Shot a full size .45 today...

[S&W Fan]

...and I LIKE IT!! Sorry for shouting. The range I recently joined gave me a coupon for a free rental so today I went in & tried out the M&P .45 full size. I've been thinking about adding one but wanted to see how it felt as it has been a long time since the last time I shot one.

I've been just tickled with the 9C I got, especially after putting the Apex Duty/Carry kit in. As much as I enjoy and do well with the 9C I'm a die hard .45 fan & this model has been tempting me since I first tried one quite a while back but that one I only got to run 1 mag through.

It was great, nothing fancy, just the standard no-thumb safety model, bone stock. Very accurate with just the range ammo 230gr fmj-company called ProGrade/never heard of it before. Got 2 boxes of the ammo so I'd have a good chance to try out the pistol.

A bit more recoil than the 1911 I'm used to but not objectionable in any way. I was a little slower on double taps (probably due to the trigger first off, the lighter weight compared to the 1911 secondly) but I think that would change after getting more familiar with it as well as adding the Apex kit. It was a little hard to feel the reset at first but got used to it pretty quickly.

Also the range gun had the medium backstrap on it, I'd prefer the small (it's what I use on the 9C) but only the medium was available.

I do believe I've found the next pistol I'm going to buy.

[Old_Sparky]

The .45 will be my next gun purchase. Just have to decide on whether to get a FS, or a compact.

[walkin' trails]

I've had one fir several years. Great pistol. The grip with the small insert fits just so right that I wish they'd tool up that exact size for the M&P 9 I have started to carry.

[ikevin]

I have Kimbers, HK45, FNX 45 and Glocks in the safe, my M&P45 FS is next to the bed. It is a great 45.

[MSG Glenn]

I definitely want to get one. I miss my Glock 21 that I gave to my son to use as an off duty weapon but since going over to M&P I'd stick with that brand. Now it's just a matter of being able to afford one, lol. I can dream, though.

[fyimo]

I'm also a fan of the 45 ACP and I own two Sig P220's and two 1911's in that Caliber.

[Rastoff]

I love my .45 as well. I have a .40 full size as well and I find the ergonomics to be almost identical. I may add a compact model in the future, but my bank account tells me to slow down a little.

[S&W Fan]

Since my first grandbaby arrived on the 11th, I'm going to have to wait until tax refund time to pick one up. But I'll definitely be getting one.

[mguyf86]

i LOVE my mp45 full size shoots great i added a crimson trace grip to it!! the recoil is very resonable compair to other 45s that i have shot!!! i think over all its a great gun i have over 2000rounds threw mine!!

[UncaGrunny]

When I was trying out autos before my purchase, one of the ranges the wife and I went to didn't have the M&P in 9mm for rent, so we checked out the .45 FS they did have.

My wife is on the petite side, and had never fired anything more potent than a Glock in 9mm - - her total shooting experience consisted of one day at a basic handgun course, maybe 200 rounds total fired. She'd also never been to an indoor range before, a very different environment as you all know.

The expression on her face when that .45ACP fireball unleashed & she got rocked back on her heels is one I will remember and cherish - - I was providing "newby coach stance protection" (standing to the side, one arm behind, one arm atop hers) having seen too many Youtubes of small ladies' inexperienced travails with arms, so I got a real good look.

To her credit, she got her flinch under control within about 5 rounds. She ran 3 mags through it, before adjudging it "too strong" for her taste. At 15 feet, all but one of her rounds (the second one) were on paper, and all but four in the black.

It does pack a wallop, but she's proof positive of it's manageability.

[Nakanokalronin]

I have the FS45 and find it to be very soft shooting, even more so than my 1911s. It's very accurate and reliable. I sold my M&P FS9 and 9c right after buying it since they couldn't hold a candle to it in accuracy.

[redsox617]

Ishot a lot of calibers over the years. The 45ACP hardball 230gr. is the best all around CCW load. Lot of folks like 9mm even 9mm short and 38- but many of these load can have cycling problems and stove pipes you dont need- why bother with +P loads when you can get the rite load once

[forrestinmathews]

Originally Posted by redsox617

Ishot a lot of calibers over the years. The 45ACP hardball 230gr. is the best all around CCW load. Lot of folks like 9mm even 9mm short and 38- but many of these load can have cycling problems and stove pipes you dont need- why bother with +P loads when you can get the rite load once

They now offer hollow point ammunition and +P in a lot of calibers even the good old .45. That's why folks have switched. Also hardball is a poor choice for CCW ammo as it penetrates totally and offers the wound channel a chance to reseal itself. You just don't get the energy transfer or tissue destruction.

