View Full Version : 1911 and or M&P mid size .45acp
I have been going back and fourth between my commander 1911s and my S&W M&P 45 mid size, anyone having the same issue?
CCW, the lighter weight, a few more rounds does not hurt as well
For what application??
I'd go with the M&P45 Mid Size and install an Apex DCAEK kit. You can get it with the thumb safety, if you want to replicate the 1911 commander.
I have the full size M&P45 w/thumb safety and a 1911 commander. I've noticed that despite the M&P weighing less the recoil is more manageable than with the commander 1911. You can get a much higher grip, closer to the bore axis, on the M&P than you can with a 1911.
I was actually thinking about selling my commander and getting another M&P45 in the mid length w/thumb safety for AIWB carry.
I've carried 1911's, nearly all of them custom, continuously since 1972. Unlike what some people say, mine have not failed me. They went through Gunsite without so much as a hitch, countless matches over the years, and served as my duty pistol way back when I spent a few years as a county mounty. The 1911 literally saved my wife's life on one occasion and mine on several. I have the upmost confidence in my three remaining 1911's (having sold a number of others over the last year).
Having said all of that, if I were buying a 45acp pistol today it would be an M&P mid-size. Fully loaded it weighs an ounce less than my 1911 does empty and for my old back, that means a lot. My M&P mid-size is as accurate out-of-the-box as my most accurate custom 1911, and this is with a particularly bad trigger. I plan to send it to Bowie Tactical Concepts, along with three other M&P's very shortly. The M&P can be worked on at home if I choose and I don't need to go to a course costing several thousand dollars to learn how to fix it. I don't need to have my custom gunsmith fit extra parts for a spare parts kit every time I get a custom pistol done. Out of the box all of our M&P's have been reliable and extremely accurate, and even when David Bowie is finished with all four of them, I won't have as much invested as I would in one custom 1911, and the wait is a whole lot less. Add the ten round magazines and also, magazines you can truly trust, and it becomes no contest. I still, overall, shoot the 1911 better than any other pistol I've ever used, but then again, I have more trigger time on it than anything else. Once the M&P's are back from Mr. Bowie, my 1911's will be relegated to being mostly safe queens/secondary duty.
Bottom line, I'd go with the S&W M&P mid-size.
My M&P 45 mid size has the Apex duty installed with Warren Tactical (two dot, one front, one rear) night sight with single sided safety and Crimson Trace installed. Comes with 10 round mags and I have two factory 14 round mags for the house. Carrying the pistol with a spare mag gives me comfort.
I've owned both and as much as I hate to say it i think I like my M&P Midsize more than the commander sized 1911 I had. I have the M&P 45midsize with the Apex DCAEK kit and the recoil isn't anywhere near as strong as my 1911 was. My son with a broken arm easily shot it.
It took me about 6 months to finally learn that my M&P was better suited for my needs. I was a tried and true 1911 fan for over 25 years. I tried all the new offerings and until the M&P45 came out, I wasn't impressed.
I added the DCAEK and 10-8 sights and after the effects of 1911 withdrawal faded, I am very happy with the M&P45.
The 1911 will always have a special place in my heart, but the M&P45 found its' way into my holster.
Maybe we need a support group? :D
bleaman225
10-27-10, 23:15
The more I carry/shoot my mid size M&P45 the less I carry/shoot my TRP Operator...
But on the other hand, any training class, comp or three gun I go to, I grab the SA without a doubt in my mind and the MP45 comes along as a yet to be used backup.
Who knows that might change too
rly45acp--Well said, I fully concur with everything you wrote.
