CONCEALABILITY: SR9c vs M&P9c vs XDsc

[Sheep Doggy Dogg]

Hello! I am new to this forum and new to CCW. I am looking to purchase my first handgun for concealed carry. I've shot handguns for years, but I am new to carrying one on my hip. That being said, I've chosen the following models because they have some form of external safety, either a thumb safety or grip safety. All are quality firearms, so please don't start a war as to which is better. My question lies in: WHICH IS EASIER TO CONCEAL AND WHY?

Ruger SR9c
Smith and Wesson M&P9c with thumb safety
Springfield XDsc 9mm

[crispy]

The Ruger because it is thinner.

[checkmyswag]

Welcome.

I too like a safety on a carry gun. Many here don't. Consider their view but get what works for you and what you prefer.

I like the Ruger and SW a lot. Think the Ruger is a little thinner. Look at the measurements on their websites.

I think the Springfield has a backstrap safety and no thumb safety but may be wrong.

[ESI Agent]

Another vote for the Ruger SR9c. Im carring mine as I type.

[ESI Agent]

Why? Because it's reliable,very accurate,easy to conceal , made in the U.S. and has a life time warranty.

[SW-14]

Honestly, I don't think you'll find much of a difference in terms of concealability. I would get whatever you shoot best.

[tahunua001]

the springfield is a subcompact while the other 2 are compacts so the springfield is smaller so in theory it'll be the easiest to conceal.

however the xd is a croatian import while the M&P and SR9 are american made by american companies.

all three are backed 100% by the manufacturers for life. all three have about equal options for CCW accessories at this point.

the SR9 seems to have the best accuracy and highest overall number of people that like the ergos.

the M&P seems to have the best reputation for reliability and highest ammo cap.


the XD has the best reputation for triggers.

the M&P and SR9 have manual safeties while the XD has a grip safety(all three have trigger safeties)

the SR9 is cheapest and the M&P is most expensive with the XD right in the middle

it all comes down to what is most important to you

[momano]

Have you shot all 3? I suggest that they are equally concealable -with the right holsters. Choose the one you shoot best with. FWIW: I do love my SR9c.

[Hank15]

None of the above. 1911 IWB.

Just kidding, kind of.

It depends on your build and the holster you choose.

Reinforcing what others have said, thinner handguns are/feel easier to conceal than double stacks, regardless of overall length (looks like the SR9c).

[Uncle Malice]

made in the U.S. and has a life time warranty.

You must be thinking of the M&P.

Ruger actually has no warranty. There is no written warranty on any Ruger guns. Don't believe me? Go to the FAQ on their website.

With that said, Ruger does a great job of honoring and servicing their guns. I have some Rugers myself. Don't take this as any sort of Ruger bash, but I see people say that they have a lifetime warranty all the time and it's simply not true.

Smith & Wesson(and Springfield Armory) does have a lifetime warranty and has some of the best customer service in the industry(both of them are tied for the lead). The SR9c might be slightly more concealable, but I would take the M&P any day, although I prefer the models without a thumb safety. Upgraded with a complete Apex Tactical DCAEK kit(or a trigger job from Dan Burwell), the M&P has one of the best triggers in the striker fired world.

[Nordeste]

I'd say more, Uncle Malice. That trigger on the M&P is not that bad even when the pistol is fitted with the factory one. At least, IMHO, is much better than the one you find in any Glock, for example.

I have a question for you, though, if you don't mind it. What is that about a "lifetime warranty" on S&W products?. Is that true?. I say this because I am interested in an M&P 9C myself and I have come across a couple of used units that are interesting. I had assumed that, buying used, there would be no warranty after the usual -in Europe- two years warranty on most good you purchase. That's why I was considering buying new, since the used ones would be around 300-350€ and the new one would take a bit over 500€. If that lifetyme warranty is worldwide, buying new is pointless...

[Uncle Malice]

I don't know exactly how it works outside of the U.S. so take whatever I say here with a grain of salt...

Technically, the lifetime warranty is only for the original purchaser, although most companies - especially Springfield Armory and Smith & Wesson - still accept and honor the warranty even if you are not original purchaser(they generally no way of knowing either way unless you volunteer that information.)

One incident in particular that I can reference with Smith & Wesson is as follows: S&W handles all of the importation and customer service for Walther in the US. About a year and a half ago I found a used Walther PPS for a really good price. Now keep in mind that the Walther guns technically have a 1 year warranty for the original purchaser. I cleaned and lubed the gun, looked it over, everything looked to be in order. I took it to the range and had numerous jams, failures to feed, failures to eject, etc. I took it home, cleaned it again, lubed it, and retested.... same results. I couldn't find anything obviously wrong with the gun.

