m&p or 1911

[multistage]

Lord. Just when i thought i had it. Am now undecided between an m&p 9mm or a kimber 1911 costing almost twice as much. I like the idea of a 45 with the reliability of a kimber, but i also like the capacity, price of ammo, and price of the gun that a 9mm smith brings. This will be for both carry and idpa.
For idpa, the nine shines. For carry, you cant beat a 45. The 1911 frame is nice and slim. But the m&p isnt bad, either. 8 rounds vs 17. 124 grains vs 230. Cheaper ammo vs more expensive ammo. 500 bucks vs 925. I have a SIG 229 E2 in 40 thats a good carry gun. I guess what i need to hear from the m&p guys is that all the horror stories i have heard about the smith have been worked out. I have owned a kimber in the past and know what i get with one. But i have never owned a poly frame gun, have heard that the trigger needs some help, and have have heard that the m&p is a bit on the questionable side for reliability. The kimber is set to go right out of the box. As it better be for that price. But i can get the smith, the trigger kit, an alessi holster, and plenty of ammo for less than the 1911. I dunno. Whatever i get, i will wish i had gotten the other. Let me know what you think.

 

[danielp]

Hands down the Kimber. Nice and thin, lots of customization options if you want them, easy to work on. Gorgeous styling. I have a Kimber Pro Raptor 2 and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[aj's 40 cal]

i have the first M&P and love it. no problems what so ever, im also not picky when it come to the trigger like some can be, but im also fairly new to knowing about guns and such. im sure you cant go wrong with either, but its up to you and how much u really want to spend over all. good luck and i hope to see pics of whatever toy you adopt.

take care~

 

[S&WM&P40]

Lord. Just when i thought i had it. Am now undecided between an m&p 9mm or a kimber 1911 costing almost twice as much. I like the idea of a 45 with the reliability of a kimber, but i also like the capacity, price of ammo, and price of the gun that a 9mm smith brings. This will be for both carry and idpa.
For idpa, the nine shines. For carry, you cant beat a 45. The 1911 frame is nice and slim. But the m&p isnt bad, either. 8 rounds vs 17. 124 grains vs 230. Cheaper ammo vs more expensive ammo. 500 bucks vs 925. I have a SIG 229 E2 in 40 thats a good carry gun. I guess what i need to hear from the m&p guys is that all the horror stories i have heard about the smith have been worked out. I have owned a kimber in the past and know what i get with one. But i have never owned a poly frame gun, have heard that the trigger needs some help, and have have heard that the m&p is a bit on the questionable side for reliability. The kimber is set to go right out of the box. As it better be for that price. But i can get the smith, the trigger kit, an alessi holster, and plenty of ammo for less than the 1911. I dunno. Whatever i get, i will wish i had gotten the other. Let me know what you think.

I have owned about 4 M&P's three 9mms compacts and a fullsize 40,I loved them all to death. You can pick them up for under 500 at online gunstores(budsgunshop.com and a few others). If this is going to be your first 1911 I would go with a entry model at first, just to see if you like it or not. That's what I just did, picked up a High standard compact 1911(officer 3.5 barrel) this thing is loaded with all the stuff a high priced 1911 has. For the price of the Kimber you could buy the M&P in 9mm and in 45. Some people find they like the look of the 1911 more then how they operate.

The trigger is fine unless you live in a Commie state that has a set trigger pull(10 pounds +). I have never had a problem with any of my M&P's triggers, you can get a trigger job to bring it down to 3.5 pounds of pull all the way to about 2.5. The stock trigger pull is around 5-7 pounds. The New Hampshire State Police use the S&W M&P 45 fullsize as their duty issue weapon, I have not heard any problems related to them.

 

[SC Tiger]

What other guns do you own? I ask because if you have something similar to the M&P you may want to go with the Kimber, while if you have a good 1911 you may want to go with the Smith.

 

[evolve]

I own an m&p and love it! Almost 1k rounds and not ONE issue.

 

[Raider-3]

You should do a m&p .40. It has better stopping than a 9mm, and better penetrating power than the .45. The .40 holds more rounds than the .45. I have a 1911 and love it, but it is so heavy it wants to pull my pants down. The m&p has a higher grade steel barrel that will last longer than a glock, and is cheaper to fix in the unlikely event something beaks.