I'm glad I ran across this discussion--I've been considering selling my 1911 and buying an M&P 45, and possibly another, maybe a 9mm, for the wife.
f.y.i. i just have gone thru this in the last 2 months.
i have always been a 1911/HP guy. been carrying a ted yost HP since the 70's. last gun i will ever let go of.
i have used a ton of m&p's in 9mm since the gun came out. have 7 of them. fill size and compacts. love them all and shoot a lot better than a glock. (just me/ glocks are great. all have bowie trigger jobs,) but smiths are better substantially for me. i like them and shoot then well. will be my o.t.d. guns along with 2-3 glocks, jic.
over the last 2 months i have been switching between 1911 Lt wt commanders, and smiths. 1911 , my personal favorite for 30 or so years. lately been carrying a COMPACT smith. also fit small hands. david bowie is cutting down a ct laser for me to a mid smal grip for this gun as we speak.
here's why. hope it helps
less expensive if i have to give it up. after a self defense incident.
holds as many rds (8) and 14 in 1 spare mag.
slightly lighter ( big deal on a bad back)
shoot it well
a well known trainer said u need a head shot at 25 yds in a mall, if ur loved 1's are hostage. (i can do that)
thumb safety i shot hi thumb and dont want to change. (too old and grumpy)
same as i have in bedroom (full size) with a light/laser, 3 14 rd mags/1 in gun. again there is that thumb safety thing
just nothing bad on both but to each his own. hope this helps.
ask i am around
If I go this route, I'll be going with the thumb safety as well. It's what I'm used to. I'm planning on going to a local shop tomorrow and seeing if they have an M&P I can rent and shoot before I make my decision. I'll probably rent a few other brands for comparison as well.
My biggest knock with the M&P is that it offers only 2 more rds. than my Commander. (I know, you can get a 14 rd mag, but if the XD can hold 15 rds, it looks like S&W could've fit a few more rds into the M&P, but I'm no engineer.)
I've had my Colt for 12 years; it's the first pistol I purchased. I purchased a titanium revolver a few years ago, but now I'm thinking I'd like to standardize both handguns--I'll have to get my wife to shoot some too, to see what she prefers.
I'll be sure and post my decision.
Does the M&P Middy fit the Safariland Duty Holsters designed for the Full size .45? For a pistol as popular as the M&P Line is becoming it seems like support gear is still lagging behind.
Does the M&P Middy fit the Safariland Duty Holsters designed for the Full size .45? For a pistol as popular as the M&P Line is becoming it seems like support gear is still lagging behind.
yes it will. all 3 fit but a bit of extra length in holster and with a light also
my compact .45 fits a lot of my 9mm holsters
mitch rosen
blade tec
milt sparks only took 6 months
several leathar by private makers
good luck
I'm also on the hunt for another .45 to carry off duty. We can't carry a 1911, but I'm stuck between the G30sf and the SW Midsize .45. I keep coming back to the SW though for some reason. Maybe fate trying to tell me something....who knows?
MarshallDodge
11-20-10, 11:25
I have both a 4.25" 1911 and the 4" M&P45. The 1911 is a high end model that I picked up used for a really good deal. If you were to purchase both new, the 1911 would cost about four times the M&P. It is a much nicer gun than the M&P but for every day carry at defense distances I am not sure you need the nice gun. From what I have seen in the reliability department, the M&P and quality 1911 pistols are about equal. You see some that run like a swiss watch and others that have their quirks.
My 1911 runs like a swiss watch and the M&P will have the pants run off it before I can trust it.
rly45acp--Well said, I fully concur with everything you wrote.
I couldn't agree more. These are both strong endorsements of the M&P .45 mid-size.
And for what it's worth, this has been my experience as well. I carried a full-size govt model 1911 for a few years when I was younger, when I wasn't worried about carrying a full-sized, heavy gun around. Then along came a new generation of lighter weight pistols that were less expensive, and less of a hassle to establish and maintain reliability. With 1911's, absolutely you can MAKE them reliable. But getting them to the point of reliability, and KEEPING them there, is a major hassle and expense. With my M&P .45 mid-size, it didn't take any work out of the box to make it reliable, I didn't have to worry about the reliability of the mags, it was accurate from the start, and like rly45acp said, the cost was a fraction compared to my semi-custom Springfield 1911's. Even though I got my 1911's fairly inexpensively (I bought a Loaded and Operator model, and then had both customized by Springfield Custom shop), I still have about $1400 to $1500 in each of them, just to get them up to an acceptable standard of functioning and reliability. For $1500, you could easily get two mid-size M&P .45's, with custom stippling, trigger work, and nice sights.
