Smith and Wesson M&P Pistols Adopted by More than 330 Police Departments: Latest Worcester, Mass PD in .45 ACP
BySmith and Wesson has always been a mainstay in the police sidearm market. Smith and Wesson’s latest pistol series, the Military and Police (M&P), has become wildly popular with officers and citizens alike. To date, more than 330 police departments have issued the M&P pistol as the standard handgun in 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP. The newest department to adopt the M&P is the Worcester, MA Police Department.
Smith & Wesson announced that it has shipped an order for 500 of the company’s M&P45 pistols to the Worcester, Massachusetts Police Department (PD). The M&P45 will be issued to each officer in the department to replace non-Smith & Wesson pistols that previously served as Worcester PD’s primary duty firearm.
Officials at the Worcester PD indicated that they selected the M&P45 because of its unique design features, modularity and reliability during testing. After a standard testing and evaluation period, Worcester PD officials noted the accuracy of the M&P45 pistol and the ability of each officer to select the grip size of his or her preference.
Gary J. Gemme, Chief of Police for the Worcester PD, said, “During our selection process, we tested a variety of firearms from numerous manufacturers. From the beginning, it was decided that a pistol chambered in .45ACP was the preferred choice. The M&P45 supplied our officers with the best combination of features to suit our duty needs while being chambered in the more powerful .45ACP cartridge. The pistol performed well throughout the testing process in both accuracy and reliability and the pistol’s interchangeable grip sizes allowed for a custom fit to each officer’s hand size. Through our relationship with Smith & Wesson, we are able to provide our officers with the tools necessary to complete their jobs while working to enhance the safety of our police force and community.”
Worcester PD joins a growing list of police agencies near Smith & Wesson headquarters that have selected firearms from the M&P Series for duty use. Other agencies in the Massachusetts area that have converted to the M&P pistol include the Brookline Police Department; West Springfield Police Department; Agawam Police Department; Swampscott Police Department; Winthrop Police Department; Sharon Police Department; Palmer Police Department and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office. In addition to these local law enforcement agencies, the M&P pistol has been previously selected as a primary duty firearm in the Waterbury, Connecticut Police Department along with the Hartford, Connecticut Police Department.
Leland Nichols, President and Chief Operating Officer of Smith & Wesson Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation, said, “Smith & Wesson is committed to serving police departments and security agencies around the globe, including those that are in our own local communities. By providing these professionals with the most current and highly specialized equipment available, we are helping them to complete their jobs in the most efficient manner while continuing to deliver on our reputation for safety and security. We look forward to working with the men and women of the Worcester PD along with all of the other law enforcement agencies that have selected firearms from the M&P line for duty use.”
The M&P pistol features a polymer frame reinforced with a rigid stainless steel chassis and a through-hardened black Melonite(R) finished stainless steel barrel and slide for durability; a passive trigger safety to prevent the pistol from firing if dropped; and a sear release lever that eliminates the need to press the trigger in order to disassemble the firearm. A loaded chamber indicator is located on top of the slide. The firearm also features an ambidextrous slide stop and a reversible magazine release, as well as an enlarged trigger guard designed to accommodate gloves. Each M&P pistol is equipped with three interchangeable grip sizes that allow the user the custom fit the gun to their preference. The M&P45 has a 10+1 capacity and the Smith & Wesson lifetime service policy is standard with each pistol. The M&P pistol series is available in 9mm, .40S&W, .357SIG, and .45ACP calibers. Compact versions of the M&P pistol are also available for concealed carry and back-up use.
28 Comments
May 21st, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I’m not a LEO, just a citizen with a concealed carry permit. I must say I love the M&P9 full size, its my daily carry weapon. I’m from Cleveland, OH and have noticed several large Ohio agencies have adopted the M&P as well. Columbus and Cincinnati to name a few.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
It’s about time you posted something new!
No way would I ever willingly carry a S&W auto. While the M&P MAY be a decent gun, their past auto’s have been crap. I wouldn’t want to stake my life on a S&W auto, so I’ll stick with my Glock.
More than likely these dept’s are switching because of hefty discounts by S&W, not because they’re great weapons.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I was wondering if anyone was noticing my temporary MIA status. Don’t worry; I’m back to a semi-normal routine…
I can’t fault your decision to carry a Glock. I can honestly say that the M&P is a better pistol than any of the prior semi-autos Smith has produced. I find it to be on par, or better, than any of the other polymer guns on the market today.
