Which gun fits this description?

[Martinjmpr]

I have/had a handful of M&P in different calibers and revisions, no issues at all. After trying my first one side-by-side with a Glock years ago at the range I changed over immediately.

Never had one with an external safety, to me those are unnecessary.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/subcategory/mp-9-m20-metal

OK, so I'm going to expand my search a little and consider other polymer frame guns and I like the looks of the M&P 2 Compact. My question for that would be: Were/are these guns used by many LE agencies? Are they popular guns?

Reason I'm asking is that one of the things I'm looking for is a gun that is popular/common enough that if I'm at, say a Sporting Goods store in Billings, Montana, I want to be able to get a magazine or holster if I need one. I absolutely can with the Glock, so does the S&W M&P have enough market popularity and commonality that finding magazines, holsters, etc, would likely be pretty easy anywhere in the US?

And for those who have them, do you carry it concealed in an IWB-style holster? Is it comfortable to do so?

What I'm looking for, in a nutshell, is a way to replace 2 guns (Glock 17 and S&W Shield) with one: A gun big enough to fill my hand and be comfortable to shoot, but also be compact enough to carry concealed.

So those of you who have the S&W M&P 2 Compact, how do you like it? How does it compare to the likes of Glock, Springfield, and other polymer pistols?

FWIW I'd consider H&K but I've always gotten the impression that the H&K guns are kind of esoteric, high end, hard to get common parts for (holsters and mags, mostly.) Am I wrong?

[ray1970]

I can?t comment on magazine or accessory availability but if I wasn?t a long time Glock 19 guy I?d probably be carrying an M&P 2.0 compact. I had one for a while and spent some time with it at the range and it?s a solid performer. It?s pretty much the S&W version of the Glock 19.

[bellavite1]

Glock 19 Gen 5.
Stupid easy to work on.
Decently smooth trigger.
Trigger is pretty damn close to a "double action" striker fired.
Spare parts for the apocalypse (hopefully soon) are incredibly inexpensive.
Magazines are everywhere.
Our distributor shows over 140 different sights configurations.
Every manufacturer makes holsters for Glocks.
All kind of accessories, hell, if you wanted to have a Glock mounted toaster somebody probably makes it...

[Martinjmpr]

Glock 19 Gen 5.
Stupid easy to work on.
Decently smooth trigger.
Trigger is pretty damn close to a "double action" striker fired.
Spare parts for the apocalypse (hopefully soon) are incredibly inexpensive.
Magazines are everywhere.
Our distributor shows over 140 different sights configurations.
Every manufacturer makes holsters for Glocks.
All kind of accessories, hell, if you wanted to have a Glock mounted toaster somebody probably makes it...

Well, obviously going from a G17 to a G19 would be the easiest answer. It's just that I've been a Glock guy for so long that I've never really considered anything else and I'm curious about what else is out there.

I owned a G23 (.40 cal compact) for a few years and had a 9mm barrel on it and used G19 magazines, so it was basically a G19 in all but name. What I remember about the G23 was that it was still rather bulky for a concealed carry gun. It was a Gen 3, IIRC, if that makes a difference.

Maybe this is a silly question but does Glock make a single-stack 9mm that's not a sub-compact? I'm familiar with the sub compact G43 (wife has one) but I'm thinking something the size of a G19 but with a single-stack magazine?

[ray1970]

They make the 48 which is basically a thinner Glock 19.

[ray1970]

I?ve never found the 19 to be too big. In fact, comparing it to smaller, lower capacity, more compact handguns the size difference is always so marginal that I just can?t justify switching.

Below is a S&W Shield in 45 ACP compared to a 19. The slide on the 19 is less than a half inch longer, the overall height is almost identical with the flush magazine in the Shield, and for me the overall thickness wasn?t enough to really make a difference in how it carried. The grip on the Shield is thinner but once you get to the slide and the frame near the slide the thickness difference isn?t that much.

[ray1970]

For me carrying comfortably is more about the grip length than the length of the slide or the thickness of the piece. Obviously your mileage may vary.

For full disclosure, my favorite carry gun is a J-frame and you?ll often find that on me more than the 19 these days.

[Martinjmpr]

They make the 48 which is basically a thinner Glock 19.

Yeah, right after I posted that I looked it up and found the 48. Also the 43X which is about halfway between the 43 and the 48.

[ray1970]

I think the 43x is basically the 43 length slide with the longer grip of the 48.

[Great-Kazoo]

I think the 43x is basically the 43 length slide with the longer grip of the 48.

Correct