Preliminary Range Results: Glocks, M&P, And Hi-Point 40's

I still am waiting for the numbers we obtained from the Hi-Point, S&W M&P, Glock-22, (and Glock-30) shootout using Georgia Arms ammunition. I was surprised to discover that one of the lads had .45 ACP cartridges from Georgia, and all I'll say is that we did not experience any untoward malfunctions using either 40 or 45 caliber. The Hi-Point 40 glitched to the tune of three (3) failure to feeds out of 21, ., and this could have been due to a bad magazine. The M&P 40 takes some time getting used to, and when comfortable with this particular Glock knock-off I found it wasn't the easiest to shoot, nor the worst, and delivered reasonable accuracy for a service gun. It loved the Gold Dots to death and hated Federal HST's. The Glocks were Glocks and all the Smith owner could bitch about were the ejected casings didn't fling as far as he'd like.

The biggest disappointment for me was the failure of the 230 grain Georgia Gold Dots to expand very well from the G-30's 3.78" barrel. I don't have the exact chronograph results on hand, but a product listed as having 850 fps should have mushroomed more than the .56" or thereabouts we measured the expended rounds to be. This brings me back to harping on the unreliability of short barrelled guns to provide good expansion. If I wanted to shoot 185 grainers with enough giddyup to open wide, I wouldn't need a .45, plain and simple, so stepping down in weight just isn't my cup of tea. Next time around we'll bring along a G-21 and take it from the top.

Of the 3 fohtays we looked at, nothing persuaded me to sell the Glock. Owning guns for the pleasure of owning guns is enough justification for someone to stockpile the weapon they happen to like, but for self-defense I want something proven to be spot-on reliable. Time will tell for the M&P but it simply did not do one single thing better, and a few single things worse. One sampling tells me next to nothing about the vast majority of these wannabes, but I wouldn't use THAT particular gun for anything more serious than plinking.

Hi-Points are what they are. Bridge pistols. Longevity? Probably not. But they claim to stand by their product and to fix anything that goes kerplooey, so what have you got to lose if it is all you can afford. The gun you have is infinitely better than the one you're saving for.