Polymer 45cal handguns

I'm talking about EDC pistols in 45ACP. What are the pros and cons of each brand(Glock, M&P, XDm). I, for better or worse, am an M&P guy. I have several. How is the M&P 45? Any differences between it and the 40/357/9mm version?


Anything one brand offers that others don't? I know about the capacity of each, just looking for issues or advantages.

Glock 30S is about as slim as they come.

HK 45 tends to be the pick for a hammer fired option.

FNX wins for capacity.

Springfield has a good hold on the subcompact market with the XDs.

The other option may be valid, but don't stand out in a good way.

501st said:

Glock 30S is about as slim as they come.

HK 45 tends to be the pick for a hammer fired option.

FNX wins for capacity.

Springfield has a good hold on the subcompact market with the XDs.

The other option may be valid, but don't stand out in a good way.

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Guess I should have gone a little deeper. In my opinion, I like to keep my EDC pistols to be moderately priced. I know the FNX is a great gun, but it is rather large and pricey. I am not in need of a single stack or I would just carry a 1911.

montoya32 said:

I'm talking about EDC pistols in 45ACP. What are the pros and cons of each brand(Glock, M&P, XDm). I, for better or worse, am an M&P guy. I have several. How is the M&P 45? Any differences between it and the 40/357/9mm version?


Anything one brand offers that others don't? I know about the capacity of each, just looking for issues or advantages.

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G30s hands down is the best EDC .45 IMO. Size, ability to use G21 mags, accuracy, holster/accessory availability, etc. second to none.

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I'm a long time lover of steel frame firearms....especially 1911s and revolvers. Never had a lot of interest in any polymer semi-autos. Had a 9mm Glock back in the 90s and I was disappointed in it's accuracy (all my other guns fired much more accurate at ranges of 25 yds (and some were pretty accurate at ranges well beyond that) and the Glock didn't come close to standing up to that. What was I missing? Well, first, all my firearms up to that point were bought specifically for range firearms and some for competition. My revolvers were mostly 6" and longer barrels (mostly S&W, but also a Colt and at one time a Ruger Super Redhawk) and my long barreled TC/Contenders seriously skewed my perception of acceptable accuracy. (My Scoped TCs can shoot under a minute of angle out to 200 yds or more) My 1911's included a Clark Custom build on a Colt Series 70 frame (man. I'd love to have that one back) and a National Match custom build by an old friend who was career army and spent most of his time there as an armorer. I also later acquired a Colt Gold Cup Trophy National Match. BUT!!! all those guns were big bulky and fairly heavy. What I later came to understand is that a Glock or other 'black gun' was a more carry friendly option intended for close range defense that only needed good to decent accuracy at ranges more like 25 feet. Being polymer, it would be far more tolerant to body sweat and even environmental moisture. Easy to strip and clean for even a neophyte. Now fast forward to the craziness in 2013 here in Maryland. I decided I should get at least one polymer type gun that might be carry friendly because I had figured on skipping the HQL stuff when it came into effect (scrapped that idea pretty quickly after Oct 1, 2013, Thank God, lol). After looking over several different firearms and shooting some of them owned by friends, I settled on a Springfield XDs in .45 even though I was originally thinking of a 9mm. The 9mm XDs weren't out yet and my 1911's make me a fan of 45 auto anyway, so that's where I went. Other than having to deal with a recall soon after acquiring it (which Springfield handled quickly....gun was shipped out and returned to me in under 2 weeks!), I have quickly learned to love the gun and even been pleasantly surprised by it's accuracy for such a small short barreled gun. I actually do prefer the extended 7 round mags (takes away some compactness) to the shorter 5 rounder although I shoot it pretty well with either mag installed. Also later picked up an XD 9mm subcompactand, while happy with it, I have shot the XDs far more in the brief time I have had them. Do they replace my range guns? Absolutely not....but they are a nice complement to them. I have nothing again the current Generation of Glocks except I like the feel of the Springfields better (well, I like the look better as well....but that's just aesthetics and not function or accuracy). Shot a Sig Sauer a while back and it was pretty nice as well. Funny, as much as a S&W Revolver fanboy as I am, I never even tried an M&P on the range...but since I started working part-time at Scott's I've handled them and would certainly give 'em consideration. I think anyone here could be happy with many of the modern polymer guns...but I put in my personal vote for the XDs. Like most things in life, all comes down to personal preferences

