M&P 'Pro Series' is carried by the pros

The Smith & Wesson M&P semi-auto was designed by S&W after discussion with law enforcement officers across the country as to what they wanted in a defensive carry pistol.

The announcement was all over the airwaves. A convict had escaped from a small town jail about 25 miles north of our rural community, and the local police were warning everyone in the area to lock their doors and exercise more caution until he was apprehended.

Bloodhounds from the local prison had been brought in, and local and state police were stopping all vehicles at roadblocks.

I told my wife to make sure the Blue Heeler slept in the den that night, instead of his usual place on the floor beside the bed. I went out and locked the vehicle doors and battened down the proverbial hatches.

Our rural area sees markedly less crime than urban areas, but I never forgot the escape from the juvenile facility about ten miles to our east that occurred years ago.

The teenager who escaped the facility made his way through mostly woods and fields, happened to come out of the woods right at the end of our driveway, and found my dad’s big, fancy Buick sitting there like a plump hen, ready to be plucked from the roost, the keys sitting in the ignition.

The state police found the car two days later, 95 miles to the west. It was undamaged. He had driven it until it ran out of gas, parked it and walked away from it. He had even left the keys in it.

So I’ve learned to take precautions, even when the danger seems safely some distance away.

I reviewed my collection of handguns to determine which one would lay on the nightstand beside my head for easy reach in the night, and of the large selection, there really wasn’t much of a decision to be made.

I pulled the Smith & Wesson Military & Police “Pro Series” out of the gun safe, and slipped a loaded magazine into its butt.

Since the sunset of the hated Clinton 10-round magazine limits in 2004, many semi-auto pistols offer some sort of large capacity magazines, particularly in 9MM where excess is the norm. In this case, Smith & Wesson has managed to nicely fit 17 rounds of 9MM ammunition into one of the most ergonomically pleasing handgun grips you will ever wrap your paw around. More is better in a self-defense pistol.

S&W pioneered the interchangeable grip inserts in the then-new M&P pistols introduced several years ago.

I wrote about them then, and commented how everyone who picked up one of the pistols seemed to fall in love with the fit and feel of its grip.

Nothing has changed, other than an expansion of a fine pistol line to address more needs in defensive carry pistols.

The new “Pro Series” is still a full-size pistol, designed originally for competition shooting such as International Defensive Pistol Association.

Like all in this exceptional design, it has the heavily scalloped serrations on the rear of the slide, the almost obligatory polymer frame, an attachment rail under the slide for flashlights and accessories, and an embedded “Stainless Steel Rigid Chassis System,” which guarantees a rigid, solid grip and frame.

The rear sight is the fine M&P tactical design — this “Pro Series” carries tritium night sights that work very, very well in the dark (another reason to choose this one as a bedside gun.)

S&W threw away the book in their design of the M&P, asking opinions of law enforcement professionals across the country as to what they would like to see in their carry pistols. The result was a thoroughly well-designed, ergonomically near-perfect and utterly dependable semi-auto now available in numerous calibers, barrel lengths and frame sizes, including compact models with barrel lengths as short as 3.5 inches.

I asked Smith & Wesson to send me a new “Pro Series” to test because two law-enforcement professionals, both of whom I respect, carry S&W Military & Police 9MM pistols in their daily lives.

One is the former sheriff and police chief of our city, and the other is his work subordinate, the former head of the local sheriff’s Special Response Team.

Both of these guys still work in law enforcement, and the retired SRT head has a “Pro Series.” And both are highly respected tactical shooting instructors.

When I admired the former SRT leader’s choice, he invited me to try it out. I was immediately impressed with the size of the gun, the fit and feel of it, and most immediately, the trigger pull.

“This is the newest of the ‘Pro Series,’” he told me, “with a 4.25-inch barrel and a lighter trigger. The gun comes out of the Smith pro shop. Feel the trigger.”

I felt. I liked the lighter trigger. I liked the shorter size. And instead of a standard green Hi-Vis front sight, the gun had tritium night sights. All around, an excellent choice for self-defense or duty carry.

S&W sent me one for testing, and I started carrying it, shooting it and letting students in my classes shoot it. Everyone who picked it up, to a person, raved about the fit and feel. If they were small-handed, I put in the smaller grip inserts (the medium inserts fit me best.)

Everyone who shot it loved it. I see it as an exceptional carry/competition gun. I don’t care for the 5-inch barrel, and find this barrel length to be an excellent compromise that carries well, even concealed.

The trigger breaks at a crisp 4.5 pounds or so. I can shoot ragged holes with an entire magazine at 15 yards off sandbags. It points better than any handgun I own, and it carries 17 rounds of ammo.

What more could a man want?

Read more guns, shooting, and concealed carry at www.gordonhutchinson.com.Hutchinson’s book The Great New Orleans Gun Grab (written with Todd Masson) is a searing expose’ of the scandal of gun confiscations in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It is available at www.neworleansgungrab.com or by calling (800) 538-4355.