Anyway, back to the topic. I'm interested in the M&P 45 if I could just figure out what size appeals to me most. Maybe they'll come out with the midsize.

[Rastoff]

Originally Posted by forrestinmathews

Also hardball is a poor choice for CCW ammo as it penetrates totally and offers the wound channel a chance to reseal itself.

Do you really believe this?

[M29since14]

I think the M&P45 is the best of the bunch of them. My own M&P45 shoots rings around any of the small-caliber M&Ps I have seen. I don't notice any recoil difference (vs. a 1911). It's a nice gun for what it is.

[standerson]

Can't wait to get mine back from Smith and get it to the range.

[forrestinmathews]

Originally Posted by Rastoff

Do you really believe this?

I believe it and have seen it happen on animals where the wound channel does not stay open and partially or fully reseals resulting in diminished or lost blood trail. I also believe in hollow points getting plugged up and not working as designed and have experienced this first hand. I'd never carry anything Geneva approved. Rock on if that's what you wanna do. Me personally, with what I have experienced hunting and read of Jim Cirillo's bullet tests on felons and gelatin, I believe ball ammo a poor choice. Handgun bullets for the most part are doing their damage mechanically. Very few go fast enough to create a whole lot of fluid shock wave trauma. That's the jist of Cirillo's book and coupled with what I've seen, I'm going with it.

[standerson]

Originally Posted by forrestinmathews

They now offer hollow point ammunition and +P in a lot of calibers even the good old .45. That's why folks have switched. Also hardball is a poor choice for CCW ammo as it penetrates totally and offers the wound channel a chance to reseal itself. You just don't get the energy transfer or tissue destruction.

Anyway, back to the topic. I'm interested in the M&P 45 if I could just figure out what size appeals to me most. Maybe they'll come out with the midsize.

While I would't call hardball the best ccw round, I certainly wouldn't call it a "poor" choice.

[forrestinmathews]

I'd call it a poor choice in contrast to the highly functioning and feeding defensive ammunition that is available for this chambering. As compared to .380 FMJ it's a better choice, but are we seriously having this discussion? A 9mm HST is a better choice than the .45 FMJ at half the weight.

[Rastoff]

A 9mm HP might expand, but a .45 won't get smaller. And, yes, a .45 HP might be better, but I too have seen the penetration from hardball ammo; it certainly doesn't over penetrate. It is definitely more reliable than HP rounds.

I'm not knocking HP ammo, it's just that hardball isn't a poor choice.

When it comes to handguns it's a truism that all of them are inferior rounds. You picks your choice and takes your chances.

I don't always carry a .45.....just kidding, yes I do.

[S&W Fan]

Wow, talk about thread drift! Back on topic= One thing I did notice and neglected to mention was that at the same distance (21 feet, seems to be the agreed upon distance at which the majority of sd shootings would be on the long side of) I was able to shoot much tighter groups, many in one hole the size of a silver dollar, with the .45 than I was with my 9C. All fired from the low ready, letting the shot go when sights on target.

The accuracy of the 9C is still just fine and I don't feel undergunned with it but I'm looking forward to the day I can the full size 45.

Now back to all the ammo talk if you'd like LOL.

[forrestinmathews]

Originally Posted by Rastoff

A 9mm HP might expand, but a .45 won't get smaller. And, yes, a .45 HP might be better, but I too have seen the penetration from hardball ammo; it certainly doesn't over penetrate. It is definitely more reliable than HP rounds.

I'm not knocking HP ammo, it's just that hardball isn't a poor choice.

When it comes to handguns it's a truism that all of them are inferior rounds. You picks your choice and takes your chances.

I don't always carry a .45.....just kidding, yes I do.

I said penetrates totally. I don't worry about over penetration. I would take hardball over Hydrashok any day. At least the hardball wouldn't get my hopes up about any additional performance and you know it'll run/feed.

I believe in the .45, my first handgun purchased was a sig p220st. I still carry it. I don't always carry a forty five either, but if I don't I carry multiple guns. 2 9mm's are better than one. 2 10mm's for when we're getting a little serious. 2 .45's and we really should think about bring friends with .45's.

Sorry for the thread drift. We're talking boolits and he thought I disrespected the venerable .45. That always requires clarification! I'd say something about none of my full size 1911's being chambered in .45, but that would probably border on heresy. Haha!

