Looking for y’all to share your experiences with these two platforms with me. Or I guess really, if either has a significant advantage over the other I am missing.
I am in the market for a new full-size 9mm pistol. I am familiar with the GLOCK. I have carried both a 22 and 27 on-duty and off. I am comfortable and accurate with them (+1). I plan to rent one of each this weekend and shoot them side by side in comparison. One the surface they appear to be fairly equal in dimension, weight, capacity, handling and operation. They are fairly comparably priced, with the M&P being slightly more $$$ before the rebate and roughly equal after (although +2 mags). There definately seems to be a larger aftermarket for the GLOCK, although the extent of any upgrades probably being sights, extended mag release and maybe a Crimson-trace laser. I know the M&P has interchangeable backstraps but I haven’t had a problem with the grip of the GLOCK before.
For those who have or have had both which do you prefer and why and am I overlooking anything?
I prefer the M&P series as a whole over Glocks. For me, the M&P sits more naturally in my hand, lends itself to better recoil management, etc. I used to do a lot of shooting with Glocks but after I picked up my first M&P, my Glocks now see very little use.
With all that being said; to get the most out of it, a trigger job should be done to the M&P.
Between the two, I prefer the M&P (and carry a full size M&P9 every day). There’s no question the G17 is an outstanding gun. Benefits, for me, of the M&P:
[ul][li] More ergonomic (reversible mag button, ambi slide release, multiple grip sizes)
[/li][li] Less muzzle flip (though that’s like saying one grain of salt is less weight than two grains of salt)
[/li][li] Metal mags which always drop free
[/li][li] excellent Crimson Trace grips (Lasergrips for the Glock are mediocre at best)
[/li][li] Steel chasis (less likelihood of frame rail breakage, which has plagued Glock from time to time)
[/li][li] Don’t need to pull the trigger to disassemble
[/li][*] Made in the U.S.A.[/ul]
I have both… I have shot my Glock alot with no issues… Just got the M&P not too long ago, but I like it … Its got a issue I need to resolve before I can really get serious with it, but its about how I hold it, not the gun. I`m still not going to make it my #1 gun till I get more time with it, but it shows alot of promise.
I’d recommend the Glock without hesitation; I think that I’d recommend waiting for another 6 months to ensure that Smith & Wesson truly has successfully dealt with all the birthing issues that the M&P’s experienced (and to increase the odds that the one you get is a new one, as opposed to old stock that’s been there for awhile).
I own both the M&P9 and G17. I have just a hair under 2000 rounds through my M&P9 and 4000 through my G17 at this point. I think both are excellent and both have pluses and minuses. There are certain things I love about the G17 and certain things I love about the M&P9. Below are some of my observations and opinions based on my experience with both:
Ergonomics on the M&P are sweet. I don’t mind the grip or grip angle of the Glock but the M&P is definitely nice.
I like the stock trigger of the Glock and I like how it’s consistent across all the Glock models.
I wish the M&P trigger had a more distinct reset.
For $12.95 I can install a #3.5 connector in my Glock and have a sweet little trigger. It would cost me almost $100 to have my M&P sent to someone like Burwell for a trigger job.
Parts, holsters and accessories are every where for Glocks. Not so much for the M&P but hopefully that will get better.
It appears that Glock and S&W have awesome customer service if you need it.
Advantage Arms makes 22lr conversion kits for the Glock. With the price of ammo ($18.42 for a 100 round box of WWB) on the rise a 22lr kit might be the hot ticket for practicing. Nobody makes a conversion kit for the M&P yet.
Glock magazines run $14-$16 dollars while M&P mags run about $30.
There are a lot more NS options for the Glock but so far, the sights that have been released for the M&P have been extremely nice and you might not need any more options than what’s available.
The Crimson Trace grips for the M&P are as good as it gets. They look like and feel like they were part of the original design and they don’t make the grip awkward. That’s a big plus when you have little hands like I do.
The Glock platform was originally designed for the 9mm but the M&P was designed from the ground up as a .40 cal. This should eliminate some of the issues Glock has suffered over the years.
The Glock has fewer parts (14 I think) and I can completely break one down using nothing more than the simple Glock tool. However, I haven’t found a need to completely break my M&P down so maybe it’s not a big deal.
The G17 in particular has a lot of history and a very good reputation that took 20+ years to establish. The M&P is the new kid on the block but so far shows a lot of promise. I don’t have an answer for you other than I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with either one. I think everyone should own a G17 but if I was just starting out today (and I didn’t already own multiple Glocks, holsters, parts, tools, etc for the Glocks) I would probably buy an M&P9 and never look back.
