Smith and Wesson M&P
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I have the original 9mm version and it has done goos for me. I am always tweaking on it for competition, I just put in an APEX trigger. The first day out on the range after the APEX trigger I got around a 5" group at 25 yards. The two head instructors got to try out the beta versions and have had theirs for a long time. One had a feed failure at over 70,000 rounds and it cracked the body. My wife thinks it has the lightest kick over all of the 9mm that we tried out many years back and we tried many 9mm pistols.
Frankl03
Member
I have a friend who has a M&P 45. I have only shot it a couple of times. The one thing I noticed was a longer reset in the the trigger than say a glock. I happen to like the stock trigger in a Glock better than the M&P. I like the ergonomics of the M&P. Also allot of people swear by them.
Hope that helps.
Hope that helps.
The M&P line is everything good about Glocks plus great ergonomics and decent sights.
Stock Glock triggers suck, and stock M&P triggers suck. Both have aftermarket solutions. (The only plastic guns with decent factory triggers are the new Walthers.)
The only reason I own a Glock at all is because there's no M&P in 10mm.
Stock Glock triggers suck, and stock M&P triggers suck. Both have aftermarket solutions. (The only plastic guns with decent factory triggers are the new Walthers.)
The only reason I own a Glock at all is because there's no M&P in 10mm.
CZ57
member
My shooting partner has the M&P .45C and I shoot it regularly. Out of the box the trigger was somewhat heavy so he added the Apex trigger kit. Now it has a fantastic trigger. Beefier internals than the Glock and sights that are second to none. It is very accurate. I have an XDm .45 and the only real advantage it has is the 13 round magazine. My XDm also has a trigger kit in it and it is very accurate but the M&P is $100 or so less. 
Are you talking about the new Polymer FSS trigger or the Aluminum one?Rubikees said:
I didn't think they had a replacement for the hinged trigger out.
For the OP, in my hand the M&P45 seem like one of the softest shooting poly frame guns on the market...It is very close to the H&K45. I've discussed this with the folks at Apex Tactical and they tell me it has to do with the low bore axis and the fix in the hand...the .40 is almost as soft shooting as the 9mm/
I highly recommend the Apex D/C AEK action parts as the difference between it and the production feel is huge
Old Dog
Member
I disagree. Yes, the stock M&P triggers can be ever so slightly improved by the Apex solution, but they're still light-years beyond stock Glock triggers (or yeah, the trendy Springfield Armory XD/XDMs) , or any first-pull DA trigger on a TDA auto ...
Our qualification scores skyrocketed after we ditched out pricey German TDAs in favor of the M&Ps ... Could it possibly be the trigger?
If one is gonna go for a polymer-framed, striker-fired .45 ACP, the M&P should be at the top of a short list. In my experience, the M&P-45 is a more accurate, just as reliable, way more ergonomic pistol that other platforms that cost twice as much. YMMV.
It depends on what your baseline is, of course. I currently have only one centerfire pistol that isn't a 1911. Compared with my 1911s, the M&P trigger is terrible. I do prefer it over a Glock trigger, but I also can't argue with those who say that the Glock trigger reset is better than that of the M&P.
I have a few questions regarding the M&P, which are based on concerns I have with my XDm.
1) How hard is it to slap a magazine in to load +1? My XDm requires a tremendous amount of force compared with if I load it with 1 less (to the point where I'm loading my .40 compact, 11+1 capacity, with 11 rounds including the chambered round and loading my spare with only 10).
2) How stiff is the mag release with a full load? Again, my XDm is easy if the mag is near empty, fairly stiff if the mag is 1 less than full, and it's like pushing a tooth out to release it with a full mag.
There are some other questions I have, but these can easily be answered by holding it at the store.
1) How hard is it to slap a magazine in to load +1? My XDm requires a tremendous amount of force compared with if I load it with 1 less (to the point where I'm loading my .40 compact, 11+1 capacity, with 11 rounds including the chambered round and loading my spare with only 10).
2) How stiff is the mag release with a full load? Again, my XDm is easy if the mag is near empty, fairly stiff if the mag is 1 less than full, and it's like pushing a tooth out to release it with a full mag.
There are some other questions I have, but these can easily be answered by holding it at the store.
allaroundhunter
Member
With a full magazine any handgun will be harder to load on a closed slide, however the M&P does not require too much force at all.
As for the mag release on a full magazine? It is very easy... I just tried it and there is no difference than when dropping a mag that isn't topped off.
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The Lone Haranguer
Member
I've shot a 9mm full size as a rental, which impressed me enough to buy a 9mm compact. This gun functioned absolutely 100% perfectly from the very first round. I see no reason why the .45 shouldn't perform just as well.
Loose slide to frame fit is intentional, those clearances improve reliability.
Barrel is in the same position relative to slide (and therefore sights) when in battery, hence there is no effect on accuracy.
That was with Sigma. M&P is very different from Glock internally.
ForumSurfer
Member
1. I had no trouble loading mine plus 1. Then again, my XDm 40 or XD9 didn't give me any trouble going plus 1, either. How many rounds have you put through yours? I managed to get mine pretty well broken in giving them a try before selling them to get something more suitable to my preferences.
