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XDM vs Glock vs m&P?

21K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  cclaxton 
#1 ·
OMG here we go. I'm seriously not trying to start anything I just want to know what your respectful opinions are concerning these guns considering they all have undergone the same torture test and come out equal during testing. I have shot glocks and XDMs but never an M&P accept for my M&P 22lr handgun which doesn't count when comparing these. I'm about to buy a M&P 40 pro and am also going for a XDM 5.25 .40 and Glock 35. Which one would you choose or rate 1st 2nd 3rd? please give technical reasons
 
#4 ·
I think the M&P is the best of the three. to be fair, I have not fired any glock. Just by holding them in the store, I have determined them to be uncomfortable for me. I recently bought the M&P 40 and wouldnt trade it for anything. It is super comfy, the ergonomics are the biggest selling point to me. I have fired my dads XD 357 sig. It is a great shooter and I was accurate with it, I just don't like all the bells and whistles and it doesnt feel as nice to me.

1. M&P 40
2.XDm
3. Glock
 
#5 ·
I think the M&P is the best of the three. to be fair, I have not fired any glock. Just by holding them in the store, I have determined them to be uncomfortable for me. I recently bought the M&P 40 and wouldnt trade it for anything. It is super comfy, the ergonomics are the biggest selling point to me. I have fired my dads XD 357 sig. It is a great shooter and I was accurate with it, I just don't like all the bells and whistles and it doesnt feel as nice to me.

1. M&P 40
2.XDm
3. Glock
Ya I have to agree with you about the M&P as far as grip. It's number one on my list as far as comfort. Then XDM and then Glock.
 
#6 ·
hard to beat a glock. They are proven to say the least. i own and have shot several. Currently my carry gun is a glock 23. with that being said, i have also shot a m&p 40 and i fell in love with it. It is a sweet shooting pistol. One of my good buddies bought a springfield xd 9 for his wife, and it has been flawless for him and her, and he is sold on them now. Only experience i have with a springfield which isnt much. my favorite of the 3 is glock but all are super sweet pistols i can assure you.
 
#7 ·
My feeling is this: The Glock is a proven item. Unless there are persausive arguements to say that one or the other are superior to the Glock, I would stick with the Glock.

The police in some jurisdictions are not allowed to use the Glock because they lack an external safety. This is a political issue, not a shooter's issue. So some departments are avoiding Glocks to deal with that. If you need a safety, then go ahead and pick a gun with a safety.
 
#8 ·
From a previous thread: http://www.handgunforum.net/general-semi-auto/18017-s-w-m-p40-springfield-xdm-40-glock-22-a.html

Choices, choices...I've narrowed down my options for my first handgun purchase to the S&W M&P40, Springfield XDM 40 and the Glock 22. The handgun I buy will earn its living in home defense and at the range. I'd love to hear some comments from those of you that have experience using these firearms and advantages/disadvantages of each model as you see it. I'm trying to determine real distinctions between the models that I should be aware of before making a purchase. Thanks to all and I'm really enjoying the forum! I'm certainly learning a lot.
Looking at each, all of them offer something different then the other (or at least can depending on desired configuration)

1: S&W M&P- The standard sized guns have a decent reputation for reliability. I don't like the take down as it requires that "lever" to be manually lowered prior to dis assembly. The M&P does have the interchangeable back straps as does the XDM, the GLOCK grip is what is is, some like it, some don't. The M&P can be had with or without a magazine disconnect safety or can be had with a thumb safety, the XDM and Glock do not have those features.As there are different models of the M&P, be careful if you decide to purchase one and make sure it is equipped the way you want it. I had a brain fart and came home with the M&P9c with the magazine disconnect, it's wasn't a make or break issue with me, but I would have preferred a gun without one (yes I know it could have been removed) as it's just my personal preference to not have the magazine disconnect.

2: XDM Based on the original XD but with some improvements, such as the interchangeable back straps and other tweaks. The XDM offers a grip safety which the Glock and M&P do not have, and does not require any other steps in take down like the M&P, the XDM does not require the trigger to be pulled to take the slide off like the GLOCK, but the grip safety MUST be pressed in to move the slide. The XD and XDM have good track records, and the XDM has a little more ammo on tap than the other models. Holster selection is not quite as good as the M&P or the Glock, but it's getting there.

3:GLOCK , if you don't like manual safeties, this is the gun for you. It has a proven and hard to beat track record and accessories (holsters/aftermarket pars/mags) are available anywhere. It does not have the grip safety, thumb safety, or mag disconnect that you can get on the other models, so if those are features that YOU find favorable, the GLOCK is out of the running. As noted above, the trigger does need to be pulled to remove the slide, and while that's not generally an issue, complacency happens. As long as one is responsible and doesn't make an opps followed by a boom, it's not an issue.

All three guns are about the same size and about the same capacity, so it really boils down to what features you want. The M&P and the XDM both come with a Melonite finish (excluding the XDM in w/ stainless slide), the GLOCK has a Tennifer finish (Google these and read the Wikipedia summaries) both are tough finishes. The early XDsNOT XDMs had finish issues, as well did the M&P where the Melonite was flaking off.

