Help me decide m&p 9 vs glock 17

[Sell682 1]

I'm stuck guys and need some input on which one i should purchase. Can you give me the pros and cons for both based on your experience and your choice?

 

Thanks in advance

[Steve_G 51]

Both reliable, both need a trigger job.

 

Glock you have to settle for 10 round mags or have 17 rounders pinned, M&P you can get 15 round factory mags.

 

M&P made in USA.

 

Basically comes down to which one feels right and shoots best for YOU.

 

I went with the M&P for the mags and US manufacture.

 

I also sold the M&P. Plastic guns just don't do it for me.

[NJdiverTony 27]

M&P 9, all the way! Much better ergonomics, 15 round mags, great looking pistol, S&W lifetime warranty, made in the USA, excellent S&W customer service if you ever need it. You'll most likely want to get a trigger job from someone like Dan Burwell, or upgrade with an APEX DCAEK. I went with the DCAEK on mine and love it. You won't be disappointed with the M&P. It's become one of my favorites in my handgun collection.

[jamesbod 0]

Mags are not a problem. You can always get 15 rounds from AnA.

Try the XDM 9mm in OD green if you are a 1911 fan.

Grip Safety, cocking indicator, chamber loaded indicator. It's nice.

[specopsscout 26]

I have a Glock 17 with pinned mags. It's an easy shooting, accurate weapon. I bought my first back in 1987. Pinned mags aren't hard to come by, and I believe they are offered by at least one of the dealers on this site. The trigger while admittedly very different from other designs, it is also one of the fastest resetting triggers in the the duty weapon category, which means faster follow up shots on target; never a bad thing in a combat weapon. As it applies to anything aftermarket, if a seller offers something for handguns, they offer it for Glocks and 1911s. Everything else comes next. Glocks are an actual military weapon, not designed for the toils of range use, but actual hard military use. My brother in the US military special operations community routinely carries a Glock on his kit and has taken it repeatedly into harms way. Combine that with a sixty percent plus hold on the American LE market, and my decision was easy...you could do much worse.

[bry@n 195]

I have both and you can try em out if you want.

[Sell682 1]

Thank you all for the offers and advice. Bry@n u never offered ur opinion since u have both .

[RubberBullets 65]

The obvious answer is to buy both I own the g17 and the m&p 40 and enjoy both. Something to consider, the M&P has adjustable backstraps for different size hands. Feel is certainly very important and differs between each user. Id get your mitts on both and see which one feels better in your hand. I happen to like the grip feel on the S&W more than the glock, but I like the quality of the construction of the g17. Call me crazy, but that's what I gather when switching back and forth between the two.

[brocglock23 4]

Would you be open to a Glock 19? It's barrel is only .2 smaller, the gen 4 comes with 3 (15) round mags(Like M&P), 3 Interchange grips (M&P). Pretty much identical expect the grip angle and trigger. Any thoughts?

 

Also if you can conceal carry, I can conceal my 23 pretty well have never tried it with a M&P. However the M&P 9 is on my short list.

Edited October 13, 2012 by brocglock23

[RubberBullets 65]

Ohh and to cover all of our bases here for the remaining forum members, is that the obvious choice between a glock and an m&p is a 1911.

[Steve_G 51]

Ohh and to cover all of our bases here for the remaining forum members, is that the obvious choice between a glock and an m&p is a 1911.

 

+1

 

What is your main purpose for the gun? Home protection / occaissional range use, competition? Just asking because, if you plan to use it for competition I don't know how hard it is to disassemble and clean a pinned mag after dropping it in the gravel and sand at an outdoor range.

[dave545 15]

i have the glock 17 and love it. i did a trigger job and replaced some parts, now smooth 3.8 lb trigger with no over travel

[bry@n 195]

I like them both. I Shoot the flocks more often just because I use them to shoot th Glock matches.

 

I like them both. Hard to choose between.

[Maksim 1,504]

Reliability wise, I would go with a Gen 3 Glock 17. Ergonomics wise, the Gen 4 are a bit better. M&P are better than that.

 

I had at one point, both a M&P 9 L and an M&P 9 Pro, and sold them, the 9L I did not even take possession of. My only issue with the m&p's is the sometimes dead trigger if you do not reset the trigger out all the way. Especially if you are used to a 1911 trigger. If you let your finger out a bit more, was not an issue. This issue was more apparent if you switch out the m&p trigger for the apex kit.

 

Otherwise, both are good guns, but should not be the only choices.

 

Do you need a plastic fantastic gun? If so, you have Hk, you have the Sig SP2009/2022, some polymer CZ's, EAA Witness, FNH FNS/FNP/FNX, Walther PPQ (which gets great reviews), and or even the new Caracal which is cheap. Ooh, forgot the other big one, Springfield XD's.

