Advice: Glock Vs S&W

Chuckbuster said:
I currently have a Glock 17, but am looking around for another 9mm that can digest lead as well. I have had reliability issues with it in regard to some handloads...so, have stuck to relatively snappy ones. As far as non-support of the casing though, I recall seeing somewhere (please don't ask me where) that this was only an issue with the larger than 9mm Glocks...is that correct? And that handloads were to be considered verboten with them, but alright with the 9mm. Any info on that? Finally, does the M&P digest lead with no glitches?
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For the Glock buy a replacement match barrel from Questar. $125 and you can shoot lead. With 9mm I only shoot factory FMJ so it's a non issue for me
 
Chuckbuster said:
I checked out the link and then went here...

http://www.thegunzone.com/glock/glock-kb-faq.html

It would seem that the over 9 Glocks are the real culprits
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Sorry, but thegunzone is a well-known anti-glock site. This is just propaganda. The famous Kaboom can occur in every gun if used with improper handloads or with set-back bullet. I get SICK AND TIRED of the Glock always Kaboom rhetotic. Here is some exemple of handgun Kaboom, All of these guns are good and expensive ones.

Sig-Sauer
crackedP220_1.jpg

crackedP220_2.jpg


USP
kbHKTAC45.jpg


Colt revolver
DSC00055.jpg
 
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I was in your same position a few weeks ago. I went with the Glock 17. Here's what made up my mind...

Glock:

- felt better in my hand (the square shape I found gave me better control of the gun)
- pointed more naturally for me
- I preferred the trigger feel and shape over the M&P's (you can lighten the Glock trigger as well by simply buying a 3.5lb trigger connector and swapping it out with the factory connector... there are a handful of companies that make them including Glock)
- parts are cheap, plentiful and easy to find
- mags are $35 ( and you can get 17 round mags pinned to 10 which are way easier to load than the 10 rounders) vs $50 for M&P mags
- tons of after market parts available as well (extended magazine releases, extended slide releases, different springs for trigger pull and recoil management, etc, etc)
- proven track record (20 years or so, and the gun as well as the mags has gone through numerous design revisions, there are tons of Glocks out there with ridiculously high round counts through them still going strong)
- glock torture tests (look on youtube, dropped out of a plane at 500feet i think it was, buried in a bucket of sand, mashed in a muddy creekbed, dragged behind a truck, shot underwater... and they still work perfectly)
- superb reliability (they seem to eat any kind of ammo)
- no gunsmithing required, any part change you can do yourself as long as you have common sense
- excellent customer service
- I personally think they are one of the coolest looking handguns (some think they are damn ugly, I personally have no need for a shiny, pretty pistol with an engraving of a hunting dog with a bird in it's mouth running through a meadow on the side of my gun... YMMV lol)

I am sure there are other things I am forgetting.

My feeling was that the M&P just didn't have the track record behind it, and if you go on the mp-pistol forum (or even here on CGN), you will see that there have been a fair amount of growing pains (some rust problems that werent only isolated to one batch, abnormal wear, FTE, FTF, broken strikers, issues with mags dropping out randomly, etc etc). From what I have read Glocks had some growing pains too, but they seem to have worked them out a long time ago. Kabooms can happen with nearly all handguns (if not all), it is not isolated to Glocks. If you look on the net you will find that revolvers, HK's, Sigs, and 1911's all kaboom. You hear about Glocks more because there are gazillions of them out there (how many LE departments in North America use G22s? LOTS!).

The bottom line for me was that I just didn't want to do S&W's product testing for them, with my hard earned money. I could only afford one handgun right now, and I wanted it to be a proven design, so I could spend my time shooting it.

Good luck with your decision!!
 