I contacted Smith & Wesson customer service and explained what was happening. I was just asking for any suggestions on what I should try. The gentleman I spoke to promptly suggested that he send me a prepaid shipping label and that I send it to them for analysis. I packaged the gun up along with a note describing the problems, and included my 3 magazines(1 of each size). After about 5 days I received a call from S&W. The person on the phone explained that the ejector on the gun was broken. The way the PPS is designed, the ejector is an integrated part of the serialized chassis and so it can not just be replaced, thus, they were not able to repair the gun. In this instant, my heart sank a little. I was thinking "great, well I just blew that money..." Before I could respond, the voice on the other end of the phone continued with - "...so we're going to go ahead and send you a brand new replacement gun from the warehouse. It'll probably take about 10 days or so to get all the paperwork done, so you should see it in about 2 weeks."

I was really surprised at that response. I was NOT the original owner. The gun was already about 3 years old (well outside of its original warranty). I thanked the person in the phone and continued to wait. The gun showed up at my door about 8 days later, on a Saturay - guns from the factory can ship directly to your door in Arizona. I opened the box and sure enough, there lies a brand new PPS with it's 1 7-round magazine. I broke it down, cleaned it, lubed it, put a snap cap in and commenced my weekend of dry fire practice before I went to shoot it. The PPS when brand new can have a little bit of a gritty feeling in the trigger, but after 500-1000 trigger pulls it smooths out very well and it one of my favorite triggers.

On Monday I called back to Smith & Wesson customer service. I explained that I was very thankful for the replacement gun and everything looked great. I wanted to inquire about possibly having my old magazines returned since the new gun only came with 1 magazine and they're not exactly cheap to replace. The person on the phone looked up and confirmed my RMA/ticket and saw that I had indeed sent 3 magazines in with my other gun. Without hesitation, he said that he would just go ahead and send out 3 brand new magazines to go with the new gun. Again, I was astounded. He explained that the 6 and 7 round magazines were in stock and would ship right away, but the 8 round mags were back ordered and would probably be a few weeks. I thanked him profusely and 2 days later, my 6 and 7 round magazines arrived, brand new in the packaging as described. After about a month or so, I had still not received the 8 round magazine. I figured that they had forgotten about it or something and was not upset in the least. I had a brand new gun, and 3 magazines. I had put about 500 rounds through the gun at this time and had not had a single failure of any kind. The gun is accurate, fun to shoot, great for concealing, and recoil is very mild for what you would expect out of a gun this size. After about 6 weeks, I did finally get the last magazine in the mail. So I now have 4 magazines for the gun. It's seen a total of about 1,100 rounds at this point and has been 100% reliable.

This experience really made me a fan of Smith & Wesson. I have purchased the M&P 9c, 40c, 9, 40, and 45. I think the full-size M&P9 is my favorite of the bunch, but they are all great guns. I hear that Springfield Armory has an equally good customer service department, but have not had to use them, so I can not comment. I have not had to have any service done on my XDs or XDMs. After telling this story to several people, I know of at least 3 people who have made the decision to purchase the PPS based on my experience alone. I know they say that bad customer service experience reaches a lot more people than good service. Well mine was outstanding, and I want everyone to know what a great company S&W is to deal with.

[Nordeste]

Wow, Uncle Malice. That's what you can call good customer support. Thanks for the story, it's worth reading, indeed.

Fact is that, over here, you buy S&W products via their distributor in Spain. I still have to look into it, but my guess is that they'll offer a two-year warranty as obliged by law, regardless of what is the usual S&W practice in America. I know who the distributor is and will send them a mail, and find out.

[Tnglock]

Im a glock owner myself but if i buy another handgun it will be American made.Matter a fact anything i buy from now on im gonna try to buy American. I have shot a S&W M&P with the apex trigger very nice shooter. The SR9 looks good but ive only held one. Had an XD40 it was big and blocky liked glocks better. I dont think you would go wrong with the Smith or Ruger.TN

[Sixer]

Cant go wrong with the M&P9c or the SR9c. I carry the M&P and my old man carries the Ruger. I've carried both and there is almost ZERO noticeable difference.

[Mrgunsngear]

I literally grew up across the street from Smith and Wesson and rode the Springfield bus system with all the workers since we shared a stop. I was a gun enthusiast since I was a little kid so I'd always ask about the work they did and almost daily the workers that worked in the service dept. would tell me stories about guns getting shipped in that were made around the turn of the 20th century for repair. This was in the 90s, so my guess is these guns has outlived one 'lifetime warranty' but S&W would still fix them or send the owner a new one if it couldn't be fixed. It's a great company and their service is legendary.

