as far as the m&p goes who wants to own a full size gun with only a 10 round mag
Aside from my total satisfaction with Glock pistols, this was the #1 reason I didn't look into many other pistols when I lived in MA: forced to stick with intentionally crippled mags.
My M&Ps don't feel like I'm holding a brick, and I can't recall every reading an article on an M&P negligent discharge or expolosion.
I've see glock come apart a lot faster than that.
and have seen the jam up just as much as other guns
A good number of Glock kb's involve competition shooters, which almost always means reloaded ammo and altered guns, including but not limited to lightened recoil springs that let the gun fire out of battery. A few more of them involve know nothing cops shooting off their old ammo in qualification with set back issues, or a bad bunch of ammo made by Federal. Take those issues out of the mix and Glock kb's just as rarely as any other manufacturer.
Not sure about the M+Ps (in relative terms) but I know for a fact that Glock and HK have traditionally beaten the others beaten hands down, in terms of corrosion resistance on their slides.
Now, if you're one of those folks with the interesting sweat chemistry, all bets are off. (I've met two people who have told me whatever is in their sweat/perspiration causes guns to rust, and I believe them.....).
I'm one of those "body loves destroying gun metal" types, so is my dad, although his skin isn't as bad about it as mine is. And for me it's not just sweat, it's the oils in my skin alone that make guns & knives rust; by simply touching or brushing against countless types & brands of guns I've put rust on them, stainless, parkerized, blued (I won't even handle blued guns anymore without rubber gloves on, including guns with blued mags
), and yes, I've even put rust on Glocks, although it's only ever been on small parts after intense amounts of sweating on them. I've never put rust on a 2nd gen Glock, even with lots of sweaty carry and handling, but to date I've put rust on two 3rd gen Glocks. I've never put a spot of rust on any Glock slide or barrel, however.
I've found a few types of guns and finishes that I can own & handle without daily corrosion problems, but Glock is definitely the most rust resistant pistol I've ever encountered. M&P could be as resistant to my body as Glocks are
, but
unless I get one for free so that I can test it myself to see how it holds up against rust while being a good performer in all areas, it's not worth the lost money and aggravation to me to find out.
So an M&P has few redeeming virtues outside MA to warrant a purchase on its merits, eh?
Waht do you attribute all the LEO contracts to?
LEO contracts aren't based on quality, they're based on a number of factors, like price (including trade in value of current issued guns, and S&W is giving great trade in deals currently to get an edge on the LE market), department need, use of force insurance policy standards, training concerns, availability of armorers/service, weight of the gun on the duty belt, availability of duty holsters/gear for the model, ability of different sized and shaped staff to use them...then there's the various intangibles like the chief who negligently shot off his middle finger and now requires that every gun issued to his dept. have an external safety
, the people in charge of procurement's lack of knowledge/confusion about firearms issues, impulsive decisions based on looks, reputation, cool factor or internet rumor...the list is very long, but it's not simply based on the quality of the gun itself, since agencies need a network of accessories and services for their weapons and gear.
IMO if S&W can find a way to make their pistols cheaper than Glocks, equally durable and reliable as Glocks, chambered in all the calibers commonly used by LE agencies nation wide like Glocks are, more user comfort than found with Glocks (grip, feel, function, etc.), armorer availability & ease of training comparable to Glocks, with fantastic, hasty customer service, somehow get all the holster manufacturers to make a wide variety of duty & concealment holsters aimed at meeting LE needs the way they do for Glock, and then somehow foster the reputation that Glock has had with armed professionals worldwide for the past two decades, then they'll find a way to be the handgun in use by more than 2/3's of the cops in the US like Glock is.
Yes I'm aware that S&W has done or is trying to do some of those things, but they definitely don't do them all, and even if they started doing them all tomorrow, they'd need to do it for several years to truly compete with Glock. Although I personally think that the Glock is a better all around fighting pistol than the M&P is, I think that Glock meets the requirements of most LE agencies better than S&W does with their M&P.
I try whenever possible to select American made over Croatian made, all things being equal.
All things being equal, I too prefer American made.