After all the pistols I've had the last 30-or-so years, I'm back to Smith & Wesson. I'm also 'down' to a wimpy 9mm! BUT--the older I get, the less I like to carry heavier stuff, so this is just fine.
Notice the thumb safety and also the bit of 'dremeling' on a ridge on the grip and also at the top-front of the grip. This pistol is VERY comfortable for me.
Took me very little time to get my favorite personal-defence bullets expansion-tested. These are Federal's excellent HSTs in the tough-to-find 147g. +P load. Advertised muzzle velocity is 1050FPS.
These bullets were fired from ten feet into a row of one-gallon, thin-plastic milk jugs filled with water. The left pair were fired into bare jugs; the right two were fired thru four layers of terrytowel to simulate thick clothing. #3 cracked the rear wall of jug #3, which I call 18" of penetration; I forgot to note what shot #1 did. Of the terry-toweled pair, #2 entered jug #4 and did not crack the rear wall, which I'll call 21" penetration. #4 cracked the rear wall of jug #4, equaling about 24" of penetration*. This performance is perfect as far as I'm concerned, and I'm thrilled!
I've now shot about four 50-boxes of this +P ammo and its non-+P partner with absolutely NO functioning trouble. Said another way, all this brand-new ammo functioned absolutely perfectly in my brand-new, 'plain-Jane' pistol. Now, time to buy more ammo!
* Of course, these distances are NOT equivalent to penetration in ballistic jell.