Tell me about the M&P 45.

[chris in va]

Felt pretty good in the hand at the gun show. Our club's top shooter uses the 40 version to good effect, assuming he has the Apex kit.

I had a G21sf. Didn't care for the width and weird grip angle, both of which the Smith seems to address. Anything else interesting?

[Mrgunsngear]

Nope. They're boringly reliable with great ergos. The only problem I have with it the almost in-perceivable reset; I just can't seem to get used to it...

[Noreaster]

MA & NH State Police selected it over Sig and Glock. Only problem I've heard is the slide release/lock sheering off from extreme heavy use, but it doesn't effect use other then the slide locking back. On the rare instances when it happened S&W replaced for free.

[Billy Shears]

6,000 trouble free rounds through mine so far and many, many hundreds of miles of hiking through rough country in all kinds of weather. It feeds and fires anything I put in it and shoots as accurately as any handgun I've ever owned. Highly recommended.

[LockedBreech]

I think it's tied with the Sig Sauer P220 series as the best non-1911 .45 out there.

[Theohazard]

plouffedaddy posted:
The only problem I have with it the almost in-perceivable reset; I just can't seem to get used to it...
I agree 100%. The M&P is such a great gun in every other way, it's so annoying that I can't feel the reset. So I either have to guess where the reset is and risk trigger freeze, or slap the trigger.

[biohazurd]

I prefer the M&p autos over any other full size polymer handgun. They are much more ergonomic IMO to the glock and xd But.... I wish they could have designed the magazines to be on par with glock in regards to capacity. That extra 3 rounds of .45 is important imo.

[three-fifty-seven]

I had a G21sf. Didn't care for the width and weird grip angle, both of which the Smith seems to address. Anything else interesting?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y241/Juicemn82/Glock-Aid.jpg

[car]

I think it's tied with the Sig Sauer P220 series as the best non-1911 .45 out there.

I agree 100% on this.

[buckeyedave]

I just bought the M&P 45 yesterday and went to the range today. What a nice gun. My first .45! My accuracy was ok for the first time. Very pleased.

[chris in va]

Having second thoughts about my CZ 97b. Nice gun but for some reason I just can't shoot it like my P01. More recoil than the G21sf too.

Frustrating.

[chris in va]

Bumping up the post for more opinions.

[PawPaw]

I was issued an M&P45 in 2009. We had a new sheriff and he wanted to issue handguns to deputies and wanted everyone to carry the same handgun, so he picked the M&P45. We were issued them, literally, the same morning we qualified with them, with new Level 3 holsters.

Qualification scores immediately dropped 10%. Most of that drop in scores was us not being familiar with a new handgun and holster. In my case, I literally walked to my truck, took my 1911 off the gun belt, strapped on the M&P and walked out to qualify. I managed to qualify by the skin of my teeth, but I had never shot any plastic-fantastic handgun. Not a Glock, certainly not an M&P. It was a learning experience.

I've carried it now for four years, and I'm becoming more comfortable with it. Our department scores have climbed back to the level where they were and they were before the swap. The M&P seems to be a fine firearm. I've got about two thousand rounds through mine, which isn't much, but I've learned that it shoots lead bullets as well as jacketed, and that it will digest my favorite handload, which is a soft load I used for paper-punching with my 1911s.

Learning the reset is problematic, but it is there if you know what to look for. I can feel the trigger reset without too much concentration. The adjustable grip with the included inserts is a nice touch. The M&P45 is certainly a workable gun. It seems fairly rugged, the sights are nice, and if you like plastic firearms it might be just the ticket.

[chris in va]

Dennis, do you feel the Apex trigger kit would solve those issues you had?

[PawPaw]

Dennis, do you feel the Apex trigger kit would solve those issues you had?

No clue, as I have no experience with the Apex trigger kit.

I've actually gotten better with the pistol, and it's growing on me. It certainly doesn't have the panache of a nice revolver or a personalized 1911, but it is a work-a-day tool that is reliable and rugged. Which, in the final analysis, is what it is supposed to be.

I have no real complaints about the pistol, except that it was thrust upon me without any input. The deputies who liked Glocks were bummed when the Sheriff didn't pick Glock as the departmental sidearm, so they weren't thrilled with the choice either. The griping about the Smith was more personal preference and political than having anything to do with the pistol. Everybody has an opinion, and sometimes the Sheriff's opinion is the only one that counts. He could just as easily have picked Beretta (for example), and everyone would have complained.

I really like the removable/adjustable backstrap. If you shoot an M&P for a box of ammo or so withe each of the backstraps, you'll come to prefer one over the others, and it lets a department fit a wide range of hands. As it turns out, I use the medium.

It is different from shooting a 1911, which is probably the biggest complaint I had about it. The trigger takes some "learning". But, there are guys in our local pistol club who shoot plastic pistols and they seem to like the M&P. Some of them shoot very good scores with it.

[Sarge]

I've only shot one and I didn't really like it. Odd, because I get along fine with the VE series Sigmas and a other guns most people abhor for their triggers. i think the thing that put me off about that particular gun was that the trigger had take-up, which I like; but then it turned to mush with a little gravel thrown in. It may have just been a substandard specimen... I've shot other M&P's and while I don't exactly like their triggers, none were as lousy as that 45.

The 45 also seemed to kick harder than it should. We were shooting a 1911 with the same loads so I'm sure that wasn't my imagination.

[jmstr]

I have one, with the Apex DCEAK setup in it. I like it.

I am not as accurate with it as my favorite 1911, but am plenty accurate for self-defense. A 4" group at 15 yards vs a 2.5" group at 15 yards is well within my personal standard for 'save my butt' accuracy.

I am completely comfortable with it as a nightstand gun, or an open carry [if it were legal here] gun for me. I have NO qualms about its reliability.

I liked it better than the Glock for two major reasons: grip angle and grip dimensions. The M&P is closer to the 1911 or Hi Power grip angle, which I am used to, and the Glock feels wrong in my hand. Also, I find the small backstrap makes it more comfortable and easier to control/handle than the Glock Gen 3. I am in california, so I can't get the Gen 4 glocks.

Overall, it is one of my 'keepers'. I am more accurate with it than I was with the Sig P220 or H&K USP.45 compact [both of which I sold] by at least 2" better group sizes at 7 yards.

Is it a 1911? No. Or it would be a M&P 1911. Is it perfect? I doubt it. What is perfect? Is it reliable? In my experience: yes. Is it accurate? Enough for self-defense for me. For bulls eye competition at 50 yards? Probably not. Then there is the more subjective: How does it feel in my hand, how does the trigger feel to me, now do I like the look? Those last three are something everyone has to decide for themselves.

Would I recommend it? Yes. With the qualification that the purchaser feel one and the trigger BEFORE buying it. Sight-Unseen? I don't recommend anyone buy a self-defense gun that they've never held in their hands [model, that is]. If you have felt a 1911 and liked it you could order any makers' 1911 and probably be happy. If you've never felt it you should try it out.

[chris in va]

The grip shape is growing on me. I looked at one a few years ago and was put off by the palmswell location, but the more I fondle one at a gun show the more it makes sense.

As the 45 is rare as hen's teeth I'll just have to rent a 9mm instead. Our top club shooter uses a 40 version, maybe he'll let me try his.