I took my CZ 75 BD shooting for a second time a week or so ago and still didn't like it. The swells in the grip are nice, but the gun just didn't fit. That's my third honest shot with CZ, and I couldn't really bond with any of them. No hard feelings...it's just time to move on.
So I stepped back, and bought what I thought I wanted when I bought this CZ: a Smith & Wesson M&P 9. I'll admit to being a bit of an M&P fanboy after owning a Shield 9 since last summer. It still impresses me, the quality of the materials you get for what you pay. The Melonited stainless steel slide wears extremely well (I keep my Shield in a Kydex holster, and there's just no wear). I also really like the Zytel frame material...very classy looking to me...and very tactile as well (yes, tactile, not tactical!).
The full size M&P's trigger is, to my finger, very nice. They've made a lot of changes to this trigger system over the years. It as a super crisp break and a fairly tactile reset. Still not Glock crisp, but very good. I'm not a reset junkie...just an observation.
I bought mine with a thumb safety (TS). WHAT??!! Yep. I did it for a few reasons, and they're all about equal in weighting in my head:
(1) The TS can very easily be removed and re-installed, so I can actually try it both ways. NTS (non thumb safety) models sometimes have sear blocks that do not accept the TS, so I might not be able to add a TS to a NTS model. They are starting to put universal sear blocks in them now, but there's no guarantee that any one gun will have it.
(2) This is not a carry gun, or even a home defense gun. It's really more of a recreational/range gun, and I'm way more accepting of a TS on a range piece than a carry piece.
(3) I have in mind some trigger work to bring this down to a 3-4 lb trigger (you can get some very nice trigger kits for these). With a trigger that light, I'll want a TS (though some people put 3 lb triggers in their NTS models).
(4) I also have in mind a 1911 one day and an M&P 22 Compact...both of which have a TS as standard. If I keep a TS on my M&P 9, I'll have a similar manual of arms on all.
All that said, the TS feels very nice on the M&P...very similar to a 1911 (which I like). It's easily flicked off with a thumb sweep...and also flicked back on. I love, as many do, the ergonomics of the M&P's grip. The Shield feels nice, but oh MAN...the full size just sinks into your hand and it points so naturally. I wear medium gloves, and have the small grip on it. All three grips are comfortable to me, but the small grip keeps the length of pull short and allows me easy access to the mag release without re-positioning the gun in my hand. The magazines seem to be of good quality, and there's always Smith's lifetime warranty if anything goes awry.
A real bonus is Smith's current promotion, through 30 April, of three free magazines (by mail in rebate) with the purchase of an M&P compact or full size model. Shield is excluded. Great deal, really. I paid $485 at a very friendly and helpful local gun shop. I've been dealing with them for years on various things, but this is the first gun I bought from them. Very nice folks...give Carolina Firearms on Bragg Blvd a visit if you're shopping for a firearm in the Fayetteville, NC, area.
So I stepped back, and bought what I thought I wanted when I bought this CZ: a Smith & Wesson M&P 9. I'll admit to being a bit of an M&P fanboy after owning a Shield 9 since last summer. It still impresses me, the quality of the materials you get for what you pay. The Melonited stainless steel slide wears extremely well (I keep my Shield in a Kydex holster, and there's just no wear). I also really like the Zytel frame material...very classy looking to me...and very tactile as well (yes, tactile, not tactical!).
The full size M&P's trigger is, to my finger, very nice. They've made a lot of changes to this trigger system over the years. It as a super crisp break and a fairly tactile reset. Still not Glock crisp, but very good. I'm not a reset junkie...just an observation.
I bought mine with a thumb safety (TS). WHAT??!! Yep. I did it for a few reasons, and they're all about equal in weighting in my head:
(1) The TS can very easily be removed and re-installed, so I can actually try it both ways. NTS (non thumb safety) models sometimes have sear blocks that do not accept the TS, so I might not be able to add a TS to a NTS model. They are starting to put universal sear blocks in them now, but there's no guarantee that any one gun will have it.
(2) This is not a carry gun, or even a home defense gun. It's really more of a recreational/range gun, and I'm way more accepting of a TS on a range piece than a carry piece.
(3) I have in mind some trigger work to bring this down to a 3-4 lb trigger (you can get some very nice trigger kits for these). With a trigger that light, I'll want a TS (though some people put 3 lb triggers in their NTS models).
(4) I also have in mind a 1911 one day and an M&P 22 Compact...both of which have a TS as standard. If I keep a TS on my M&P 9, I'll have a similar manual of arms on all.
All that said, the TS feels very nice on the M&P...very similar to a 1911 (which I like). It's easily flicked off with a thumb sweep...and also flicked back on. I love, as many do, the ergonomics of the M&P's grip. The Shield feels nice, but oh MAN...the full size just sinks into your hand and it points so naturally. I wear medium gloves, and have the small grip on it. All three grips are comfortable to me, but the small grip keeps the length of pull short and allows me easy access to the mag release without re-positioning the gun in my hand. The magazines seem to be of good quality, and there's always Smith's lifetime warranty if anything goes awry.
A real bonus is Smith's current promotion, through 30 April, of three free magazines (by mail in rebate) with the purchase of an M&P compact or full size model. Shield is excluded. Great deal, really. I paid $485 at a very friendly and helpful local gun shop. I've been dealing with them for years on various things, but this is the first gun I bought from them. Very nice folks...give Carolina Firearms on Bragg Blvd a visit if you're shopping for a firearm in the Fayetteville, NC, area.
