S&W MP9 and MP45 owners, who has both

[nethole]

Any owners who have both, care to chime in on the 'similarities' and differences of each model?

I know apex triggers are different, and I suspect finding mags may be a bit more difficult for the 45.

[Ready.Fire.Aim]

I have both. One .45 with manual safety and two 9mm w/o safety and Crimson trace laser grips. I had the MP.45 since they first came out.

I can shoot more accurately with the .45 for reasons I don't fully understand. Recoil is very mild, IMO, due to the ergonomics. The M&P.45 stays in a lock box in my truck.

Not that the 9mm is inaccurate or has bad recoil either. I did put the APEX trigger kit in both 9mm and I think it was an improvement. The M&P45 shoots well so I left it alone -all factory.

I bought two 9mm, keep one in wife's car vehicle lock box and one in the bedroom "gunvault" for the wife to use. Grip fits her better, less recoil with 9mm so she shoots better.

That is the end game for me, pick a gun that shoots the best and stick with it as long as it's reliable.

I plan to buy more M&P 9 as gifts for my grown daughters and soon to be son in laws- as soon as the panic buying craziness passes.

I do have Glocks 17 & 19s, they don't shoot as accurately for me as the M&P. I did recently buy some of the police trade in Gen 2 G19 and plan to have the grip shaped & stippled so it's more of a 1911 profile and see if that helps- out of curiosity mostly. I just received the Ameriglo Hackathorn sights to try on them also.

have fun,
RFA

[Hogsgunwild]

My .45s (compact and midsize) are extremely accurate.

My 9MM FS is not.

My 9MM compact has done sub-four inch 25 yard groups (offhand) in the past, but, it takes me a lot of dedicated time on that gun alone before I am up to what it takes to do that. I can not touch my Shield for a month and still be able shoot sub-six inch groups with it. The compact is just not as user friendly as my Shield or even my .45s.

[John W]

Have a M&P 45, M&P 9 FS, and G17

M&P 45 is a absolute dream to shoot. The accuracy and recoil management is top notch.

M&P 9 FS is much more economical to shoot, but doesn't feel nearly as accurate as my 45. Looking into a fitted barrel from Grant.

For enhancements, all I've done is sights and stipled backstraps.

G17 3rd Gen is nice & accurate but took me a couple hundred to get up to speed of my M&P (cut trigger guard, enhanced slide stop, enhanced mag release, grip stippling, night sights, etc.).

You can find cost effective S&W mags (OEM) on botachtactical.net. $23/ea for 45 or 9mm.

[RogerinTPA]

I own the 45FS with manual safety, 40, 9 & 9c without safety. The 45 is very accurate and the stock trigger is very acceptable, so I left it alone. The 40, 9 and 9c are pretty accurate, but the 9c is a real tack driver of the 4. They all had decent stock triggers I could live with, but after installing an Apex hard sear and ultimate striker block in the 9, I was so impressed that I added them to the 40 & 9c. All have over 10K rounds fired, except the 9, which is my primary training gun. It has 18K+ rounds fired. I ordered a storm lake drop in barrel for the 9 (unfitted) and it turned a pretty accurate pistol into an exceptional tack driver. Overall, I consider myself very fortunate to not have experienced any serious issues with the M&P series. Others are not so fortunate. For the past 2 years or so, the accuracy of the full size 9s have been hit or miss, due to questionable barrel twist rate and barrel design. They (S&W) was supposed to have corrected those issues with guns built this past spring going forward. They fixed the barrel design but stuck with the same barrel twist (being too fast for lighter grain bullets) from most accounts, causing accuracy issues when shooting 115gr ammo.

[Allen]

I own a .45 M&P and shot a buddies 9mm for a few months along side. For a .45 I found it to very controllable, soft shooting as others have said. 9mm was nice for the extra rounds on board, otherwise functionally the same.

I never had trouble finding magazines for the .45 (2010) for around $22-$25. Right now 44mag who had them on SALE (1-2 years ago) for $22 is selling for ~$30. Still beats Walther PPQ mags that are $45-$55 when you can find them.
http://www.44mag.com/product/m_p_45_magazine/smith_and_wesson



Allen

[OldState]

I own a FS 45 with an APEX FSS trigger and a safety. Like others have stated it is REALLY accurate, about equal to a quality non accurized 1911. Set up this way I don't even miss my custom 1911 and shoot CDP class for IDPA with out feeling at a disadvantage to the other guys with 1911's.

I also have a 9c with a safety and an Apex Duty Trigger /polished internals. But despite what others have found, mine is NOT very accurate. I can get consistent head shots at 10 yards on a IDPA target, but also I'm a pretty good shot with a pistol. If your not that accurate with handguns expect about 8 inch groups at that distance off hand. Accuracy is fine enough for a carry gun and it is my primary carry gun.

Both had heavy (6lbs+) and gritty triggers IMHO but I'm a bit of a trigger snob.

I like the M&P line very much, I just wish they could get their shit together with the 9mm accuracy. If they do I will buy a FS 9mm.