I personally feel the Sigma and Walther’s that S&W was selling were dogs. The M&P is a whole different breed.
I’ve got a Glock 19 that is my primary off-duty gun. I have also purchased a M&P 9 that has passed my personal function testing with flying colors. The M&P is more accurate than the Glock and fits my hand better. As soon as I find the “right” holster for the M&P, it will become my primary off-duty carry gun.
I love my G19, the I really like the M&P 9 too…
June 4th, 2008 at 5:40 am
TheBronze,
I respect your loyalty to Glock and it’s well deserved, but as a former Glock shooter I can say without hesitation that this M&P pistol has raised the bar with polymer pistols.
Glock may have started the whole thing and it’s been a solid design, but it was only a matter of time before someone came along and made it better.
As corny as it sounds it gives me just a little burst of pride seeing “Made in USA” on the side as well.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:33 am
Our department just switched over to the M&P.40! After years of the Glock 22 that proved itself time and time again. At first several of us were against the change but after one mandatory range day the whole department saw the difference. And yes the made in the USA does look nice. OUR DEPARTMENT GETS THE SAME DISCOUNT THAT WE RECIEVED FROM GLOCK…
June 17th, 2008 at 12:57 am
To riceshooting,
I am a Glockaholic just like most cops. Our dept. also switched over but we had officers that continued to wear the Glock. After it became an order we all cried and on the rangeday we had 3 officers that were suspended for not showing up! That’s how bad we love our Glocks. But after the shoot all of us and I do mean all of us GLOCKAHOLICS were sold, this M&P is nothing like the crap S&W sigma was. It is a new breed of auto. I still have my Glock but my duty service is the M&P. I stake my life on it.
Sorry thebronze times change. More dept. are going to the M&P or the Berretta 90 two, check the stats.
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:07 pm
the M&P is an excellent pistol,im a Glock convert myself.still love my Glocks,but i now prefer the M&P.
August 9th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Great design & better in some ways than the Glock & after testing/firing 1 I bought two 5″ M&Ps. Only problem? One jammed after EVERY shot and the other twice within 100 rounds. (I tried both Remmington & Blazer FMJ ammo w/same results) Yes, I sent both guns back for work but don’t know that I will ever trust either as a primary carry gun.
August 9th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Richard -
Sorry to hear about the problems with your pistols. The most frequent cause of an autoloader malfunction is the magazine. I don’t know if you tried different magazines in each of the pistols, or not, but that may have been the cause.
I know that my M&P had a few hiccups in the first couple-hundred rounds with the cheap ammo (Rem green box, Winchester white box, etc), but was flawless with the quality stuff. After a few hundred rounds, it has been flawless with everything. Like a lot of machines, guns often benefit from a break in period. You work through that and they run perfectly.
Good luck!
–Richard
August 14th, 2008 at 1:09 am
The bronz states that the previous sw auto were junk? I carried my 5904 on duty for twelve years with not one failure to fire or feed with thousands of rounds of personal and dept. qualifying.
August 14th, 2008 at 1:16 am
And my favorite in the old time was the SW 5944 double action only. It was double action only and an incredible tack driver but only had it a year and a half. But I do have a problem with my MP 9 compact. If I don’t rack the slide very agressively the slide will stay back and not go forward. You then have to tap the slide forward or wiggle the magazine. I sent it back and it is doing the same thing. I took the same ammo and it functioned in my other semi autos. Solid points were less of a problem. It fires fine, just has to be agressively racked to put a round in the chamer. Compared to my Glock I like the serrated slide and the rounded off trigger guard. Guys a work were sending their glocks in to get the trigger guard rounded and serrations cut in the slide.
August 14th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Jeff,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experiences. The first autopistol I ever shot was a second generation Smith in .45…I think the model # was 645? I really liked that gun.
You should not be having that problem with the M&P. Have you tried different magazines in it? I know when I was having a slide lock problem with a Sig P226, the problem wound up being the magazines. Seems Sig shipped two bad ones from the factory with my gun. A third magazine I bought separately worked fine. Go figure.
And…I’m with you about the M&P serrations and rounding. It makes for a very nice experience. I also like the slide finish better than the Glock’s.
–Richard
August 18th, 2008 at 12:09 am
I’ve tried it with both magazines and two more magazines by buddy had with his compact. I may just send it in again and see what they do. Hollowpoints give me more problems than the round nose in this gun.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Jeff,
Yeah, it would seem that Smith needs to re-work the pistol. Smith has been good to me in the past, and the current owners seem committed to making things right with their customers. I’d definitely send it back and tell them to get it fixed. Let us know what the outcome is.
