Thread: .45 M&P vs. XD

Well, I may have answered my own question this afternoon. I was out in the field working and swung by Picket weaponry and they had a new M&P .45. Man, that is a slick dude right there. Comparing it to the XD just by look and feel it is crazy how nice the M&P feels. It just sits nice in your hand and in my opinion is a much more handsome gun. If it shoots as good as it looks, I may just have to pull the trigger (Pun intended) on one of those. It also seems to be a little more comfortable to carry, as it is much smoother and looks to be narrower than the XD.

Opinions?

Tom

I shot the XD45, the Glock 21, the HK45, and the M&P 45 before I bought my XD.

I shot the XD MUCH more accurately than the others, I liked the trigger better (probably why).

Make sure you shoot them first if you can. Not all people shoot all guns naturally well.

JW

I wish i could shoot them, but the one place that does have a shop and range at the same location seldom has XD's. I typically have to base my decisions on fit and feel of the gun.

The M&P had a really nice short double action trigger pull, and had a good fit to it. The XD also had a nice trigger and good fit, gut the slide release lever was a stamped steel piece that had very little texture for my thumb to get a hold of, to the point that I had to pull the slide back to get it to release.

The slide release is something I like to have work right of the box with no break in. The one on my Kel-tec P11 drives me nuts because it's too heavy for my thumb to work without pulling back on the slide. I guess everyone has their quarks and I suppose that is mine.

Tom

Some instructors recommend avoiding using the slide release at all, and simply yanking the slide after each speed reload. It's a little slower but it works with every gun, and is less dexterity-intensive than finding the slide release.

I did not know that, good to know. But I still think that I would prefer if I had the option to use it. What if I only had one hand to use the gun? It would be almost impossible release the slide on Kel Tec with one hand, it would take much more hand strength than I have. By the way I am not a weak man so I know it's not me.

Tom

Im with Mike, The slide release is seldom used. You should train to yank the slide back to release it. The Reasoning behind this is that it works on any auto you pick up, no time spent looking for the release cuz you had to pick up a gun you've never had your hands on before. Same motion also clears jams and missfires so it make one skill into a multi use operation.

Mike

Our instructor said the same thing. Yanking the slide is a gross motor skill. In times of stress, like a confrontation, fine motor skills deminish. He promotes the KISS approach to things. I have come to favor yanking the slide, and can't see ever going back to the release.

I have fired both of these weapons. I like the idea that the M&P is an American made pistol. I like the stainless construction. I don't like the overall feel of the M&P, or the trigger. I expected better from S&W in that respect. The sights are great , compared to allot of the factory offerings these days in a pistol under $800.00.

I bought the XD. I was shopping for a poly/striker 45, and this is the one I went with. The ergonomics are great. The trigger is better than average, and there are upgrades readily available for it. Springer has parts and or services available. He will be tweaking a pair of XDs for me after the shooting season here in PA. The sights pretty much suck,but it seems everyone is going aftermarket there too. I shot the XD much better than the M&P. Both bagged and offhand. This was a very early production M&P, so I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not.

I won't say I would never buy an M&P. I just may in the future,but in the 45 the XD got the vote. I would like to see S&W produce a longer version of the M&P in 9mm with an improved trigger. That would be on my "to do" list.

i also have read that you should use the slide and not just the button
then i have observed all the professionals that are on the outdoor channel's gun shows pull the slide

i do not own a shootable 45 but in the months of being a member an awful lot of people have chosen the XD45 over the Glock, M&P, Sig, et al

see this thread
Best 45 Non-1911 Frame

Originally Posted by hideit

i also have read that you should use the slide and not just the button
then i have observed all the professionals that are on the outdoor channel's gun shows pull the slide

I think racking the slide is a hold-over from 1911-shooters, carried forward to polymer designs. The position of the slide release on a 1911 is awkward, and the military has trained a slide-rack for ever...

You are also not supposed to drop the slide on an empty chamber on many SA guns, so the slide relese is shunned. You can lower the slide under control with the off hand.

Most competition shootes use the button now-days, from what I've seen.

Old habits die hard for 1911 guys...

JW

Racking is a defensive pistol technique so that you can operate any pistol you pick up without thinking about "now where is the button to make this thing work" it is a gross motor skill that always work when fine button using motor skills are shut down due to stress and anxeity.

Originally Posted by JeffWard

I think racking the slide is a hold-over from 1911-shooters, carried forward to polymer designs. The position of the slide release on a 1911 is awkward, and the military has trained a slide-rack for ever...

You are also not supposed to drop the slide on an empty chamber on many SA guns, so the slide relese is shunned. You can lower the slide under control with the off hand.

Most competition shootes use the button now-days, from what I've seen.

Just to clarify, we're not talking about starting with the slide in battery, but rather starting from slide lock.

At least starting with Ray Chapman (who basically invented the modern speed reload), 1911 guys have usually hit the slide release rather than racking. The 1911 slide release is perfectly positioned and easy to operate when used correctly. When I shot competition, I always used my weak thumb to hit the release. After the mag is inserted, the weak thumb just depresses the release as it moves into the correct shooting position. It is very fast, and at one point I was doing speed reloads under 1.2 seconds from slide lock without even trying hard (using an exposed mag pouch, of course).

It was only when pistols like the Glock, with its small slide release, became popular did racking really come into favor.

I don't really buy the whole "gross motor skill" argument for slide racking, though. The mag release is usually smaller than the slide release, so if you can find that button to eject the mag, you can also find the slide release and depress it.

xd45 would be my vote

Alot of good info here, but i still stand by my statement that if is on the gun it should function. It may be better to rack the slide, but if this is to be a self defense weapon (at least some of the time) then I need to able to operate it with one hand. I have seen folks rack the slide on various objects and parts of their anatomy, but this method seems a little cumbersome as oposed to just popping in the magazine and hitting the release with your thumb.

JMHO

Tom

Originally Posted by Tscott

I have seen folks rack the slide on various objects and parts of their anatomy, but this method seems a little cumbersome as oposed to just popping in the magazine and hitting the release with your thumb.

Keep in mind, though, that your scenario postulates only having one hand available to run the gun. If you have to reload with only one hand - a slow and cumbersome process that is more than just "popping in" a mag - you're already pretty far behind the curve. Using a one-hand slide rack at that point doesn't seem like much of an imposition.