Next purchase: XD or M&P

[cysoto]

I have heard that both the Springfield XD and the Smith & Wesson M&P are great guns but, would there be a reason to favor the purchase of one over another? I am especially interested in learning more about both of these in their 5” model configuration (9mm).

And no, I can’t afford to purchase both, neither do I have a place to rent them both and decide for myself, nor do I have friends who own these and will let me shoot them side-by-side. :tongueout:

What I am looking for is your opinions (biased as they may be) as to which of these guns is a better buy and why. I will deal with the issue of the “how they feel on my hand” after I figure out if I should favor one brand over another.

-Thanks

[10 Ring Tao]

I've shot both. I decided I probably wouldn't buy an XD while glocks were available, but would likely end up with an M&P in my collection eventually.

[Mr King]

let your hand decide. ;)

[fairway1]

I've shot both. I liked the trigger on the XD better.

[Quail Fat]

http://mp-pistol.com/boards/

http://mp-pistol.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=14

There are too many people having too many problems with the M&P for me to feel comfortable with this gun. Go to the above URL and spend some time lurking the different forums, check out the threads and see what M&P owners are reporting. I've never seen a gun with so many problems.

The quality control is virtually non-existant on the M&P.

The XD is a better weapon.

[lunarspeak]

WOW.. i checked out the links,the M&P has alot of problems,the mag drop issue would scare the crap out of me.

[10 Ring Tao]

Originally posted by Quail Fat
http://mp-pistol.com/boards/

http://mp-pistol.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=14

There are too many people having too many problems with the M&P for me to feel comfortable with this gun. Go to the above URL and spend some time lurking the different forums, check out the threads and see what M&P owners are reporting. I've never seen a gun with so many problems.

The quality control is virtually non-existant on the M&P.

The XD is a better weapon.

And the XD didn't have a slew of problems when it first came out? Give me a break.

This guy on that forum seems to understand net hysteria:

I think it's like any forums on the internet (I come from car forums) When there is a problem you KNOW it will be posted on the forum. What you dont see is the 80% of other users that have no prolems at all. Take my car for example. Not the most reliable car on the market, (audi) turbos pop off if you look at them funny. Looking at the forums for the first time you get the impression there isnt a working S4 in the country. After buying my car and being in the scene for some time now you learn to take any forum talk with a grain of salt. Several of my friends have the same car and we all have had little to no trouble (knock on wood) with ours. Yes it breaks and people get lemons and rest assured they are mad and will post looking for help or just to rant. Again though you dont see the majority of people that have no problems.

Then theres like what i did yesterday. I mistook user error (noob) for a problem with the gun. Gotta watch out for those ; )

Bottom line: forums are great but take everything with a grain of salt.

[GL396]

Originally posted by 10 Ring Tao
I've shot both. I decided I probably wouldn't buy an XD while glocks were available, but would likely end up with an M&P in my collection eventually.

Same here due to preferences. +1

[Quail Fat]

Originally posted by 10 Ring Tao
And the XD didn't have a slew of problems when it first came out? Give me a break.

The HS2000 had a small extractor, that was fixed by making a slightly larger extractor. The XD had some problems with rusting, so it was fixed with melonite surface hardening. I would hardly call these two issues a "slew of problems"

The M&P, however certainly does have a slew of problems. Broken frame rails, undersized bores, chunks of metal missing from chambers, rough bores, double stampings, loose sights, strikers breaking, magazines falling out, failures to feed, failures to fire, failures to extract, the list goes on and one.. rust.. nose dives on the feed ramp, crappy finishes etc. Hell if only 10% of the M&P owners are having problems, that's still too high.

[Mr King]

Obviously the S&W M&P has some problems. Everything Has had problems at some point, some major, some minor.

I like the look as well as the Size of the M&P Compact, but I'll hold off on a purchase until after more bugs have been worked out.

[mickdundie]

I had an XD40 for a while...traded it for a Glock 23
So if I was in the market for one of the two you mentioned I would get the SW MP
I would buy it from someplace like Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops...someplace that orders and sells a lot of guns...that way you would have a better chance of getting a newer made gun (with all the upgraded parts) than if you bought it from Joe Guns on the corner that might have had the same MP in his case for a year
Just a thought

Mick

[The_Gun_Guru]

I had the same decision to make.

