I have heard that lots of police forces are switching to the M&P's. Are most major cities switching from Glock to M&P's?

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Dan

I know the local IRS branch went to M&P45's recently here in phoenix. why the IRS needs pistols is beyond me, but hey...

Criminal Investigation section of the IRS has approximately 2,800 special agents who investigate and assist in the prosecution of criminal tax, money laundering, and narcotics-related financial crime cases. Then there are the people that don't pay their taxes and become rather upset when the gov't starts taking away their property.

depends on whether S&W sells them cheaper than Glock.

Massachusetts State Police, is in the process of switching over from the SIG 229, in 40 S&W to the M&P .45, also a few of the local, PD's

Looking at their latest pistols (in the holster) looks like VA Beach PD has some M&Ps also. (Still see Glocks a lot too) They got rid of their 6906 and 5903 pistols years ago, and I was lucky enough to get a couple.

Detroit Police Dept. switched from Glock in .40 to M&P in .40 a couple years ago.

Every Ofc. that I've talked to since the switch, said that they are happy with the M&P's.

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1/* ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

I'm sure contract price has a lot to do with it, but I'd like to think these American governments, funded by American tax dollars, would take in to account an American company and at least give that a little weight.

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Rod
M&P 22A, 40c, 15A, 15-22

I sincerely hope so. The reality of Austrian pistols in every American lawman's holster really irked me for a long time.

"Criminal Investigation section of the IRS has approximately 2,800 special agents who investigate and assist in the prosecution of criminal tax, money laundering, and narcotics-related financial crime cases. Then there are the people that don't pay their taxes and become rather upset when the gov't starts taking away their property."

And besides, they have to enforce Obamacare now, don't they?

We carry what we want, and I made the switch a couple of months ago from my G22 to the M&P40. Couldn't be happier. Nothing wrong with my Glock, just liked the fact that the M&P is made here, and I liked the way it fit my hand.

Aren't the new glocks being made in Georgia?

The frames are. If I recall, the rest is still made in Austria, and assembled in Smyrna. There was talk about all USA made Glocks with a different finish than the Tennifer. These USA Glocks were to be sold to markets that did not have trade arrangements with Austria. The Gen4 Glocks still have Austria after the model number.

I don't believe any are made here. The way I understand it is that the 26/27s' are shipped in with adjustable sights and switched here to get around the 1968 GCA on size/points needed for import.

Here in Ca, MOST LEO's who carry a polymer frame pistol on duty ( Department issued) or buy their own for on/off duty are using Glocks.

The ones who do not want to carry Glocks, also do not want to carry polymer frame guns.

The Milwaukee PD has been using M&P40s since 2009. Not sure what they had before that, but the article I read stated the guns that were used were from a European-based company. Gee, I wonder who that was.

In 2008, they switched over from shotguns to M&P15 rifles in their cruisers.

My former department is now switching to the M&P 40 from the Beretta 92F in 40 cal. My understanding of the contract with Smith, is they are to provide the department guns at no cost, in exchange the department gives them the Beretta's which are about 10 years old.

Smith is to supply a 10 year repair contract for the M&P's, in addition Smith gave the department 20 new hearing protectors to use at the range. It is a win/win situation for the department to get new guns at no cost and have a repair contract for the guns. When I was on for my 27 years, if I had a problem with my gun, I took it to a local gunsmith for repair. But I never had any problems with my gun, first a S&W model 19 .357 mag revolver and then the Beretta 92f 9mm.

I can agree with the sentiment about guns made in the USA. I started with a model 10, then we upgraded to 586 when they first came out. Then, around 1988 the semi-auto wave hit us and our SWAT team people were the first to get them and had a major hand in the evaluation and recommendation of the pistol choice. Not being crazy about a plastic pistol made in another country, we were skeptical. Of what was available in 1988 it was deemed that the Glock would be easiest to transition to from revolvers. Everything else was mainly DA/SA pistols like the Beretta 92, Ruger, S&W, etc. It also helped that Glock came in with the lowest price.

Around 1994 the main LE Glock distributor, Kiesler, offered to trade all of our 9mm Glocks to 40S&W models straight up. Easy deal and everyone now had a 40.

Fast-forward to 2011 - S&W distributor offered M&P trade straight up for all of our Glocks. However, that would require a complete holster switch out, and the Glock distributor offered all new Gen 4 G22 and G23 for all of our mixed Gen1 and 2 pistols and no holster change required.

I think the holster cost for our department would have been around $10,000.00 and if S&W would have sprung for it I wonder how Glock would have upped the ante. As usual with government, the almighty dollar rules.

The Glock pistol has served us well. But, I would have had no problem switching to the M&P...heck I'd have no problem going back to the model 10 HB!

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Tony

KY State police still carry Glock. I'm with ya squidsix, I wanna see those American made pistols being bought by our police forces. I did hear that about Smith trading M&P's for their old firearms. I guess they figure if people see police carrying these guns, they must be reliable. But I don't have to see police carrying these guns to know that they are reliable.

