S&W .45 M&P

[GOANRA]

Just ordered a S&W M&P in .45acp (of course) with night sights and three 10 round mags. The bbl is 4.5 inch for sight radius & some decent accuracy; the 4.5" should give my primo carry ammo a good wallop. The polymer (Zytel) keeps the weight down to 29.5 ounces.

A bit heavy for carry, but I have others for that. Couldn't beat the deal ($400.) from a friend who only put a few rounds through it. I tried to NOT make the deal, but I'm just so weak.

I swore I'd NEVER get a S&W again, after they made their 'Capacity & AWB' deal with Clinton in 1993, but they don't make a penny on a used gun sale.

Already looking at a Springfield XD .45acp with a 5.2 inch bbl with two 12 round mags... what a fine walloper that would be.

I'll be back with a range report (or two) when I get out there.

[GOANRA]

I noticed the M&P .45 was not listed in the Directory, but they have always made one.
It comes with either 10 or 14 round mags. The M&P .22lr is not on there either... yet.

The S&W M&P .45 is a great shooter. I like it MUCH better than the Glock 21 I was once issued.
he grip is much better than the G-21 and has a better angle. I points itself when drawn, good balance.
The 4.5 inch bbl allows for serious ballistics and a nice rail. I got the Trijicon night sights & they work well. I got the model w/o the manual safety, but I was trained that way in LE and wouldn't recommend that to anyone. Field stripping was easy, just a tight spring.
There is a sear lever extention inside the magwell, for safing the gun while stripping.

I got 3 in groups at 30 ft shooting offhand, that is well beyond my max 'self-defense' range.
It becomes VERY difficult to claim self-defense beyond 12 feet, and nearly impossible beyond 25 feet in most every State.
I wasn't at the range, just a 640 acre field and was hitting targets at near 30 yards with no benchrest or even serious aiming.

The M&P gave minimal muzzle rise; prob due to the way in sits low in my hand. Rapid-fire was actuall fun & accurate both, GREAT trigger, too.
Zero failures with JHP +P, hornady ammo.
At 29.6 ounces, it won't be a Carry gun, but it is certainly a fine house/range/duty carry.