Want a .45 HD gun - USP45 vs M&P45

[Marcus L.]

From my experiences, there is a clear benefit to using a single weapon system.....or weapons systems that share the same operation characteristics. When you train, your body becomes accustomed to specific proceedures for operating the weapon called muscle memory. When you are under a high level of stress such as combat anxiety, your ability to think and remember things is greatly impared and your body automatically reverts to what it knows......muscle memory.

I can list a number of cases where this can be observed. During the revolver days, there was an officer involved shooting where two of the officers where killed and they had pockets full of brass. You see, when they trained they were accustomed to putting their empty casings in their pockets and that repetition carried over to the gun fight. It was totally out of place for the scenario, but the officers did what they had programed their muscles to do. Another shooting off the top of my head involved one officer who was a gun collector and shot many different pistols in his free time. He lived, but in his report he said that he tried several times to pull the trigger on his duty 1911 and the pistol would not fire. For the past two weeks, he had done several range sessions and lots of dry firing with a new Sig P220 and screwed up his muscle memory for his cocked and locked 1911. Fortunately, the perp's handgun jammed after his first shot(which missed) and this gave the officer some time to figure out his own weapon. After the incident, the officer sold many of his pistols and focused virtually all of his training time on his duty pistol.

Personally, I like the M&P better than the USP......but if I carried the USP on duty that would be the pistol that I would depend on for defense. I carry a Sig P229 on duty and any other pistol that I would use in a self defense situation would be a Sig classic just for the sake of familiar muscle memory. I shoot other pistols as well, but on a limited basis for the reasons I described above.

[Jack_Stroker]

From my experiences, there is a clear benefit to using a single weapon system.....or weapons systems that share the same operation characteristics. When you train, your body becomes accustomed to specific proceedures for operating the weapon called muscle memory. When you are under a high level of stress such as combat anxiety, your ability to think and remember things is greatly impared and your body automatically reverts to what it knows......muscle memory.

I can list a number of cases where this can be observed. During the revolver days, there was an officer involved shooting where two of the officers where killed and they had pockets full of brass. You see, when they trained they were accustomed to putting their empty casings in their pockets and that repetition carried over to the gun fight. It was totally out of place for the scenario, but the officers did what they had programed their muscles to do. Another shooting off the top of my head involved one officer who was a gun collector and shot many different pistols in his free time. He lived, but in his report he said that he tried several times to pull the trigger on his duty 1911 and the pistol would not fire. For the past two weeks, he had done several range sessions and lots of dry firing with a new Sig P220 and screwed up his muscle memory for his cocked and locked 1911. Fortunately, the perp's handgun jammed after his first shot(which missed) and this gave the officer some time to figure out his own weapon. After the incident, the officer sold many of his pistols and focused virtually all of his training time on his duty pistol.

Personally, I like the M&P better than the USP......but if I carried the USP on duty that would be the pistol that I would depend on for defense. I carry a Sig P229 on duty and any other pistol that I would use in a self defense situation would be a Sig classic just for the sake of familiar muscle memory. I shoot other pistols as well, but on a limited basis for the reasons I described above.

This is one of the reasons I have switched to Glocks. I can get one in various calibers and sizes to fit almost any need, and they will all operate the same. I'm trying to keep all my other handguns as occasional range and plinking guns and use the Glocks for defense and concealed carry.