[M29since14]

S&W Fan, if you think the M&P45 is superior at 7-yards, by all means back out to 25-yards and then compare what the gun does with the 9c. I think you will be surprised. I have not fired a lot of M&P45s and maybe I just got particularly lucky with the one I own but my gun is one of those you don't apologize for. I have yet to see an M&P9 that I felt that way about, and I have fired quite a few of those. I think the more you shoot the M&P45 the more you will like it - if you can ignore the "drooping dust-cover" issue, which is just pathetic on a gun made by a company as prestigious as Smith & Wesson.

[S&W Fan]

M29, the next time I try the .45 I'm definitely going to run it at 25 yards (I usually go up to 50 yards with my 1911 at a friend's property shooting a target taped to an oil drum lol).

[accessbob]

I just reacquired my full size M&P45 back from my brother-in-law whom I traded it to back a year ago (or longer). Back then I had traded him for his Glock 23 and several other things he threw in and then a couple of days later I traded the Glock for the M&P40c which I carried for quite a while.

But, I found I'm not a rifle guy so I traded him my AK47 for it and went out today to the range and it is still sweet. I love how it and my SR1911 shoot. I feel great about getting it back home where it belongs.

[Crab 945]

Great info that I was looking for. I had been saving for an M&P 45 FS since I bought a Shield last year and a M&P .40this year. I love the .45acp so I've ordered a Dark Earth version and it is really hard to tell when my LGS will get one in, possibly late this year. I find that M&P's are addictive

[standerson]

Originally Posted by forrestinmathews

but if I don't I carry multiple guns. 2 9mm's are better than one. 2 10mm's for when we're getting a little serious.

Every heard of Gecko45?

[SSGT Pride]

S&W M&P .45 with 14 round extended mags...

Winchester Ranger Law Enforcment (Same old "BUZZSAW" Black Talon now colored gold...New name to fool the liberals that whined so loudly before)

Works for me! I trust it! Thats my CCW rig!

But even if I carried hardball....14 rounds out of a .45 aint nothing to sneeze at!

I prefer the bigger gun with double the ammo LOL!

[BrianE]

I purchased my M&P45 FS used for 350 with 3 magazines and a sweet trigger. I definitely shoot it better than my 9FS or 9c. I've put quite a few rounds down the tube with all different brands and weight and have never had one hiccup. Highly recommend the M&P45.

[PHATSPEED7x]

My first M&P I owned was the FS45 model. I only had it for about 5 month. Ended up trading it in towards the purchase of an AR-15. I will add another one to the collection someday.

[SSGT Pride]

Originally Posted by BrianE

I purchased my M&P45 FS used for 350 with 3 magazines and a sweet trigger. I definitely shoot it better than my 9FS or 9c. I've put quite a few rounds down the tube with all different brands and weight and have never had one hiccup. Highly recommend the M&P45.

I got this one about 20 months ago for 420$ with the night sights and 3 mags from Buds Police Supply...A little harder to find now! I own the .40 M&P too and am looking for extended mags for it as well.

[BIGMAC116]

Now back to all the ammo talk if you'd like LOL.[/QUOTE]

I've seen hardball ammo travel in the front wall of a home, thought to the bathroom walls (glass and tile), through the hallway walls, through the master bedroom walls and out the rear wall. 9mm and 45. I've seen them enter into a trunk lid if a vehicle, through seats and through the dashboard. The projective itself stopping somewhere in the engine compartment.

On the flip side I've seen hollow point ammo stop after entering the drive side door of a vehicle. I'd take my chances with hollow points rather than hitting everything behind a hostile target.

[SSGT Pride]

Originally Posted by BIGMAC116

Now back to all the ammo talk if you'd like LOL.

I've seen hardball ammo travel in the front wall of a home, thought to the bathroom walls (glass and tile), through the hallway walls, through the master bedroom walls and out the rear wall. 9mm and 45. I've seen them enter into a trunk lid if a vehicle, through seats and through the dashboard. The projective itself stopping somewhere in the engine compartment.

On the flip side I've seen hollow point ammo stop after entering the drive side door of a vehicle. I'd take my chances with hollow points rather than hitting everything behind a hostile target.[/QUOTE]

Just gotta say DITTO on this one!

[bxny10455]

I picked up the FS45 yesterday. I wanted to test it at the next IDPA but haven't had a chance to make the holster for it. I carry the 45c.