[RCI1911]

The 45 is a bigger gun then the M&P9. If you have small hands like I do the 45 doesn't feel as natural. Triggers are the same, controls are the same. You get 7 more rounds with the 9mm. Recoil is extremely mild with the 9, while recoil is firm, but managable with the 45. My 45 was extremely accurate but my 9 is still plenty accurate. Both guns are very good for the money, it just depends on what caliber you want to shoot.

[DocGKR]

I have used M&P's in .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and 9 mm. All three fit in the same holsters. Whether stock or with Apex Duty Kit installed, the triggers are essentially the same. Sight picture is the same on all the calibers. Ergonomics are almost identical, except that the M&P45 is slightly larger and has a longer trigger reach than the M&P9/40. For me, the M&P9 has negligible recoil (less than a 9 mm Glock) while the M&P45 recoil is a more like a push (but less than a 1911); the M&P40 recoil is a bit sharper than the M&P9 (although the least objectionable of all other .40's I've shot), but less of a push than the M&P45.

[Dos Cylindros]

My duty gun is an M&P 40, an I carry the same off duty as well. I recently sold my full size and compact M&P 45's just so I could standardize on a caliber that I get free ammo for. My 45's were a dream to shoot and the only real difference is the circumference of the grip and slightly longer trigger reach.

[10-76]

Had both, sold both. The 9 Pro and .45 mid-sized were OK, but I just could not get over the hinged trigger feel and needing to dump more money into Apex kits, for a maybe fix.

OTOH, wish I had kept one of the 40cs that I sold off-best shooting compact .40 for my tastes.

[Steve S.]

I've got the 9 Fullsize and the .45 compact. Picking between them hard, because when I'm looking for a firearm to fill a particular role, the first question is size and the second is caliber. So I'd say rock the biggest caliber you have mastered shooting. For me, this is 9mm.

I am not a big fan of the .45 Midsize though. I don't understand why this model is so flaunted. It's the same as the .45 Fullsize with a slightly shorter slide / barrel. This means less site radius, less velocity, and really the slide of a pistol is easy to conceal. It's the grip that's tough.

But I love the .45 Compact. I'd venture to say its my favorite .45 ACP pistol on the market. It has a short grip that hides well while still allowing a full firing grip and takes extended mags. There's even mag sleeves to turn it into a Fullsize / Midsize grip if desired. The barrel length is perfect. It's not the same Compact configuration as its 9mm / .40 brethren. It's longer and has a rail large enough to mount the tougher Weapon Mounted Lights like the X300.

Honestly, I wish they made a 9mm in the same exact size as the .45 Compact. It reminds me of a G17 chopped to G19 grip length.

You can't go wrong with any of the M&Ps in my opinion, but definitely take a peak at that .45 Compact! Might answer your question for you.

[OldState]

I am not a big fan of the .45 Midsize though. I don't understand why this model is so flaunted. It's the same as the .45 Fullsize with a slightly shorter slide / barrel. This means less site radius, less velocity, and really the slide of a pistol is easy to conceal. It's the grip that's tough.


Exactly my feelings. I have yet to hear anyone make an argument as to why the midsize is preferable to a FS or compact. If you get a compact you have the option of full size mags with a x grip.

For me there are only two choices in 45; FS or compact.

[Mac5.56]

I own the 45FS with manual safety, 40, 9 & 9c without safety. The 45 is very accurate and the stock trigger is very acceptable, so I left it alone. The 40, 9 and 9c are pretty accurate, but the 9c is a real tack driver of the 4. They all had decent stock triggers I could live with, but after installing an Apex hard sear and ultimate striker block in the 9, I was so impressed that I added them to the 40 & 9c. All have over 10K rounds fired, except the 9, which is my primary training gun. It has 18K+ rounds fired. I ordered a storm lake drop in barrel for the 9 (unfitted) and it turned a pretty accurate pistol into an exceptional tack driver. Overall, I consider myself very fortunate to not have experienced any serious issues with the M&P series. Others are not so fortunate. For the past 2 years or so, the accuracy of the full size 9s have been hit or miss, due to questionable barrel twist rate and barrel design. They (S&W) was supposed to have corrected those issues with guns built this past spring going forward. They fixed the barrel design but stuck with the same barrel twist (being too fast for lighter grain bullets) from most accounts, causing accuracy issues when shooting 115gr ammo.

This thread is proving very relevant to my coming purchase, but one question I have for the board is if there is a list of serial numbers on the 9mm with problems? I am looking to buy a MP 9 but I want to make sure I purchase one that was made after the fixes were put into place.

[JSantoro]

No. The accuracy problems only affects a segment, and can manifest in any gun since it came out. There's no scarlet letter or other indicator.

The 45mid could be thought of as an M&P45 for those that want the 9fs in .45. I sure did. Viewed as companion pieces where "preferable" ends up being a caliber decision, you lose nothing in having what amounts to the SAME sight radius on different caliber weapons, since the thing's're gonna print differently on the basis of the chambering, anyway. That's something the shooter needs to make up for, not something the gun(s) need to.

Had each. Sold the .45, only because I collapsed back to all 9mm in handguns (except for one...). Could use some of the same holsters on each one, though the .45 being slightly wider and shaped differently up front on the slide meant that wasn't across the board.