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M&P CORE 9 or 40 - Help me decide


ZackJones

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I have sold enough stuff that I can afford the M&P CORE and red dot. Now I have to decide between 9 and 40. Currently I shoot a .40 Pro in production. I know the CORE isn't production legal and I'm not buying it for USPSA. I'm buying it for an open gun for Steel Challenge and Pro-Am Steel matches. I don't know why but like the Siren's of Greek mythology the 9mm caliber is calling my name. I think some of it has to do with watching guys shooting production in 9mm with Glock 34's, and CZ's has got me thinking 9mm is the batter caliber for production. I'm planning to have the pistol Magnaported so I can use the same holster I use now (Bladetech). I plan to stick with production division for USPSA and will shoot production and open in steel challenge and Pro-Am.

Items that cancel each other out

- Have plenty of 40 and 9mm brass.

- They use same primers

- Have dies for each caliber

Reasons for 40

- Already have gear for 40 (holster, 6 mags). Don't need to modify mags for steel challenge or Pro Am

- I already reload for .40

- I've only shot .40 for competitions. I've shot Glocks (22 and 35), STI Edge (Limited) and now M&P Pro after getting back into shooting.

Reasons for 9

- It's calling my name and all of the cooler kids are shooting it.

- Mrs. Jones shot a friends 9mm M&P and liked it better than my .40 and I'm thinking with the red dot she may want to actually try shooting steel challenge with me instead of just help run the match. If I buy it and she doesn't like it then maybe I spent a lot of money for no good reason.

- Cheaper though not significantly cheaper

Assumptions I'm making which may well be wrong:

- 9mm production loads are softer than 40 loads (though 40 loads aren't bad at all 180g bullets)

- I could use the same load for production and steel challenge - or would I be better to switch to lighter bullet and more powder due to wanting to magnaport the barrel?

- I would be better off with a magaported barrel than without? (no so sure). According to maganport's website " On lighter calibers such as the 9mm, shooters find thier primary benefit gained by autoporting will be the reduction in muzzle jump. " Given that in steel challenge and Pro-Am it's one hit is there really and advantage to be gained?

Thanks in advance for your feedback and thoughts on the topic. I plan to have my gunsmith order the gun tomorrow or Monday as soon as I make up my cotton pickin' mind.

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Have both, get the .40 then a storm lake or KKM 9mm conversion barrel. with that combo I shoot uspsa Limited major, IDPA ESP with the 9mm, multi-gun with the 9mm and if I didn't suck so much at shooting steel I would shoot that with 9mm also

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Have both, get the .40 then a storm lake or KKM 9mm conversion barrel. with that combo I shoot uspsa Limited major, IDPA ESP with the 9mm, multi-gun with the 9mm and if I didn't suck so much at shooting steel I would shoot that with 9mm also

That's actually a great idea! I would get it magnaported though unless they could do both barrels.

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I have one of each caliber in the CORE model, you really can only go around once so have fun. On the other hand, the AR I was looking for went on sale the week after I unloaded my bank acct for the PRO .40. A real bummer!

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I've ordered the .40 CORE through my gunsmith and it should be in mid-week. I also ordered a KKM 40 to 9 conversion barrel for it. I need to order a 9mm magazine to test things out. Something I'm trying to decide and could use some advice on is a red dot sight. I'll be using this for steel matches so I'm thinking the larger the red dot the better. I was thinking about the Leupold Deltapoint but saw where the 2 version has been announced but I can't find it anywhere so I assume it's been announced but not released. Is there an inexpensive red dot you guys could recommend I get until the version 2 is released. I don't have to have the Deltapoint but it has been highly recommended from posts I've read, etc.

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I've ordered the .40 CORE through my gunsmith and it should be in mid-week. I also ordered a KKM 40 to 9 conversion barrel for it. I need to order a 9mm magazine to test things out. Something I'm trying to decide and could use some advice on is a red dot sight. I'll be using this for steel matches so I'm thinking the larger the red dot the better. I was thinking about the Leupold Deltapoint but saw where the 2 version has been announced but I can't find it anywhere so I assume it's been announced but not released. Is there an inexpensive red dot you guys could recommend I get until the version 2 is released. I don't have to have the Deltapoint but it has been highly recommended from posts I've read, etc.

