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helicopterpilotdoug wrote:

Rugerboy50 wrote:Stopped by Collectors this morning.

Handled a M&P .45 and a couple of 1911's.

Liked the M&P but yeah there is nothing like the feel of a 1911 in the hand.

To me, nothing seems to fit like a 1911.

You're right. Nothing does. I love 'em. And I still shoot better with my M&P. I don't really know why.

Rugerboy50 wrote:I've done quite a bit of reading and internet surfing on this subject lately.

What surprises me the most is how the M&P .45 holds it's own against the 1911 style. People seem to love this thing.

Going to have to take a closer look at the M&P in making my final decision. With all the positive comments and a price point well below a quality 1911 I'm kind of surprised at how well it stacks up on different review boards.

I have a M&P 9C and it's a good shooter.

Echoing A-R, I shoot my full-sized M&P45 better than I shoot my 1911s, and I am a 1911 fan-boy. This is a mystery to me, because although I like the M&P grip frame best of all the double stack polymer pistols, the trigger is not nearly as good as either of my 1911 triggers (a Springfield Loaded with a trigger job and a Kimber Stainless Ultra Carry II)......and my M&P has had a S&W Custom Shop trigger job done to it which very much improved the stock trigger feel. And even though I prefer the M&P grip frame to all other double stack polymer guns, I still like the single stack frame of my 1911s better. So even though I might have a personal preference for the 1911, apparently the designers of the M&P really got it right, and it may be the better gun for me.

One of the benefits is the design of the thumb safety. The frame-mounted thumb safety on my M&P may not be 100% necessary, but it does add a measure of safety to handling the gun when it is loaded, plus it has the added benefit (unlike the 1911) of allowing the slide to be manipulated with the safety engaged. It doesn't lock the slide into battery when engaged, like the 1911 thumb safety does. That means that you can engage the safety and eject a chambered round, or release the slide into battery with the safety engaged.

My only real complaint about my M&P concerns the front sight. My gun came with Trijicon night sights already installed. They are nice and bright and work as advertised........at night. If you look closely at the sights, front or rear, you'll notice that there are two things that fill that little hole—one is the tritium lamp itself, and the other is a little "donut" of white material which plugs the hole in the sight, and behind which the tritium lamp shines out through the center hole of the "donut." Somewhere during my first trip to the range with this pistol, that little white donut from the front sight vanished into the ether. So now, the daytime sight picture consists of the two white dots of the rear sight on either side of a much less distinct front sight dot.

Oddly, it doesn't seem to affect my accuracy with the pistol one bit, but even after having fired at least 1,000 rounds through that pistol, I still find the sight picture to be disconcerting.

Zoomie72 wrote:I am new around here, but I will chime in because I don't see my choice being thrown around.

HK USP Compact in .45

the only pistol I regret selling was my USP Compact. I sold it because I wanted to get out of .40 caliber, but it was a great pistol. If I had bought it in .45 ACP, I would have never sold it. Mine had ambidextrous controls too, plus I replaced the stock 14# hammer spring with a 10# spring purchased from Midway for about $3.95, and it vastly improved the trigger.

I would love to own another one.

1) a Glock 36 (around $500)

2) a S&W M&P45 or M&P45c (I own a full sized one that cost me $599)

3) a XD45 or XD45c

4) a Taurus PT1911

5) a RIA 1911-A1 Tactical ($478)

6) a Kahr CW45 (around $450, lighter, a bit smaller but with slightly longer grip, feels better in the hand, smooth trigger, same capacity as the Glock 36)

So, except for the RIA and the Taurus, which are basically the same gun, you have 6 different .45s, in 5 different configurations. The first 3 are double stack guns; the last 3 are single stack guns. Variety is the spice of life, and you should be able to acquire any one of these for a price within your $600 price limit.

Enjoy.