Just my 2 cents on a couple handguns

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Coldfinger

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As a rule I don't tout, brag, recommend (unless asked) or favor one type, caliber or action over any other. It can be as polarized as politics. If I could though I would like to take a moment and drop my 2 cents worth regarding my 2 most recent handgun purchases. Firstly, I've owned a plethora of handguns in my day. In every conceivable action, popular caliber and quite a few boutique calibers as well.
The new (ish) M&P 9 5" has to be the nicest shooting out of the box 9mm I've ever owned. I've shot finer pistol but they were not mine and costed 3 Xs as much. I am still not a fan of that split trigger and will eventually drop an Apex in it but they did clean it up substantially. Reset is quick, pull is lighter and overall it just feels cleaner. Accuracy is amazing with 5 shot groups inside of and inch and a half at 25 meters. Personally I prefer an external safety and like that my model had one on it. The texturing is aggressive yet comfortable. Still don't like the takedown of the M&P line. I had an M&P in 40 5 years ago and just hated the thing. S&W really stepped up with the 2.0
I wanted a 10mm. (Again) I had a Glock chambered in said caliber years ago and absolutely hated it. Don't get me wrong I do like Glock. I really enjoy my G31. A 1911 in 10mm is typically priced out of my range. After quite a bit of research I settled on the XDM 10. Accuracy is outstanding as it should be with a match grade barrel. Sights are really easy to aquire and easy on the eyes. The fiber front helps. The trigger is great. Crisp, fairly light (my gauge read 5.5lbs), reset is short. I may not even need to replace the trigger in the XD. Much higher capacity than a 1911 unless you consider that disaster called the 2011. Felt recoil out of the XD vs the Glock I had years ago is no worse and possibly less so than my Beretta APX 40. I have never been a fan of the way the XD aims due solely to the high bore axis of the line but with a proper hold it fills out your hands and feels quite natural. I can tell you this about the recoil spring: use cation upon removal. I wasn't ready and the guide rod missed the TV by mere inches as it sailed away. I lol'd the cat lol'd my wife? Not so much. Anyway, I'm very happy with my 10 of choice. I have emailed both companies and gave them both an electronic high 5.
I suppose either due to competition with each other, RnD or taking shooters recommendations it seems the industry is really putting together some great products lately. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts. Shoot safe ya'll

Goose
 
The high bore axis on an xD is what pushed me away from an xD10. They do look nice, but giving a powerful round more leverage to twist my wrist under recoil just doesn’t sound like a good idea. I would love to see a low bore axis pistol with recoil spring on top of the barrel chambered in 10mm. Such a pistol would be very expensive and would have very few potential customers so I expect to never see that gun happen. Since 10mm is so close in performance to .357mag I guess my rhino will be close enough. Maybe.
 
I suppose as I age recoil may become an issue. I was pretty surprised at how manageable the pistol is. My APX is quite a bit more snappy. I'm not entirely sure what the high bore benefits or if its just their slide design and has no purpose. I don't think its particularly attractive but I was pleasantly surprised
 
I shot a brand new M&P9c 2.0 with the 4" barrel and manual safety yesterday. It's a gun my son is going to use for range time and IDPA. We're very happy with it. I shoot and carry a G17 and an XDM Compact regularly. I like them all! The worst part about the M&P was buying a few extra magazines! I bought two more 15rd S&W mags and one 32rd ProMag. We haven't tried the ProMag yet; I've heard mixed reviews. Still need to pick up a few 17rd mags.

Glad you're happy with the purchases. The good news is that if you find you hate them, I'm sure there's someone that would take them off your hands without much loss on your end!
 
Glad you're happy with the purchases. The good news is that if you find you hate them, I'm sure there's someone that would take them off your hands without much loss on your end!

After I retired (Army) back in '17 I sold off 90% of my collection in favor of buying a toy for the SaltLife down here in Florida. A boat. That was a mistake I'm not likely going to make again. Twice in my life I've bought a boat and both times I lost my A** owning it and selling it. Ugh never again. I definitely prefer range time over boating or fishing. Working on building my collection again. To make things worse hurricane Michael came thru and destroyed my reloading equipment and wiped out my supplies. Whomever said retirement was easy obviously wasn't retired Military.

Goose
 
Coldfinger he is retired now & living on Perdido Key but my brother-in-law that owned a boat business always told me BOAT stands for Bust Out Another Thousand.
My M&P 2.0 Compact is a .40 but I like it a lot. It is reliable, more accurate than me & I really like the Goldilocks compact size (not too big, not too little).

leadaddict I don't know about now since the world has went Covid & rioter crazy but before that if you kept an eye out for sales the M&P magazines would turn up for pretty reasonable prices from time to time.
 
Coldfinger he is retired now & living on Perdido Key but my brother-in-law that owned a boat business always told me BOAT stands for Bust Out Another Thousand.

Dang right. Maintenance, storage, insurance and cost to operate.... a nightmare fit for the rich. My motorcycle and reloading habits are bad enough. No more boats for this guy.
 
