I am buying my very first handgun. I have almost sold myself on the M&P 9c because I like its look and size. But I have a friend in law enforcement who is telling me he thinks I would be unhappy with the compact size because it has more recoil and is not as easy to shoot as the full size.

However, he seems partial to a Glock and I wonder if he may be gearing me up to see if I want to buy his Glock 22.

I really don't know about guns but I like the more compact sizes because I have smaller hands and I want to keep this in my car a lot.

Any thoughts from you serious shooters out there? TIA

You never know for sure until you shoot them for yourself...if you can, borrow or rent one of each.
That said, in your shoes, I'd go with the compact. The main differences in most cases between 'compact' and 'full-size' is in the slide and grip areas; about an inch off the slide/barrel and a bit shorter grip, losing one or two rounds from the magazine. These add up to a few ounces. Unless you have huge hands, you likely won't have a problem.
Last and not least, the compacts are a bit easier to carry, both open and concealed--there's a reason many PDs use 'compacts' for their standard pistol. You will carry the pistol far more than you'll shoot it.

You should have no recoil issues with the S&W M&P 9c. It is a very smooth firing weapon. My wife loves it and stole it from me. She doesn't like my 40c as well since I usually shoot Speer Lawman which has a nice kick to it.

You can also still use the full size magazines in the compact to produce a larger grip. They are very nice. Just get a couple X-grip adapters and you have the best of both worlds.
XGrip (set of 2) SMITH&WESSON M&P +5 RD 9mm/.40/357 SIG XGSWMP [XGSWMP(set of 2)] - $23.90 : Greg Cote, LLC

Don't worry about the recoil with the 9mm compact. It doesn't kick that much. With that being said, if you are buying this to carry, I would go with the compact. This is so CC wouldn't be that hard your 1st time around. Once you get a good holster system in place, then you can keep your compact, or trade in your compact for the full size or just keep the compact and buy the full size.

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Don't look, reload and shoot!

I have both. If it's mainly for ccw, get the compact. I do think the full size feels better and shoots better though. Neither has much recoil. Example, I shot 50 rounds from my airweight jframe, then shot my 9c, the 9c felt like a 22 compared to the jframe.

Ditto on selecting the compact. The recoil difference is negligible and I believe you will find the compact much more handy to take with you.

I'd also go with the compact, it's a great compromise. And if your buddy tries to get you to buy his Glock 22, remember it is a large pistol that's hard to conceal. Good pistol but large, best for open carry. A compact or even subcompact makes more sense for CCW and really the recoil isn't that much different. I have the G22, G23 and G27, all Glocks in 40S&W and I like the feel of the compact G23 the best. The subcompact G27 of course is the most concealable.

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US Army 1966-69, VFW Member