–Richard
October 1st, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Its a new pistol, its had some teething issues no doubt. Any new to market design will. All current production M&Ps should be good to go.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
A couple hundred rounds of c-r-a-p-p-y Wolf ammo through my .40 with no problems at all! This thing loves the good stuff and doesn’t sweat the crap either! Feels great in the hand, fires every round flawlessly! Only one problem - I want to shoot it ALL THE TIME… then work gets in the way, etc. etc. I’m sure you guys can relate…
November 8th, 2008 at 4:03 am
I have a MP45 for 6 months now and shot around 600 rounds with only 1 failed to fire. Around 400 of the rounds were reload done by the firing range. Not bad. The grouping was also impressive at 25 yards. The not so good news is we buy it here in Manila/Phils at approx US$1200 equivalent, a bit on the expensive side. And yes, if its a gun from US and Smith for that matter it can’t go wrong.
November 16th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I am currently in the market for the Smith & Wesson M&P 45 for use as an all purpose / concealed carry gun. I am 6 ft tall and a mild build. I am trying to choose between the 4 1/2″ and 4″. Although there is not a huge difference between the two, I wanted to know if anyone had and suggestions or opinions as to which might be a better choice?
November 24th, 2008 at 12:05 am
I would settle for the 4.5″. From reviews, 45ACP fps is slower than the 40caliber and 9mm. A difference of half inch will be a big factor in terms of accuracy for the 45s. For concealed carry, there are many techniques on how to conceal carry it without sacrificing gun quality and again a half inch won’t make much of a difference cause the frame and slide widths are probably the same (sorry haven’t seen the 4inch yet)
February 16th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
We’ve done a great deal of shooting and testing Military & Police pistols in 9mm and 45 acp calibers.
Just about all of our Glock shooters have enthusiastically made the switch to the M&P for bioh duty and off-duty use and are extremely pleased with the results. I’m carrying a full-size 45 M&P and it has performed flawlessly through many thousands of rounds so far.
February 17th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Hello All
Just wanted to ask about the m&p 9mm, I just bought one for my wife to carry what type of carry should she use with this pistol?
Not really sure how she should do it when there’s no fingure saftey.
Her saftey is my concern.
February 28th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I love my M&P 40 .
I have squeezed off 200 rounds with no problems! I have been loading Remington UMC 180 Gr.
The features on this pistol are tight! Drop the magazine and the chambered round will not fire.
I love the tight pattern I can lay on the target!
M&P 40 is a CAN OF WHOOP ASS!
April 1st, 2009 at 2:33 am
I don’t know if any police departments up here in Canada are using this pistol, but at least one armoured car company (Brinks?) is adopting it, for its guards.
What is that articulated trigger like? I’m interested in this as a target pistol.
April 7th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
For Dan, who posted on Feb. 17 re: what load his wife should carry in 9mm. I carry the Hornady TAP FPD 124gr. It’s accurate, feeds beautifully and has very low muzzle flash (important if she’s shooting at an intruder at home at night). Your mileage may vary, of course, but I like the round.
November 26th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
I’d like to see proof that the PDs are going with the M&Ps strictly on price.
November 26th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I love Glocks, think they are about the most reliable pistols out there, but they better start getting with it. Their grips suck and there is no adjustability to them. Seriously, what is with the massive hump on the rear of the subcompacts’ grips (26/27)? Why do you think grip reductions are popular?
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:18 pm
First for you Glock guys, caring a Glock to me is about as safe as carrying a 1911 fully cocked with the safety off. If you guys are sticking that in your pants then you really are crazy. I know you are going say just keep your finger off the trigger great advice until you have to reholster after chasing some low life on a cold night while wearing gloves and heavy clothing. Glocks have shot just about as many cops as they have bad guys. If a weapon doesn’t have a safety that I can use to positively make my weapon safe during the most critical times such as re-holstering, loading and loading at home and the station but more importantly when I cam carrying concealed then I don’t have any use for it. The reason a lot of departments use Glocks is that they are relatively inexpensive and the rest is just smoke. The M&P 45 is a way better gun and for those that want to make an entire career without accidentally shooting someone it is a much safer gun.
February 27th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Police Dept. has issued M&P .40 S&W models to their 1600+ members. I bought the M&P 9L and have never had a stock pistol out of the box shot so accurately. I was so impressed I bought the M&P40Compact and the mide size 45ACP models with factory night sights.