.357 Sig: S&W M&P vs Sprngfld XD

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Bluehawk

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I'm thinking of buying a .357 Sig caliber auto and my two choices are as above...anyone have an opinion (based on ownership...not what you've heard or read about)?
 
I had a xd40 and an mp40. I still have the mp. I like the adjustable grips of the MP and found it to have less muzzle flip. The XD also jammed fairly readily by the limp wristing of an inexperienced female shooter. The MP also comes with tritium night sights.
 
Don't own either, but I'd go with whichever one you can get a .40 barrel for as well.

I'm a big fan of the 357sig and own a few on the Glock platform, and love the fact I can use a .40 barrel and a 9mm barrel for some extra options.
 
What about Sig or Glock?

I do like shooting the 357Sig in my Glock 20 with 6.2" barrel.

But the comfort of the Sig P229 in the hand seems really sweet.

Sorry to not add to your choices, just mentioning my favs.
 
In reference to 9mm and .40...I have no interest at all and don't ever plan on buying a conversion for whichever pistol I decide on. I chose the .357 Sig caliber for it's terminal ballistics and want to stick with that.
I still would like more feedback, please.
Why not Sig or Glock? I wouldn't own a Glock ...just don't like them. Sigs are great guns but too expensive.
 
I've shot XDs in all sizes and calibers and found that they're great guns but I've just never felt compelled to own one. I own an M&P .40 compact and that gun just felt perfect for my hand from the first time I picked it up. I've actually swapped the barrel on it for a 357 Sig barrel and I love it even more in that caliber. Enough so that I'm planning on modifying the sights so it shoots POA in the new caliber.

My thoughts between the two:

The XD has a better trigger construction wise. It just seems more solid although when I'm shooting I don't really notice the difference between the XD and M&P trigger as both work equall well for me. I also think the tactile indicators for loaded chamber and cocked striker are kind of nice. I think capacity might be slightly in the XDs favor. It's a great gun that shoots well and I'd absolutely buy one except I've never felt compelled too.

The M&P on the other hand doesn't have as many cool features but I feel as though the gun, specifically the grip, is a much better design for the hand. For me at least it's a very natural feel and I think the bore axis is actually a little lower to my hand than on the XD. That might not actually be true but it feels that way. Overall it's a really solid gun and I knew after the first time I handled one that I was going to buy one.
 
Just a heads up, S&W is no longer making the M&P in .357 Sig; you would have to either get a used one or get a .40 and then a conversion barrel.

ETA: I take that statement back, I just checked S&W website and they do have them listed again, but they are a little more expensive.

However, I would still much prefer that to any XD. The XD just feels much more 'plasticy' to me and the depression for the grip safety makes it much less ergonomic (again, for me).

If they don't have equal mag capacities, I would expect the M&P to have a higher one. The XD service (in 9mm) has a 16 round capacity, while the standard M&P9 full size has a 17 round capacity.

I also went back and checked mag capacities and the M&P is a 15+1 while the XD is only 13+1...
 
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Springfield XDm in .40 caliber and purchase a Storm Lake 357 Sig barrel for it. You're just changing out the barrel as your existing magazines work the same with either cartridge. Worked great for me.
 
What is the price of that barrel?
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Storm Lake barrels are usually around $160 or so for a plain barrel. The cost goes up if you want ports, threading, etc.

Is the XDm the full size version?
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The XDm is an "improved" version of the regular XD. I won't go over all the things they change, since most of them are minor, but the big thing is increased mag capacity without making the grip larger by better designing the interior of the mag well and the magazines themselves. The XDm mostly comes in all the same sizes as the regular XD but it costs a bit more and they don't offer it in 357 Sig so you'd have to buy a .40 and get a conversion barrel for it.
 
springfield started to make a XDm in .357sig?
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No, my bad, don't know what I was thinking.

So, it looks like finding a used M&P or buying an XD in .357 Sig or XDm in .40 and converting it, which would add up.

I much prefer the feel of the XD and XDm over the M&P, and they both feel plastic to me. A buddy of mine bought a .45 ACP M&P and he liked it so much he bought one in 9MM.

You really need to at least handle both, and shooting both would be even better, if at all possible.
 
I have a full size M&P in .357 Sig that I really like (after I put all of the APEX parts in). I previously had a Glock 32, but found the .357 to be too snappy in that mid sized platform. In the M&P, the .357 is very comfortable for me to shoot. The APEX trigger and parts feel very close to a good 1911 trigger.
 
I think capacity might be slightly in the XDs favor.
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Not sure about the XDm but the regular XD capacity is only 12 to the Smith's 15. This is one thing i don't like about the XD. It should have the same capacity as the XDm.
 
I think capacity might be slightly in the XDs favor.
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Not sure about the XDm but the regular XD capacity is only 12 to the Smith's 15. This is one thing i don't like about the XD. It should have the same capacity as the XDm.
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I think I was thinking about the XDm at the time because that's the version I've shot. Since they don't have a 357 Sig XDm then yeah, the XD version would be the one to compare it to, and that is a smaller capacity.

I do agree with you about the XD and XDm versions. My thoughts have always been that the XDm is sort of like saying "Gen2 Glock." It's clearly an upgrade over the original as opposed to a whole new gun and it would make more sense to just sell the XDm and drop the regular XD line. Why Springfield hasn't done this is beyond me but it certainly confuses the heck out of potential buyers.
 
Guys...can we keep the thread to just comparing performance of the Sprngfld full size XD vs the the same for the M&P...please?? I'm not all that interested in mag capacity at the moment...just these two pistols in this caliber.
Thanks! :)
 
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