dlombard
Member
For months, I've wanted to test the M&P9 Shield, the Beretta 92FS and even a Glock 19 after having only fired my SD40VE and SD9VE for the last six months and I was pleasantly surprised.
Tonight was my first time to the range with my wife, which was a lot of fun because we were also trying to get a sense for what she might like to buy. I was leaning toward the Beretta for her for a lot of reasons. All metal frame for recoil management, safety decocker, heavy first trigger pull, light second trigger pull and beyond, long barrel for accuracy, and so on. We both tried it and while I was able to get VERY accurate shots at incredible (for me) distances--25 yards, 10 rds., within the 9-10 spot or bull's eye--I didn't enjoy the way it felt to handle the gun.
There's just a lot of stuff going on... Stuff moving on the side where I put my thumbs along the frame, the magazine release is stiff, that first trigger pull is SUPER long (although not too heavy). The follow-up shots are Overly light (feels like 4 lbs.). Made me paranoid; I was IMMEDIATELY reaching for the decocker when I was done, yet still in condition 0. In my mind, while it was SUPER comfortable to hold, that was not an HD/SD or EDC pistol.
Before that was the Glock. We're like, "Glock fanboys are everywhere. So, let's see what the big deal is." And the big deal is, they're solid like a metal-frame gun when fully loaded and doesn't feel like plastic, and, the trigger. The trigger is like magic. Almost too magical though. The "safety" trigger just makes it feel funny. The truth is, it's a light but consistant trigger pull. But I'll never own one. As it turns out, it feels like holding broken glass in my hand. It is the least comfortable firearm I've ever held, period. If I HAD to carry one, I'd have to get a Hague glove for the grip. It just hurt. I wasn't crazy about the football upright sights either. They were easy enough to look through. Just busy, IMO.
The M&P9 Shield I was anxious to try because I saw it in a gun store and thought "wow, that's a nice little piece right there." And all the videos I'd ever watched make it look good. Indeed, the trigger on that thing is Marvelous. A hair heavier than the Glock so as to not feel quite so dangerous. But not long and heavy like my SD9, but while the trigger made Deliberate, well-timed shots easy and I grouped my shots REALLY well (I mean, accuracy that blew my mind--especially for such a tiny gun), everything else was a little crazy...
I pinched myself slapping the magazine into the mag well because the grip stops short of the end of my hand. It's got a busy array of switches not unlike a SIG (which I don't like). Both my wife and I were frowning at dealing with the slide stop. The worst, though, was the muzzle flash. HOLY COW. On a barrel that short, there is not enough time for the powder to burn all the way through before the projectile has left the muzzle. So, we're talking old school Polaroid Camera flash cube-level brightness in the face. Only because I've developed eye-discipline to keep the front sight in focus was I was able to see through it and keep shooting on-target. I think any gun with a barrel that length will in truth suffer from that, so it's no knock on the M&P platform. I just wish we Californians could get its older big sister, the M&P9, because in the full form factor, and that sexy trigger, I can only dream of how much of a pleasure that gun is to shoot.
So what happened? Not only did I feel REALLY happy (and lucky) that my first Ever gun purchase (the SD-series) turn out to be the best of those I thought I might like more, but my wife turned to me with a big smile and said, "I like this one the most." So that was cool!
It's possible that she may have one of her own.
The SIG might have been a nicer gun than the ones we tried tonight for her, but she'll never spend that kind of money on a gun and if she likes the SD9VE, then why not stick with what works?
So, good job, Smith & Wesson.
Tonight was my first time to the range with my wife, which was a lot of fun because we were also trying to get a sense for what she might like to buy. I was leaning toward the Beretta for her for a lot of reasons. All metal frame for recoil management, safety decocker, heavy first trigger pull, light second trigger pull and beyond, long barrel for accuracy, and so on. We both tried it and while I was able to get VERY accurate shots at incredible (for me) distances--25 yards, 10 rds., within the 9-10 spot or bull's eye--I didn't enjoy the way it felt to handle the gun.
There's just a lot of stuff going on... Stuff moving on the side where I put my thumbs along the frame, the magazine release is stiff, that first trigger pull is SUPER long (although not too heavy). The follow-up shots are Overly light (feels like 4 lbs.). Made me paranoid; I was IMMEDIATELY reaching for the decocker when I was done, yet still in condition 0. In my mind, while it was SUPER comfortable to hold, that was not an HD/SD or EDC pistol.
Before that was the Glock. We're like, "Glock fanboys are everywhere. So, let's see what the big deal is." And the big deal is, they're solid like a metal-frame gun when fully loaded and doesn't feel like plastic, and, the trigger. The trigger is like magic. Almost too magical though. The "safety" trigger just makes it feel funny. The truth is, it's a light but consistant trigger pull. But I'll never own one. As it turns out, it feels like holding broken glass in my hand. It is the least comfortable firearm I've ever held, period. If I HAD to carry one, I'd have to get a Hague glove for the grip. It just hurt. I wasn't crazy about the football upright sights either. They were easy enough to look through. Just busy, IMO.
The M&P9 Shield I was anxious to try because I saw it in a gun store and thought "wow, that's a nice little piece right there." And all the videos I'd ever watched make it look good. Indeed, the trigger on that thing is Marvelous. A hair heavier than the Glock so as to not feel quite so dangerous. But not long and heavy like my SD9, but while the trigger made Deliberate, well-timed shots easy and I grouped my shots REALLY well (I mean, accuracy that blew my mind--especially for such a tiny gun), everything else was a little crazy...
I pinched myself slapping the magazine into the mag well because the grip stops short of the end of my hand. It's got a busy array of switches not unlike a SIG (which I don't like). Both my wife and I were frowning at dealing with the slide stop. The worst, though, was the muzzle flash. HOLY COW. On a barrel that short, there is not enough time for the powder to burn all the way through before the projectile has left the muzzle. So, we're talking old school Polaroid Camera flash cube-level brightness in the face. Only because I've developed eye-discipline to keep the front sight in focus was I was able to see through it and keep shooting on-target. I think any gun with a barrel that length will in truth suffer from that, so it's no knock on the M&P platform. I just wish we Californians could get its older big sister, the M&P9, because in the full form factor, and that sexy trigger, I can only dream of how much of a pleasure that gun is to shoot.
So what happened? Not only did I feel REALLY happy (and lucky) that my first Ever gun purchase (the SD-series) turn out to be the best of those I thought I might like more, but my wife turned to me with a big smile and said, "I like this one the most." So that was cool!
It's possible that she may have one of her own.
The SIG might have been a nicer gun than the ones we tried tonight for her, but she'll never spend that kind of money on a gun and if she likes the SD9VE, then why not stick with what works?So, good job, Smith & Wesson.
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