Battle of the Budget 9mm's

Never really get on the smith and wesson forums. but seems like others have the same opinion. I'm just talking from my experience.
 
I think in this regard we'll just have to agree to disagree. personal experience with a single M&P suggests to me that they are poor quality considering the pricepoint, but that is solely a fit/finish point of view. I don't modify my handguns so things like material quality don't come into play. it's also why my opinion differs so much from many other shooters. I feel that if it needs to be modified to suit my needs then there is no sense in keeping it, it should do what I need it to from the factory. if I have to throw a $50 trigger, $75 dollar sights, and $40 grip tape on a $400 gun, why wouldn't I just skip that process and instead buy the $550-ish on a gun that suits my needs from the factory?

brando on the other hand has modified his, and knows the indepth metallurgical details, making his opinion of quality much different from mine. he is not afraid of fouling up guns as I have in the past and therefore probably is more willing to work with the M&Ps shortcomings more than Jimbob and I.

that's as close to an agreement as is going to likely happen so why don't we turn back to talking about hot, cheap imports?
 
haha thanks for bringing it back in tahunua. I love to tinker and given all my experience with the m&p line has been ones manufactured in the past 3 years. I am sure that could contribute to my experience with their quality being decent compared to others. As well as the trigger not being terrible, I have heard horror stories about older m&p triggers.
 
I couldn't shoot them when they first came out. I could not tell when the trigger reset so I would have to completely take my finger off the trigger to keep from trying to squeese a trigger that hadn't reset yet. that simple fact kept me from buying for years. I bought one a few months ago and the triggers have actually improved, still not as nice as I would like and the stupid hinge in the middle does not agree with me, but at least there is a tactile reset now. there were a few other things I don't like about it as well, but again, that's kindof steering in a different direction than this thread's original intent(if that even matters 2 years down the line).
 
i have heard of the old m&p's with the invisible resets. I believe apex actually came up with a solution for that. But as you said earlier you dont like to mess with the internals and that makes since to me. I am very glad they fixed it. I have also been pretty impressed with the new m&p 2.0, seems like a pretty good new gun. Not a lot changed but the grip feels great and the trigger is pretty nice!
 
Brando1992-I don't like Glocks and XD's much, I do like the Canik TP9 series and the SAR K2P is a good cheap gun. But all in all, I prefer, greatly, all steel hammer DA/SA fired guns over all others, but I really liked my Beretta 92's and I seem to be falling in love with the all metal hammer Sigs with the DAK trigger too, so aluminum frames are cool, too.
 
For whomever may be interested. S&W Shield, Bodyguard, and SD9VE all have rebates through S&W. $75, $50, and $25, respectively.

The SD9VE is on sale at RK for $289+tax. Subtract the rebate and you're looking at $264+. That's right around the price of the SAR B6P series and the Taurus PT111 G2.
If the S&W suits your needs and desires, that's a good deal.
 
I've really grown to appreciate my SD9VE. I'm not a huge polymer pistol fan, but when my back is hurting it beats carrying nothing at all.

I really have no complaints. Feeds everything I put in the mags, from cheap steel case Wolf and Tula to Gold Dots and HST. Runs flawlessly. Feels MUCH better in my hand than say, the Glock 19 with which it is most often compared. The trigger was gritty at first, but now it is actually fairly smooth. It is still spongy (hey, it's striker fired), but the break is fairly clean so all in all after a 500 to 1,000 cycles of the trigger, it breaks in to be a decent, shootable trigger.

The weight never bothered me in the least. So I won't be messing with any apex kits. And I much prefer the hinged trigger safety to the Glock and XD sharp dingle berry - but I know some are the other way around so like anything else its personal preference.

Yeah, the polymer is shiny so it comes across as cheap to some extent. The matte finish of Glock's polymer appears to be higher end - but probably isn't - in much the same way the S&W Model 28 had a less costly, more utilitarian finish compared with the Model 27 - the function was every bit the same. I put talon grips on mine so it won't win any beauty contests either way :p .

If you are fine with the trigger and it feels good in the hand, I really see no reason to spend the extra $$$ on a Glock or XD. Technically, depreciation may be better percentage wise on the SD9VE too. New they are under $300 in my area, and they seem to only drop about $75 into the low $200s used. Glocks and XDs start at around $575, but they drop to around $400-ish in my area used (about a $175 to $200 decrease in value).
 
$234 is is great, but that will have to get shipped to an FFL which will add​ a little more cost. Trivial depending on the FFL, but still something to remember. Most online bargains seem to be offset by shipping costs and FFL fees.
 
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