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capp325 said:
No offense, but this is nonsense. Allow me to introduce you to Glock Kaboom FAQ v1.35.

http://www.thegunzone.com/glock/glock-kb-faq.html
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If you keep up the glock bashing, their sales will surely suffer :rolleyes:

As a big company with lawyers, I'm sure their lawyers would have great issue with them selling an unsafe product. If Kabooms were half the issue they've been made out to be, there'd be a recall, or at least some action on the part of Glock. In these litigious days, it's very hard to get away with selling an unsafe product for any length of time. Especially considering half of these so-called KB stories involve brand new guns, with factory ammo, if all true, the company would have been sued to death years ago. Go ahead and continue your hate-on for glocks, those who love them have stopped listening.
 
curtmg said:
If you keep up the glock bashing, their sales will surely suffer :rolleyes:
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I am NOT bashing Glock. However, I do believe that someone who inquires about purchasing one has the right to know that due to their design, Glocks are more likely to blow up than most other guns. Once you're aware of that, you can make an informed choice. We can speculate about the statistical probability of a Glock kaboom, but there is no question that partial chamber support is more conducive to kabooms than full or near-full chamber support. That's simple physics. I don't think there's anything to be accomplished by sweeping the kaboom issue under the rug, as certain Glock fanboys try to do.

curtmg said:
As a big company with lawyers, I'm sure their lawyers would have great issue with them selling an unsafe product.
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Give me a break. :rolleyes: Being a "big company with lawyers" did not prevent Ford from making a car (Pinto) that would explode when it got rear-ended. Big companies with lots of lawyers get slapped with product liability lawsuits all the time. I would know, as I do this for a living. Believe it or not, companies don't always listen to lawyers. If they did, they probably wouldn't be selling guns to civilians in the first place.
 
... Just like those of you who love them have failed to convince those of us who don't.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

(You wierdo glockophiles, you!)

;)

Neal
 
One thing I learned while I was shopping for a handgun and was stuck between the G17 and M&P9... don't let the ambi mag release and slide release sway your decision (assuming you are right handed). I let it sway mine for a while in favour of the M&P, but after handling them in person, I found that I preferred both controls on the right side. Operating the slide release on the left side with my index finger was not very comfortable, and found that to operate the mag release with my index or middle finger, I still had to slightly break my grip like I did with the Glock.

In my case, the ambi mag and slide releases were a good idea in theory, but when I actually tried them, I didn't care for either (and I have smallish size 7 hands).
 
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I don't think you can loose either way. I've owned a few Glocks and they are very good pistols. I've also handled 2 Glocks that Kaboomed, both were 40 cal and both had been shot extensively with lead bullet heavy reloads, plus P maybe more. I don't recomend lead bullets in Glocks. If the gun feels good in your hands and points well for you, then you're good to go. Personally I hate the feel of them and have difficulty controlling them in quick shooting due to the grip size/shape/trigger reach. I shoot an M&P in 9mm and am much more comfortable with it, as a result I feel I shoot better and more quickly. One thing not mentioned is that the M&P has a reversible mag catch which is more of an advantage to a right handed shooter than a lefty ( I wish I could reverse the catch on my 1911, it's so fast it's sick!) I'm on my second M&P and have never had a single issue with either one through about 2500 rounds. I have had parts failure on a Glock (to be fair it was an early one and the trigger return spring broke, an easy fix). So, as I said earlier you can't loose, they are both good pistols, pick the one that fits you best.
 
Griffoneur said:
I read somewhere that Glock will dishonor the garantee if you shoot "reloads"... don't flame me, this is going back a long ways... maybe do a Google on the subject.

My M&P uses 175gr SWC cast bullets with 4.8gr Titgegroup. I cast "wheelweights" with no added tin. I clean the barrel with Butch's Bore Shine, brush and patches and a bore snake. Comes clean as a whistle.
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Virtually every manufacturer states that firing reloads can void your warranty.
 
Just as a heads up...

CanadaAmmo apparently has their Glocks on back order until early August. Ordered a G17 last week and that is what I was told.

Also the Glocks have free shipping whereas it appears the M&P's do not.
 
Rudiger said:
CanadaAmmo apparently has their Glocks on back order until early August. Ordered a G17 last week and that is what I was told.

Also the Glocks have free shipping whereas it appears the M&P's do not.
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The glock and m&p have free shipping from Canada Ammo.
 
IM_Lugger said:
M&P is the way to go...Glock is so 80's :)

It looks nicer, has a lot better ergonomics, way better sights, tighter chamber around 6 o'clock, ambi slide release = superior gun
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LOL. unfortunately, M&P has the look of the 21th century but the quality of the 80's

All the features are useless if S&W cannot maintain consistent quality.
 
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