I gotta hand it to you VAMarine, you really know your guns! I appreciate you detailing the differences in the safeties on each weapon. I figure the M&P and XDM are a bit more idiot proof than the Glock which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Nope, not at all. Different strokes for different folks.
With all the differences in safety features among the models I'll be sure to be careful about what I actually buy. I definitely don't want to come home and take my gun out for the first time and be upset that it does/doesn't have a certain feature. I guess all those letter and number in a model number do stand for something!
And that's not even with added night sights.
You give some good advise there thanks. Do you find the grip safety on the XDM to be an annoyance or do you even notice it?
Well I'm biased, for about the last 5 years I've been primarily a 1911 shooter so the presance of a grip safety is nothing new and thus does not bother me. The contours of the grip safety could be a little better, but the design works fine and does not impede my draw or cause any discomfort while shooting.
As you stated I don't think grip angle will be a huge deal for me as this will be my first firearm and as such don't have any prior preference or angle that I'm really use to. I wikipedia-ed the melonite and tenifer and being that I'm no chemical scientist didn't seem see any reason to think one would be better than the other. In this case I would have to give the edge to the Glock used Tenifer process since I would assume it's been used for a longer period of time.
Both are pretty tough, melonite is making the rounds and is also very durable, I would put neither over the other, but would take both over standard bluing or some baked on coating any day.
Being that I'm fairly new to guns I don't like the idea of having to pull the trigger prior to slide removal. I'm that is something that I wouldn't think twice about once I become more familiar with field stripping and general handling of a gun. Like you say, complacency would be the greatest danger here.
Take it slow and easy and build that comfort level, and ensure that the gun is empty, then check it again, and a couple more times before disassembling the gun. Build good habits right from the start and that will help in the long run.
I see no reason why I would ever use anything other than jacketed bullets so I don't see the whole polygonal vs. traditional rifling being an issue in my circumstances.
True, but one more piece that I left out of my previous post is that the GLOCK is the only one of the three you listed that a .22 conversion kit is offered for and those go a long way in building good trigger control as you can practice with your carry gun while shooting the cheap .22 ammo.
Thanks for the advise, I'll be sure to reference your post as I continue to narrow my choices down. All in all I can't go wrong just more a personal preference issue than anything it seems.
Quite welcome, that's what we're here for.
No on the topic of caliber, I wasn't going to open that door, but since it's been opened, I might as well walk in...
NO HANDGUN IS A GOOD STOPPER
There's a story about someone surviving "X" number of hits from every caliber there is, 9mm-.40-.45 whatever.
ONLY GOOD HITS COUNT.
For example, take this officer who
shot the BG 22 TIMES with a .40, scoring IRRC 12 "center of mass" hits. Only good hits count. I shoot both the 9mm and .45 better than I do the .40, I can fit more 9mm in a gun than .45, so I went the 9mm route.
Ammo is cheaper and overall IMHO it's easier to learn on a 9mm as the .40 can instill bad habits without proper instruction.
A good friend who had been carrying and shooting a XD 40 tried out my 9mm and you could actually see the muzzle being pushed low from him anticipating the recoil and it played hell with his follow through and affected his follow up shots. I had never really noticed him pushing the gun before, but then I was usually shooting at the same time he was. All this time he was grouping...not as well as he should have been pushing/anticipating the recoil the whole time.
If one can shoot the .40 properly, have at it but it takes a little more effort to do it right and to do it well. I had three .40s and I just found the 9 and .45 work better for me.
Now with all that being said as I don't know the OPs back ground, regardless of what caliber you pick, 9mm or .40, .40 or .45 (they will do their part if you do yours) a good beginners class is a good idea. Most ranges will have an instructor, if not find a local NRA class like First Steps Handgun or Basic Pistol and get some good hands on with some one in the know. But be careful, some instructors are just shouldn't be teaching. Ask around, find some one that knows what they are talking about and get some instruction.
Take Todd's advice and shoot both calibers and see what you like better.
:watching: