Stepping up from Shield to M&P Pro questions

[supplier]

Hi, all.

I fairly new to guns. 2 years this month as I bough my first gun (9mm M&P Shield). I have mostly positive experience with Shield and the S&W service in general. Shield is my CC and I do practice a lot. Shield saw around 6k rounds (+/- 5%), in the following ratio: 25% 115gr FMJ, 3%-5% SD rounds in 124gr P/P+ and remaining 70% is 124gr P Agulia and Win NATO (P+).

My SD rounds, I bought about 1.5 years ago, are Win T-Ranger and HST both in 124gr +P, as well as Hornady Critical Duty P+ 135gr. I load two Hornady rounds in each magazine first in/last out. My thinking is - if for some reason I will not be able to resolve a SD situation with 2-3 shots and will have to empty magazine - I might benefit from rounds with more penetration power.

My first question is for more experienced folks - do you see any issues in my CC approach or have any suggestions for me? ( including if using ammo marked as for LE only for civilian CC is worth the risk of any possible legal actions?)

My Shield has been serviced by S&W though (I believe they replace the slide assembly and the barrel - not sure if this has to do with using 124 NATO spec rounds or not). S&W zeroed back my aftermarket Big Dot sights ( I'm not really happy with Big Dot for target practicing, but still manage get decent grouping from 21 feet). But I DO think the Big Dot sights is a good choice for SD situation (close range/stress) - so I'll keep them.


Now going to my second question.
My other gun I bought for HD is 9mm 3.8" XDm compact (bought in January 2013) over one of M&P's only due to good reviews, lack personal knowledge/experience with guns and ability to use it for CC with 13 rds mag. I love doing nature photography and sometime going alone/with one friend in remote areas. I feel better with 13rd in MDx with two additional 19rds mags on my belt over the Shield ( I have 5 mags for the Shield, but still 8+1 is the best possible staring point. I practice less with XDm than with Shield. XDm has seen only 1000-1500 rounds 124 gr FMJ and SD rounds (147gr Federal HST's). I still load 3-4 rounds of Hornady Critical Duty 135gr P+ first in/last out in all my mags, thinking it's a good approach to have mix of 147gr P and 135gr P+. But anyone thinks it's better not to mix ammo - please let me know.

On a side note, I was very unhappy to get some run around from Springfield's service department and I think I'm done with Springfield as a company - no reason to patronize those who don't care about MY needs/questions/concerns.

Currently, I'd like to bring myself up in my marksmanship training, by entering long slide handgun territory. After researching for few weeks on the topic, I narrowed my choice to G34 and M&P Pro. G34 preferred to M&P Pro by two to one in all competition (from what I research, no credibility in this statement). Few more days of research and I set my mind on M&P Pro due to many reasons. the most important are - stock trigger, better fit in my hand and S&W service.

As I never taken part in any competition (and I'm not even sure if I will, but I definitely will try to get there). I need to understand if I need to go with 9mm M&P Pro or a CORE one (even if I will not use Red Dot in any nearest future). How are the iron sights of CORE version is compare to Novak Fiber optic one Indoors/outdoors?

Also if 9mm is a good choice or 40 is better choice for competitions? It will possibly, that in order to fund a new purchase I will have to sell XDm. So M&P Pro will become not only my training/competition gun (if i'll do competitions), but also my only HD gun. That's why I give so many details - I would like to understand all my possible options before making the new purchase.

Thank you in advance all.

 

[RobzGuns]

While I do have a few different brands of SD ammo, I'm not one to mix SD rounds. Pick one (or two brands) that work reliably and that you can readily find and rotate through them.

As for 'LE' ammo... I can't speak for all the various brands out there, but I know for a fact that other than packaging, Speer's 'LE' Gold Dots sold in the 50 round box are the same as the corresponding Gold Dots in the 20 round box.

As far as shooting +P (or NATO rounds for that matter), from what I've gleaned through the years is, the higher pressure of +P/NATO simply MAY cause parts to wear quicker than using standard pressure. Many Owners' Manuals even state this, recommending that the user use +P 'sparingly'... In other words, it's okay for carry ammo and to stay proficient, Just don't use +P Exclusively.

I have both a Shield9 and an XDMc9 as my carry pistols. I've been using my XDMc9 for IDPA/USPSA style Practical shooting matches for several years and without getting 'seriously' into it, place in the upper half of the pack. The people I shoot with use a variety of calibers. Some shoot .40, others shoot .45, and a lot use 9mm. many of the .40 and .45 shooters are heavily into reloading, while many of the 9mm shooters think it's still as cost effective to buy off the shelf, than investing the time & effort (mostly time) to reload 9mm. If you're not getting into reloading, shooting 9mm in matches is the most cost effective way to go.

Unless you simply want a reason to buy another pistol, use your XDMc9 until you know you want to get serious in competitive shooting.

 

[OS-Wiz]

IMHO its not advisable to fed your CC weapon a steady diet of +P ammo. I shoot the two mags I've been carrying every couple months or so to be sure they run correctly and replace with fresh ammo.
If you plan to be a serious competitor you'll for sure need a long slide and mild loads.

 

[Lycan]

Two different guns for two different purposes. I wouldn't call it "stepping up at all". "Branching out" might be a better representation in my opinion. +P ammo tends to be harder on smaller CC type pistols in general.

 

[supplier]

Ok, thanks all for your input. I did more than expected today - ordered M&P 22 for $259 from the link in one of the posts for practicing. went to a gun show few hours before closing and picked M&P 9L CORE after negotiations for $599. Found two original M&P 22 12-rd magazines (last two) for $29.99 each and was able to get 1000 rounds of CCI 22LR copper plated hollow point rounds for $140. I think I'm all set for now. just need to research on red dot sights and find it at the good price.
Thank you again.

 

[bob98366]

marksmanship

While a longer barrel pistol will help marginally with accuracy (more weight and longer sight radius), suggest that you first work on marksmanship skills. (If you're already there, sorry for this post.) Once you master them, any pistol you shoot will be accurate and you will amaze your shooting buddies. Search youtube for pistol accuracy.

Basic steps (others will have more, but these will get you 90% there):
1. Proper grip, including locking in weak hand support (meat of weak thumb will be on the grip, fingers wrapped around strong hand fingers and weak hand angled forward and down to match the angle of the grip).
2. Focus on the front sight, not the target. (N/A for red dots.)
3. Steady, smooth and straight trigger pull/press keeping rest of strong hand and fingers motionless. Speed comes after you master this. But taking longer than one second per steady shot is just chasing the target.

Practicing the trigger pull without a pistol is useful. So are balancing an empty shell on the barrel, shooting at longer distances, and using snap caps.

 

[Riflemann]

I bought in this order: 4.25" FS M&P40, than 40Shield, and M&P40L CORE. I shoot the CORE almost every week at the indoor range for the last 19 months that I have had it, and I love this gun. So far I have not put an optic on it, I was looking at the Leupold Delta 2, but since they stopped production of this to bring out the Delta Pro I will wait a little longer.

 

[supplier]

Took my 9L Pro CORE to the range for the first time - Sweet!!! put 6 boxes/300rds 124 gr WWB NATO through her w/o any issues. This is toward of the end - four 17rds magazines from 7-7.5 yards. iron sights.

 

[bob98366]

Supplier, nice shooting.

 

[supplier]

Thank you!