I shot the M&P 45 this past weekend...

[Brickboy240]

Yep, me and my brother and a bunch of friends/co-workers got together at Dads place to plink and shoot skeet and everyone brought a few pistols and other "fun guns" to play around with. In the mix was one guy's fairly new M&P 45. he had maybe a box or two of shell through it.

In the past, I had handled a few 9s and 40 M&Ps in the store, but never shot one. Like my brother's PX4, the M&P never really appealed to me, nor was I racing out to replace one of my 9s or 40s with this thing. Like the PX4, I am sure its a decent shooter...but they just didn't appeal to me, overall.

Luckily, this guy brought the M&P 45 out with the case and all 3 backstraps. With the smallest backstrap, the M&P45 fit me pretty well. Unlike the XD45, the M&P's grip does not feel too long. It only holds 10 rounds, but hey, 10 rounds of 45ACP is plenty...right? I have felt well armed with 7-8 shot 1911s and a P220 for years.

What surprised me about the M&P45 was its recoil - it was definately one of the softest shooting 45s I have ever shot. It had very little muzzle rise and did not malfunction at all. Mags slide in and drop out real easy and do not tear up your thumbs, while loading. The grip angle is nice...not canted too far like the Glock and not nearly as chunky as the Glock or USP45s. I liked the rubberized areas on the grips, becaue we had sweaty hands from shooting in the 95 degree Texas heat. Some plastic gripped pistols (even with checkering) get slippery if your hands are sweaty. Not the M&P 45's grip. It also did not rasp your palm after firing many magazines. Like the Steyr MA-1, the M&P45 sits low in your hand - probably what kept the recoil so light for a 45. I shot about 5 mags through this thing and could have easliy gone several more. A very soft shooter.

Accuracy? Well we were shooting cans and other small targets, but I could hit these things with alarming regularity using a 6 o'clock hold. Accurate enough for me, but we did not do any hardcore accuracy tests. If I had to carry this thing around...yep...I'd feel confident enough to hit with it. It seemed as accurate as an XD45 that I borrowed at one time.

If there was any part of the M&P that bugged me, it was the trigger. It was a bit heavy...but broke clean. Maybe it will break in as did my XD-40s over time. If there was a way to lighten the pull - it would have been fantastic. I have heard of others complain about the M&P's trigger. It was not awful, but it could have been lighter. I could live with it, overall, because it was clean-breaking.

I also liked the safety. Very easy to flick on and off or ignore it if you wish. The mag release was positive and overall, I had a positive expereince with the M&P 45. It felt good in the hand, was not heavy or overly chunky...I like these features in a pistol.

Am I going to buy one of these? Maybe...a VERY definate maybe. I really want to see how the FNP-45 turns out, but I was pretty impressed with the soft shooting M&P 45. If you're looking at a polymer framed 45...I'd give it a look. I really liked the grip and the soft recoil of this pistol.

I just thought I had to share, sicne alot of people here are looking at polymer framed 45s. A shop near me has these selling for 499 bucks - thats a good price for what seems like a very nice 10 shot stainless slide/polymer 45 pistol.

Thanks,

Brickboy240

[Reeek]

Thanks for the range report and opinion. It's an interesting pistol for sure.

[rev-arb]

Thanks for the report....I am hoping to bring mine home soon.

[Brickboy240]

I still want to see how the trigger is on the upcoming FNP-45. If its better than the M&P, the FNP45 is coming home with me. Bad thing is, nobody has a clue as to when the FNP45 is coming.

Why don't these makers bring out the 45 at the same time as the 9 and 40? Don't tell me they do NOT know this is what we all REALLY want.

The trigger is not THAT bad on the M&P45, but not as sweet as the Steyr MA-1 or my broken in XD40. Like the Glock, there might be an easy way to swap disconnectors or something and make it better instantly...who knows?

For 499 bucks...the M&P45 a very attractive package!

- Brickboy240

[dtek]

Great gun, I bought one last sunday

[Brickboy240]

If the trigger had been better..I'd be buying one this weekend (instead of waiting for the FNP-45), but I tried a few new ones at a local store and they all had that same, crappy, Glock-like trigger pull. A real deal-killer.

Why does almost every pistol these days have ONE bad mark that seems to keep me from buying it? With the M&P 45...the only bad spot was the trigger and being spoiled by 1911, Hi-Power and old SIG triggers...well....I just cannot live with it, sorry.

I am not sure if S&W M&Ps are like Glocks and you can easily swap part lke the disconnector and everything will be lighter. If so...I'll conside one, but if not...that trigger was less than lovely.

Come on FN...you're my only hope for a polymer hi-cap 45 with a decent trigger, unless Steyr brings the MA-1 out in 45ACP, but I doubt seriously that would happen.

- Brickboy240

[RaiderNations]

My M&P 9mm wich I just bought has a very different feeling than my familiar XD45 trigger. I took me a little while to adjust from the XD to the M&P. Do I like the trigger pull? Not really. Do I like the pistol? Yes, Alot. I am very Pro XD. But I wanted a change from the same thing. I can live with it. I will stop by Bolsa Gunsmith in Westminister,Ca to see if they can work with the trigger and add a safety. Mine did not come with one. Also see what night sites are available for the M&P. Overall great pistol.