RMR

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Last year I bought both the DeltaPoint and the Trijicon RMR 07. I liked them both, very solid, will do the job well. I kept the RMR for a few reasons:

- I liked the RMR adjustments better, clickable on the fly and easily accessible while mounted. I bounce between loads and configurations, and I can compensate easily during a match.

- Even though the DP has a larger window, the usable space is about the same. I had the larger triangle DP, and the triangle distorts on the screen at the edges. The RMR dot is solid even at the extreme edges.

- The RMR is more rugged and would easily survive a bump or fall. There is a video of someone using it as a hammer.

- I liked the controls better on the RMR, the automatic mode was much faster to respond, and manual override to lock in any light level.

It was a tough choice to make, and you can't go wrong with either.

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It was a tough choice to make, and you can't go wrong with either.

You are SO right about it being a tough choice. I honestly don't know if I will like the triangle of the DeltaPoint but I was thinking I'll just get used to it. What I'm leaning towards is ordering the Dual Illuminated 9.0 MOA dot in green from Midway USA. One question I do have regarding the triangle does it serve any special purpose? For example tip is for tight shots and body is for wide open shots? I'm thinking for steel I just need the dot on target and I'm good to go.

Even though this one comes with the rail mount wouldn't it mount on the CORE? The rail mount isn't a permanent attachment, right? (http://www.amazon.com/Trijicon-Ruggedized-Miniature-Reflex-Illuminated/dp/B0037WB24G/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1399480216&sr=8-9&keywords=rmr+trijicon+rm03) Assuming so that's the best price I've seen for the 13 MOA sight.

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Correct, the rail mount is detachable, and also available separately.

Should mount right on the core with the adapter. I have a 9-Pro, and used a SSS dovetail mount. I liked it so much I sent out my slide to have the RMR melted on, and the slide carved and lightened. I still need to post my dovetail mount to sell one day.

Edited by fdc1999
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  • 2 months later...

Mine runs like a champ. I put a Trijicon RMR on mine and I've had no problems with it. I shoot mine in steel challenge matches and it's great fun. I recently ordered one of the Taran Tactical M&P magazines with extended base pad and will get a magwell for it next.

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I ordered a TT mag with extended basepad too. Being I'll be shooting Open minor for a while until Prod Optics gets at least provisional status I figure I may as well use the extra capacity in Classifiers anyway to get classified

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I ordered a TT mag with extended basepad too. Being I'll be shooting Open minor for a while until Prod Optics gets at least provisional status I figure I may as well use the extra capacity in Classifiers anyway to get classified

Let me know what magwell you end up getting. I'll be getting one of those before too long.

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I don't have a plan to get a magwell, too far from my purpose of production optics. I'll just use the 23 +1 mag to game Open classifiers.

Besides, I come from single stack, my reloads were in the 1.15 sec range before I took my break. I'm sure I can do much better with an M&P

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I have two of the SSS magwells for two of my M&P's and am happy with them. They are aluminum so they are a bit light.

Thanks. I'm most likely going to get a SSS magwell because they are known to work with the TTI basebads.

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I would also replace the factory magazine springs with the extra power springs. I have Taylor Freelance basepads and extra power springs and still have mag problems. After last weeks match I rounded all of the bottom edges of the magazine folowers and hope that will correct the problem. The folowers were sticking badly in last weeks match and it was catastrophic for me. I have been running the same equipment for months with no issues and suddenly this happens. I am a bit perplexed.

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I have SSS magwells on both my Pros. The 9 has steel to keep it IDPA ESP legal and I use SSS base pads and TTI extensions with it. The 40 has a painted brass for a little more weight and I use TTI extensions with it. Really like the TTI base pads, btw.

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