$750 Budget: What M&P 9mm / Options?

[Danno_man]

AGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! You guys are killing me!

Kidding; of course. Thanks for the tip, I have not looked into the CORE.

well the shop is out of 9mm CORE's w/ RMR, only have .40's left.

 

[Der Biermeister]

You stated your use for the new pistol would be home defense, and maybe later competion. For home defense you need to have a light on your pistol. The Streamlight TLR-1 is an awesome light for a defensive pistol. You MUST be able to identify the threat before you can use deadly force to defend yourself. A laser sight will not do that.

LOL -- I already fought that battle. See Reply #12. No takers

 

[Llando88]

Well, I happened to be on business travel in Abilene TX and stopped by the LGS. They had a 4.25" Pro Series, standard 9mm and a VTAC FDE model, one I've not seen.

The salesman stated the difference between the Pro and Standard included the night sights, different blackstrap, and sear.

The trigger pulls were very different quality, the regular M&P felt gritty and spongy at the same time. The Pro was smoother but ok.

The night sights on the Pro did not look all that impressive.

LGS guy said basically, his thought was: buy a standard M&P and put an Apex trigger in it, call it a day.

The VTAC was cool, but I don't want a FDE pistol. The Trijicon Sights were very nice looking, bright and easy to pick up. I'll have to see how much they are separately..,

Pics of the pro night sites attached...and the two pistols side by side...

 

[damer1]

You're leaning a lot left and right. Check out the other name brands and hold what's in the gun store's stock. I personally love my ruger Sr40c. 15 capacity, $500, carry ready, great shooter. I don't have experience with the s&w automatics. I love their revolvers for an always loaded with no springs being compressed and wearing out home defense gun.

Drive out to the next gun store and see what they have. I went 100 miles out to find the best gunsmith, and 50 miles out to find the best store. Guns are important enough to spend a whole Saturday shopping, then when you zero in on the one you want in stock you can spend a Saturday to go get it.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

Don't take this the wrong way but Ruger pistols are junk.

 

[Llando88]

...and forgot I took a pic of the VTAC.

 

[Danno_man]

so which one are you buying?

 

[Der Biermeister]

WHOA -- look how far to the left that front sight is. I wonder whatzupwidat?


In fact -- I went back and looked at the pic for the rear sight and it too appears to be off to the left. You have to look closely as this image is somewhat shadowed, but various points of the sight vs the slide look off.

 

[thebeamanater107]

Don't take this the wrong way but Ruger pistols are junk.

Well, I'll go find an m&p 40 compact and compare them for my own opinion. In my experience with people and guns, it's 90% opinion, 10% real. My dad picked his name brands and chose s&w. I'm open to all types of the same thing and I'll pick what I like best after seeing all the other makes, but my ruger, although it works fine and I like it, was an impulsive trade. I rid myself of an lc380 for it.

the original point and click interface, by Smith and Wesson

 

[Llando88]

so which one are you buying?

You know at this point I'm thinking get the Std pistol in the Range and Carry Kit (extra mag, Uplula, holster, etc.

Hell, I wouldn't know a good trigger anyway, and I need to get confident with iron sights. I can always get a trigger job later. Not sure about how good / whether I would like a FO since I have 0 experience.

?

 

[Danno_man]

You know at this point I'm thinking get the Std pistol in the Range and Carry Kit (extra mag, Uplula, holster, etc.

Hell, I wouldn't know a good trigger anyway, and I need to get confident with iron sights. I can always get a trigger job later. Not sure about how good / whether I would like a FO since I have 0 experience.

?

sounds like a plan. if you get a fairly recent M&P with all the upgrades, you will be happy. If not, the Apex parts work wonders, or if you are mechanically inclined, you can do the work yourself.

