FullEffect1911
Member
First I would like to state for the purposes of avoiding a caliber war:
I think the 9mm and the .45 auto are close enough in performance that I don't care which I have ready to use. Secondly I am never overly concerned with capacity and it's not a deal breaker either way.
I was at the range yesterday with my M&P 45c and while I was shooting quite accurately, my aimed follow up shots were hurting due to the recoil of that particular round. The round was very close to the 230 grain hardball load.
I have several options: Reload with some softer shooting .45. I can do this easily and I know the accuracy and follow ups will be there. While this is great for the range it doesn't help in finding .45 self defense ammo that will mimic my softball rounds. The softest recoiling self defense round that I'd feel okay about seems to be the factory 185 grain Hornady XTP, but I have little experience with light weight .45 loads.
Second option would be to get a M&P 9mm. Recoil will certainly be less but I am concerned with the overall dimensions of the pistol compared to the .45c. The .45c carries perfect for me (with the magazine pinky extension installed) and I am concerned that the 9mm would have too long of a grip to carry effectively IWB under a Tee-shirt. This route also has me taking a loss on the .45c on trade in and magazines. On the positive side I gain more rounds and faster follow up shots on a platform that has a larger parts market then its larger bore brother.
I know this is a classic argument and I know the virtues of each side. What I would love the know is a overall height of a fullsize M&P 9mm (from the top of the rear site to the bottom of the magazine butt)? Any suggestions for .45 ammo that I may have missed along with some opinion of the recoil of those light loadings vs higher powered self defense 9mm loads?
I think the 9mm and the .45 auto are close enough in performance that I don't care which I have ready to use. Secondly I am never overly concerned with capacity and it's not a deal breaker either way.
I was at the range yesterday with my M&P 45c and while I was shooting quite accurately, my aimed follow up shots were hurting due to the recoil of that particular round. The round was very close to the 230 grain hardball load.
I have several options: Reload with some softer shooting .45. I can do this easily and I know the accuracy and follow ups will be there. While this is great for the range it doesn't help in finding .45 self defense ammo that will mimic my softball rounds. The softest recoiling self defense round that I'd feel okay about seems to be the factory 185 grain Hornady XTP, but I have little experience with light weight .45 loads.
Second option would be to get a M&P 9mm. Recoil will certainly be less but I am concerned with the overall dimensions of the pistol compared to the .45c. The .45c carries perfect for me (with the magazine pinky extension installed) and I am concerned that the 9mm would have too long of a grip to carry effectively IWB under a Tee-shirt. This route also has me taking a loss on the .45c on trade in and magazines. On the positive side I gain more rounds and faster follow up shots on a platform that has a larger parts market then its larger bore brother.
I know this is a classic argument and I know the virtues of each side. What I would love the know is a overall height of a fullsize M&P 9mm (from the top of the rear site to the bottom of the magazine butt)? Any suggestions for .45 ammo that I may have missed along with some opinion of the recoil of those light loadings vs higher powered self defense 9mm loads?