Advice needed!

[JeepGuy00]

Hello all, new member, requesting some advice..

I'm caught between the .40 full size, 9mm compact, and .45 compact for concealed carry. I realize that the compacts would be the obvious choice, just wondering everyone's point of view on the subject.

 

[Badkarma 1]

Hello JeepGuy00 and welcome to the forum!

My own choice would be the .45. It's roughly the same size as the full size .40 your comtemplating, yet runs the lager round, the downside is you'll have fewer rounds in the gun by going to the .45.
Since you don't mention where your at, I can't make a good recomendation as I don't know what sort of climates your dealing with. But if it were me and it's warm weather I go with the 9mm compact, because it would be easier to hide and still carry 10-12 rounds, plus you can carry a 17 round mag for your reload if needed.
I'm not a fan of the .40 so I won't comment on it.
A little advise, look at your daily routine do you work in an office or are you a factory worker? Can you dress around the gun? Are you in a car most of the time or in and out?
Your daily routine will help dictate what pistol you should be looking at. Dale

 

[Knightrider03m]

My own choice would be the .45. It's roughly the same size as the full size .40 your comtemplating, yet runs the lager round, the downside is you'll have fewer rounds in the gun by going to the .45.
Since you don't mention where your at, I can't make a good recomendation as I don't know what sort of climates your dealing with. But if it were me and it's warm weather I go with the 9mm compact, because it would be easier to hide and still carry 10-12 rounds, plus you can carry a 17 round mag for your reload if needed.
I'm not a fan of the .40 so I won't comment on it.
A little advise, look at your daily routine do you work in an office or are you a factory worker? Can you dress around the gun? Are you in a car most of the time or in and out?
Your daily routine will help dictate what pistol you should be looking at. Dale

Best advice

 

[y-not]

I am a fan of the .40 and have a M&Pc that is a nice size to carry.

 

[turbo38gn]

I own 3 M&P's and have carried them all... 9c, 40fs and a 45fs. I currently have a 40c on layaway, should pick it up soon. My favorite carry has been my 40fs, I think I just like the caliber size better than the 9, but I purchased a 9mm barrel for my 40FS, so I really have 2 guns in one. It's fun to throw the 9 barrel in at the range after I shoot 100 rounds of 40's. Makes the recoil non existent. I love shooting them all, but.. the 45 is pretty heavy, loaded, packing it on my side, heavier than the 40FS, noticeably. The 9c fits and feels great, lighter than the 40fs. So hence, I believe the 40c should be perfect all around. I'll have the lighter gun, the bigger than 9mm caliber, it's a guy thing.. and the best part is I will again get the extra 9mm barrel and have 2 guns in one. You ask, why don't I get a 40c barrel for the 9mm? They don't make one that I know of to go from 9 to 40. They do make em to go from 40 to 9.. And one more point... you may be asking why don't I try the 45c.... I live in Massachusetts, 10 minutes from Smith and Wesson.... I shoot at the retail store every week and have never seen one in the showroom .... they are not legal in Mass!!! But then.. I do have a couple of compact S&W 1911's with Scadmium frames..

 

[GaryM&P]

I would go with the 40 full size. I really don't consider compacts to be the obvious choice for carry as the full size M&Ps are not hard to conceal at all. Also I shoot much better with the full size and in my experience the full size pistols tend to be more reliable than the compacts. Remember, the M&P was originally designed as a full size 40.

 

[turbo38gn]

Gary, are you from BG, Ky... I see the Corvette City tag.. I race at Beech Bend..

 

[JeepGuy00]

My own choice would be the .45. It's roughly the same size as the full size .40 your comtemplating, yet runs the lager round, the downside is you'll have fewer rounds in the gun by going to the .45.
Since you don't mention where your at, I can't make a good recomendation as I don't know what sort of climates your dealing with. But if it were me and it's warm weather I go with the 9mm compact, because it would be easier to hide and still carry 10-12 rounds, plus you can carry a 17 round mag for your reload if needed.
I'm not a fan of the .40 so I won't comment on it.
A little advise, look at your daily routine do you work in an office or are you a factory worker? Can you dress around the gun? Are you in a car most of the time or in and out?
Your daily routine will help dictate what pistol you should be looking at. Dale

This is fantastic advice, thank you. I have heard that the .45fs and c have less bite to them than the average .45, although I'm not completely sure why. However, I was raised on the Glock .40, and that's all I really ever shoot, so I'm leaning towards that caliber.

Now, those of you that conceal carry the fullsize, what holster do you find the most comfortable? I've been looking at UBG IWB holsters, heard good things about em.

 

[JeepGuy00]

I would go with the 40 full size. I really don't consider compacts to be the obvious choice for carry as the full size M&Ps are not hard to conceal at all. Also I shoot much better with the full size and in my experience the full size pistols tend to be more reliable than the compacts. Remember, the M&P was originally designed as a full size 40.

This was my thought aswell, I just thought the compact would be easier to hide for concealed carry.