I am far from being "down" on 1911's, but for a practical, excellent carry pistol, I agree on favoring the M&P mid-size. My 1911's are now primarily for fun and target shooting, I don't carry them at all.
I'm just the opposite of most posters. I find the 1911 the way to go. Better trigger and more accurate for me. Slimmer and easier to conceal. Good mags are easy to find as are spare parts. Yes they do cost more up front. But, buy a quality 1911 and you shouldn't have any issues, (I never have in 20+ yrs).
How does the M&P compare carry wise (by that I mean profile)?
Thanks
FromMyColdDeadHand
11-23-10, 21:45
I went full retard and have been carrying my STI Tactical 5.0 for about 6 months, an over reaction from carrying a HK P7 before that. I've tried M&Ps before, but never could get used to the trigger. Tried one again this week and found it a lot easier to shoot as soon as I tried to stop feeling the sear break like on a 1911.
Not to start a 9mm vs 45ACP thing, but is there any difference in the M&P models in those calibers like wear or breakage or anything. I'm thinking mainly for CCW.
Based on my own observations the M&Ps in .45 are slightly less reliable than the 9mm models. However I would carry any of the .45 models with confidence.
MarshallDodge
11-24-10, 09:28
How does the M&P compare carry wise (by that I mean profile)?
Thanks
The 1911 is slimmer, especially so with a set of slim grips on it.
Just want to add that I do not believe that there are any differences in terms of reliability between the mid size and the full size M&P45. I find the full size balances better in my hands and conceals just as easily and provides ballistic performance a little closer to the 1911 government model, in case that matters to you. In addition, most of the holsters for the 45 are cut for the FS.
Based on my own observations the M&Ps in .45 are slightly less reliable than the 9mm models. However I would carry any of the .45 models with confidence.
Would like to hear more about this as I have heard the opposite.
I have seen the .45s both Mid and Full size have issues with dead triggers and FTE. I don't think the issues are common enough to label the guns as unreliable. I have also read here and on other forums of people having similar issues. The 9mm guns on the other hand seem to run pretty well without hiccup. In the agency I work for we have the full range of M&Ps serving mostly .40 but with some 9 and .45 also. When I see the guns hiccup it is usually a .45. Like I said in my earlier post I would carry one without a second thought but thats my experience.
We have never seen ANY significant problems with the M&P40's or M&P45's over many thousand of rounds in multiple pistols; a few issues have occasionally cropped up with M&P9's that are usually quickly resolved at armorer level or with a quick trip back to S&W.
We have never seen ANY significant problems with the M&P40's or M&P45's over many thousand of rounds in multiple pistols; a few issues have occasionally cropped up with M&P9's that are usually quickly resolved at armorer level or with a quick trip back to S&W.
DocGKR:
This has been my understanding and experience, so I was interested in Zog's comment.
We have about 275 M&Ps in service. 40 of them are .45s. The rest are 9mm and .40. I think because of a liberal training ammo policy we shoot ours a lot and what I posted has been what I see.
Anyone know what happened with LASO's M&P 9's?
No but I would like to hear some first hand accounts. My guess is S&W did whatever it took to make it right. The LASD is the kind of Agency Account brands are built on.
Reviewing old posts and after coming back from another deployment I went to 1911s for daily CCW carry.
I like the slimmer profile (carry full size), enjoy the single action trigger which gives me a great shooting pistol.
What made the difference is the belt and holster tt gun leather made for me.
Finally decided what to carry and shoot.
Reviewing old posts and after coming back from another deployment I went to 1911s for daily CCW carry.
I like the slimmer profile (carry full size), enjoy the single action trigger which gives me a great shooting pistol.
What made the difference is the belt and holster tt gun leather made for me.
Finally decided what to carry and shoot.
Which one did you go with?
I went with a full size Wilson Protector, poor cell phone pic but you get the idea.
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k312/awmp2006/wilson1_zps27ac0f78.jpg
QUOTE=Redhat;1400652]Which one did you go with?[/QUOTE]
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