Posted: 8/3/2010 8:33:08 PM EDT
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...but I have some questions first.
I am a Glock lover and always will be, but I have been having some issues with my 3rd Gen G21SF as of late. I work in a very humid area (Central Florida) and the Glock grips get very slick when I get out of my air conditioned patrol car into the hot and humid night air. I also experience the slick grips when my hands are sweaty, wet, or bloody. I have been using grip tape but it I annoying having to replace it once a month or so and it looks bad. I have fingered some M&P 9mm in the gun stores and love the way they feel in my hand, but how do they fare with being cold and then exposed to hot humid air, rain, sweat, blood, ect? Do they get slick like the Glocks? I can not permanently alter the appearances of my duty pistol or I would just stipple the Glock. Are their any known issues with a tac light attached to the pistol, like the older G22s were having? The Apex DCAEK looks interesting but is it as durable as the stock parts? Also did it install easily, was it worth it, and do you think it would be acceptable for a duty pistol or is it more for a competition gun? How corrosion resistant is the slide and mags? Not an issue I have had with Glock but it was a constant battle when I carried my Sig P220, so I am a bit leery of metal magazines. Thanks, Lucky |
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I have made the switch from Glock to the M&P, and have never regretted it. I can answer a few of your questions. As to the grip, it is better than the Glock's, slipperiness-wise, but it is not a miracle worker. There have been many here that have wanted even better, to the point of stipling their frames. If you take your time with it, it will even be quite attractive. If you plan to go that route, I recommend practicing on one of the backstraps that are not your size.
The magazines are metal, but they have a melonite coating now, instead of the bluing of the early mags (I have 1 blued mag, all the rest are melonite). Same goes for the slide. Stainless steel with melonite coating. There were some corrosion issues with the early M&Ps; those are solved now. I have a Streamlight TLR-1 on my M&P 40, and have not had a problem with either the light or the pistol. Zero issues. All I have is the Apex sear; it was seriously easy to instsl myself, and I believe the parts are at least as tough as the original parts. Someone else will have to answer as to the rest of the kit. |
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I switched from the G21SF to the M&P 45 (and later a M&P 9L) for my patrol duty weapon. While certainly less slippery than the Glock, sweat can still be a problem. I ended up stippling my grip insert on mine, and they now stick to my hand like glue in all conditions. Since the grip inserts are removable, you're not permanently altering the gun. Also, they are only a few bucks each if you screw up trying to stipple them. I have not had any problems with an X300 or TLR-1 mounted on any of my M&Ps. The new coated magazines are extremely corrosion resistant. I have never seen a spec of rust any any of my mags, and I carry them in an open top mag holder. M&P slides are melonited which is similar to Glock's Tennifer, so they shouldn't rust. There was a bad batch of slides a couple years ago, but S&W's customer service is excellent and they replaced all of the problem slides. One of my M&Ps occasionally gets some light surface rust on the outside of the extractor, but it scrapes off easily. S&W would replace it for free, but it doesn't really bother me. Newer M&P triggers are better than the older ones. While I really like the Performance Center sear in my M&P 9 Pro, I find the standard trigger in my duty M&Ps good for a duty gun. Here's a picture of the stippling I did to my grip insert with a soldering iron:  You can buy stippled inserts online, but it's easy to do yourself. |
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Former glock snob turned M&P user. I have two 19s and one 21 that I will be putting up for sale soon. Glock makes a great gun, very reliable but the ergonomics for me never were the best. After trying the m&p I bought a 40 fullsize, and shot about 2.5K in it within two weeks of buying it with no cleaning. No malfunctions nothing, and i shot it better than the Glock.
It is no wonder why the M&P is getting more and more police departments every day. |
You don't need a new gun you just need a decent stipple job, which you can do yourself with a little patience and a soldering iron. This was my first attempt and took me 4 hours. The end result was a grip that stayed put no matter how wet my hands were, but still smooth enough to not shred clothing and even comfortable against the skin with a IWB holster.
Just in case you're still interested in the M&P here is the stipple job on my M&P9 
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Reading comprehension people....jeeze.
Do you like your glock other than the slickness? Do you shoot it well? Has it been reliable? If so I wouldn't make the switch. The stock m&p frame is worse than the glock frame out if the box when it comes to texture. The frames are really slick and definitely need stippling which is why you see 90% of fhe pics on here with stippled frames. If you don't mind downsizing in caliber I would go with an rtf frame glock. Without a doubt that will be the grippiest solution. |
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Quoted: You don't need a new gun you just need a decent stipple job, which you can do yourself with a little patience and a soldering iron. This was my first attempt and took me 4 hours. The end result was a grip that stayed put no matter how wet my hands were, but still smooth enough to not shred clothing and even comfortable against the skin with a IWB holster. http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll93/Seawolf_504/G23Stipplejob4.jpg http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll93/Seawolf_504/G23Stipplejob2.jpg http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll93/Seawolf_504/G23Stipplejob1.jpg Just in case you're still interested in the M&P here is the stipple job on my M&P9 http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll93/Seawolf_504/MP9a.jpg What stippling method did you use? |
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I had my Glock stippled as well so that point is mute, both can benefit from grip work.
Glock has stopped production of the rough texture. Myself.... M&P ergonomics work MUCH better for me. Carrying wise the M&P is much more comfortable. The Glock is a BLOCK. Dimensions may be the same as the M&P and my Glock or even my Sig 239 BUT the M&Pc ergonomics, contour and grip angle work better. Both also benefit from trigger work but out of the box I will give the edge to Glock on trigger, with proper work I am partial to the M&P Apex has kits for carry and competition. If you know how to really strip down your gun its a piece of cake, if you do not know and get an armorers DVD its REALLY easy... I am an IDIOT with stuff like this but I was able to do it on my own without a book, charts etc BUT I had another exact same gun to keep looking back at. I have had no issues with corrosion but havent really on any of my guns. Is your sweat getting to the gun as the salt can be a killer. Now if you are carrying in a drop leg or a duty open carry weapon then it just comes down to which you shoot better yourself. Short of that I cant see a reason not to go with the M&P myself. |
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I sweat like a pig also and especially shooting in Florida's summer months can be a problem. while you said you used a grip sleeve, try a small strip of bicycle innertube. While the looks aren't 100%, you will notice a improvement. even a small 2" strip will work wonders. Give it a try, can't hurt.
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