I told myself no more cheap guns but... S&W M&P 2.0 Got Me!

wvsig

wvsig

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish...
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So recently I had sort of made up my mind to not buy "cheap" guns anymore. Not that cheap guns are bad but I find that these days I gravitate to certain guns in the collection more than others. Most of the time these happen to be the nicer shooting guns in the collection. Every time I go to the range I reach for the same set of guns. The cheaper "deals" only see the light of day every now and then. Most of these are good guns but stock and run of the mill sort of stuff. So I tentatively decided to buy less guns but buy higher end higher quality guns instead of more "cheaper" guns. I know first world problems. LOL

However S&W and their summer rebates got me. I saw a add for a S&W M&P 2. 4" compact for $369 shipped to my FFL no credit card charges. So add $15 for the transfer and I was out the door at $384 and then there is the $50 rebate so I will net out under $334 when you factor in my CC rebates. How could I pass up a current Gen quality 9mm with a lifetime warranty, well as long as they doing sell out and go under due to a boycott, for under $350. I figured if I hated it I could sell it for close to what I had in it and call it a rental.

So I picked it up the other day and got to the range today. I have to say for a $335 blaster this thing is pretty good. In fact when you give it extra points for the value it represents I would go as far as to say its great. It feels really nice in the hand. I installed the smallest backstrap and for a double stack the gun is really slim. Ergos felt good. Not a huge fan of the tiny slide lock release. Hard to get a purchase on it will my off hand or dominate hand but it will work. Everything worked for me. The sights are avg but again on a stock gun at this price point I can't really ask for night sights with fancy dot configurations. I can always pop a pair of Trijicons or Meprolights on it if I want to down the road.

It shot really well. It was dead on at 7-10 yards. The trigger was very nice for a striker fired gun right out of the box. It felt better than my Glock 19s which for me is the only direct comparison in the collection. I am not a huge striker fired gun. There were no malfunctions. It shot everything I threw at it. WW NATO 124gr, my 124 RMR/HP38 reloads and Speer Gold Dots. All of them feed and shot well.

It was up against stiff competition today but it performed well. I also brought a 1911 9mm Guncrafter No Name and a Wilson Combat EDC X9. I am not going to say that the $300 S&W wonder 9mm was on the same level but if I had to defend myself with any of the guns on the bench today each and everyone of them would be up to the task if I was.

So I guess I can't write off "cheap" guns yet. I blame @Jeppo because he mentioned he picked up a 3.6" compact the other day and it peaked my interest. I highly recommend this gun as a carry gun, truck gun or bug out gun. For the price it cannot be beat right now. Even without the rebate it would be a fair price IMHO. If you can check one out.
 
Full disclosure...

I picked up the 3.6" in order to dollar cost average down what I paid for a 4" the moment it hit the market. By the way, no word yet from Mother Smith on when they'll send the 3.6" back to me. :confused:
 
LOL! There is cheap and then there is CHEAP.

A S&W 9C version 2.0 isn’t CHEAP. It is a quality, duty handgun.

If the industry wasn’t hurting so bad, you could have easily paid $100 or more for it. You did good, enjoy!


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Had a silly discussion with a sales guy at Gander in Winston today. I was trying to get to a reasonable price on an interesting gun and he said I should join their club to save 5%. I pointed out the cost of joining was greater than the 5% savings. He said, "I don't know how many guns you buy but you would save 5% on all of them".

I answered that I buy one each week or two but not any, ever, from them. He said, "Why not, our prices are the best".

I told him that there are 3.6" Compacts available at $320 net plus the FFL cost. His response was priceless...

"We don't even have those yet." :D
 
Even funnier was the expanded discussion of the gun I was fondling. I asked what he could do and he started a bunch of hockus pokus with discounts and coupons. The result was about $5 or $10 off a gun I thought was $50 or $75 too high. I told the kid, "I'm not sure how long that gun is gonna sit here until another buyer stumbles in and recognizes what it is. He said another guy looked at it last week and was waiting for the price to go down.

Gander Museum ;)
 
Climberman said:
I didn’t realize a m&p was a cheap gun. It isn’t a hi point or a Jennings.
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"Cheap" is relative. When you consider 1000 rounds of 9mm is $180-$200 a $335 gun is cheap IMHO. In comparison to the other guns on the bench it was "cheap". LOL o_O
 
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Jeppo said:
Even funnier was the expanded discussion of the gun I was fondling. I asked what he could do and he started a bunch of hockus pokus with discounts and coupons. The result was about $5 or $10 off a gun I thought was $50 or $75 too high. I told the kid, "I'm not sure how long that gun is gonna sit here until another buyer stumbles in and recognizes what it is. He said another guy looked at it last week and was waiting for the price to go down.

Gander Museum ;)
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When I lived in VA there were occasional deals there. I bought this there for $700.

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ncav8tor said:
LOL! There is cheap and then there is CHEAP.

A S&W 9C version 2.0 isn’t CHEAP. It is a quality, duty handgun.

If the industry wasn’t hurting so bad, you could have easily paid $100 or more for it. You did good, enjoy!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I agree 100% in that is the market was not so soft it would be selling in the $450 range. Maybe "value guns" would be a better choice of words. In the end I am impressed and hope it continues to perform.
 
