. I like revolvers and they shoot well if you practice. Carry a good SD ammo like Speer Short Barrel 135gr .38 Spl +P and you are well armed. (in most SD situations)
 
I also thought that becoming proficient with the dao trigger of a revolver would most likely help my trigger control overall.
 
Trigger control is trigger control. Any practice is good. If you really want to improve your shooting spend that time with your EDC and buy a 22 pistol. My shooting improved the most when I bought my SIG Trailside and fired an extra 50-100 rounds each session with it. The SAO trigger is totally different than my M&P but the principles are the same. If you will shoot more because you have the revolver your shooting will improve. If you are going to split the difference between the two then you won't see much improvement.
 
I use the j frame for those times when my t shirts aren't quite baggy enough to hide the grip on my Kahr CW9 or when I want to throw it in a pocket. Great to have as one of your CCW options.
 
J-frame snubby, especially if it's an Airweight in a decent IWB holster -- you're likely to forget you're wearing it half the time.

Do you ever forget you're carrying your M&Pc?
 
I edc a m&p 40c and also own a 638. No comparison in ease of carry...hiwever,no comparison in power either. Get you a j frame, as said, everyone really should have one. I don't iwb my airweight, it is my pocket gun for times when i can't have a gun or want to back up my m&p. It's a great "round the house" gun. I am a bigger guy, but find the revo fits a front pocket about as well as a 380 and there is no comparison between 380 and 38 +p; regardless of what people say.
 
I do forget I'm carrying the M&P. It is a great carry gun. I was just thinking if adding a revolver to the collection.
 
In a proper holster the M&P 9C is very comfortable. What exactly is the purpose of "forgetting" you are carrying? I could carry my BG380 or nothing at all if that is the goal. The goal is to carry an effective means of defending myself and those I love. I won't sacrifice effectiveness for a little bit of perceived comfort. I've moved lately to carrying my 3913. It is a little thinner than the M&P and is even more comfortable to carry while being equally as accurate and easy to shoot. In all honesty the size and weight of the snubby to the M&P 9C or Glock 26 are really not enough to make the switch worth it unless you carry one of the extremely light weight revolvers. People will say they can shoot them well but I guarantee an average shooter of equal skill can out shoot you with that pistol all day long and still have twice as much ammo to do it too. My first priority in a carry weapon is that it is a good weapon and a good choice for self defense. The snubby is very limited in both function and caliber compared to so many other good choices out there. Revolvers are cool and fun to shoot and I don't think choosing it for your carry weapon is a bad thing necessarily but if I have to carry something to defend the most important things in my life, which would be the life of my family and my own, I'm going to carry the weapon I can use most effectively to defend it. A revolver just isn't it.
 
The light weight five-shot revolver is a pointless weapon. The only ones that could see benefit from them are people that are not used to firearms where simplicity of operation is paramount and those folks could not handle recoil generated by such weapon anyway.
 
I was trying not to be blunt Pablo but that pretty much sums up my feelings too except for the person who can only have ONE pistol a small revolver is a pretty good choice if only for its versatility. It carries well on the waist or in the pocket. But if you can have two there are far better choices for either mode of carry.

If my EDC carry was a revolver IWB I see no advantage at all of the J Frame over a K-Frame 6 shot 357 in either a 2 or 3 inch barrel. In fact I would see the J frame as the lesser option.
 
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The "point" of forgetting you are carrying something is purely a reference to how comfortable it is. While the M&P will remain my primary edc, after a little while with a revolver I wouldn't feel "outgunned" only having five shots.
 
In a proper holster the M&P 9C is very comfortable. What exactly is the purpose of "forgetting" you are carrying?
OP's question concerns how the M&Pc carries IWB versus the J-frame. The "purpose" isn't to forget one's carrying; however, forgetting your piece is there has value as a metric of ease and comfort in carrying.