A 'real' M&P (as opposed to an M&P Shield) is on my Short List of gun stuff to buy. I almost grabbed one over the weekend, but there was this new .22 that I just had to have.... Ideally, I want to pick up an M&P 2.0 Compact in 9mm, but there are a couple of variants that would be OK with me, too.

As for boats, I've never owned one, but I've heard them described as, "a hole in the water into which one pours money."
 
I think the boat was a well conceived idea. You know, family time out on the water, maybe I'd try my hand at the fishing thing. It didnt turn out that way. I sold off my firearm collection to buy it. 32 firearms total sold in order to help buy the boat. I have regretted it ever since. I will never sell another gun. I will never ever sell another gun. The secondary market for firearms is worse than selling a car. That age old notion that a car depreciates 30% as soon as you apply financing to it.... same goes for a gun. Needless to say... i lost my a** in both transactions, selling my collection and selling the boat.

There are several handguns and a couple long on my short list. Maybe even a semiauto 12ga because skeet looks fun. I scored it at the range I used to run at FT Knox but never shot a round. I've got to rebuild my reloading setup too. Which right now is near impossible. I salvaged what I could post hurricane Michael lemme tell ya, I damn near quit reloading all together due to the loss. 16 pounds of powder lost or destroyed, 20k primers destroyed, 9 sets of dies lost to rust, 2 presses lost to rust (i salvaged them and sold them off), 4 tumblers lost to water damage. Ugh it was a.... well.... a disaster. Anyway enough about my complaints. I'm rebuilding and in a way its kinda fun.

Regards
Goose
 
Thanks for the M&P review.
As if I don't have enough, would like to handle one.
Maybe someday there will be a show and I can see one.
All local shops around me have nothing but off brand stuff that I wouldn't take for free.

LOL on those boat acronyms. Those are probably stickies somewhere.

JT.
 
The M&P is on my list of wanna trys. I had an XD45Tac for a couple years (i actually still see it at the range now and then), that I kitted out and ran as a 45SUPER. That gun would get pretty twisty with the hottest loads i ran thru it, but was still surprisingly easy to shoot. I have a 2011 (RIA TacMatch or what ever they call them) in 10mm, which I really like, but I keep thinking about getting another XD......just cause I liked mine.
 
I shoot the Ruger SR1911-10 and it's an excellent shooter. However, I've never been a 1911 guy, and I would prefer a platform with higher capacity. I've been eyeing that XD-M 10mm, so I appreciate you sharing your impressions and results. It's now at the top of "The List", but I'll wait until after Nov. 4 to make my purchase when the scamdemic and civil unrest have run their course and pricing and availability return to some semblance of normalcy, whatever that is anymore.
A 1911 in 10mm is typically priced out of my range. After quite a bit of research I settled on the XDM 10. Accuracy is outstanding as it should be with a match grade barrel. Sights are really easy to aquire and easy on the eyes. The fiber front helps. The trigger is great. Crisp, fairly light (my gauge read 5.5lbs), reset is short. I may not even need to replace the trigger in the XD. Much higher capacity than a 1911 unless you consider that disaster called the 2011.
 
lund2.jpg

My brother in-law gave me his old 1997 Lund fishing boat. We were on a week long house boat fishing trip on Rainy Lake in N. Minnesota last year with all the family. The Lund / Johnson motor broke down on him requiring him to use his trolling motor to get back the island we had the house boat parked on.

He offered it to me, stating it will probably needs some work. He ordered a new boat soon after the trip. Another Lund. I towed the boat 1100 miles home to Missouri and dropped it off at the local Boat Repair shop. $500 later it works! We used it once last year. I'm planning to take it out again in the next week or 2.

RE: The XD 10mm. I've been considering one myself. The price is right.

Glocks are going for crazy $ and I don't want to spend what they are asking. I picked up a used Florida Wildlife Commission Glock 21 not too long ago. Finish is pretty rough. After researching converting it to 10mm, I picked up a 10mm barrel and 3 G20 mags for it. Well it doesn't run in 10mm. Maybe I need a different recoil spring and extractor. Or maybe I should just buy a Glock 29 or Glock 20 and sell off the 10mm barrel.

Sig makes a 220 in 10mm but they want real $$$$ for that thing and it's heavy / bulky.
 
After I retired (Army) back in '17 I sold off 90% of my collection in favor of buying a toy for the SaltLife down here in Florida. A boat. That was a mistake I'm not likely going to make again. Twice in my life I've bought a boat and both times I lost my A** owning it and selling it. Ugh never again. I definitely prefer range time over boating or fishing. Working on building my collection again. To make things worse hurricane Michael came thru and destroyed my reloading equipment and wiped out my supplies. Whomever said retirement was easy obviously wasn't retired Military.

Goose
What do you think of the idea of just renting a boat? Would it work out cheaper? I don’t know much about power boats.

I sail, and I only rent. It costs $135/24hrs for a 28-footer, and $550/24 hrs for a 60-footer. It has allowed me to be a millionaire yachtsman for pennies a day.
 