2. Same with the mag release, pretty easy but not too easy as to hit inadvertently. It's been awhile, but I seem to remember really liking the mag release on my old XDm 40.
Go shoot an IDPA course. You'll have a blast and make some new friends who will let you test drive their stuff.
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No they don't. Glock is tighter. It is equally reliable.
When the barrel to slide fit is loose, the barrel is not in the same position relative to the sights from shot to shot. It is in a different spot from shot to shot. That's why barels like KKM and BarSto are more accurate than factory barrels.
Any time you get around someone's patents, the end result will be different.
Let's do the numbers. I just measured thickness of M&P45 rails and got .043", .049", .047", .047". The grooves in the slide are .053" and .054". This particular gun had approximately 2k rounds through it.
The largest possible slide to frame deflection would therefore be .028" over 3.9" distance between front and rear rails. That's 4" at 50 ft. So if you were to attach the sights to the frame, POI to POA distance at 50 ft due to rail clearances would be less than 4".
I cannot measure barrel to slide play (don't have a micrometer handy and calipers are not precise enough), but it's approximately an order of magnitude less.
Don't have a Glock handy so can't compare, but it does not look like a lot of play to me.
M&P striker design is more similar to 1921 Stock than Glock.
Glock striker, in turn, is remarkably similar to that of 1913 Le Français (scroll all the way down for diagram).
So neither design is original, and they both can be traced back to beginning of last century.
The M&P is prolly the most sloppily fitted pistol I have ever handled. It has twice the clearances of the Glock, perhaps three times the clearances of their steel frame autos and ten times the clearances of their Performance Center autos. For reliability? I don't think so. More like for economy. I wouldn't buy one.
What???? Glock didn't invent polygonal rifling? Polymer? Trigger safeties? Striker fired mechanism? etc....etc.....
There is nothing on the Glock that is original, saying S&W copied the things that Glock copied from someone else is a pretty weak argument to say the least. I didn't like just how similar the Sigma was only because it seemed like a lesser copy of the Glock. The M&P is in every way the equal of the Glock and in some ways better in my opinion. In the firearms biz imitation is the name of the game. The same people who claim to care so much about it don't mind that Glock did it.
I own two M&P 9mms and both have been great pistols. As far as it being "loose" I can't speak to that but it is very accurate. I've shot steel plates at 200 yards with my 9C so I think the accuracy will suffice just fine. I really like my M&Ps. I've shot a lot of different pistols over the years but in the end I always come back to my M&Ps. I don't think you can go wrong with the 45 version.
Well let us see... I own both the M&P .40 Full size, and the M&P .40 Compact. The .40 full size has 10,000 rounds through it, no failures except those attributed to crappy ammo. (Tula), The .40 compact has 3,000 rounds through it with no failures. I have put the apex tactical DCAEK in both weapons. The kit increases pre-travel but significantly decreases overtravel and reset. It makes the trigger silky smooth and gives it a break like glass. It also brings the trigger pull down to 5.5 lbs.
So, likes and dislikes:
Likes are:
Rugged, durable, accurate, and extremely well made.
The gun handles the snappy recoil of the .40 amazingly well. I can preform very accurate double taps at 7 yards on man sized steel targets. At the extreme end of the pistol range, I can hit an 18 inch steel plate at 80 yards once I find how high to hold.
The grip is absolutely perfect in my hands (using the medium backstrap).
The .40c conceals very well in a crossbreed SuperTuck, even if you're just wearing a t-shirt.
I like the aesthetics.
Dislikes are:
I don't like the grittiness in the trigger. That is why I have the DCAEK.
The hinge trigger is going to be weird at first. But After you shoot it, you won't think twice about the hinge.
For me, there isn't much I don't like about the gun.
Well, welcome to the world of M&P pistols. Enjoy your stay!
So, likes and dislikes:
Likes are:
Rugged, durable, accurate, and extremely well made.
The gun handles the snappy recoil of the .40 amazingly well. I can preform very accurate double taps at 7 yards on man sized steel targets. At the extreme end of the pistol range, I can hit an 18 inch steel plate at 80 yards once I find how high to hold.
The grip is absolutely perfect in my hands (using the medium backstrap).
The .40c conceals very well in a crossbreed SuperTuck, even if you're just wearing a t-shirt.
I like the aesthetics.
Dislikes are:
I don't like the grittiness in the trigger. That is why I have the DCAEK.
The hinge trigger is going to be weird at first. But After you shoot it, you won't think twice about the hinge.
For me, there isn't much I don't like about the gun.
Well, welcome to the world of M&P pistols. Enjoy your stay!
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Sir, I have 13,000 rounds total through two M&P's. The only FTF I have ever had were due to light loads in Tula ammo. I would trust my life to one of those pistols.
Ok in answer to #1, if you give the mag a good hard hit with your palm and it'll click in and lock immediately. No issues there.
In answer to #2, The mag release is not stiff and very smooth. With a full mag it will have enough force to basically throw it out of the mag well. With an empty mag, the same happens.
Hope I answered your questions adequately.
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