 

If you want a metal gun, look at 1911's, entry level models start cheap, CZ's, Browning Hi Powers, Baby Eagle/Tanfoglio/EAA Witness steel guns, (which all have superior ergonomics)

 

All comes down to how you are planning to use the gun, as someone else mentioned, home defense, range, matches, etc.

 

What I will say, are you a reloader? If so, look at the Glock 22 and 35. They are 40 cal, however you can load 40 cal very light and will be a terrific all around gun.

 

If not, look at the 34. Longer slide, lower recoil, made for matches.

 

The only issue with pinned mags, you cannot take off the basepad to clean the magazine. So shooting matches, that would be a deal breaker for me if I cannot take off the basepad to clean the mags. Hence why the 40 cal glocks are good because they are 15 rounders.

 

This is also why the M&P is a better choice as you can get 15 round factory 9mm mags and still have ability to clean out mags as needed.

 

Other choices, HK P30L, CZ75, Browning High Power, all have 9mm capacities of 15 avail standard, either as factory mags or aftermarket. HK 15, CZ and clones are now up to 19, however they started at 15, so those factory 15 round mags can still be found.

[Sig226GuyNJ 128]

I have a M&P40 and love it! Feels great, shoots as good as I'm shooting, reliable, and I can fire thousands of rounds through her without cleaning. Having said that, every single time I pick up Glocks, I shoot great with them, even with their less than stellar trigger IMO. My M&P also had a horrible trigger, which is replaced by a APEX USB, Hard Sear, and RAM. Like others have already said, your best best is to hold and shoot both and go from there. Good luck.

[Soju 153]

Try shooting them both and get the one that feels and shoots better for you. Any perceived advantage or disadvantage of one over the other is going to be based on personal preference. Neither has anything that stands out as being much better or much worse in anything.

[TheLugNutZ 21]

Dont forget the Sig line if you decide to look at metal pistols as well. Maks has a great list there.

 

OP, i was in the same boat as you when i was looking for my 1st pistol about 5 years ago. For some reason i wanted polymer so it was either an XD, Glock, or M&P. I ended up going with the M&P based on the way it felt in my had and how I shot it.

 

Just make sure you rent each prior to purchase to make sure you get what you want..

 

I have since purchased several other pistols, but my M&P40 is still my favorite "full size" gun that I own (prob until I add a 1911 to the collection) and is my go to home defense pistol.

[jrfly3006 42]

Sorry..one of my favorite movie lines..In all honesty try both and go with what feels natural and instinctive to point n shoot..My vote is the Glock..about as uncomplicated, reliable and accurate gun youll find out there.very easy to customize.IMHO

[njluger 5]

I've been doing the same research recently trying to decide on my first polymer, either a Glock 19 gen4 or a M&P 9 FS. Having shot both, I'm leaning more towards the Glock for the following reasons:

 

- While the M&P grip is definitely more comfortable, read less blocky, I shoot the Glock 19 better, YMMV of course!

- Glock grip angle points more naturally for me

- Stock 15 round mags - no need for more expensive pinned mags and easier to find

- Glock trigger, while squishy at least has a much better reset. I actually don't feel like I need a trigger job on the Glock for my needs, whereas the M&P does leave some to be desired.

- The "reported" accuracy issues with the current manufacture of M&P 9's. I'm not a good enough shooter to see the difference out from 25 yds, however, I'd rather pick a gun that is a proven performer and not wonder if it's me that sucks or the gun. When you have a bunch of pros in the industry working on aftermarket barrels just to get the gun to shoot acceptably for them, it sends a red flag in my book.

[NJdiverTony 27]

- The "reported" accuracy issues with the current manufacture of M&P 9's. I'm not a good enough shooter to see the difference out from 25 yds, however, I'd rather pick a gun that is a proven performer and not wonder if it's me that sucks or the gun. When you have a bunch of pros in the industry working on aftermarket barrels just to get the gun to shoot acceptably for them, it sends a red flag in my book.

 

Interesting... Never heard of these "reports"... Can you provide some info or links, as I'm curious to read about it. I have an M&P9 full size that I bought bak in the spring and was manufacterd in Feb. 2012 and the thing is accurate as hell for me. It points very naturally for me with the large backstrap. At first I wasn't too sure about this pistol, as I was not used to a striker fired gun (all my other pistols are all metal with hammers). After I did the full Apex DCAEK upgrade and I spent a bit more time at the range with it, it has now become my 2nd most favorite gun to shoot after my 1911.

[Maksim 1,504]

I've been doing the same research recently trying to decide on my first polymer, either a Glock 19 gen4 or a M&P 9 FS. Having shot both, I'm leaning more towards the Glock for the following reasons:

 

- While the M&P grip is definitely more comfortable, read less blocky, I shoot the Glock 19 better, YMMV of course!

