Posted: 2/11/2012 9:54:06 PM EDT
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After carrying a Springfield XD45 for the last few years I decided to change out to an M&P45. It was a replacement a long time coming. Picked up the XD after a number of folks on the department would sing its praises and also bought into the gun rag hype. While it's a mostly functional (more on that shortly) pistol it just never was all that comfortable in the hand. Having shot 1911's extensively, Smith 59s, Sig 229s, and Beretta 92s, the XD never felt right in the hand. It had the same flat sided grips that I despise on the Glock, but a more accustomed grip angle. So I slapped a Hogue grip cover on it that helped a little bit but that had a nasty habbit of shifting around, especially during the summer when it was hot and would get soft and I would find it at times had rotated 90 degrees on me. The stock sights were replaced with Truglo TFOs, however, after just about everyone on the department and I had issues with the front fibers falling out, I replaced them with plain Trijicons. Functionally the XD worked pretty well. As long as you didn't fire a round without a magazine locked in place (ie, firing while in the middle of a tac reload) as it would stovepipe most times when doing that. On top of that, Winchester changed the profile of the Ranger SXT bullet to where it was less ball like. Since that happened I'd get at least one feed jam per magazine when shooting single handed where the round was shoved into the top of the chamber but wouldn't cam over and fully chamber. Also, my high thumbs grip frequently would engage the slide release during the recoil cycle causing the slide to go forward on an empty magazine. I had purchased an M&P45 some time ago and ran it through its paces. The grip feels pretty good in the hand and after giving it an initial cleaning and greasing, ran it for over 600 rounds over multiple days with an X300 attached without any hiccups. Filthy as sin but never showed any sign of slowing. And having the thumb safety it gives my thumb its familiar place to hang out without hitting the slide release. The sights were plain 3 white dots, which was simply distracting. This time I'm trying a brass bead on the front sight with a plain black u-notch rear sight from 10-8 Performance. So far the setup appears promising and is fast to bring on target, but time will tell for that setup. While the trigger is considerably different in feel and bit heavier that the XD's it hasn't been an issue. I'll probably drop an Apex duty kit in it down the line, but its not a priority. Holster stays the same with a 6280. I still have that bug in the back of my mind, however, that is telling me this is all for naught and within a year or two I'll fold and decide to just run the 1911. I wonder if that's related to the faint "Luke, I'm your father" coming from the safe each time I pass by it... |
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I can offer no input on your current or previous choice, as I have no experience with them. The last few years I worked, I carried a S&W 5906 and then a G21 dept. issue. Had I the choice of carrying a 1911, I would have, and never felt under gunned or short on firepower. But my dept. did not allow single actions.
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