Smith & Wesson M&P9 vs. Glock 17
I spent a half hour handling a M&P 9 last night. I have no reason to replace my G17, however, I'm always interested in seeing what else is out there. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance for range time yesterday--hopefully I'll have a chance this week.
Overall fit and finish
Some of the mold lines were inconsistent on the M&P. The metal finish was very nice with just a few small dings under the finish on the edges here and there. The only tool marks I saw were in the extractor channel. The construction and finishing of the various subcomponents was decent. The muzzle crown on the M&P was not as nice as I have seen on Glock. The M&P features a similar slide and barrel surface treatment to Glock's Tenifer, imparting firearms industry benchmark surface hardness and corrosion resistance.
Sights
For factory sights, the edge clearly goes to the M&P with the dovetail mounted Novaks. The night sights and the regular white dots were well done. They are low profile front and rear.
Grip
With a comfy oval shaped cross section of the M&P grip, combined with interchangeable rubberized backstraps, and a lack of finger grooves, the M&P grip is far superior to the Glock, and every other pistol I've handled. Grip angle is very natural. The beavertail was well done on the full size M&P, however, I've never experienced slide bite with the Glock.
Frame
The frame of the M&P9 is clearly an advancement of the Glock design, with a stainless steel chassis for rigidity. One thing that I did not like, however, was the prevalence of roll pins, and general increased complexity of the frame. The rail was well exectued with multiple cross slots, however. There is a SIG-like take down lever on the left side of the frame, and you can field strip the M&P without pulling the trigger--a feature sure to please administrative types.
Slide
The M&P slide takes away the blockiness of the Glock slide, creating more compact proportions. The front of the slide is nicely radiused for holstering, and the slide serrations are a work of art, aesthetically and functionally.
Magazine
The improved ergonomics of the grip are helped to a great extent by the well thought out metal tube magazine of the M&P. It seemed slightly thinner than the polymer on metal Glock mag while still holding 17 rounds of 9mm.
Slide release
The ambidextrous slide release is a great feature on the M&P. It's well placed and easy to engage. Inside the frame, it is clearly well designed. It was easier to release than a Glock slide release.
Magazine Release
The M&P9 has a reversible magazine release, that was easy to manipulate. It also lacked the sharp edges seen in the Glock magazine release. It is very easy to reach.
Recoil Assembly
The M&P features a very nice metal guiderod, as oppsed to the polymer Glock version that some of us have seen crack.
Trigger
The M&P trigger features a much nicer "trigger safety" compared to the Glock. Looking at it, I didn't think that I'd like it, but the surface and width gave a nicer feel than the Glock trigger. Take up felt comparable to a Glock. The release was noticeably crisper than the Glock, however reset was long and vague as I let the slide slowly forward. Glock has a superior, well defined reset--a feature that is very important to me.
Barrel
The M&P features traditional rifiling compared to the hexagonal rifling in the Glock. This alows one to shot lead bullets with reduced risk of creating an overpressure situation, however, it will slightly decrease velocity and ease of cleaning.
Durability and Reliability
Long term durability and reliability on the M&P is now being defined. The added complexity and increased parts count of the M&P may present durability and reliability issues.
Spare Parts, Ease of Disassembly
The advantage at this time clearly goes to Glock. I can detail strip it with a rusty nail in about 2 minutes without tearing it up. I'm not so sure if I could do that with the role pins and increased parts count/complexity of the M&P. I can find OEM Glock parts at half a dozen places around town, and they are cheap enough to stock up a good supply under the unlikely circumstances that I may actually need them.
Overall Comparison
I'll hold off on my final assessment until I can put several hundred rounds through each pistol, back to back. The M&P offers superior ergonomics, and more flexibility. It keeps many aspects of what has made the Glock the most influential autopistol since the 1911, and corrects several deficiencies that have kept people away from the Glock, i.e. grip angle, blockiness, finger grooves. However, I have become so familiar with the Glock and its love it/hate it trigger (that I have modified to suit my needs), that switching may not come easily. While the Glock is more simple, I view that as an asset. It's a simple, durable, reliable tool that has served me well for over a decade, and I may not be able to give that up on that history. While it may not be the choice for me, I can see this pistol grabing substantial marketshare in the Law Enforcement and Military markets. Hopefully the increased competition may influence Glock to make some much needed changes.
Please feel free to add your comments in the comparision of the G17 and M&P9.