The goal is to carry an effective means of defending myself and those I love. I won't sacrifice effectiveness for a little bit of perceived comfort. I've moved lately to carrying my 3913. It is a little thinner than the M&P and is even more comfortable to carry while being equally as accurate and easy to shoot. In all honesty the size and weight of the snubby to the M&P 9C or Glock 26 are really not enough to make the switch worth it unless you carry one of the extremely light weight revolvers. People will say they can shoot them well but I guarantee an average shooter of equal skill can out shoot you with that pistol all day long and still have twice as much ammo to do it too. My first priority in a carry weapon is that it is a good weapon and a good choice for self defense. The snubby is very limited in both function and caliber compared to so many other good choices out there. Revolvers are cool and fun to shoot and I don't think choosing it for your carry weapon is a bad thing necessarily but if I have to carry something to defend the most important things in my life, which would be the life of my family and my own, I'm going to carry the weapon I can use most effectively to defend it. A revolver just isn't it.
Good points all and good, too, that you know what works for you. In danger, though, of turning this into a revolver versus semi-auto thread, which as the OP has already noted once isn't his question.
 
J-frame will conceal a bit better...curves hide easier than a block, and while they are roughly the same dimensions on paper (LxWxH), the majority of the revolver is half the width and the profile is smaller if you stand them on grip+muzzle.

However, I personally will not carry less than 10 rounds unless it is a pocket pistol and I'm wearing clothes that will not support a bigger weapon (i.e. running shorts). I look at the recent story of the woman who shot a home invader 5 times in the face, and he ran away from the scene. If he'd had the fortitude to continue the attack and/or had backup, those 5 shots would not have been enough.
 
...after a little while with a revolver I wouldn't feel "outgunned" only having five shots.
Love the J-frames myself. Consider the 442 Moon Clip and you won't feel like you only have five shots; ejection and reload times on par with semi-auto -- they're fantastic.
 
OP's question concerns how the M&Pc carries IWB versus the J-frame. The "purpose" isn't to forget one's carrying; however, forgetting your piece is there has value as a metric of ease and comfort in carrying.

Yup, and you didn't read where I addressed both of those issues? Having owned and carried both, which I would wager many who offer their opinions haven't, I already offered my opinion. Like I said, the difference in size and comfort between the two is minimal. A slim pistol like the M&P Shield or my 3913 is more comfortable than either of them if you only gauge of a carry piece is comfort. Another factor to consider is carrying spare ammo. A reload of a single stack 9mm is much more comfortable and reliable to carry than a speed loader. I don't know how to sum my opinion up any better than that. I guess people who don't agree with it won't accept it for what it is. The answer for you is to offer a diverging opinion rather than attack mine or question my ability to understand the question. The information is supposed to be for the OP and for the sake of discussion. We don't have to all agree on the answer.
 
Yup, and you didn't read where I addressed both of those issues? Having owned and carried both, which I would wager many who offer their opinions haven't, I already offered my opinion. Like I said, the difference in size and comfort between the two is minimal. A slim pistol like the M&P Shield or my 3913 is more comfortable than either of them if you only gauge of a carry piece is comfort. Another factor to consider is carrying spare ammo. A reload of a single stack 9mm is much more comfortable and reliable to carry than a speed loader. I don't know how to sum my opinion up any better than that. I guess people who don't agree with it won't accept it for what it is. The answer for you is to offer a diverging opinion rather than attack mine or question my ability to understand the question. The information is supposed to be for the OP and for the sake of discussion. We don't have to all agree on the answer.
Please explain where my saying all your points were good ones, and commending you for having done your homework and knowing experientially what worked for you, was an attack?

You strayed off topic on why you prefer semi-auto to revolver for carry; your reasoning was good but not what the original poster asked about, and also a topic that gets, shall we say, passionate pretty fast for some, so I reiterated the thread topic. Never suggested you didn't understand the original question; never attacked your opinion; quite the opposite, in fact.

Finally, I answered the question you asked: what's the "purpose" of forgetting you're carrying? You interpreted forgetting to be some kind of goal when that wasn't my point so I -- at your prompting -- clarified that it's simply a metric of comfort.

The topic remains: IBW carry of a J-frame versus an M&Pc.
 
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