Compact carry opinions

Rara said:
Justin, can you quantify this "lot of reliability issues" you've heard about? My experience w/ the M&Ps is that they are utterly reliable, and aside from a few isolated incidents detailed on the M&P board I haven't heard much at all about any reliability issues much less "a lot" of them. Considering the massive volume of M&Ps that have been sold since they launched, I think it has an exceptional record for reliability.
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1600 of them were recalled by S&W from the Atlanta police force, just for starters. Again , trigger problems. Let me find the link......

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/Atlanta_Police_Guns_Recalled_by_Maker_060909

But I've shot a few that my friends have had, and experienced FTE and FTF issues.

Rara said:
The trigger thing I will concede. The trigger as delivered is not great. It is gritty and certainly not the best. However, after a few hundred rounds, it smooths out considerably, and if that isn't enough, it is very easy to tidy up the trigger further yourself, and if you aren't comfortable w/ that, or want it even better, there are excellent choices out there for drop-in sears that are both local and very inexpensive.
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In my opinion, shouldn't have to buy an aftermarket sear for a carry gun. Not when there are better choices for the same price. I hate the triggers on them, again just my opinion. I encourage everyone to shoot as many as you can before making a decision.
 
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02 Silver Z said:
The disheartening thing is the QC issues I've been reading about with names always associated with making great guns like Walther and S&W to name a few.
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Don't be too freaked out about the QC rumors floating around about different companies. EVERYONE can have QC problems. Every company has issues with this sort of thing at one time or another. But, the thing to remember is, every single gun made by whatever manuf. doesn't have to be 100% reliable, only the one you carry. Any gun you choose for carry (or home defense for that matter) should have a number of rounds put through it (100, 500, 1000, whatever it takes for you to be comfortable) until you are comfortable that your particular gun will be 100% reliable for you. Any issues you encounter should be addressed right away, with the caveat that a number of manufacturers specify a break-in period, during which the gun may have some issues. This type of thing is more common w/ manufacturers that put parts together with very tight fits and some of the parts have to wear in together to function optimally. Several high-end 1911 builders come to mind, as does Kahr that do this sort of tight fitting.
 
LITTLEMAGS said:
i love my ruger sr9c...9mm...slimmer handle, lightweight
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I've never been a fan of Ruger's previous semi-autos (I love their revolvers. Always have.) but I'm reading a lot of good things about there SR9. Maybe going to a striker fired was all they needed? Nice looking weapon also IMO.
 
Rara said:
Don't be too freaked out about the QC rumors floating around about different companies. EVERYONE can have QC problems. Every company has issues with this sort of thing at one time or another. But, the thing to remember is, every single gun made by whatever manuf. doesn't have to be 100% reliable, only the one you carry. Any gun you choose for carry (or home defense for that matter) should have a number of rounds put through it (100, 500, 1000, whatever it takes for you to be comfortable) until you are comfortable that your particular gun will be 100% reliable for you. Any issues you encounter should be addressed right away, with the caveat that a number of manufacturers specify a break-in period, during which the gun may have some issues. This type of thing is more common w/ manufacturers that put parts together with very tight fits and some of the parts have to wear in together to function optimally. Several high-end 1911 builders come to mind, as does Kahr that do this sort of tight fitting.
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Agreed!!! A lot of people like my self have bias from personal expereinces. Buy what every works for you!
 
I acompletely agree. There are good and bad stories about anyone who manufactures anything. Everyone told me Taurus was crap but my PT101 has about 1,000 rounds through it and I MAY have had one jam or stovepipe with cheap CCI ammo. And its plenty accurate for the distance I would need it to be. I'm kinda glad I didnt spen the extra $150 for the Beretta.
 
Since we seem to have plenty of Glock fans, does anyone have the new Gen 4? I would have to put Glock up there in my initial choices because I have fired one and they seem to make EVERYTHING for them in the way of accessories. Whatever I get must have a front rail so I can get a light/laser for it. Those new green lasers are bad ass! Visibility is incredible even during the day!
 
I have carried the Glock 23, 27, and the S&W .40M&Pc.

The 23 got a Little big at times. Especially wearing t-shirts. The 27 was a big upgrade for carrying.

The g27 and the m&p were a wash, I liked the m&p a little better because I have small hands and it was more comfortable with the small back strap.


I am carrying a Kahr PM9 for the summer. Its tiny, I love it. I don't even notice it. I wear shorts and t-shirts all summer. It doesn't print at all.
 
02 Silver Z said:
Since we seem to have plenty of Glock fans, does anyone have the new Gen 4? I would have to put Glock up there in my initial choices because I have fired one and they seem to make EVERYTHING for them in the way of accessories. Whatever I get must have a front rail so I can get a light/laser for it. Those new green lasers are bad ass! Visibility is incredible even during the day!
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Still sorting the bugs out on the Gen 4's. Better to just get a gen 2/3 for now. Besides, you can get one for $350-$399

Also, lasers are stupid.
 
I have an M&P full size .40 with an MPA serial number (one of the first 10,000 produced) and have only had 2 FTF, both 'round nose' ball ammo, and one FTE from a limp-wristed shooter.

I have OVER 5,000 rounds through it, approaching 10k.
I only clean it about 4x per year, and routinely do 1k between cleanings.

I pulled it apart about a year ago to clean it after an extremely heavy day of shooting (10 shooters, around 1500 rounds) and when I slid it apart, the recoil spring assy fell apart in my hands.
I dont know if it failed weeks before, the first shot of the day, the last, or somewhere in between, but it NEVER failed to fire.

