I had an M&P40c when they first came out and carried it for about 7-8 years. Since then I've had about two dozen concealed carry pistols, but I'm actually thinking of coming full-circle and picking up either another Glock 26 or the newer M&P9 M2.0 Subcompact (which refreshed the wonderful M&P9c).

When comparing these pistols I was surprised to learn that the M&P9 M2.0 Subcompact is only .13" taller with twelve rounds (4.3" vs. 4.17"). That makes it less tall than the Glock 26 with a +2 baseplate or even with the Magpul 12-round magazine (which is supposed to be the shortest +2 solution).

Glock 26 with 12-round Magpul PMAG.jpg

I've been both a huge Glock and Smith & Wesson fan owning a half dozen pistols from each company (i.e. a dozen in all which is basically about half of concealed carry firearms I've owned). In recent years I've sold all of my Glocks and M&P's save for my PC M&P9 M2.0 Shield. I have larger and smaller guns that the Shield, but I'm looking again at a G26-sized pistol.

Truth be told, towards the end when I was carrying a Gen5 G26 I noticed I prefered carrying it with a flush magazine. I could both conceal and shoot it slightly better even if I only had 10 rounds. Personally, I don't need my pinky, so the +2 options just got in the way. The 4.3" height of the M&P, however, doesn't seem like very much to print, and it's shorter than the G26 Magpul mag as I mentioned. What do people think who either know or know of these pistols. I'm just interested in your thoughts and whatever pro's and con's you can think of.

At the end of the day, I can get the M&P Subcompact with an Apex Trigger and Ameriglo Night Sights for about the price of a Stock Gen5. That seems to me to be an incredible deal.

Note: First, I should remember more about my M&P40c, but back then (2005-2013) I never really tried using the flush magazine as I was new to concealed carry and hadn't really practiced shooting much without a pinky. Things changed in 2014 when I started carrying a variety of G26 pistols. Second, I don't need another thin single stack-like pistol (I love my Shield and have no interest whatsoever in the P365 or Hellcat).