M&P 45 Pros and Cons?
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8th SPS USAF
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SW MP 45
I have had one for several years. I love it. I had trouble with Glks fitting
my hand. One local LEO let me shoot his 45FS MP. I shot it for the first time at 25 yds in a B 27 target, they were doing Quals at our range.
Shoot all 10 rnd in the 10/X ring first time. When out and bought one asap. Small BS fits fine. I had an APEX sear installed. Better trigger pull.
Works with all brands of ammo. I think you can't loose with MP 45 FS.
I have had one for several years. I love it. I had trouble with Glks fitting
my hand. One local LEO let me shoot his 45FS MP. I shot it for the first time at 25 yds in a B 27 target, they were doing Quals at our range.
Shoot all 10 rnd in the 10/X ring first time. When out and bought one asap. Small BS fits fine. I had an APEX sear installed. Better trigger pull.
Works with all brands of ammo. I think you can't loose with MP 45 FS.
Dos Cylindros
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I have both the full size and compact M&P 45's and will compare them to my Dept. issued Glock (G22 40 S&W) as well as a Glock 21 I used to shoot freequently (my fathers).
Pros: The grip size compared to other double stack 45's is far better. It is slimmer than the Glock 21 and fits my hand (and most others) far better. With the small grip instert, the grip circumfrence is the same as the FS M&P 40/9 and about the same as my issue G22. The recoil impulse seems very soft compared to other 45's including the venerable 1911, but that is my personal opinion. It is much lighter than a full size all steel or even a light weight 1911 when fully loaded and in my experience is far more dependable and less maintenance intensive compared to a 1911. Parts are easy to come by, Brownells and Speed Shooters Specialties have most parts in stock.
Cons: Some say the trigger is not the best, and while it is not great, it is certainly good enough for a fighting gun. Holsters are not as easy to come by without a wait time as the M&P 45 family is not a popular as the M&P 9/40. Some cite the ten plus one round capacity as a con, as the G21 holds 13 plus one, but for me it is a non issue. I have seen several reports of the 45's bending their magazine springs, but have not experienced it myself. The mag spring issue is the only real problem I have read about the M&P 45 family.
I love both my 45's and will probably try to get a mid size to round out my collection. Buy with confidence knowing that S&W has great customer service.
Pros: The grip size compared to other double stack 45's is far better. It is slimmer than the Glock 21 and fits my hand (and most others) far better. With the small grip instert, the grip circumfrence is the same as the FS M&P 40/9 and about the same as my issue G22. The recoil impulse seems very soft compared to other 45's including the venerable 1911, but that is my personal opinion. It is much lighter than a full size all steel or even a light weight 1911 when fully loaded and in my experience is far more dependable and less maintenance intensive compared to a 1911. Parts are easy to come by, Brownells and Speed Shooters Specialties have most parts in stock.
Cons: Some say the trigger is not the best, and while it is not great, it is certainly good enough for a fighting gun. Holsters are not as easy to come by without a wait time as the M&P 45 family is not a popular as the M&P 9/40. Some cite the ten plus one round capacity as a con, as the G21 holds 13 plus one, but for me it is a non issue. I have seen several reports of the 45's bending their magazine springs, but have not experienced it myself. The mag spring issue is the only real problem I have read about the M&P 45 family.
I love both my 45's and will probably try to get a mid size to round out my collection. Buy with confidence knowing that S&W has great customer service.
Wee Hooker
Member
FSM&P 45 was my first poly framed handgun. It just fit my hand too well to put it down. Plan do do trigger work/apex sear but that's all they really need. Mine feeds everything and has about the same felt recoil as a 1911 that weighs 10 oz more. Love this thing!
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My thoughts
I had boththe full size and the compact Both were very reliable and accurate I thought the recoil was more sharp than either my 1911s or Sigs I am now shooting the HK45 and love it The M&Ps are great values and if your experience with recoil is different than mine I say go for it You won't regret it
I had boththe full size and the compact Both were very reliable and accurate I thought the recoil was more sharp than either my 1911s or Sigs I am now shooting the HK45 and love it The M&Ps are great values and if your experience with recoil is different than mine I say go for it You won't regret it
Maximumbob54
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I am still at a loss as to why they made it with a ten round mag. When everyone else is making twelve plus, S&W opens up with a ten. But that would be my one and only complaint.
Dos Cylindros
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I think the main reason was to keep the size of the grip frame down. The G21 is much thicker, but I don't know about the X45 or the HK variants but I would bet they are thicker as well. Ten rounds is plenty.
The M&P 45 FS also comes with a second, 14 round mag in the box...so, you can have 10 + 1 in the pistol and 14 on hand ready to reload...that's 25 rounds of .45 ACP. Just how much trouble can you get into that 25 rounds (of .45 no less) won't take care of?
Man, I'd hate to be in that situation!!!! I've gone round and round over these questions...I've tried a number of steel and polymer pistols...and while I like my 1911s for the beauty and heritage, my M&P 45 FS is what is loaded and in my night stand. It fits my hand better, it is American made, and backed by S&W's great customer service. And, while I don't abuse any gun, I'm not worried about getting a scratch on it, or wear from use and carry (I do carry it in the car, but not CCW.)
I'm not thrilled about the magazines (cost, and you can't walk into any gun shop and buy them like you can 1911 or Glock magazines) but that can be solved by stocking up on them a few at a time until you have a number of them. It's a compromise that is worth making...and some shops do stock the M&P mags, although they are generally more expensive than from online sources (at least in the shops where I have found them.)