I also have an M&P .40 compact (there is no such thing as an M&P Sub-Compact) that I carry that has a significant lower round count (2-3k), that still has a little bit of a 'gritty' feel to the trigger. There are options to 'fix' the trigger if you dont like the feel of the M&P, one being the S&W Performance Center, another being Apex.
 
jsxtreme said:
1600 of them were recalled by S&W from the Atlanta police force, just for starters. Again , trigger problems. Let me find the link......

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/Atlanta_Police_Guns_Recalled_by_Maker_060909

But I've shot a few that my friends have had, and experienced FTE and FTF issues.

In my opinion, shouldn't have to buy an aftermarket sear for a carry gun. Not when there are better choices for the same price. I hate the triggers on them, again just my opinion. I encourage everyone to shoot as many as you can before making a decision.
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Fwiw, the "recall" w/ the atlanta PD was not really a recall. S&W offered to install upgraded trigger bars on the APD guns, and they did. I didn't watch the news report, but there were some posts by a couple industry professionals on the matter back when it happened. Just like the broken barrel from the LA Sherrif's Dept. that prompted them to de-authorize M&Ps, when it turned out the officer had done some of his own "gunsmithing" on the barrel with a dremel prior to it breaking.

And nobody said you HAVE to buy an aftermarket sear for an M&P. Once its broken in, it is perfectly servicable, but if you don't like it, you can change it. Just like people who mod thier cars . . . you don't have to, but if you like it better that way, go for it.
 
agree...not until i actually picked it up and fired it did i TRUELY enjoy that pistol. I think I put 400 rds though it without a hitch. Nice piece IMO
 
Justin is a cumdumpster XD/Glock whore. He has FTE's with M&Ps because he's a limp wristed little girl and can't handle anything other than a P22. :finger:

I've had mine for 3 years, and have put around 2000 rounds through it. I had ONE FTE the first time I shot it. Never since.

and yes, I also own a Glock. However I prefer the M&P for carry and to shoot... I'd sell the Glock in a heartbeat except it's nice and cozy as a bug out gun with a few G18 mags.
 
ZR2_S10 said:
I have an M&P full size .40 with an MPA serial number (one of the first 10,000 produced) and have only had 2 FTF, both 'round nose' ball ammo, and one FTE from a limp-wristed shooter.

I have OVER 5,000 rounds through it, approaching 10k.
I only clean it about 4x per year, and routinely do 1k between cleanings.

I pulled it apart about a year ago to clean it after an extremely heavy day of shooting (10 shooters, around 1500 rounds) and when I slid it apart, the recoil spring assy fell apart in my hands.
I dont know if it failed weeks before, the first shot of the day, the last, or somewhere in between, but it NEVER failed to fire.

I also have an M&P .40 compact (there is no such thing as an M&P Sub-Compact) that I carry that has a significant lower round count (2-3k), that still has a little bit of a 'gritty' feel to the trigger. There are options to 'fix' the trigger if you dont like the feel of the M&P, one being the S&W Performance Center, another being Apex.
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true, but the M&P.40c has almost identicle size specs as the sub compact G27, just FYI, hieght, width, barrel length, sight distance, etc.
 
DetroitStyle said:
Justin is a cumdumpster XD/Glock whore. He has FTE's with M&Ps because he's a limp wristed little girl and can't handle anything other than a P22. :finger:

I've had mine for 3 years, and have put around 2000 rounds through it. I had ONE FTE the first time I shot it. Never since.

and yes, I also own a Glock. However I prefer the M&P for carry and to shoot... I'd sell the Glock in a heartbeat except it's nice and cozy as a bug out gun with a few G18 mags.
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LOL, I know, I've gone shooting w/ him and Scooter70 before . . .
I've got ~7k rounds through my full size M&P9 and another maybe 4k rds through my M&P9c, in that time, I've had two failures to feed on the full size gun, and both were my fault for not having inserted the mag completely into the gun. Virtually all of the rounds are the cheapest brass cased 9mm I've been able to find, S&B, Federal, Blazer Brass, etc. plus some Gold Dot JHP rounds, both +P and std pressure through both, couple hundred JHPs through each one.
 
DetroitStyle said:
Justin is a cumdumpster XD/Glock whore. He has FTE's with M&Ps because he's a limp wristed little girl and can't handle anything other than a P22. :finger:

I've had mine for 3 years, and have put around 2000 rounds through it. I had ONE FTE the first time I shot it. Never since.

and yes, I also own a Glock. However I prefer the M&P for carry and to shoot... I'd sell the Glock in a heartbeat except it's nice and cozy as a bug out gun with a few G18 mags.
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Yeah, we all see what you're going to reach for when the SHTF, don't we? :thefinger

ARPISTOL223005.jpg


Any minute now you're going to dawn a tu-tu and start rooting for MSU.... I just know it.
 
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02 Silver Z said:
Since we seem to have plenty of Glock fans, does anyone have the new Gen 4? I would have to put Glock up there in my initial choices because I have fired one and they seem to make EVERYTHING for them in the way of accessories. Whatever I get must have a front rail so I can get a light/laser for it. Those new green lasers are bad ass! Visibility is incredible even during the day!
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No 4th gen here. But I've got a few 3rd gen 9 mm glocks if you want to give one a try sometime.
 
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