My experiences closely parallel sxs's post above. After realizing the one plastic fantastic I own isn't decently accurate at 15 yards I have pretty much sworn off plastic frame striker fired pistols except as close in casual blasters. I can even as a defensive pistol since the distances are close in. I am looking closely at the RRA Poly 1911. It is a full size, but if possible, that is what I would carry anyway. Had a KZ 45 but sold it only because I don't like the feel of a poly frame during rapid fire. Wish I hadn't.
Biggest issue with the RRA Poly is finding one!

After close to 11K rounds thru my 4" M&P .45, I have no complaints.

230gr ball shoots low, but 200gr/185gr/165gr shoot exceedingly well thru it. Use it for everything from EDC (where I can), to bowling pin shoots, and just fvcking around at the range.

The Ruger P345 gets no love... except from me. Most people don't even know what it is.

FNX in 45ACP is 15+1 rounds of ambidextrous bad news for bad guys. The "tactical" model is ~$1000, but the "regular" FNX45 is around the same price as a Glock. No threaded barrel, high profile sights, or machining for a red dot, but otherwise, it's the same. The biggest downside (I have the tactical version) so far is virtually no aftermarket support. I wanted adjustable target sights, but not a single manufacturer makes time.

Gratuitous pic:

FN's are not exactly small guns.

Granted, a full-size M&P isn't exactly the easiest to conceal either.

If you want small, light, reliable and accurate (for a pocket pistol), check out the Kahr PM45. It is more expensive than the others, but a really nice gun. If you want 10 round capacity, the plain old Glock 30 is a very accurate and soft shooter, but on the heavy side with a full mag. Good luck.

The XD line of pistols just feel top heavy to me so I don't have any. I do have both the M&P .45, as well as a Gen4 GLOCK 21. I got the M&P for playing gun games so I can't comment on where it shoots as mine wears a Dawson front sight, and a Burwell rear. The GLOCK has a set of Ameriglo Hackathorn sights so I don't know where they shoot with stock sights either. If I had to pick one I think I'd have to go with the M&P for comfort, and control ability in my medium sized hands. The GLOCK is one of my SHTF guns so capacity is a plus there.
My advice is to handle them all and decide which fits your hand best. Then look at your total cost of ownership. I get nervous if I have less than 10 magazines for a pistol so the cost of them also plays a role in my decision process. Also look at support when it comes to finding parts both OEM, and aftermarket. GLOCK is great there as everyone seems to be making parts for them, and the whole thing can be taken apart with a ball point pen. I'm a M&P armorer so parts aren't tough for me to get (if I ever needed them) but Smith doesn't offer much.
Good Luck.

I've got a full-size m&p45, alucard(my brother) has a g30, usp45, and others. I've got plenty of xd's. I'll hold off on wondering why you'd go with the limited capacity of a 45 over the practicality of a 9mm(a g19 is almost the exact same size as the g30s, but has 15 rnds instead of 10....the m&p9c is substantially smaller than the m&p45c and has 12 rnds instead of 8....etc). For carrying, you've got to determine if you're comfortable carrying a full-sized gun like a g21/m&p45 or want something smalled/lighter handing off your belt. Are you going to be dressing around the gun constantly or is it going to get old? Something more compact may fit your needs better.

If you're looking at something small, it's tough to beat the g30s. It's got the narrow slide of the g36, but the frame of the g30sf...making it about the size/weight of the g19, rather than being a wide brick of a gun. It's also got 10 rnds in that pretty compact gun. The good news with 45 is that it really doesn't lose much energy with shorter barrel lengths, as the wider base makes it pretty efficient. The polygonal rifling in the g30s should also give it a couple extra fps over other guns.

If you're looking even more slim and have zero care for capacity, check the xds 45 4.0. The longer barrel really won't hurt concealability, but will make it easier to shoot.

