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My current "out of the cabinet" choices...

I agree. I believe that by placing such emphasis on the 'ease' of operating the slide and the dual mechanical safeties, etc. S&W made it obvious that the target audience is not hale and hearty gun enthusiasts. Also, I would almost lay odds that many, many people who are interested in carrying a firearm for SD or even having something manageable for HD aren't nearly as caught up in the 'oh, a 9mm is barely adequate and anything less might as well be spitting spitwads' nonsense that many of us sometimes get caught up in. I mean, yes, there is something to be said for increasing the chance of instantly incapacitating an attacker by using a larger and/or more powerful caliber. However, there is also something to be said for the fact that getting shot is getting shot. After all, a .380 is the same diameter as 9mm Luger albeit lighter in bullet weight and with less velocity. I would think that a larger-than-pocket-sized gun with good sights should increase potential accuracy and make the pistol more controllable than 9mm Luger even if one does not have hand strength or pain issues and certainly if one does. This would also probably increase the likelihood that the end user might actually practice with the pistol rather than saying, "I don't like shooting it - it hurts my hands too much," when the subject of target practice comes in to play. It kind of goes back to the idea that a hit with a .380 is better than a miss with a 9mm.

She is exactly the market this pistol is intended for.

I was tasked with repairing the lock works on this particular revolver and found the design quite interesting. The first thing that strikes you about this revolver is its a waay more heavy duty build compared to the common Colt 1860 Army. Its an odd double action design that can not be thumb cocked into a single action directly. Its primary action is a straight up double action trigger pull that includes a click back hammer position to keep the hammer off the cap by only a short distance. However, there is a single action hammer position that can be obtained by use of the trigger travel stop that is a selective trigger stop. In this pic you can see the stop in its single action only positioning. Positioned this way, the trigger will not drop the hammer but it does cock the hammer into a ready to fire position like this... Once the hammer clicks into this position, the trigger returns to the forward position and then you can fire the cocked hammer by fingering the hammer sear positioned in the rear of the trigger guard. Certainly odd but functional for those preferring a far lighter "trigger" firing. The main feature of this revolver is the ability to remove the cylinder despite extreme fouling. In this shot you only need to thumb the take down screw loose from the right side of the frame and open and remove a loose cylinder. The colt and Remington designs of the day were not very good at handling multiple load and firings in that the cylinder axel pins are directly below the barrel cylinder gap. Once these axel pins become excessively gummed up with fouling, the Remington cylinder pin was near impossible to move forward threw the frame for cylinder removal. The Colt was a bit better at forcing the cylinder forward over a skanked up axel pin but non the less gumming up the action's function. The Starr was a far better design in this regard since the cylinder had a integral extension that defected hot fouling from the cylinder/barrel gap, keeping the bulk of it off the cylinder spindle nose. In addition to that anti bind feature, the cylinder ratchet design is by far the most robust I'v ever seen! The big revolver is quite comfortable in the hand with the wide smooth trigger face and generous grip spur for the web of your hand. I can see why the Government paid $25 per the 25,000 revolver order. Unfortunately, I think the Achilles heal in this design is the super tiny hammer lifter flat spring. This spring is installed in the hammer body via a typical of the day peen pinch. These little springs either snapped or just loose their tension and when that happens, the trigger sweep can no longer pick up the hammer to move it rear ward. When coil springs eventual took up this task decades latter, double action revolvers really came into their own reliability nitch. Incidentally, that little spring is what was the problem with this well used Starr.

Hi Folks, I've got to fly back to the Peoples Republic of California early tomorrow morning, and I have 2 brand new Glock 19 standard capacity PMAGS I picked up for some recreational activities while on business... don't want to risk a felony importing them into CA(sad story)... so if anyone wants them just reply to this post and I'll tell you where they are (at a hotel near BNA). It's either that or throw them in the garbage. I'd rather they got used up.... Thank you, Mr. M

Hey, I agree that it is terrible that you have to leave them behind. If I should happen upon some 10 round mags, would I be able to ship them to you? I'm making the assumption that you can use them. lol Not up on the shipping restrictions for Kali. That's the least I can do for your generosity.

Haha, obviously. Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Count me in for #25......I would like to see it though before payment. Have to replace my favorite EC knife that I lost.....TR4

Ok, who shrunk my axe?

The little old ladies and arthritic types this is geared toward will probably say this is much nicer to shoot than a 9mm.

I'm not repulsed by it but in some ways it does remind me of a SA XDs 9mmP. I'm curious as to what its ergonomics are going to be and why S&W chose to go with .380ACP instead of a 9mmP. Hopefully someone will be posting a picture of one of them soon laying alongside a S&W Shield 9mm P and superimposed over a 9mmP Shield. While I'm not enthused over all of the safeties it would be interesting to see what someone with arthritic or injured hands has to say about the pistol. Some of us are already dealing with problems with arthritis in our hands.

Any time we can get something, anything, exempted from taxation, I’m down.

Stop trying to talk me into a second one...

I kind of like it but I am not sure why I would replace (or even augment) my P3AT with it (and, no, the P3AT is not junk before someone throws that nonsense out there as a 'reason'.) I like that it has a barrel that is almost an inch longer than the P3AT. It carries two more rounds in the standard mags than the P3AT but I can get nine round extended mags for the P3AT (and have one, in fact) so that really isn't that much of a motivator. I like that, unlike the P3AT, LCP and most 'pocket' sized guns the M&P looks to have real (and even adjustable) sights. Of course, with the higher capacity standard mags and nearly inch longer barrel will come a larger, overall footprint. I am just guessing this will be about the same size as a PF-9. That means it will not really be a 'pocket' gun but will need to ride in a belt holster, belly band, etc. As I, personally, can't carry OWB that would mean carrying it IWB. In that case I had might as well go with a bigger gun in a caliber such as 9mm (this was pretty much the same reason I got rid of my P-11, I figured if I was going to have to belt carry it anyway I had might as well have something bigger and easier to shoot.) Still, I have wanted to try out an M&P but will not carry a striker fired pistol. The internal hammer fired aspect appeals to me although I am not so sure about the 'cocked and locked' aspect - would rather see DAO with second strike capability. However, the grip safety makes me feel okay about it. All in all, though, it sounds like a good setup for the right person. I honestly do not think that I (or most of us in the thread, so far) are it's target audience. Private citizens with less hand/arm strength or even problems with things like arthritis in their hands who want a pistol they can actually rack and mags they can actually load with a trigger that is easier to pull and for whom the recoil of a 9mm might be downright painful will likely greatly benefit from having this pistol as an option. People who already have a pocket .380 but who would like something a little bigger to carry, sometimes, without having to stock a different caliber of ammo would probably like it, too. Come to think of it, my girlfriend has a LCP and isn't crazy about it because the grip doesn't fit her hand very well (she bought it before we met.) This just might be something she would like better.

Also a chance a gat in the car could save his life. Point is, it's legal in this state for an 18 year old to own a pistol. It's legal for an adult to have a pistol in his private vehicle in this state unless one has had a disqualifying episode. Chance of a dumb cop making an issue? Well, whatever, life's full of possible bad things, but we seldom face the ones we most worry about, and even if it happened it wouldn't be that big a deal in the end. - OS

MOM!?!? Do I really have to wear my sister's pants? The villagers are making fun of me!

No you can't have my pants !!

Only one?