I liked the full sized M&P I had in 40 cal but advancing arthritis in my wrist made it become very painful to shoot. I gave it to a grandson and he really likes the gun. He was an XD fan at the time but has decided the M&P has it beat.
 
Pairof44sp
We rent a pontoon from time to time. I seem to recall 6 hours costed $485 last year but that was during peak season. Hindsight as they say. I've also come to realize I'm just not the fishing boating sunbathing type. I'd rather be back home, wake up to the snow capped Rocky Mountains in the back yard.
 
I have enjoyed a small benefit lately. Being retired military I have access to the Airforce base here. They sell firearms (not all installations do) and seem to have items in stock. I was able to get my M&P for $510 out the door and the XD for $610 out the door. That is a significant savings over muggle prices. They didn't have the 5.25" that I actually wanted but after I was told that the 4.5" I had in my hand was the only one they had in stock with no indication of more on the way I took it. I considered that the only reason I preferred the 5.25 was the adjustable rear sights I should take what they had available and replace the rear sights if necessary. I don't think it's necessary after shooting it. I suppose I lose a little velocity to the shorter barrel but I can live with that. Now I just need brass to load up several hundred 10mm and hurricane season to leave me alone
 
Bull Shoals Lake is about 5 miles down the road. I rented 2 boats (pontoon and a ski boat) over the recent summer. About $400 each with gas for the day. I might look into adding a canopy to the fishing boat. The sun is just too hot for me. Plus I spent the last 10 years contracting in the Middle East / Africa and have had it with hot weather.

I may look into trying to trade the fishing boat for a pleasure cruiser / ski boat. I'd rather swim and ski than fish. I imagine it would be difficult to swim off that fishing boat I have. I could see adding a ladder to rear but just seems too cramped / tipsy.

I'll have to run some more 10mm rounds through the 21. I bought another factory recoil spring for it. Seems the 20 & 21 share the same weight recoil spring.

This is the 3rd 45 acp Glock I've owned. 20 years ago the 1st handgun I ever bought was a g21 off a Fireman in Minnesota. Kept it for 5 years and traded it. Picked up a G30 8 years ago and sold it off shortly there after. Found that it pinched my pinky every time I swapped mags. Kept all my spare G21 mags. Figured I'd try another G21. They are chunky pistols.
 
I'll have to run some more 10mm rounds through the 21. I bought another factory recoil spring for it. Seems the 20 & 21 share the same weight recoil spring.

They are chunky pistols.

I tried exactly what you are attempting with your 21 years ago. The slide on the 21 is a little lighter than the 20 and a bit beefier than stock spring is what I had to use to make mine run. I think I went with a 24lb spring and SS guide rod. I didn't replace the extractor and if I hadn't ultimately bought a 20 I would have.
You are dead on. Glock does seem blocky and less refined than it maybe should be. As the "plastic" gun most of us credit with being the original (H&K was 1st) you'd think it would be more asthetically pleasing and comfortable to a wider audience. I suppose at the end of the day it isn't a beauty contest but comfort is king.
 
Coldfinger

I share your pain though the reason I sold off a lot of guns was to pay for school. Still it hurts and it took a lot of time, money, and effort to get what I wanted, but it was all worth it. Wish you well in rebuilding your collection and reloading equipment.
 
I have been pretty happy with my XD9 subcompact. Shoots nice tight groups even if they are a little off to the left. And I like a double stack since my eyesight ain't what it used to. If I miss, try try again. But I still usually hit what I aim at.
Maybe I can thank circa 71 Marine Corp for that.
 
The M&P series of auto handguns are well made and very accurate, you’ve got a winner for sure :thumbup:.

I’ve sold guns to keep a roof over my head and get the car repaired to find a job... and once later in life also for car repairs... that’s it. Now I’m not going to sell any, they’re going to the kids when I’m gone.

As for boats I’ve owned four ski/wakeboard boats; a Mastercraft and three Nautiques. My current boat is a 1999 Air Nautique that was bought in 2015 for $9,000. It was bought from a kid at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. He neglected it. For under $2,500 I redid the upolstery, powder coated the tower, color sanded the gel coat and redid the swim step and graphics. It took some money and effort, but it now looks and runs like new :thumbup:.

79B103D3-2332-4741-8A82-4D53A72591F6.jpeg 638D8E86-8948-461E-9C08-35EC544288B9.jpeg

As long as the kids like it, I’ll keep it for a while longer.

Stay safe.
 
I had been thinking of "thinning the herd" some, for a couple of years and concentrate on 22 rimfire arms only except for my conceal carry, and than I ended up buying a Pedersoli Sharps rifle, a Springfield 911 to carry around the house, and Springfield TRP 10mm long slide, and than I went thru a mid-life crisis, retired my Springfield 1911 I carried for 40 years and bought a S&W 686+ with a 3" barrel as my new carry gun. This all happened within a span of 23 months. Still thinking about thinning the herd, but am getting the urge to buy a 1911 from Turnbull,...what is wrong with me?
 
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