I was shooting long before I started this blog or my YouTube channel. Prior to even living in Alaska, one of my favorite guns was the S&W M&P line. I say the M&P "LINE" because I owned virtually every caliber except .22 and .380. The reason for my love for the M&P line was that they simply performed perfectly in my hands. I cannot remember having any legitimate issues with the pistols in terms of reliability other than the one time my shield recoil spring popped off its guide rod. Any time I had an issue or had a recoil spring that was a bit weak, S&W was a quick call away willing to send me parts or offering a return label for me to get my gun fixed free of charge. In my simple mind, naturally performing well with the gun and having the manufacturer standing behind you 100% makes the M&P line a no-brainer for me now.
TRIGGER SHAPE/RELEASE
When I have used the M&P pistols in the past, I have really liked the shape of the trigger and how it broke, despite the slight weight increase. I liked how I never found the trigger to pinch or rub my finger raw, but also that there was only a slight increase in the weight of the trigger wall but with a crisp break. overall, I just liked how natural it was to respond to a threat and employ the pistol in terms of good trigger manipulation. Also it hid sloppy trigger manipulation slightly and was more forgiving of aggressively getting on the trigger, unlike other pistols with lighter pulls and virtually no wall.
ERGONOMICS & GRIP ANGLE
The ergonomics of the M&P line has always worked well for me with gloves and bare handed. I like how simple it is but without sacrificing effectiveness. The grip angle was spot on with my expectations for natural point of aim. A Glock is not as bad for me as long as it is a Gen4 and I am gripping it real hard. However, the forward cant required when your hands get tired tend to exhaust the muscles and inhibit my grip to be maintained. With the M&P line the grip and the angle are natural and it is more forgiving of a loose grip when you are already worked. This allows you to practice with a proper grip and any extra grip strength poured into the grip is just icing on the recoil control cake. I have learned to never under-estimate this quality in the pistol.
LOW FELT RECOIL
Right from the start, I have been impressed with the M&P design and how their flat wire recoil springs have tamed the recoil of every cartridge in their lineup. It is quite impressive when you are expecting a polymer pistol to have a bit of kick, but the recoil impulse of the pistol could give H&K pistols a run for their money. The durability may not be as outstanding, but for the money you are getting a sweet shooter that you can settle into comfortably as Linus is comforted by his favorite blanket.
DURABILITY
The M&P is not going to last you all that long despite the fact that the recoil feels so low that you think the pistol isn't possibly receiving that much wear. However, it is naturally the case that simple parts are going to result in simple function, and therefore shorter life spans. The one good thing is that S&W stands behind their products and will replace your worn parts at little to no cost depending on the situation. Shipping the firearm to them may be necessary for certain part installations/swaps though. Overall it is pretty easy to service and keep running like a Swiss watch. Not much of a loss there.
SUMMARY CONCLUSION
It seems that my exploration through the different manufacturers is slowing done and somewhat coming full circle to where it makes more sense for me to relax into a standard setup where I can focus on individual skill with a firearm that works well with my body and style of employment. A stock M&P gives me such good performance that it is hard to justify another type of pistol for the money. All this said, I am not looking at stopping reviewing other pistols and stepping into the T&E world periodically, but I am settling into the .40 S&W category of prioritization for the most part. The future is unwritten so my feelings and decisions are not necessarily set in stone. The whole point is to get the word out that my constant jumping around to different pistols is going to dramatically slow down, which was bound to happen some time.
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