All that aside and back to the original question. I'd go with the M&Pc; it's an awesome gun. I have 4 M&Ps including the 9c. The only complaint you ever hear about it is the trigger and that can be solved very easy. I polish up the sear, striker, trigger bar, ect... and it's a huge improvement that takes maybe an hour to do. If you don't know how to do it, here's a step by step tutorial:

http://www.burwellguns.com/M&Ptriggerjob1.htm

[ScotchMan]

I love my SR9c. Fire at least 500 rounds through it before carrying; mine had to go back to Ruger but has been great since.

Consider in your choice whether you like a flip UP (M9 style) or flip DOWN (1911 style) safety. For me, I like the flip DOWN. It is very easy to flip it down as part of the draw with my drawing hand. A flip up I usually have to do with my support hand after the gun is in a two-handed grip. I wouldn't carry a gun with a flip up safety, but that's me.

Also the comment about the Springfield being a subcompact and the others only being compact is misleading. The SR9c is almost identical in size to a Glock 26 which is a subcompact. The terms are just marketing, you have to handle the gun to see what you like.

All three guns are excellent. I didn't like the look of the MP9c, and couldn't find one locally without the internal lock. I liked the two-tone model SR9c and the service history Ruger seems to have. If I was starting over now I would look more carefully at a Walther P99c and a Sig P239, but have no complaints and carry my SR9c daily.

[Nordeste]

@Plouffedaddy;

Great input, man. I -still- don't own an M&P but I guess those who do will be as thankful as I am.

Got a question, though. All this polishing... may it affect safety in any manner?. This is pistol meant to be carried chambered, I wonder if manipulating the internals this way could be tricky...

[Mrgunsngear]

"May it affect safety" ---absolutely it MAY; if there is grinding/filing. I fully understand that polishing does remove some metal, but in my opinion, as long as you know what you're doing (and didn't go to youtube gunsmithing school ), polishing alone isn't a safety risk. Mr. Burwell recommends filing part of the sear to decrease trigger pull weight; I don't recommend that for most people. I do like polishing though. If you fire your gun a few thousand times the friction from the metal will effectively 'polish' the metal just the same and would that make it unsafe for carrying? I personally don't think so but others may disagree. My M&Ps that have been polished still have triggers that break around 5.5lbs but the grit that is very often cited with M&Ps is gone. It also breaks cleaner/crisper in my opinion.

[Nordeste]

^ Question answered. Thank you very much .

Since all the gunsmithing classes available for me are "youtube gunsmithing" as you well say, perhaps a bit of polishing, and not material removal, is the correct option for me.

[Mrgunsngear]

Don't get me wrong, there are some very good videos out there on youtube but there are also some scary ones. I saw a 'AK trigger job' video about a month ago that I knew would cause a slam fire runaway. I posted it underneath to warn people. Well... about a week later a guy was posting underneath looking for a new trigger assembly because he performed the 'trigger job' as the video demonstrated and the result----slam fire runaway. Shocker...

One general rule if you want to start filing/grinding---go slow and measure. I highly recommend a trigger gauge; I have a timeney that I picked up for under $30 on amazon and it works great. Basically, if you're working on an engagement area, take a LITTLE off then reassemble and check with the gauge. Repeat until you think it's safe and meets what you want.

[Jack Bauer]

I like Rugers (I have an LC9 and an LCP) but the Glock-like trigger safety of the SR-series has put me off those. I just hate that lever in the middle of the trigger. I also have an M&P 9c and an M&P .40c, both of which I'd take over the SR-series. (I actually prefer the original SR9 trigger; if I hadn't sent mine in for the trigger upgrade years ago, I'd probably still have it.) But, as others have said, go with what you shoot best...

[Willie D]

RE: Uncle Malice's post



I hope someone from S&W reads these forums because a story like that would make me (and probably many others) go out of my way to buy S&W product. That's the way it ought to be done and kudos for S&W for handling it that way.

[ritepath]

I don't know about the SR9c but the SR40 is thinner than my M&P 9c without a thumb safety.

I carried my 9c for a year then moved on to a LCP and haven't looked back. I still carry the 9c when it's cooler outside like now. I love my 9c it's been rock solid reliable, it's 20" away at this very moment.

[Wrothgar]

I was just wondering this myself, and everyone is saying the SR9C is thinner.

per their websites, the M&P is 1.2" wide, and the SR9c is 1.27" wide. Thus, the M&P is thinner. I had an XD 40 sub compact that had, I believe, the same dimensions of an XD 9; I hated it. It felt like I was carrying a brick on my side. Its fat and its heavy... for me. Lots of people seem to like them.