So after reading numerous threads on training with one pistol/weapon system. I have decided to do it. The problem is which one. Again I have read numerous threads that topic also, but I am still undecided.
I have HKs (P30 + HK45), a M&P45, and Glocks (17gen3+20). All seem to have there +'s and -'s. The HK’s cost and parts, the M&P9 accuracy, and the Gen 4 glock’s possible reliablity issues and my gen3 isn’t as reliable as my HKs. I want to concentrate on 9mm for my Wife and I.
My grip seems to support the Glock the best for pointability. The others require me adjust to get sight alignment. The glocks have the best support (I already have a 22 conversion kit).
Parts and accessories availability and cost, caliber, and accuracy would seem to fall in favor of the Glock.
You also say the Glock points more naturally for you, which would lead me to think would make it easier to shoot (at least possibly requiring less training to shoot effectively, i.e. less fighting the gun).
From that I would choose the Glock and from a reliability stand point the Gen 3 17. But then I already have. I consolidated myself a few years ago and the G17 Gen 3 became my daily carry and for many of the reason you mentioned yourself. Reliability, parts availability, initial and maintenance costs, caliber, etc.
All that being said, any of the weapons you listed should prove to be more than adequate.
All three are top of the line gun makers. What you should pick what boils down to your overall personal preference and what is most logical to your situation. Sounds like you are leaning towards the Glock, which is as good of a choice as the other three. My “personal” preference goes towards the P30, but that is my choice, not yours.
Those three handguns you listed are all good guns and widely used by the members here on this board…especially Glock and M&P. By asking which one you should consolidate with, all you will get is biased answers pointing you in the direction of the answerers’ favorite gun.
You really need to just ask yourself, which do you trust more from a reliability standpoint, which do you shoot better, and which feels best in your hand. If there isn’t one gun that fits ALL those criteria, then you may have to make compromises. The one compromise I wouldn’t make is on reliability. But the choice is ultimately yours.
Originally I had decided on the HK, it is a great pistol. It is very accurate and has been 100% reliable, but again the lack of sights that I like and the fact my grip keeps the slide from locking back have me second guessing that choice.
Unfortunately my gen3 G17 hasn’t been 100% and I like a right side mag release (carry over from HKs), so that means gen4.
I want to like the M&P, but like I said the early unlocking/accuracy issues give me doubts.
You shouldn’t have problems with early unlocking with the M&P45…the 9mm are the ones with the issues. Unless I missed something along the way about issues with the 45 too?
My M&P45 has been great, no problems. But thats not what I hear about the 9’s. It would seem that the HK and M&P have better multi caliber systems, which I like. The capacity and price of 9mm have me almost exclusively shooting that caliber.
I was hoping for a piece of wisdom to descend from the internet to help me decide.
Well here’s the deal. I shoot M&P9 with no problems at all. Is it a tack driver? No, but neither am I at the moment (I don’t get to practice enough). Can you get “combat accuracy” and make your hits in a defensive situation? Absolutely. I proved that to myself in the Vickers HD/Shoothouse Class I just took last weekend. Is it reliable? Most certainly. After shooting about 4000 rds out of my two M&P9s, I have yet to have a stoppage that cannot be attributed to the cheap ammo I shoot for training.
However, like I said in my post above, I will not recommend the M&P to you because first I am biased, and second, it may not be what’s right for YOU.
ETA: I shoot my M&P9 completely stock too…no aftermarket parts.
For 9mm I recommend you go with the Glocks but that’s just me, quite honestly from the list you put out there you won’t go wrong.
I say pick M&P or Glock just to save the money on holsters + parts. To me the M&Ps and Glocks are basically identical, its just a question of where you want six of one or half dozen of the other.
Ive had all the choices you mention and have settled on Glocks, mostly due to the trigger characteristics. I find a stock Glock trigger to be better than M&P & HK. That was the deciding factor, for me.
i also chose the 9mm Glock platform. i chose this for its simplicity and the ability to completely strip it down and replace any parts as necessary. im one of the strage ones that fit a Glock 17 perfectly and it points naturally for me.
i also like the fact that i can have 3 different frame sizes and 5 different barrel lengths that all fit different roles but all use a majority of spare parts and magazines from the bigger frames can be used for all as spares/reloads.
Glocks never pointed right for me until I tried to really choke up on the gun and lock my wrist, now they point perfect. The problem is nothing else does, so I end up using what I feel is a weaker grip, with the HK it recoils so soft that it doesn’t seem to matter, the m&p45 isn’t as forgiving.
I don’t think you missed anything. I can’t recall everyreading a user report poor accuracy from a .45 M&P. Most good shooters report match grade precison.
Choose the one you shoot the best. Sounds like it is the Glock. I went round and round with the decision, started with a sigs, went to M&Ps, tried the company issued glock for a while and now I am back to sigs. They just seem to work the best for me.
If you like the glock and the glock fits you don’t let the internet rumblings keep you from using it. A lot of people talk $hit about new sigs but I have owned 4 sigs in the last few years and 3 of them were new. The only west german one I had was the most inaccurate piece of jammomatic crap I have ever owned so it is completely different from what the internet cowboys say.
The P30 has the flat out best ergonomics of any pistol on the market. A slight tweak of your grip or a minor alteration of the slide release will alleviate the slide override issue. If you already own it, the cost is irrelevant. A sufficiently locked-out wrist is entirely possible with any platform. Replacement parts are available, as are sights.
The G19 is a solid choice as well, in fact it is my default recommendation to buyers, but it’s ergonomics are behind the P30, and I am not ready to recommend the Gen4.
H&K is consistantly one of the best handgun makers on the planet. They make production pistols with a semi-custom level of design, materials, and quality controls. Decade after decade, buyers have been confident in using H&K products. Virtually every other company out there has had periods of poor quality, and thus certain years of production that you want to avoid. Not so with H&K.
In regards to the P30, it was one of the few pistols out there that I have been able to pick up cold for the first time, shoot a course of fire with it, and shot it better than I have done with a Sig which I have carried with the Feds for 15 years. The ergos of the gun make it a very intuitive shooter, it is extremely accurate, and reliable/durable. However, it is a German hammer fired pistol. So it is very similar to a Sig in terms of grip angle and slide height. Probably why I can interchange the two and shoot either just as well. If I could pick any gun out there to replace my Sig with, it would be a P30.
I have found my M&P45 and 40 to be the most accurate and least problematic, but my 9 and 9c are no slouches either. Both have well over 12K rounds fired on them and have survived multiple pistol (1000-1500 rounds in a weekend) and carbine courses.
This is true…I have a Mid-size .45, I had Heinie’s and a Apex FSS installed, It is very,very accurate, very reliable, The way I have it set up, I would’nt hesitate to use it as a CCW.The 9mm M&P’s (I also have one) are hit and miss at best, some are pretty accurate and others are’nt, mine is mediocre at best, accuracy seems to fall apart after 15yds or so, I can’t fault it as far as reliabilty goes,But I could’nt reccommend to anyone simply because of the accuracy varations from one pistol to the next. I also can’t see dumping money into it for a Apex/Bar-sto replacement barrel,I went to another platform instead, a Walther PPQ, HK ergos, HK performance, at about $200 less. At least with the M&P .45’s, you’re buying a known quanity,That responds well to modifcations like the Apex FSS.
I do not have experience with the M&P 45 other than being on my GAS list.
But I do have a Springfield Custom shop 1911 and a M&P 9mm which Grant at G&R did a DCAEK work up on… The trigger is obviously better on the 1911, but I can shoot the 9mm just as accureately as the 1911.
The M&P are great guns and as money premits I plan on buying more.