- Glock grip angle points more naturally for me

- Stock 15 round mags - no need for more expensive pinned mags and easier to find

- Glock trigger, while squishy at least has a much better reset. I actually don't feel like I need a trigger job on the Glock for my needs, whereas the M&P does leave some to be desired.

- The "reported" accuracy issues with the current manufacture of M&P 9's. I'm not a good enough shooter to see the difference out from 25 yds, however, I'd rather pick a gun that is a proven performer and not wonder if it's me that sucks or the gun. When you have a bunch of pros in the industry working on aftermarket barrels just to get the gun to shoot acceptably for them, it sends a red flag in my book.

 

There are factory 15 round magazines for the M&P avail in a number of places. Not pinned... but factory.

 

Then you are back to Compact vs Full Size gun, and I would go full size.

[diamondd817 828]

I've been doing the same research recently trying to decide on my first polymer, either a Glock 19 gen4 or a M&P 9 FS. Having shot both, I'm leaning more towards the Glock for the following reasons:

 

- While the M&P grip is definitely more comfortable, read less blocky, I shoot the Glock 19 better, YMMV of course!

- Glock grip angle points more naturally for me

- Stock 15 round mags - no need for more expensive pinned mags and easier to find

- Glock trigger, while squishy at least has a much better reset. I actually don't feel like I need a trigger job on the Glock for my needs, whereas the M&P does leave some to be desired.

- The "reported" accuracy issues with the current manufacture of M&P 9's. I'm not a good enough shooter to see the difference out from 25 yds, however, I'd rather pick a gun that is a proven performer and not wonder if it's me that sucks or the gun. When you have a bunch of pros in the industry working on aftermarket barrels just to get the gun to shoot acceptably for them, it sends a red flag in my book.

 

I was always believer that just because on gun feels better in your hand than another doesn't mean you will shoot it better. Just as you found out with the Glock. This is also why Glock is my preferred platform. I can just shoot it better.

[Sell682 1]

Thanks all for the help...I'm still saving up but looks like a glock 34 may be it. I already have a nightstand gun and this is predominately for target shooting and IDPA .

[diamondd817 828]

Thanks all for the help...I'm still saving up but looks like a glock 34 may be it. I already have a nightstand gun and this is predominately for target shooting and IDPA .

 

Good choice.

[Maksim 1,504]

If you want gun games, look at the m&p 40 in the marketplace

 

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[hiker88 22]

I have a couple of glocks and an m&p (22 but it has the same ergo as its bigger bros.).

 

I like how the m&p feels in my hand. However, I've learned to live with how my glocks feel.

 

Glocks are easy and cheap to fix. There are also tons of accessories out there for shooting games or even fighting zombies.

 

Test before you buy... buy the one you'll enjoy shooting. I wouldn't mind getting an M&P 9 or 40 in the future (as soon as I get tired of shooting my new CZ SP01 Shadow ).

[njluger 5]

Interesting... Never heard of these "reports"... Can you provide some info or links, as I'm curious to read about it. I have an M&P9 full size that I bought bak in the spring and was manufacterd in Feb. 2012 and the thing is accurate as hell for me. It points very naturally for me with the large backstrap. At first I wasn't too sure about this pistol, as I was not used to a striker fired gun (all my other pistols are all metal with hammers). After I did the full Apex DCAEK upgrade and I spent a bit more time at the range with it, it has now become my 2nd most favorite gun to shoot after my 1911.

 

Sure, if you google "M&P 9 accuracy issues", you'll find a bunch of forums covering this issue. As an example, this is one thread I was following recently, from pistol-forum.com, http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?2903-Recent-manufacture-M-amp-P-9-accuracy. I tend to value the opinion of some of the pros found on that forum. Seems that accuracy really suffers beyond the 15 yd line, and groups really tend to open up.

 

Again, I'm not good enough to even group my shots consistently @ 25 yds, so seems kind of a moot point for me But still, it's sad that people are looking to buy aftermarket barrels and trigger kits to fix things that should just work from the factory. Not much value in purchasing a gun for $450, when you need to add another $200 on top of it to get it to run.

 

There are factory 15 round magazines for the M&P avail in a number of places. Not pinned... but factory. Then you are back to Compact vs Full Size gun, and I would go full size.

 

I know that there are factory 15 rounders for the M&P 9, I put together the sticky we have in this forum on where to find NJ compliant mags But my point is the availability of these 15 round mags for the M&P. There's only 1 place online that I've seen NJ compliant mags for the M&P 9 at a reasonable cost, G&R Tactical. Ordering directly from S&W, these same mags are like $40 a pop... Glock 19 15 rounders are found everywhere and cheap.