 

[thebeamanater107]

When you get some experience and feel, you'll figure out for yourself all the upgrades and/or new guns you'd want. Go ahead and pick that m&p 9mm and roll with it. It's definitely far from a bad choice. Later you might discover and like 1911s or a revolver.

the original point and click interface, by Smith and Wesson

 

[BillyMagg]

I agree with Rsatoff... Start with just the pistol, ammo and training (and maybe a couple more spare mags).

You say you're new to pistols, but not to guns in general.
Even though you're not new to guns in general, it'd still be good to take an Intro to Pistols class, just to reinforce good practices and eliminate any bad habits you may be picking up from being 'self-taught' to pistols.

You may find that while you may WANT new sights, lasers and other stuff, that you may not NEED them.
I've used rail mounted lasers for Snap-Cap (dry fire) practice, to help minimize gun movement, but I've never used them for carry, or HD. I pretty much figure that it's another electronic device where the batteries will not want to cooperate when you need 'em the most.

and Llando, the only thing I would add to Robs advice is to keep your finger OFF that trigger, until you are ready to discharge your weapon. I personally observed a 9mm round imbedded in a grandfather clock today, passed through the arm of a recliner, ONE leg of an antique oak table, "small hole in front, Blew the hole back out of the leg, then on to the grandfather clock, so far, woodputty has kept his wife from "discovering" this little mishap, he has an M&P, so KNOW the drill, yes he is a very experienced shooter, new to striker fired weapons, finally KEEP the MUZZLE POINTED in a SAFE direction!!! ya'll be safe and have fun, finally DON'T forget wifeys birthday or your anniversary. billy magg

 

[Llando88]

and Llando, the only thing I would add to Robs advice is to keep your finger OFF that trigger, until you are ready to discharge your weapon. I personally observed a 9mm round imbedded in a grandfather clock today, passed through the arm of a recliner, ONE leg of an antique oak table, "small hole in front, Blew the hole back out of the leg, then on to the grandfather clock, so far, woodputty has kept his wife from "discovering" this little mishap, he has an M&P, so KNOW the drill, yes he is a very experienced shooter, new to striker fired weapons, finally KEEP the MUZZLE POINTED in a SAFE direction!!! ya'll be safe and have fun, finally DON'T forget wifeys birthday or your anniversary. billy magg

Got it.

 

[JWWIII]

Don't take this the wrong way but Ruger pistols are junk.

I understand this is a S&W forum but this statement is false.

While I prefer my MP9c my wife's small hands had her choose a SR9c. Save for the plastic sites, it is a quality piece IMHO. Never a hiccup from it. I actually think the tactile/visual chamber loaded indicator and the striker pin indicator are great features S&W should add to the MP.

 

[DanTana]

Don't buy the Pro just to get the trigger. I bought one and I didn't like the Pro trigger. I put the Apex FSST kit in with the aluminum trigger and now I love it. I bought the Pro for the milled slide for optics. I knew I'd be changing the trigger out of it before I even bought it. If your concerned about the trigger, get the non-Pro version and buy the Apex trigger kit. Makes a world of difference. Best trigger I've tried from any of the new plastic guns. Walther PPQ has a very nice factory trigger, but M&P with Apex is better.

 

[Wolfman-Iraq]

You know at this point I'm thinking get the Std pistol in the Range and Carry Kit (extra mag, Uplula, holster, etc.

Hell, I wouldn't know a good trigger anyway, and I need to get confident with iron sights. I can always get a trigger job later. Not sure about how good / whether I would like a FO since I have 0 experience.

?

I believe you're on the right track............enjoy your new gun when you get.......

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

You know at this point I'm thinking get the Std pistol in the Range and Carry Kit (extra mag, Uplula, holster, etc.

Hell, I wouldn't know a good trigger anyway, and I need to get confident with iron sights. I can always get a trigger job later. Not sure about how good / whether I would like a FO since I have 0 experience.

?

I think this is a fantastic idea, the duty carry kit does miracles to he standard pistol. I recommend blacking out the rear sights of the standard iron sights, the rear sights are distracting on that gun, but it's good to get used to the stock gun before Making another changes