 

[chuck s]

A good inside the waist band holster is key to concealment. Next factor is the size of the grip and I've found the compact versions of many pistols are the same size as a "mid size" M&P. I realize this is "cross-brand" but my mid size M&P9 (4.25" barrel) is essentially the same size as my HK45 Compact. I don't feel under-armed with either. Pretty much have to to to sub-compact pistols to get better concealment but they usually have very short grips and smaller capacity.

Barrel length is all concealed inside your waist band. Drawing a long barrel, though, is slower for me than the shorter lengths. My preferred carry is a Commander (M1911) and pistols that size.

Carrying concealed all day, every day will require a wardrobe change you may not be able to accommodate at work. There are times all I can carry is an Airweight J-frame or even a little Beretta Tomcat. The new mini .380s from Ruger and Taurus will probably supplant the Tomcat.

-- Chuck

 

[GaryM&P]

"A good inside the waist band holster is key to concealment."
Absolutely. I use this one:
Inside Waistband Holsters - products new home - The Infidel Holster

 

[GaryM&P]

Gary, are you from BG, Ky... I see the Corvette City tag.. I race at Beech Bend..

Yes sir. I have raced at Beech Bend also.

ETA: This a great town for gearheads.

 

[y-not]

My holster for the 3 different guns I carry is the Crossbreed supertuck, I have been carring a Sig 239 in one for about 4 years now and have one on order foe my M&Pc in .40. I wear the Sig all day every day.

 

[turbo38gn]

Yes sir. I have raced at Beech Bend also.

ETA: This a great town for gearheads.

Nice, I race with the Buicks, got a turbo regal. We were in there this fall after the flooding in the spring cost us our weekend.. one of my customers owns a little pawn\gun store in Murfreeseboro, he sent me home with a TRD325 when I was there. I was at the track foaming at the mouth wanting to go out in the woods and shoot it a little..

 

[jmathis84]

Go to a range and rent and shoot them all. The one that is the best feel for you get it. It dont matter what caliber you have if you cannot shoot it well then there is no point to carry it. A hit with a 9mm is better than a miss with a 45. Once you find the one you shoot best dress around it. A gun is supposed is supposed to be comforting not comfortable. That is just my advice.

 

[JeepGuy00]

Thank you all for this advice, it is much appreciated. And very helpful!! Like I said, I was raised with the .40, and am comfortable with the .40, and will probably chose the .40, I was just looking for some insight on the other calibers and everyone's opinion on their own carry.

So I'm essentially sold on the .40 M&P full/mid-size, now just for the holster.. I checked out the Infidel Holster, it looks pretty good, and not badly priced either.

 

[Lost Lake]

I finally went out and shot my new M&P .40 this weekend. I was a bit worried it would have a harsh kick, but I don't think it's bad at all. Definitely less than my .357 magnum wheel gun. I played around a bit (less than I wanted but it was too cold out and my fingers were getting too numb to load the clips!) and was able to do some rapid fire from 40 feet emptying a 12 round clip in about 5 seconds. I put all shots in a 6" circle which is good for my first outing with the weapon. I am surprised at how much I don't like the trigger! Even when rapid firing I find I take up that huge amount of creep and then slowly squeeze out the last foot or so of trigger travel to fire the weapon. I guess that's what you get with a DAO gun.

I am impressed with the manageable recoil, the easy to use sights, and the feel of the gun. On a side note my Bro-in-law had his 9mm XD there and we were shooting some steel pipe to see if it would hold up to pistol fire (I'm building some interesting targets and the pipe rings at different tones with varying lengths) and the 9mm didn't dent the pipe like the .40 did. In fact his .45 made less dent in the heavy walled pipe, but he was using hollow points.... I'm going to do some ballistic tests when the weather warms up. Just so we have a reason to go to our range and have fun mostly!

 

[turbo38gn]

Thank you all for this advice, it is much appreciated. And very helpful!! Like I said, I was raised with the .40, and am comfortable with the .40, and will probably chose the .40, I was just looking for some insight on the other calibers and everyone's opinion on their own carry.

So I'm essentially sold on the .40 M&P full/mid-size, now just for the holster.. I checked out the Infidel Holster, it looks pretty good, and not badly priced either.

I was just thinking... ut-oh... how far are you from Springfield, you could always take a ride to S&W retail store\Shooting range... you can shoot every gun you want at their range.. try em before ya buy em.. they have some good deals with discounts when you purchase there..

 

[JeepGuy00]

I was just thinking... ut-oh... how far are you from Springfield, you could always take a ride to S&W retail store\Shooting range... you can shoot every gun you want at their range.. try em before ya buy em.. they have some good deals with discounts when you purchase there..

Oh wow, I didn't realize you could do that, sounds like a good day trip. Thanks

 

[turbo38gn]

Oh wow, I didn't realize you could do that, sounds like a good day trip. Thanks

Yep... I just made a quick trrip over there, only 10 minutes from my shop. Usual excuse, had to go to the bank... Poked around like usual and I think I just put one of those Bone Collector 500's on layaway... 1 of 1,000 made.. I go back up tonite, we target shoot on Monday nites.. they have most all guns available to shoot... It's also very easy to get to, right off the highway..