I chose the XD in .45 (top) because I was already getting the CZ-75 SP01 Tactical (on left) and the Glock 17 (on right):supergrin:

I'll tell you this....if the M&P is anything like the CZ-75 then you'll be fine. That CZ is AMAZING!!!! I like it better than the G17!!!:supergrin:

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/gunguru364/a539695f.jpg

This was a last hoorah for '07!!!:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[beemerphile]

Originally posted by The_Gun_Guru
I'll tell you this....if the M&P is anything like the CZ-75 then you'll be fine. That CZ is AMAZING!!!! I like it better than the G17!!!:supergrin:
I am glad to hear that. I have a CZ-75B SA on order. CDNN was running a sale on them for $349 last week. - Lee

[Dern_Humpus]

XD or M&P?

Glock.

[rjm]

My vote is for the XD. Dang good trigger and a great grip angle, solid feel and points naturally. My plan is to pick up a .45 and a 9mm tactical in the future. I can honestly say I shoot my 9mm sub-compact much better than my sold Glock G21. I was shooting last monday at 15 yards with the XD and shooting the center out of the target. The trigger is just much better than the Glock, by far.

Smith and Wessons are the new kid on the block, they do feel good in the hand but I would honestly give it a year or so more before purchasing a new one. Give them time to get the bugs out.

[breech]

I've owned a few XD's. Great guns. I recently picked up an M&P 40. So far so good. I haven't had any issues arise. If anything take advantage of the deal going on at Bud's. You can get either the 9 full size or 40 full size for less than $440 shipped.

[Krochus]

The M&P is an excellent firearm in feel and function as are Glocks of course. But for me the XD felt like a Hi-Point with a grip safety. I swear if blindfolded I would be able to tell the difference between the two by feel alone. So by that token the XD would probably be a better handgun for pistol whippin people:thumbsup:

[Mr King]

Originally posted by Dern_Humpus
XD or M&P?

Glock. Yet another GlockOPhile LOST in the NonGlock Section:rofl:
Too bad their almighty Glocks arent satisfying enough for them eh?:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[mickdundie]

Hey...don't be so hard on the GlockOPhile being in the wrong section!!
It's kinda like being married.
You still like to look, but don't want to touch!

[cysoto]

Originally posted by beemerphile
I am glad to hear that. I have a CZ-75B SA on order. CDNN was running a sale on them for $349 last week. - Lee

WOW!!! That is an amazing price for the SA. The cheapest I had seen them is around $440. I may have to expand my options.

[cysoto]

Originally posted by beemerphile
I am glad to hear that. I have a CZ-75B SA on order. CDNN was running a sale on them for $349 last week. - Lee

How did you find out about this sale price? I just downloaded CDNNs catalog and I don't think they have the CZ75SA listed in it.

[SmithShooter]

Just for the record, my M&P40 now has well in excess of 3000 rounds through it with absolutely zero problems.

A few of them may have minor problems.

Many trouble reports seem to be lies or other misinformation fueled by an irrational hatred of S&W (due to their behavior while British owned, they arent anymore, deal with it)

The rest appear to be "I heard it from a friend who read it on the interwebz0rz that the M&P will actually spin itself around and shoot you in the face 5% of the time." and other such creative tales.

I swear, between the murderous M&Ps and the Kabooming Glocks, its a wonder any of us are still alive.

[spookshack]

Con's for XD: There are no parts availiblity, need to send the gun to SA for repair.
Pro's for the XD: The XD has had a several years head start on the MP, so there are no teething problems. The XD is avalible in a 9mm 5in. version.


Con's for the MP: Seems to be having some teething problems. No 9mm 5in. version.
Pro's for the MP: More safety options. They have multiple grip sizes for a more custom fit. They seem to have most parts availible(at Brownell's at least).

Just my 2 cents.

[cysoto]

Pro's for the MP: More safety options.


Funny that you would mention that because I have been accused in multiple occasions of "always looking for ways to disable gun safeties". And to my detractor's defense I have to say that most times they are right; if disabling a safety gets me a better trigger on my competition guns out they go. BTW the carry gun is 100% stock (in case you were wondering).

[rfd339]

have you looked at a glock34.

[cysoto]

have you looked at a glock34.