I spent a half hour handling a M&P 9 last night. I have no reason to replace my G17, however, I'm always interested in seeing what else is out there. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance for range time yesterday--hopefully I'll have a chance this week.
Overall fit and finish
Some of the mold lines were inconsistent on the M&P. The metal finish was very nice with just a few small dings under the finish on the edges here and there. The only tool marks I saw were in the extractor channel. The construction and finishing of the various subcomponents was decent. The muzzle crown on the M&P was not as nice as I have seen on Glock. The M&P features a similar slide and barrel surface treatment to Glock's Tenifer, imparting firearms industry benchmark surface hardness and corrosion resistance.
Sights
For factory sights, the edge clearly goes to the M&P with the dovetail mounted Novaks. The night sights and the regular white dots were well done. They are low profile front and rear.
Grip
With a comfy oval shaped cross section of the M&P grip, combined with interchangeable rubberized backstraps, and a lack of finger grooves, the M&P grip is far superior to the Glock, and every other pistol I've handled. Grip angle is very natural. The beavertail was well done on the full size M&P, however, I've never experienced slide bite with the Glock.
Frame
The frame of the M&P9 is clearly an advancement of the Glock design, with a stainless steel chassis for rigidity. One thing that I did not like, however, was the prevalence of roll pins, and general increased complexity of the frame. The rail was well exectued with multiple cross slots, however. There is a SIG-like take down lever on the left side of the frame, and you can field strip the M&P without pulling the trigger--a feature sure to please administrative types.
Slide
The M&P slide takes away the blockiness of the Glock slide, creating more compact proportions. The front of the slide is nicely radiused for holstering, and the slide serrations are a work of art, aesthetically and functionally.
Magazine
The improved ergonomics of the grip are helped to a great extent by the well thought out metal tube magazine of the M&P. It seemed slightly thinner than the polymer on metal Glock mag while still holding 17 rounds of 9mm.
Slide release
The ambidextrous slide release is a great feature on the M&P. It's well placed and easy to engage. Inside the frame, it is clearly well designed. It was easier to release than a Glock slide release.
Magazine Release
The M&P9 has a reversible magazine release, that was easy to manipulate. It also lacked the sharp edges seen in the Glock magazine release. It is very easy to reach.
Recoil Assembly
The M&P features a very nice metal guiderod, as oppsed to the polymer Glock version that some of us have seen crack.
Trigger
The M&P trigger features a much nicer "trigger safety" compared to the Glock. Looking at it, I didn't think that I'd like it, but the surface and width gave a nicer feel than the Glock trigger. Take up felt comparable to a Glock. The release was noticeably crisper than the Glock, however reset was long and vague as I let the slide slowly forward. Glock has a superior, well defined reset--a feature that is very important to me.
Barrel
The M&P features traditional rifiling compared to the hexagonal rifling in the Glock. This alows one to shot lead bullets with reduced risk of creating an overpressure situation, however, it will slightly decrease velocity and ease of cleaning.
Durability and Reliability
Long term durability and reliability on the M&P is now being defined. The added complexity and increased parts count of the M&P may present durability and reliability issues.
Spare Parts, Ease of Disassembly
The advantage at this time clearly goes to Glock. I can detail strip it with a rusty nail in about 2 minutes without tearing it up. I'm not so sure if I could do that with the role pins and increased parts count/complexity of the M&P. I can find OEM Glock parts at half a dozen places around town, and they are cheap enough to stock up a good supply under the unlikely circumstances that I may actually need them.
Overall Comparison
I'll hold off on my final assessment until I can put several hundred rounds through each pistol, back to back. The M&P offers superior ergonomics, and more flexibility. It keeps many aspects of what has made the Glock the most influential autopistol since the 1911, and corrects several deficiencies that have kept people away from the Glock, i.e. grip angle, blockiness, finger grooves. However, I have become so familiar with the Glock and its love it/hate it trigger (that I have modified to suit my needs), that switching may not come easily. While the Glock is more simple, I view that as an asset. It's a simple, durable, reliable tool that has served me well for over a decade, and I may not be able to give that up on that history. While it may not be the choice for me, I can see this pistol grabing substantial marketshare in the Law Enforcement and Military markets. Hopefully the increased competition may influence Glock to make some much needed changes.
Please feel free to add your comments in the comparision of the G17 and M&P9.
The 4" handles much better, IMO.
