442 vs M&P .45 (range report)

[ABPOS]

OK, so not really a fair comparison....

I've been carrying the 442 for a while now, but I do find myself wanting more sometimes. And I know a Shield would probably be the most optimum gun for that, but these were both my Step Father's who passed away last year. And I bought these from my Mom so she could have the money. And then I get guns.

Anyways.... It's hard to actually post these because a little less than a decade ago I used to shot a lot more and was a better shot. But for reasons, as everyone has them, I don't shoot as much and it is what it is. I'm hoping to go more in the future, but we'll see.

However, I do still want to have a gun around for defense and these are the two that are going to be my main carry pieces. I do carry my M9 from time to time but it's a bit bigger than the M&P and I'll probably carry the M&P when I am wanting "more". But the 442 is my every day carry.

It's only the second time I shot the 442 and I have some impressions. I brought a couple different kinds of ammo. I shot the 135 grain Gold Dot's by Speer, plus p. I only shot like 8 rounds of that and really, that's enough. I do have them in my gun right now, but I'm not crazy about shooting a whole heck of a lot of them at one time. And I shot 10 rounds of wadcutters, and some Hornady American Gunner with the 125 grain FTX bullet.

What I thought was strange was that the Hornady stuff felt really hot. It seemed only a bit lighter than the Speer +p stuff. And then the wadcutters were butter. I did actually cut my right thumb from the takedown lever and drew blood. But that was from the Hornady. I didn't shoot any other range ammo to compare a standard pressure ammo, but my last range session with the 442, I shot a lot of 132 grain PMC Gold and it was not as hot as the Hornady. I guess that's probably a good thing.

I kept all of the shots within 8" at 7 yards. I know I know, it's not that good, but it's just going to have to do for now. More dry firing and range time is in order. I could use a lot of excuses like I was overheated and blah blah blah but whatever.... I think that was 28 rounds...

Then there is the M&P .45. And all I can say is that thing is a joy to shoot. I need to do a side by side comparison with my M9 to see which I think is softer (I'm assuming the M9 will be). But it was certainly more pleasant to shoot than the 442. Well maybe not with the wadcutters. I kept all shots within 6" and here again I can probably do better.

I shot 50 rounds of magtech 230 grain FMJ and 10 rounds of federal guard dog and like 3 rounds of federal low recoil 165 grain. Strangely enough, I didn't feel there was a whole lot of difference between the magtech and the other two rounds. A slight difference but not much. Is Magtech known for being lightly loaded? I wasn't sure.

So, I'm looking forward to spending more time with both guns. As I think they are both very capable in the right hands to do the job they need to do.

One more side note. I'm 43 and my eyes are starting to go. This was the first time I have shot indoors in a long time. And I think the lower light levels made getting the front sight crisp even more of a challenge in outdoor conditions. But it's getting harder and harder to see the front sight as crisp as I want. I tried but it was difficult. I think for real world shooting, focusing on the target at closer ranges is probably what will happen anyways... So.....

Thanks for listening.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

Hi ABPOS:

A few comments and suggestions for you that I hope you find useful:

1) As you have found, shooting stout (+P) loads out of an Air Weight J-frame ain't a lot of fun. I like laser sights, and all of my Air Weight J-frames are equipped with Crimson Trace LG-405 laser grips. The LG-405 has an air pocket or chamber along the backstrap that compresses under recoil, and it helps soak up quite a bit of recoil. Though pricey, you can often used LG-405 grips for sale at a decent price.

2) I have arthritis in my hands and wrists, and I found that the polymer framed semiautos don't hurt me as much as metal (alloy or steel) framed semiautos (my theory is that the frame flexes under recoil thus absorbing some of the recoil force). When shooting the .40 S&W, I find the heavier grained bullets seem to be less punishing to me than the lighter grained loads. The polymer frame of your M&P maybe giving you this recoil reduction not offered by the M-9.

3) I've got 16 years on you, and I really benefited from switching the stock sights on my M&P 40c to the Truglo TFO sights:

TRUGLO® | Firearms | Handgun

A local gunshop installed the Truglo sights for me for $20.00. I really notice the difference, and you get the benefits of highly visible day and night sights.

Best of luck,

Dave

PS - added some photos - sorry about the poor quality, my hands shake too much some time.

D

 

[ABPOS]

Thanks for the link. I've never felt the need to have night sights until maybe now. LOL. I really don't know if it helps with accuracy or not, but it would be good for low light situations. When I practice low light and clearing my house I usually hold my G2Z near my head, shining down the gun sights. So it lights them up. Or I hold it a bit off to the left. but still rearward. And the sights can be seen pretty well this way.

That was probably confusing but the M9 is a super soft shooting gun. What I meant by that is I wonder if the .45 is AS soft. But I didn't shoot them side by side. When comparing this gun to a 1911, the felt recoil is so much less. Which is nice.

I actually carried it today over the snubby. Oh yeah, those grips I have on the snubby have a soft insert in the palm and it helps. But it's still is a bit stiff. It's not like it's painful with those grips. It's just that it's violent enough to cause me to flinch. Which I don't like at all. I guess with some practice I can overcome that, but I might just stick with regular pressure ammo. What stinks is I bought two boxes of the speer and two boxes of the corbon 110 dpx and it wasn't cheap. I should actually try the DPX. It might not be as stiff.

Thanks for the heads up and response.

Another thing I didn't realize is the M&P does that "auto indexing" when inserting a mag. I'm actually not overly fond of that, but whatever. It happens so fast I sometimes wonder if a round really got loaded or not.

Other thing to note is the .45 shoots to the dot and I would prefer a top of post POI. But it's not a big deal because most of my other pistols shoot to the dot. It's just not my favorite way of doing it.


Looks like you've got a laser on your M&P also, eh? You're all set up.