XD or M&P?

[SMMAssociates]

djc7:

I have one of each - an XD-9 SC and a (brand new) M&P 40. Both came with "The Gear", although they tell me that the S&W kits are out of print. "The Gear" with the M&P is much better than Springfield's.... (My XD's holster cants outward too far for concealment. Not bad if you want to tuck a jacket behind the holster. A buddy of mine just picked up an EMP, and it came with a much better holster, but the same unconcealable mag carrier....)

The guns themselves have about the same "feel", although the M&P's much snappier, and a lot longer. (The XD's a little fatter.)

Functionally, they seem both seem to work about as well, and accuracy (which I consider non-critical for SD use) is fine. The M&P is going to be a "house gun" and/or "range gun" - it's too bulky for concealed carry, IMHO, unless I swap off the big backstrap. Normally, I carry a 3.5" or 4" 1911 anyway - they're heavy, but not too bulky. The XD's OK when I want something lightweight.

There's a new XD coming on the market with some minor improvements (and swappable backstraps) that looks like a winner. Dunno.... I really like that EMP (it's a 9mm 1911 somewhat re-engineered for the smaller cartridge), but won't spend the money right now. Don't need it....

I don't know what S&W's policy is, but Springfield isn't deep into replacement parts if you need service. They'd rather you ship the gun to them. That could get expensive.... That's another reason I like 1911's. Easy to come by parts.... Even my Para's aren't a major problem.

Shoot both of them if you can.... Ignore the goodies. You will want better mag carriers regardless, and holsters are so personal that what's in the box may not suit you anyway. I lucked into something - I have two "open bottom" style holsters for the XD that fit the M&P fine.... The XD-9 came with a nice magazine loader, though, but those can be found everywhere for $20-ish, if you even need one.

Regards,

[briang2ad]

They'd rather you ship the gun to them. That could get expensive....

SW provides you a label, and this costs you nothing. SA also has great customer service, but you ship to them, and they reimburse you up to about $50. Just a consideration.

[SMMAssociates]

Originally Posted by briang2ad

SW provides you a label, and this costs you nothing. SA also has great customer service, but you ship to them, and they reimburse you up to about $50. Just a consideration.

Brian:

Thanks.... I haven't had any reason to ship a gun to anybody but Colt and Para. Neither paid for anything, but the Colt was so far out of warranty that it might be catching up with it from the other side....

(Para did a lot more than $50 worth of work, so I'm not complaining.)

I wasn't aware that SA had a reimbursement policy.

I'm still a little bothered by "must return", though. 'Course the days when I only had one gun for carry purposes are long gone, so having one in the shop for a couple weeks doesn't put me off. What's off-putting is reports of late that Para, for example, wants you to ship the gun back when there are extractor problems. The Para PXT is a drop-in, and while you could get a bad one, or break one (I'm not going to get into that), Sammy the JRT probably could swap one. If that doesn't work, THEN you ask for a return....

(I haven't figured out how to get the extractor out of my XD. OTOH, I have the instructions. Just waiting for the right moment. I finally - been talking about it for 18 years - put a real workshop together in the basement, and set up a nice gunsmithing bench. At which point my #1 client's Data Processing Manager abruptly quit, and I've barely had time to clean anything down there since....)

Regards,

[tomfoolery]

I like them both and have shot and carried both.

The xd has a better trigger i think. They are both good and reliable guns. The XD mags are cheaper for sure.

[jonny4523]

I like the looks of the M&P, but I REALLY do not like S&W's sigma triggers.

[SMMAssociates]

Originally Posted by jonny4523

I like the looks of the M&P, but I REALLY do not like S&W's sigma triggers.

jonny:

The M&P ain't even close to the Sigma.... As in much better....

I've shot 'em both, and the XD. The S&W M&P trigger and the XD are similar enough that you notice the "quality" issues. The Sigmas are just bad....

Just IMHO, of course, but I really upset a Sigma owner last night when he got a chance to dry-fire my new M&P. (He had to leave before we could get him on the line with it.)

Couple weeks ago, as he's fighting his S&W, I handed him a 1911. "Now, THIS is a trigger." Ooops.... Almost couldn't get it back from him . He liked the XD, too.

Regards,

[jonny4523]

Originally Posted by SMMAssociates

jonny:

The M&P ain't even close to the Sigma.... As in much better....

I've shot 'em both, and the XD. The S&W M&P trigger and the XD are similar enough that you notice the "quality" issues. The Sigmas are just bad....

Just IMHO, of course, but I really upset a Sigma owner last night when he got a chance to dry-fire my new M&P. (He had to leave before we could get him on the line with it.)

Couple weeks ago, as he's fighting his S&W, I handed him a 1911. "Now, THIS is a trigger." Ooops.... Almost couldn't get it back from him . He liked the XD, too.

Regards,

Oh, I apologize. I really like the looks of it, but haven't had the chance to shoot one yet.

[Tampatechguy]

I've shot both.
I shot the XD a little better.
Both are good weapons and a nice set of features.

Depends on if this is a collector or personal defense purchase.

My funds are limited, so any weapon purchase I make is viewed as a personal defense purchase.

So that dictates that I only purchase what I can shoot effectively, feels good in my hand, and I trust the function and reliability of the weapon.

That was the XDs for me.

[djc7]

Wow. Thanks for all the info and feedback, guys. And thanks for all of the fair, unbiased answers. I really wasn't expecting that. lol This handgun (whatever I decide to go with) will be purely for home defense (to back up a 12 gauge) as I live in Illinois and can't get a CCW. I'm most likely going to go with a 9mm since that is the round I have the most comfortable with and also don't have a huge gun budget. I might just have to wait until that new XD with the swappable backstraps come out though (thanks SMMAssociates) so I can compare it with the M&P.

[JoshXD40]

I have tried the Glock, XD and the M&P and liked the XD better. They are all very good weapons and like others have said all have there pros and cons. I put the Powder River kit, Canyon Creek Spring kit, and the decal grips on my XD and now I would have to say it's perfect... JMO of coarse.