aside from weight, what reasons are there for going with an M&P instead of a gen 3 steel ?

Possibly that the M&P is available without external safeties, can be had without a magazine disconnect, has three grip sizes, and has a consistent trigger pull instead of a heavy DA first pull followed by light SA pulls.
The ergonomics and features just work better for some people. I'm not one of them and will happily take a 3rd gen over a M&P any day, but that's just me

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Ban lunatics and criminals

Carrying a gun 12-18 hours a day will make you appreciate any weight savings you can get. The 3rd gen smiths are sweet pistols though.

I carrid either a 6906 or a 3913 for a number of years as a LEO. I consider both to be in my top ten guns of all time.

But now I have an M&P 9 (and a 9c and brand new M&P 22) and my 9 is every bit as good as the 3rd generations and lighter with a lot more rounds. I carry from the time i leave the house in the morning until whenever i get home and the weight change is a blessing.

I will never sell my 3913 or my 6906 but I bet i won't ever carry them again. They have become heirloom firearms.

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Bud
Lots of S&Ws

Its always a matter of personal preference and perception. The 3rd Gen S&Ws trace their heritage back to the mid-late 1950s, and the M&P is based on a whole different line of thinking, especially considering the role of the semi auto pistol in military, police, competetion, and defense. I was never a big fan of S&W autos of any generation until the M&P came along. For me, the M&P has far better ergonomics than the traditional S&W autos, and shoots better. I have the full sized 45. It also carrys much better than a Glock 21 or a comparable high cap pistol, or even the 645, which was about the only member of the S&W auto line for a long time that didn't get the complaints that followed the 9mms.

so, it seems that weight is, after all, a major reason for the choice - that and capacity
thanks

There are a couple of items not mentioned: having the same trigger stroke all the time (and a much shorter & lighter stroke the the initial one on a TDA pistol) and price.

Back in 2006, we needed to replace some service pistols. After testing the M&P and being very impressed, we found we could buy everyone a new pistol & webgear for less than what we'd have had to pay to replace about half our all steel sidearms.

I've got both and think the M&P feels and shoots alot better due to the much lower bore axis. The older S&W are like HK & Sig with a very high bore axis which I dont think can be lowered in a traditional DA/SA fire control system

I'm old-fashioned but really loathe plastic as a component of a firearm. I even loathe aluminum alloy as a component of a firearm. I carry steel handguns every day. It's not a popular stance to take these days but light weight is no selling point for me.

Light weight handguns are steel Smith & Wesson Model 36 and Colt Detective Special revolvers. I prefer K-Frame Smith & Wesson revolvers, full-sized Colt 1911s or else the Hi-Power.

I have 3 M&P pistols (9, 9C, 45), but I'm currently looking for a S&W 3rd Gen steel pistol. But that's because I want a used (they're not made anymore) 1076 in 10mm Auto caliber. Now if S&W would just make a 10mm in the M&P, that would be something. Size-wise, they should be able to make a 10mm with a 13 to 16 round capacity, if they can make a .45 with an 11-rd capacity. The only problem is that full power 10mm loads have about 70% more power than even +P .45 ammo, so I don't know how much they'd have to beef up the M&P to take that level of power.

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NRA, IACP, INEOA, MCRGO

Let is face facts here about guns or even automobiles or trucks and that is the fact that certain parts need not have the strength of steel including the trigger.

The slide and certain parts of the gun need to be metallic but as par as most of the the rest of the weapon they can use modern plastics which do not rust or require regular lubrication or cleaning.

They are not hybrid guns they are the new weapons of the 21st century!

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59,M&P9,40,40C,357,(2)45,G26

Personally, whether my M&P9 was made of metal or plastic I would have chosen it. It shoots well and is comfortable. That is important no?

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dsblignaut M&P9

In spite of my disdain for the "plastik" weapons my M&P9 shoots better than any thing else I've shot (scrooge is on) Bah Humbug! I just ordered one of the kygunsco.com 357 Sig/40S&W compacts. Now my next question is which M&P 45 to get...OH honey can I borrow you credit card