Thinking about a new handgun, what do you suggest???
I’m thinking .40 S&W…possibly 10mm, don’t know about price/availability of ammo though.
What are some of the pros and cons of each??? Best prices???
Thanks for any info.
Glock. The pedigree and the MF’ers that have been there and done that such as TigerSwan(who use Glocks; the ones I’ve seen) speaks for itself.
M&P or a Glock, either will serve you well, Avoid the XDm like the plague…(do a search here on the XD/XDm and read up, you might change your mind about them)
in .40? M&P. It was built as a .40; unlike the Glock.
Search: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=33825
One that I started a while back: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=29230
If it’s a .40 you’re after, the M&P is the way to go.
.45 ACP, M&P. 9mm, Glock or M&P.
-Note- I own a G22, G23 and G27 and have no complaints.
If I could start my 40’s over it would be M&P’s There is a difference. The Gen 4 G22’s has done little to change my opinion.
If you’re after a 40 then go with the M&P. The new Gen4 Glocks are too new for a good idea as to whether they fixed the 40 or not.
For me, it’s all Glock, all 9mm. It’s just easier for me and I recently consolidated my handgun collection (still have my 1911s though).
In .40? M&P40 hands down. It’s very controllable and milder recoil than the G23 I used to own. My favorite of the M&Ps I own (9, 9c, 40, 45).
Oh, come now… Clint Smith replaced all his .45 Glocks with XDs! He’s written many glowing reviews of the XD.
I tried the XD .45 because it actually fit my thick-palmed, short-fingered hand very well. It had a nice round capacity also. Other than those two attributes, I was not a big fan. It never let me down, but it didn’t do anything particularly well, either.
That cracked me up…thanks for the great gut laugh this morning!
The simplest possible answer is a Glock in 9mm or an M&P in 9mm. Why 9mm? Because it’s the cheapest centerfire handgun ammo on the market, which allows for more training, and it works:
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887
The 9mm Glocks have a much better track record for reliability and durability than the Glocks in other common service calibers, although the 4th generation Glocks are supposed to resolves some of the issues that are legendary with the .40 Glocks. Time will tell whether or not that’s true.
M&P’s are generally regarded as good to go in any caliber.
Glocks and M&P’s will come in somewhere around the 500 dollar mark.
Other good (but more expensive) options would be the Sig P229, the Sig P226, H&K P30. You can find them ranging from $650 up through almost $1,000. Don’t forget to figure in the price of spare magazines when doing your calculations. Spare magazines are rudely expensive for the P30, which places what is by any measure an excellent handgun out of the budget of many.
I’m thinking .40 S&W…possibly 10mm, don’t know about price/availability of ammo though.
Again I would refer you to the thread about service pistol calibers in the Terminal Ballistics forum. I like watching Dirty Harry as much as the next guy, but the simple truth is that with modern ammunition design the difference between calibers means less than it ever has in the history of firearms. There are a lot of police agencies in this nation who issue 9mm sidearms loaded with ammunition like the 124 grain +P Gold Dot loading and they are generally seeing darn good results on the street.
What are some of the pros and cons of each???
I would suggest using the search function in this forum to give you more background on that question. We’ve had lots of discussions of different platforms here over the years and it would be impossible for any one person to relate all the information that’s been shared.
If you want a quick and dirty list, it boils down to this:
Glock 9mm:
- About as reliable as any mass-produced machine can be.
- Relatively cheap. Easy to maintain and to do light customization (sights, etc) with.
- Cheap spare mags. Widely supported in the accessory market.
- Ergonomics aren’t ideal for everybody and it’s yet to be seen whether the 4th gen Glocks resolve that. Early indications are that it is only a slight improvement over the original.
- You have to pull the trigger to disassemble a Glock. Many a round has been launched unintentionally because of this.
- There are certain safety drawbacks to a weapon with a ~ 5-6 pound trigger and no manual safety.
M&P:
- Much the same list as the Glock, although spare parts are harder to come by and they are a slight bit harder to work on than a Glock.
- Older versions of the M&P are sensitive to dryfire without a snapcap. S&W introduced a new striker (easily seen by it’s silver color as opposed to black on the older strikers) that stands up to a lot more dryfire without issue.
- Replacing the sights on the M&P requires an M&P sight tool or the Hammer of Thor
- Does not require a trigger pull to disassemble.
- Same safety drawbacks in regards to having a ~ 5-6 pound trigger and no manual safety, although S&W makes manual safety M&Ps.
Sig P229/P226:
- Sig’s QC on non-contract guns is not what it once was. Generally speaking, however, the P229 and P226 work pretty good for most.
- Some regard them as bulky
- The controls of the Sig are unique and take some getting used to
- Lack of a consistent trigger on DA/SA models can present some training challenges.
P30:
- Expensive.
- Probably the most advanced ergonomics design of any handgun on the market…despite this, a lot of people still don’t like certain aspects of the design like the trigger groove.
- Very limited aftermarket support due to H&K’s small footprint in the handgun market.
Springfield XD:
- Sucks. Do a search on the XD threads in this forum for the reasons why.
I like both the M&P and Glock. I switched from a Glock 9mm to M&P 9mm due to ergonomics. You should hold (shoot if possible) both and then decide.
If you want a 40 I think both Glock and M&P will accept conversion barrels so you can shoot the cheaper 9mm. It will cost you less than $200 to convert. You can’t go from 9mm to 40.
I had a XD45 and had some rather annoying problems with it. I’m sure my comments would be found if one does a search on the XD here on this board. The kicker was when I bought my Midsize M&P45…I had a chance to compare them side by side, strip them both down and compare. The XD was sold within a week… The only polymer framed pistols I have now are M&P’s and HK’s. Between these two, a XD simply can’t cut the mustard…