 

[multistage]

I have a SIG 229 E2 in 40. I love her. I am waiting for the Kramer holster to show up so i can carry it. I do have a Serpa for it so I could shoot in competition, but hate the feel of it. For other guns, I have a Smith 60-14 357 (carry 38 +P Gold Dots) with an Alessi Talon that just came today (WOW!!! Nice holster). I also have a Beretta 85 380 that carries well. But man, you gotta either be in the process of expanding the arsenal or working on it. More guns. I like the 1911, but you have to stay current with that one. 45's are snappy. I think the M&P will be a fine carry/competition gun. Nine may be a bit iffy to some folks (this is not meant to be a war-starting statement) but 17 rounds should get you out of a jam. If not, you need a division to back you up. I have owned many 1911's, and the Kimber is tough to beat, but it is spendy to buy and spendy to feed (yeah, I roll my own). If the M&P proves reliable (by general opinion) that is probably what I will get. But there is a Kimber looming in the near future anyway. I feel that everybody should own at least one 1911 at all times. That's just being American.

 

[Treo]

For the price of the Kimber you could buy the M&P in 9mm and in 45. Some people find they like the look of the 1911 more then how they operate.

Or you could pick up an M&P and a RIA 1911 for the price of a Kimber.

I own an RIA because I think there should be at least one 1911 in every gun owner's inventory and I do like it. It's just not something I'll ever carry because I'm used to DA/SA.

 

[dreallsach]

I think you'd be better off with the Kimber. The 1911 frame has a tremendous history of reliability, durability, and now accuracy. 9mm are great for competition and practice. When it comes down to the moment of truth. The 9mm was designed to wound. Still needing more than one shot to stop. The .45 was made to kill(or atleast knock them down). Plain and simple. I carry Spr.Armory .45's. I also took the time and money to learn to thread needles with them. So in my case. It's going to be one .45 right in their treachea when the feces hits the ventilation system. I want to live, not just survive.

 

[S&WM&P40]

Or you could pick up an M&P and a RIA 1911 for the price of a Kimber.

I own an RIA because I think there should be at least one 1911 in every gun owner's inventory and I do like it. It's just not something I'll ever carry because I'm used to DA/SA.

True that! I sold my M&P for reasons of my own(money for another project), now I carry(as soon as my holster gets here that is) the Armscor 1911(marketed under the High Stranded name).

 

[TlWheatley]

I've owned both,,,,love my M&P40,

 

[Treo]

I . When it comes down to the moment of truth. The 9mm was designed to wound. Still needing more than one shot to stop. The .45 was made to kill(or atleast knock them down).

Feel free to cite this, we'll wait

 

[dreallsach]

I've been saying that for years Treo

 

[Treo]

I've been saying that for years Treo

OK but what do you base it on?

 

[SGB]

I like and own both, I carry a Springfield Professional by choice but feel completely comfortable with carrying a M&P as well.

 

[JimPage]

I have carried a 1911 for years and love to shoot it.

Telling someone what gun to buy is like telling him what woman to marry. All guns and women have their good points and not so good points. Different people prefer different aspects of each, so I won't tell you what I think you should do.

Just like beauty, good guns are in the eye of the beholder.

 

[NRA Lifer and Proud]

The 9mm was designed to wound. Still needing more than one shot to stop. The .45 was made to kill(or atleast knock them down).

This might true when FMJ is used however there are many quality SD round available today that improve the 9MM. No handgun round should be depended on to produce one shot stops IMO. Most if not all training schools today teach to shoot until the threat stops. Even the schools that advocate the 45 above all others teach this. BTW I am in no way downing the 45 since this is what I carry most often.

 

[dreallsach]

Real world application. They can point at gel and all sorts of information. I've seen first hand what a 9mm does with an angry adreneline pumped adult male, and what a .45 does to them.

 

[Treo]

Real world application. They can point at gel and all sorts of information. I've seen first hand what a 9mm does with an angry adreneline pumped adult male, and what a .45 does to them.

IOW you're just blowin' smoke got it.