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Dan

You know if Detroit is using M&P's, they must be reliable! I know Cincinnati PD switched over to M&P's.

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Dan

MPD was using Glocks.

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Police Department found that there is a serious problem with its guns.
Officer Vidal Colon was injured over the weekend in a shootout, in which his gun jammed.
The police chief has known about the problem for a year, but he is now taking immediate action following Saturday’s shooting.
The chief sent a memo to the entire police department about the weapon problem.
On Saturday, Colon responded to a report of a man armed with a gun near 36th and Scott streets.
Colon fired his gun 13 times, and the suspect, Louis Domenech, shot back six times, refusing to drop his weapon, said police.
Both men were hit, and police have been investigating the shootout. They learned that one bullet casing had stovepiped, or jammed, in the officer’s weapon.
Police said stovepiping can be caused by technique depending on the position of the gun.
But, the memo to the department revealed that the problem could be with the gun itself.
"We had experienced a number of issues on the range with our issued Glock model 22, .40 caliber duty pistol magazines, which represents 45 percent of our issued weapons," said Flynn in the memo.
The chief became aware of the problem in January 2008. Since then, "Glock has replaced 2,700 pistol magazines at no cost to the Milwaukee Police Department," said Flynn in the memo.
The memo also said that the department addressed the issue with officers during a 2008 in-service firearms training session.
But, according to the memo, 300 weapons have been transitioned while 600 remain.
On Thursday night, training division personnel are exchanging the magazines in the remaining 600 firearms.
The memo went on to say that due to an abudance of caution, the academy will be operating 24 hours a day for the next three days or until the magazines have been replaced.
Flynn also said the protocol in issuing the magazines made the most sense because the only malfunctions reported were taking place at the shooting range.

Some departments and agencies really test the daylights out of prospective firearms before adopting them. Others piggyback on the stringent testing of the former. Still others don't give much thought to it other than "everyone else is carrying one." I don't know what kinds of bulk pricing LE agencies get from the manufacturers, but I've seen the advertised agency pricing as opposed to the officer prices and its usually about $40 cheaper. What also likely plays in is what the new supplier is willing to offer departments for their old pistols, possibly include leather, armorer support, etc. Based on some of my erperiences in trading in pistols on my own, the bottom line is a major consideration. I've been offered as much as $200 for a well maintained 3rd Gen G23 with Heinie Straight 8 sights to $360 for a G21 with Trijicons. I kept the 23 and glad I did. The suppliers will turn around and make good money on police trade-ins that appear to be good deals to customers.

We (USN) are not switching to anything for a long time, but the M&P is most certainly in the running. All Small Arms Instructors who are category 4 shooters and simultaneously on shore duty (maybe 300 guys) have been asked to evaluate the M&P and the FNP when the armorer's van came around with them. I liked the FNP more, but only because we train our people to cover the hammer with the thumb when holstering to prevent negligent discharge. Studies revealed that the vast majority of them were happening when holstering as the trigger snagged on some part of the shooter's gear. Covering the hammer with the thumb made it all but vanish. Can't do that with an M&P, or Glock.

I admit that except for the M&P22 I own I don't know much about M&P semis. What would be the closest M&P analog to the Glock 19?

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NRA Benefactor

The M&P 9C (Compact).

***EDIT. I'm wrong. ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRW2UIYCu_I

The G19 falls in between the M&P 9 & M&P 9c

M&P 9 Barrel Length = 4.25"
G29 Barrel Length = 4.02"
M&P 9c Barrel Length = 3.5"

Well that's cool. That means that there will be used LE trade-in Beretta 96's (.40 S&W chambered) on the market.

Colorado State Patrol transitioned to the M&P .40 a few years ago from the 4006 as shown here:
Melonite 4006 Colorado State Patrol

I don't want to jack this thread but would like to take this opportunity to point out to all my revolver packing friends that swear that no shoot out will ever require more than 5 shots to be fired......

Here is a professional, trained, tested, certified gun carrier involved in a scenario he has been trained for.
Practiced for.
Ready for.

And he fired 13 rounds before his weapon malfunctioned and STILL wanted to fire some more.

Against one assailant.

I'll take my 18 round M&P, which by the way has never malfunctioned unlike these Glocks that had a history of magazine problems yet were still in service.

My Dept (Dekalb County GA PD) switched from Beretta 92G to M&P 40 in 2010/11. The short list for consideration was Glock 22(4th Gen), Springfield XDM, Beretta 90-2, and M&P (all 40 cal). The rank and file officers were asked for input, but cost involved in the transition was a major factor for the final decision. After the switch, AD/NDs went up, but that was operator error (which would have happened with the Glock and XDM as well). I trust my M&P with my life.

The police chief in Austin, Texas ordered M&P 40s for every police officer on the force. Austin is now the 14th largest city in the US, so this must have been a big order for S&W.

My Department still issues Glocks at this time, but I'm pushing for a move to the M&P platform. I carry the M&P45c off-duty most often. I'm planning on an M&P45 FS in the near future. The only ones I've been able to find lately have the magazine disconnect and thumb safety.

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Dave Frost