More rounds won't make the grip any thicker, only longer. I suspect that the S&W designers felt that the length of the grip with 10 rounds was optimum. (Starts to get pretty heavy too.)
walkin' trails
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4200 rounds so far thru mine and still waiting for a malfunction..... I've had a couple of G21s and the M&P FS is still easier to carry concealed. The mags are also easier to conceal.
bronco45
Member
I have the compact and have several hundred rounds through it without a malfunction. I traded an XD45c for it and do not regret the trade. It uses the XD leather and it fits to a T. Apex trigger work and the gun shoots great groups with a nice trigger. Was issued Glocks the last 10 years of LE career and hated every one issued as they didn't fit my hand and I never shot them well. The M&P45c fits, good trigger, good sights, and not any harder to conceal than a Glock 23. I enjoy this 45.
TSQUARED
Member
I shoot a lot of 1911's in various calibers as well as a Glock-17, S&W99 and S&W M&P9Pro. Recently I purchased a full size M&P 45 and have been very impressed with it's reliability and accuracy. It has been totally reliable with 185 gr. LSWC, 185 to 230 gr. JHP, 185 & 230 gr. RN plated and 230 gr. FMJ's. As an aside all my loads produced nice tight 10 shot groups at 50 ft which measured 1 1/4 to 2 inches. The only minus has been the trigger. I purchased an Apex sear which I intend to install.
Dos Cylindros
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We will have to agree to disagree on that one. The G21 is only .15" longer than the M&P 45, but is is also much thicker. This is due to the magazine design as the thre extra rounds in the G21 would not be allowed by just .15" of grip length. It is a combination of grip thickness and length. The G21 mags are thicker than the M&P 45 mags to hold more rounds in a given space. Look up the M&P 45 review on gunblast.com as he has side by side measurements between the two guns which tells the tale.
Had one for a short time.
Worked OK. Lousy trigger.
Apex kit made it slightly less lousy.
The trigger on my Glock 30 is much better. More accurate, too.
Traded it for a Model 681 and never looked back.
Worked OK. Lousy trigger.
Apex kit made it slightly less lousy.
The trigger on my Glock 30 is much better. More accurate, too.
Traded it for a Model 681 and never looked back.
Arthury
Member
Accuracy is quite impressive. I just posted this ...
confidence level for the M&P45
So far, I do not have much complaints about this gun. The trigger is better than my M&P9, may be because it came from a more recent batch and they have improved on it.
There might be a small complaint which I think I can use some polishing sand paper to remove it myself. One of sides of polymer trigger guard is a little too rough and it sort of rub too harshly on my strong hand index finger. But, this is a really small issue.
The gun is solid and easy to clean and eats any type ammo.
It also appears that more PD's and govn't agencies are adopting it and so, the hear/say talked about S&W allocating 1 work day per week for producing consumer pistols and the rest of each week for fulfilling govn't orders. And, so the shortage in the market right now.
confidence level for the M&P45
So far, I do not have much complaints about this gun. The trigger is better than my M&P9, may be because it came from a more recent batch and they have improved on it.
There might be a small complaint which I think I can use some polishing sand paper to remove it myself. One of sides of polymer trigger guard is a little too rough and it sort of rub too harshly on my strong hand index finger. But, this is a really small issue.
The gun is solid and easy to clean and eats any type ammo.
It also appears that more PD's and govn't agencies are adopting it and so, the hear/say talked about S&W allocating 1 work day per week for producing consumer pistols and the rest of each week for fulfilling govn't orders. And, so the shortage in the market right now.
Thanks for you replies. However, I have decided to go a different route with my next purchase. Instead of adding an additional caliber to stock (I already have to keep 30/30, .22 LR, .357/.38), I decided to get a S&W 617 for cheap range fun and to go with my 10/22.
I own an M&P 40 Pro with a long slide & 5" barrel. I am a Glock guy normally, but I bought this gun because I wanted a range/competition gun & I was having trouble finding a Glock 35 at a reasonable price. The M&P 40 is a very good shooting gun. It is as accurate as my Glocks & feels as good or better in my hand. As with the Glocks, I can & did buy a 357sig barrel and shoot 357sigs with a simple barrel exchange with 100% reliability. I love that round & carry it in the winter when I want more penetration through winter coats that the BG might wear.
I also bought a 9mm conversion barrel & 9mm mags and have been shooting 9mm ammo at the range to save money. I have yet to experience a single ftf when shooting the 9mm ammo & I don't expect to ever experience one. I also do this with my Glocks & have never had any ftf's with them either over some 4000 rounds or so when converting to 9mm. With the 40s&w M&P's you get a gun that shoots 3 different caliber rounds for the minimal add-on cost of 2 barrels & 9mm mags. Those are positives, I can't think of any negatives yet. If I do I'll let you know...
I also bought a 9mm conversion barrel & 9mm mags and have been shooting 9mm ammo at the range to save money. I have yet to experience a single ftf when shooting the 9mm ammo & I don't expect to ever experience one. I also do this with my Glocks & have never had any ftf's with them either over some 4000 rounds or so when converting to 9mm. With the 40s&w M&P's you get a gun that shoots 3 different caliber rounds for the minimal add-on cost of 2 barrels & 9mm mags. Those are positives, I can't think of any negatives yet. If I do I'll let you know...
Tom Goodrick
Member
Can the M&P 45 FS or C use +P loads safely on occasion?
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