help me decide

[Field]

i know alot of it is simply familiarization and practice but im starting to get really picky on trying to settle on the perfect pistol that i can shoot both in USPSA and IDPA probably a 9mm but possibly a .40 that i could load to minor or major depending on the division. (production vs. limited or L10)

So i purchased an M&p Pro 9 a little bit ago and i shot it today, there isnt any really noticable difference between this gun and the xdm in terms of shooting other than i was initially shooting low because of the sights on it are different heights. I'll be shooting with a friend tommorrow and trying out his sig 228 and ill shoot my m&p more tommorrow also.

From 250 rounds of shooting or so, doing some group shooting to start and then timed drill type stuff with it to get the best feel for how it would do at matches i didnt have too many complaints about this gun. the only real problem with this gun for me is the fact that there just isnt enough surface area on the frame for me to purchase and grip with my support hand. i feel like i am having to compensate for it by gripping harder with my trigger hand, which is bad.

Im also starting to get the impression that with barrel length, the difference between a 4.25 inch barrel, a 4.5 inch barrel, a 5in or a 6in barrel you arent actually getting any huge accuracy increases for when your shooting 35+ yards or your needing to hit a really small target. it seems like its more just a ''better sight radius'' type of thing and really it can vary from person to person whether its more beneficial or not.

i was thinking i might almost like a gun that is a little heavier than the m&p.

I've only bothered considering purchasing guns that are generally available at my gunstores, xd's, glocks, M&p's, Sig's. i mean i know i could have them order something or i can order something but i really want to at least handle and get a bit of a feel for the gun before i decide to buy it.

i dont have anywhere to rent guns around where i live.

i mean i havent shot regular XD's much but i have this idea in my head that i want something different simply because ive already shot 15k rounds or so out of my xdm9,

i keep going back to glocks and handling them because theres alot of things i like about them like how they grip and point (and there is plenty of meat on the frame for you to purchase with the support hand), apparently they would probably be the easiest gun to get parts, mods for but then i think the magazine release button unmodified is a little bit small and when i watch myself do reloads sometimes it seems like one of the things that slows me down is not hitting the mag release quick enough. i might have problems with te glock mag release. idk.

then like i mentioned overall i think the M&p i have with a little bit more trigger improvement and a shorter, narrower FO front sight on it would be a nice gun to use

sigs im not completely sure about. on one hand apparently they are the highest quality pistol of the selection and the SA trigger pull out of the box is pretty nice but im not quite up on the hammer fired DA/SA thing, and then they are obviously the most expensive of the selection but im comparing buying a sig for $850 vs. buying another gun for $650 and then buying parts for the $650 gun and it will perform just as good... and then ''performance'' in itself can be person preference.

anyways if you have any input for any of this please drop the block like its hot

Edited May 31, 2010 by Field

[DWFAN]

So you want something else besides the 9mm Pro ? Are you keeping the 9mm pro ? I cant imagine that gun not working for any production/idpa shooting that you would want to do. To keep it simple, get a .40 Pro 5inch if you want to add a .40 and shoot major.

[G-ManBart]

sigs im not completely sure about. on one hand apparently they are the highest quality pistol of the selection A lot of folks would take issue with that. More expensive doesn't mean higher quality and having a machined, metal frame is what causes them to be more expensive

Get an Accurate Iron insert in the size of your choice (maybe a large) and you should have plenty of area for both hands. Some really excellent shooters who happen to have large hands are using the small and medium inserts, so it may just be you're not used to it.

You'd be better off to spend more time and money working and practicing with what you've got right now than trying to come up the the "perfect" combination. R,

[Field]

Get an Accurate Iron insert in the size of your choice (maybe a large) and you should have plenty of area for both hands.

im talking about this area:

the xdm has more meat in this area, then there was the big takedown lever that you could kind of grab with your thumb while still doing no slide riding

there is less area for your support hand/thumb area to press against on the m&p. I feel like i am having to grip more with my right hand instead. i just dont like it. i dont know if i want to try and get used to it

the Glock 17 i think allows more grip for your support hand thumb either from the shape of it or...what have you. but then i think the factory mag release on it is going to goof me up. but if there is a mag release that i can put on that is a little bigger i think i am going to get one of these pistols. either the 17 or 22. i am fairly certain of this now.

i mean i know that a good shooter can probably get M class with most guns under the sun assuming they are performance tweaked a little bit but i really want to get this out of the way and have something i have absolutely no complaints about its just that i can have something but then theres this thought lingering in the back of my head like i made a mistake or something

Edited May 31, 2010 by Field

[philg80]

You should really try and find a CZ SPO1 to see how it feels. If you like the XDM then you should love the CZ and also the increased weight.

[ParaGunner]

If you get a Glock you can put a large frame Glock mag release in your small frame Glock to have a extended mag release for cheap.

[Field]

You should really try and find a CZ SPO1 to see how it feels. If you like the XDM then you should love the CZ and also the increased weight.

none of my gunshops have CZ's. like ANY CZ's. at all. im sure it might be a gun i would possibly like alot its just one of those things where im not able to try it before i buy it.

i know what you mean about shooting something heavier though. i was out shooting with a friend and he let me shoot his Sig X5 .40sw which is a good 10oz heavier or so than the 4.5'' xdm , the grip and weight made 168pf ammo seem pretty light,

but then of course the heavier gun is going to B a little bit tougher to swing around and point really fast but that depends

Edited June 1, 2010 by Field

[Field]

ok ok i sealed the deal with this crap.

keeping my XDM9 because honestly i just like it too much and i bought an M&p briefly and put 500rnds through it doing different drills and stuff, i like the xdm more. both of them had trigger stuff in them

i wasnt able to try the m&p with different recoil springs or guide rod but from shooting it i made the conclusion that i would have quicker reloads on average which was a plus but then the more important aspect , shooting, i just dont like how your supposed to hold the thing when shooting and yeah maybe i could take some time and get good with it but i dont really want to do that when i already got something im more familiar with

that and the xdm is honestly just 2=Sex-E looking to get rid of

i solved the problem with the slidestop anyways its something really stupid i should have known about a long time ago i can just take the smaller flatter slidestop off the XD and put it on the xdm

but i DO want to start experimenting with .40sw so i traded the M&p in and ordered a black on blaK XDM40. ha.

Edited June 2, 2010 by Field

[Field]

oh jeeeeeze .40 major dont kick much like i thought it would. it actually feels nice and solid and oddly enough it sounds nicer to my ears as well. then when i shoot stuff with it instead of putting a little hole in something like with 9mm the object gets flung somewhere or explodes or whatnot. funner funner.

i had some boxes of factory 165g and 180g Federal and Independence that i burned through real quick and i just had some cardboard box i was shootin at mostly. i know i was shooting pretty bad during rapid fire like i was shooting low it was making me flinch down a bit more than the 9 did. ha. but then also youd be shooting a bit better anyways with some typic aftermarket trigger stuff installed. the trigger on the xdm40 out of the box really aint THAT bad but the PRP kit reduces the takeup and reset by about half and THEN the trigger is pretty good. maybe a bit heavy im not sure how heavy cause that trigger pull gauge i bought doesnt even really work with it.

but yeah put a bit of sandpaper grip in a few spots, good trigger, fancy sights and adding a bit of my person touch to it and ill be liking this gun alot for sure.

Edited June 12, 2010 by Field