Yeap, already got one but it is time for me to start expanding my plastic horizons. That new 5" M&P Pro looks mighty nice but the XD Tactical keeps calling my name... What is a man to do?!?!

[rfd339]

cool , i owned a xd357 service in 2003 . it never gave a problem and worked well .

[H&K .45 AUTO]

Hmmm... I recently traded my only M&P (a fullsize .40) for a Glock 31, but I can honestly say that it was an amazing pistol. Felt recoil was very little. Accuracy was very good. Reliability was second to none. And, the gun just felt right in my hand. I definately intend to get another M&P soon.

Oddly enough... I also recently traded my way into a Springfield XD 9mm sub-compact. I've only run a couple hundred rounds through it so far but here are my observations:

1) The gun is superbly accurate for a sub-compact
2) It has not failed to feed, fire, or extract so far (100% reliability)
3) The grip angle feels good to my hand
4) The XD has a slight edge in the ease of field stripping for me as my fingers are too fat to be able to take down the M&P without the use of the grip tool that comes with it
5) The trigger on the XD is infinately better and has a positive reset. Reset on the M&P was not very positive

Now, I realize that neither of these pistols is the 5 inch variety that you are looking at. But, that's my experience with them. I owned the M&P as another fun-gun for range duty, and the XD sub-compact is about to become my primary off duty carry gun. Two very different roles to be sure.

If I were comparing apples to apples, such as an XD service model and an M&P fullsize.... I would likely go for the M&P. I just liked it better for some reason. The XD has won out for my off-duty because the right deal came along and it is proving to be a very capable weapon for its' intended role. I view it more as a simple utility tool... Much the same way as I look at my Glocks.

[cwhitt88]

http://pistol-training.com/articles/trust-no-one-an-insiders-perspective

This sums it up.

[cysoto]

I asked this same question to a sales associate at a local gun strore and his response was: "I would never own an XD because I hate them". Needless to say I had to ask him what did he hate about them and his response was: "everything". I asked again, "There has got to be some issues that you hate more than others". And once again he told me that he just "hated" the pistol.

That conversation did not help me decide against the XD it just helped me understand that we are all different and, for this reason, we have the choice of picking amongst different firearms. I am really just looking for opinions and I understand that these will invariably be different from one poster to the next but even so, they still help me understand why people decide for their particular choice.

I really wish I could afford both of these guns. In fact I wish I could convince the wife that WE NEED TO PURCHASE these two (and many other firearms) but i know she knows better.

I cannot disagree with the author on anything that he said in that article. Nonetheless what I wrote in the original post still holds true:What I am looking for is your opinions (biased as they may be) as to which of these guns is a better buy and why.

[Z71bill]

"fingers are too fat to be able to take down the M&P without the use of the grip tool that comes with it"

I have 3 M&Ps & and also haqve fat arthritic fingers - and I don't have any problems getting it apart.

BTW - a dumb question maybe - but what "GRIP TOOL" comes with the M&P?

[H&K .45 AUTO]

"fingers are too fat to be able to take down the M&P without the use of the grip tool that comes with it"

I have 3 M&Ps & and also haqve fat arthritic fingers - and I don't have any problems getting it apart.

BTW - a dumb question maybe - but what "GRIP TOOL" comes with the M&P?

I was referring to the little piece that twists into the bottom of the grip on the M&P and locks the interchangable grip inserts into place. I had to use that thing every time I field stripped the M&P in order to push down the little thingamajiggie bar inside the pistol. I never could manage to get my fat fingers in there to do the job without the help of that grip tool.

Not really sure if everyone has the same issues or not, but that was my experience. I'll have to check in with the guy here on GT who I traded it to and see if he has the same issue.

[speedracer211]

Never shot an M&P but do own two xd's one is a tac 5" 9mm. No problems with it so far and it is a sweet shooter. Older xd's also had problems with locking blocks cracking and v10 slides cracking too.

[dosei]

Yeap, already got one but it is time for me to start expanding my plastic horizons. That new 5" M&P Pro looks mighty nice but the XD Tactical keeps calling my name... What is a man to do?!?!

Shot 'em both and the answer will come to you...

[cysoto]

Shot 'em both and the answer will come to you...

And no, I can’t afford to purchase both, neither do I have a place to rent them both and decide for myself, nor do I have friends who own these and will let me shoot them side-by-side. :tongueout:


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