Jeppo said:
Had a silly discussion with a sales guy at Gander in Winston today. I was trying to get to a reasonable price on an interesting gun and he said I should join their club to save 5%. I pointed out the cost of joining was greater than the 5% savings. He said, "I don't know how many guns you buy but you would save 5% on all of them".

I answered that I buy one each week or two but not any, ever, from them. He said, "Why not, our prices are the best".

I told him that there are 3.6" Compacts available at $320 net plus the FFL cost. His response was priceless...

"We don't even have those yet." :D
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I was just thinking today about picking up a LE trade in M&P 1.0, about $290. But for $320 I would much rather have the 2.0. Without looking yet, where could one obtain such a creature for that?
 
Cameronswmp9 said:
I was just thinking today about picking up a LE trade in M&P 1.0, about $290. But for $320 I would much rather have the 2.0. Without looking yet, where could one obtain such a creature for that?
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I got mine from Smokey Mountain Guns in TN. I think the prices bounce around a bit watch sites like Gundeals and they pop up. The lowest I have seen is $369ish - the $50 rebate. You will see different configurations and calibers offered.
 
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But the rebate expires soon. Maybe tomorrow?
 
M&P both 2.0 and first version are both good pieces....less expensive than their competitors but every bit as good if not better. They were the first to put a big hurt on Glock.
 
The problem I have with the MP line is that they start out closely prices to a Glock and after 1 year they are like $100-$120 less.

They hold no value.

Why not just list them for $325-375 out the gate and stop trying to tell people it’s a $449-$499 firearm.

I get it. They want extra money when released, but now you have all these people owning a over priced weapon.

And don’t fall for the gander $15 or $25 coupon when you sign up. Coupon is only good for 60 days after you receive it. Ask me how I know?
 
ncengravers.com said:
The problem I have with the MP line is that they start out closely prices to a Glock and after 1 year they are like $100-$120 less.

They hold no value.

Why not just list them for $325-375 out the gate and stop trying to tell people it’s a $449-$499 firearm.

I get it. They want extra money when released, but now you have all these people owning a over priced weapon.

And don’t fall for the gander $15 or $25 coupon when you sign up. Coupon is only good for 60 days after you receive it. Ask me how I know?
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So they are like Chevy's? :D
 
wvsig said:
When I lived in VA there were occasional deals there. I bought this there for $700.

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zgWfyL5.gif
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That’s a sweet deal. I bought mine a decade or so ago for $900. Freaking awesome pistol. Unfortunately, I settled on 9mm Glocks and now the Dan Wesson is a safe queen - too heavy to carry. I’ve got a ****load of .45 ammo too. I’ve got friends lining up to buy the gun from me, but I can’t seem to part with it. I tell myself I’ll get back to shooting it someday.


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I bought a 2.0 compact because they could be had for such a good price. Great pistol overall but the poor slide release design and magazines that stick in the grip are the main reasons it won't replace my Glock for carry. I might use it for production class if I keep it. The trigger is much better for target shooting than Glock in my opinion.
 
SC380 said:
I bought a 2.0 compact because they could be had for such a good price. Great pistol overall but the poor slide release design and magazines that stick in the grip are the main reasons it won't replace my Glock for carry. I might use it for production class if I keep it. The trigger is much better for target shooting than Glock in my opinion.
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I'm confused...
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It has a poor slide release and magazines that stick, but you're going to use it in competition?
 
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Scrubber3 said:
I'm confused...

It has a poor slide release and magazines that stick, but you're going to use it in competition?
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On occasion I "might". I am ok with tinkering around with play guns. There are no major consequences to having random stuck mags or missing a slide release in the local match.
 
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SC380 said:
I bought a 2.0 compact because they could be had for such a good price. Great pistol overall but the poor slide release design and magazines that stick in the grip are the main reasons it won't replace my Glock for carry. I might use it for production class if I keep it. The trigger is much better for target shooting than Glock in my opinion.
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M&P’s don’t have a slide release. It’s a slide stop. Idk why they did this as I too prefer a slide release, but that’s what they did. 2.0’s are even worse for trying to use it as a slide release.
 
ncengravers.com said:
The problem I have with the MP line is that they start out closely prices to a Glock and after 1 year they are like $100-$120 less.

They hold no value.

Why not just list them for $325-375 out the gate and stop trying to tell people it’s a $449-$499 firearm.

I get it. They want extra money when released, but now you have all these people owning a over priced weapon.

And don’t fall for the gander $15 or $25 coupon when you sign up. Coupon is only good for 60 days after you receive it. Ask me how I know?
Click to expand...


The value of the gun is what the market bears. You can't tell me a Sig or H&K cost more to produce than a Witness or a Walther, it's just that there's more people willing to pay a premium for them.

As far as the M&P's go, I dropped the Glocks from my stable and went straight M&P once I had the chance to run them through their paces.

The M&P is designed to release the slide via the slingshot method.
 
The way I read the numbers, S&W's firearms sales are around twice that of H&K. Economy of scale and operating in a lower cost region (Germany being about as expensive as it gets), likely means Smith's actual costs are considerably lower, meaning they can sell them at a lower price. By the way, also according to the numbers I see, even H&K doesn't make much money, regardless of the brand value. One thing H&K has going for it (that apparently Smith does not) is they're taking orders for more than they can produce.

I'm a big Smith fan (I believe I own 5 of their plastic guns) but I put H&K in another category altogether. And, it only took one for me to recognize the difference.
 
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