M&P 9 vs. H&K P30?

[Guest J.D. Skull]

How much is APEX kit? I'm thinking about a M&P too.

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

BenderBendingRodregez: It sounds like you are leaning toward the P30 in your initial post. I love the M&P and have several. If after shooting a P30, you are still really impressed, abandon logic (M&P) and follow your heart (P30). I say this because you could buy the M&P and find yourself still lusting after the P30. I have been in the same dilemma before and made the practical choice, only to come back later and buy what I was lusting for in the first place. I have some guns that I have payed an arm and a leg for and I still cherish them every time I shoot them. When that happens, it is still money well spent.

There's certainly a lot of truth to that. I definitely need to either get a lot more time handling the P30 or at least a bit of time testing it out. Either way it's hard to turn down trips to the store or the range. Always good for a fun time.

I just think for some reason I'm getting interested back in DA/SA pistols. Which could be a bit problematic considering my EDC is striker fired... I know they take a bit more work to master, but there's something very appealing about them. I suppose I could get whatever and content myself with the Beretta, but if I'm going to get a new "toy" it ought to be one I'm going to want to "play" with.

I had some luck at poker last night, but my evening was interrupted before I won enough to fund my entire purchase, so I guess I can hold off for a bit while I decide.

I'm also looking into some Sigs, though I will say that my last experience with one (P250) was less than glorious.

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

Thanks to everyone for their input here. A decision has been made, and it turned out completely different that I would have ever imagined...

After running everything by SWMBO, the H&K plan got vetoed. She decided that today would not be the day I spend $900 on a pistol. I suppose that's ok, though. I spent a bit of time playing with the DA/SA and the LEM versions. I think I preferred the traditional DA/SA, though I would have probably ended up with one featuring a manual safety so I could leave it in SA mode for HD purposes.

So there I was, all prepared to go forward with the M&P. The only real decisions were whether I wanted it completely plain, with night sights, the longslide version, or the pro. I was leaning towards plain with an aim to change the sights later and add a light to it, but I figured I would head to the store and check them out again.

That's when it happened. I was taking some time to give some Sigs one last look when the guy next to me asks to see a Glock 19 EXO that was in the case. I didn't really think too much of it, but I turned to see what he was checking out and it looked different. Then I noticed the night sights it was sporting. They did pretty much exactly what I have been looking for -- high daytime visibility for quick target acquisition, no distractions on the rear sight, still useful at night, and suitable for racking the slide on clothing or a hard surface.

So the guy decides he's going to buy it. "No big deal," I think. "I don't even like Glocks. They feel funny in my hand." But hey, it's just sitting there while he's getting rung up. Maybe I'll check it out just for poops and laughs. Well... I have recently adjusted my grip after some pseudo-instruction from the Art of the Dynamic Handgun videos, and whaddayaknow, now the Glock doesn't feel so bad. Sure the grip is a bit thick, but it points a lot more naturally for me than it used to. I think I can live with this. I think I may, possibly, a little, finally be falling in love with a Glock.

But it has been sold. Oh well. Guess I will call up Range USA and see if they can order one for me. No dice. Limited edition, and none of their suppliers offer them. Uh oh. I had not realized that; I just figured it was yet another new Glock release (though somehow on a Gen. 3 body). What have I done? Have I missed my chance? So there I go calling up the first store again. Do you have another one? Can you get another one?

Lo and behold, they know where to find one more. And it will be here for me tomorrow or Saturday.

Hopefully I will not live to regret this. But all indications so far are promising. And don't worry, I have already found a source for bulletproof ass protectors. I guess we'll see how good the Kool Aid really is. I suppose I can always find a superfan to sell it to if things don't work out.

Pictures will, of course, be forthcoming after I have it in hand. Thanks again, everyone.

[Guest bkelm18]

On plastic or any guns, check trigger reset distance. Some folks don't mind long reset distance while others do.

With the APEX Tactical Sear added to the M&P, it virtually eliminates the long reset making for a nice clean break and a short reset.

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

The long reset never really seemed to bother me with the M&P (or any other gun, for that matter). Maybe because I haven't ever really experienced anything much different? Or maybe because I tend to fully reset the trigger after each shot even on guns with short resets?

I did check out the reset on the Glock because that's something I always hear people talking about. It is very obvious. I will be experimenting with only letting the trigger up back to the reset point, so we'll see how that goes.

[Guest tbone]

I am looking forward to seeing your pix, I have not heard of this model of Glock. Happy shooting!

[Guest 10mm4me]

With HK you are paying a little more for a name. You should head on over to www.pistol-training.com. Todd Green, a firerma instructor, did a 50,000+ rd test with both the M&P9 and P30. The M&P slide cracked right @ 50,000 rds and the P30 had a piece of the frame shear off around the same round count. The P30 still worked fine. You will probably get better CS w/the M&P but I would say the P30 is made just a little better. The bottom line is you need to pick what you like best and shoot best with. Here are the torture tests with links to all the weeks of testing. The test takes a good 6-8 months. Todd Green is a true professional and he highly recommends the M&P9 and the P30

pistol-training.com » M&P Monday

pistol-training.com » Blog Archive » P30 Thursday: Week Thirty-Three

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

I ended up checking out Pistol Training after starting this thread. Found a link to those tests in some of my obsessive Google-ing. I was super impressed by the quality of both the P30 and the M&P. It's nice to know they could hold up to 60,000+ and 90,000+ rounds, even if there's no chance that I will ever come close to putting those sorts of numbers down the barrel.

Hopefully my new Glock will hold up as their reputation would have me believe it will. And there's always room for more guns down the road somewhere.

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

Aaaaaaaand it has been picked up. Can't wait to throw some rounds downrange with it. Hopefully I'll have the chance over the long weekend.