I had an M&P9c and I would say that the GLOCK and the XDM are better made, the 9c just felt like a little toy.

Grip angle: As this is your fist gun, it's not an issue, but if you get other guns, you will find in most cases that the GLOCK has a different grip angle than most guns, this is one reason that I went with the XDM over the GLOCK, I like the GLOCK, but I like keeping my guns as similar as possible and the XDM has the same grip angle as my 1911s, HK P7, Browing Hi Power and Browning Buckmark.

All three are as accurate as you can shoot them, the XDM is a little more costly than the GLOCK and M&P, some say that this is because of the XDM Gear (holster, mag carrier etc) that comes with the XDM, I think this is crap as the XD/XDM Gear isn't all that great, so don't let that be a deciding factor.

All thee have great warranties behind the guns, so if anything does go wrong, you WILL be taken care of.

I don't like the grip angle and lack of ability to really change it on the GLOCK. I don't like that I have to hold in the grip safety of the XDM to move the slide. I don't like the overall construction of the M&P and I don't like that lever to take down the pistol.

What I do like about the GLOCK is that it's one tough as nails gun and accessories are everywhere. I do like the grip of the M&P, and I like the XDM for the single action trigger (pulling the trigger releases the striker, just like my P7, again it's a commonality thing) and just points better for me than the GLOCK and that it's a well made gun.

The GLOCK has polygonal rifling while the others have traditional rifling, GLOCK does not recommend using lead only projectiles, it's not a big issue, but if you plan on using lead only projectiles you may want to replace the barrel with an aftermarket. The polygonal rifling is reported to last longer than traditional and slightly increases velocity. I say reported as I've never wore out a barrel and have done no chrono testing of my own.

Take some more time, research what options are available. Use the search tool here and see what's being said on mag safeties, grip safeties and thumb safeties etc. Some like them, some don't.
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. :rolleyes:

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:
 
#9 ·
I've owned and liked all three brands.

Each are good.

My personal favorite is my S&W M&P Pro in 9mm



I had a trigger job done on it and it is a magnificent competition gun now IMHO.

Not trying to confuse things, but Springfield Armory just brought out their XDm 5.25 gun and it looks worth looking at.

:smt1099
 
#11 ·
all ergonomics for me

1. M&P
2. XD
3. Glock

My opinion is all based on how they feel I Love the way the M&P feels like the XD and don't really care for the Glock. The only one of the three i've shot is my cousins glock I shot fine with it and have no complaints on it. Glocks just aren't for me at this time. I have seen a glock frame that is shaped more like a 1911 that could sway me to getting a glock.
 
#12 ·
I have shot all 3 of these weapons. now, with that being said i myself am a SIG guy. i think you should look into other firearms if you cant decide out of the 3 on your list. but here is my view on these 3 weapon systems.

1. M&P- ergos feel very good and you can change the backstrap to help with that. sights very nice and its a balanced system. The trigger on this weapon seems a little "gritty" to me (plastic) and tough to pull. very easy to strip and maintain. but i dont like the major gaps you see between the frame and slide.

2. XD- sights are very tight, so they can be tough to find in a hurry but very accurate. gun seems "tall" from frame to top of slide, so i feel like im holding it low on my chest. I find it hard to hold on to from shot to shot and if it is warm out sweat makes it worse. I do like to beavertail safety and it has a nice trigger pull. i do think they could have designed the safety a bit better though, it is skinny and pronounced on the back of the weapon (unlike the 1911) so it does feel a little strange.

3. Glock- ergos are not great, the edges of the frame are way too sharp for me. The angle of the grip is too much. It does have a heavy trigger so it can feel gritty. (most people get the trigger job done.) i dont like the idea of not have some type of safety besides the trigger (not even an option of one). with these issues i found it hard for me to sight and to resight from shot to shot. The sights on these weapons just seem cheap to me really. the only good thing i can say about this weapon in my opinion, is that it is very easy to strip and maintain.

good luck with your choice. if you have any questions about this feel free to contact me anytime.
 
#13 ·
Shot Glock, M&P and XDM.
By a significant margin, the M&P is the most accurate and least recoil in my hands, and the grip just feels right.
Glock is second choice due to reliability, simplicity, and available parts/support;
XDM is third mainly because I don't like the grip safety...it is too sensitive. I have not shot the 5.25 yet and the 4.5 I shot was a sweet shooter. But not as great as the M&P and the grip safety eliminated it from my consideration. Springfield should consider a non-gripsafety version of the XDM, especially in the 5.25. (I would not think of disabling it...liability and warranty issues.)

Two other really great guns are the Beretta's and the CZ's, but they are DA/SA which I prefer.

I have shot the Beretta's and like them, and I own a Cz-75. I wish I owned an M&P, but I also want a Glock 34. After I master the Cz, and find the deal I want on the other two, they will be added to arsenal.

CC
 
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