I personally won’t buy a new design of pistol until it’s been out for at least 10 years. I know it’s not a huge investment, but I don’t keep a lot of pistols around so if a pistol is in my ownership, it had better be good… And parts, ammo, mags and all of that stuff had better be all over the place. The M&P isn’t close to the Glock in that area yet.
I didn’t get a Glock until it was deployed by American L.E. for over 15 years.
There’s some nice features on the M&P, but I don’t know of anyone who actually owns one. (aside from here on M4) I like to stay on the beaten path with my pistols and rifles. So when a lot of L.E. agencies in my area are running the M&P, I’ll jump on board too.
Excellent points on the availability of parts, mags, holsters and work history.
I own both a G17 (along with a G34 & G19…both 10+ years old) and a M&P9 (along with a M&P45). All but the M&P45 (two FTF in the first 50 rounds), have been 100% reliable.
M4arc pretty much summed up my thoughts on the subject (thanks for typing all of that! ). I like all of them!
Thanks for all the replies thus far! I appreciate you sharing your experiences. I am going to reserve judgment until I have had the opportunity to shoot them side by side. The huge amount of parts and accessories for the GLOCK is definitely a strong argument, as is its history, and my personal experience with it. Someone mentioned the drop in connectors that allow different pull weights, etc in the GLOCK. Do they have any negative effects on reliability or is the reliability inherit in the design? Any brands or combos to stay away from? I’ve never had an issue with the GLOCK’s pull weight but its significant take-up and over-travel I could certainly live without.
for what it’s worth, in pistols I’ve only shot my custom .45 seriously and played around shooting friends’ pistols that they have brought over (glocks, s&w revolver, colt revolver, ruger semi auto, ruger cobwboy.) I wanted a 9mm and never really enjoyed the glock vs. my colt or the ruger vs. my colt for the way they feel in the hand and their natural pointablility vs. the 1911 i’m used to. I held the m&p in the store and figured that it felt pretty good and seemed natural on the dry firing. Everybody had raved about it so I purchased one and brought it home. For me, and many of my friends, it is a natural pointer to shoot with. It’s completely different from my 1911 but it goes to target and returns to target naturally in it’s own way. We had a large group shooting the day before easter this year and the gun everybody kept wanting to shoot was that m&p. I’ve enjoyed the purchase and bought a second to send to Dan Burwell to do some work on and see how good it can be. I would recommend the m&p9 as a firearm. I would not consider it “better” or “more reliable” than a glock, but would recommend it as a good pistol on it’s own merits.
RD62 - As far as connectors go I only have experience with the Glock OEM connectors and the Lone Wolf #3.5 connector. If you use Glock connectors and trigger springs, like the #3.5 connector and NY1 (olive) trigger you will not have issues with reliability. They are standard Glock manufactured parts so don’t worry. In addition I would also trust the Lone Wolf connectors. Lone Wolf really has their shit together and their connectors, guide rods, barrels have all been excellent in my experience.
If I couldn’t have Glock #3.5 my second choice would be a LW connector.
Stay away from the race or gaming connectors for carry/defense use.
I run LW 3.5# connectors in all of my Glocks. I’ve never had any problems with any of them.
Unfortunately, to reduce the take-up/reset on a Glock requires modifications that aren’t really a good idea on a carry/HD gun. I ran a Ghost Rocket in my G34 IDPA gun, for about 4 years (3,000 rounds or so) with no issues.
I’ve owned them both, still have the G17. Much better weapon IMO. Nothing wrong with the M&P, the Glock just has better ergos, trigger, magazines etc IMO.
as wierd as this sounds…I like the M&P better…the way it feels, the ergonomics, what have you…but with good sights (i prefer warrens) i shoot glocks better…i don’t know why this is, I can’t explain it…so I use glocks…
Based upon the fanfare mostly from this forum I was enthusiastic to try the M&P and compare it to my G19. After 500 or so rounds I found the M&P to be lacking.
Didnt like the Egros. If you want ergos to rave about try a HK P30, and I actually thought the glock felt better in the hand than the M&P
The trigger was horrid. Not on XD level, but no where as good as a Glock out the box
The Low profile slide lock was hard to use during one handed drills with the weak hand
The tang is too long and sharp and got caught under my shirt during a draw from concealment test. This is bad bad bad, and it wasnt evening raining which makes clothes cling even more. The M&P compact shouldnt have this problem, and Glocks obviously dont have this issue
My Vote is G17 and G19 over any M&P any day of the week…