On the other hand, if you're fine with concealing a full-sized gun or plan on open-carrying...the m&p is a pretty great gun. Of the m&p's, the 45 is probably the best quality and most accurate(the 9 being the one of the bunch with the issues). If I concentrate, I can get 2-3" groups pretty easily at 25 yds with my m&p and I know that's my doing...the gun is capable of better, my eyes aren't. I've not had a malfunction yet after a few thousand rounds through it, so there's that. The m&p also is the softest shooting polymer gun I've fired(especially once I toss on the LWD comp...not practical, but fun nontheless). The trigger sucked balls when I got it, but is much better with the apex kit tossed in. By sucked balls, I mean it was heavy, had creep, had a mushy break with lots of overtravel, and no reset. After the apex kit, it's not got a smooth takeup, crisp break, reduced overtravel, and while the reset still isn't great(no RAM for the 45)...it's noticeable now that the rest of the press has been made mo'betta. If you've got smaller hands, the 45 is definitely the way to go...as the small backstrap makes if feel identical to the m&p9/40's.

Here's some shooting at on-target from around 25-30'. I was really just kind've casually shooting with probably 2 seconds between shots or so. If I concentrate and slow down at that distance, I can center-punch all the bulls with the m&p.



here's a slow-mo video shooting with the lwd brake on. I think I was firing federal 230 ball or something.


here's one-hand shooting(other hand shooting with camera...I'm talented like that). Notice it has basically no recoil for a .45.

Applehd said:

The Ruger P345 gets no love... except from me. Most people don't even know what it is.

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I've got one but wouldn't consider it for EDC, maybe my SR1911 CMD in cooler weather.

Well ... I am well known for liking revolver. I also no doubt at times come off as somewhat of an accuraccy snob. Combining the two , one of the points I make in defending the continued and eternal viability of revolvers is their accuracy. I'll say it again , a service grade revolver is twice as accurate as a service grade bottomfeeder.

That said , I'm scrathing my head over a Glock being too inaccurate for defensive/ LE/ combat usage. SxS specifically mentioned a 1990's gun , at that point in time , I'd speculate probably. G17 or G19 . When I had ( and carried ) a mid 1980's G17 , it was both well within my expectations , and suitable for intended purposes. 3in-ish @ 25yd braced , and head area of B27 standing same distance. My current prefered 9mm and .45acp can shrink that by maybe an inch , but I realive that is an affectation, and not strictly nesecary. For any service grade semiauto , wether poly or alloy or steel, 3in is mid-pack , and even 4in will get'er done farther away than 95% of users could shoot well enough to tell.

I get it that some people don't like the feel and balance of a Glock ( or polymer pistols generally ). And striker fired is *different* from revolvers , 1911's , or DA/SA autos. And various people have different degrees of preference. But the usually suspects of polymer pistols are viable. And there are at least as many other viable choices that aren't as popular or famous , of all flavors of operating systems.

I know what the P345 is. When they were realitivly new , I attempted to trade into one, but the deal fell thru. Just as well , as I eventually aquired a P90 that (to me) is more better'er.

I had a P90. They are good guns. That is one I do regret selling.

Glock 36.

Carrying it today in Free America.

python said:

If you want small, light, reliable and accurate (for a pocket pistol), check out the Kahr PM45. It is more expensive than the others, but a really nice gun. If you want 10 round capacity, the plain old Glock 30 is a very accurate and soft shooter, but on the heavy side with a full mag. Good luck.

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The CW45 or CM45 are also great choices. I carry a CW45 with Trijicon sights, and it's great for a carry 45 (I would have went with the CM45 if it was available when I picked up my CW45, although I think the CW shoots more like a full size 45.)

For comparison (not my pic):



If you swap out the spring and follower, the CW will take a magazine for a Kimber Compact, and it will fit flush (nothing sticking out.) I carry the CW45 with a Kimber mag (6+1), and carry two spare 7 round mags in a Sticky pouch in my weak hand back pocket.

I have a stock PT 24/7 it shoot well. Fires anything and was not very expensive.

BradMacc82 said:

FN's are not exactly small guns.

Granted, a full-size M&P isn't exactly the easiest to conceal either.

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I thought so too. I think they feel much larger than a full size M&P.