One Platform

One Platform


This was kind of a side discussion on another forum and I decided to post it here

When I first started shooting I bought a lot of different guns in a lot of different (oddball) calibers.

After a while I realized that it cost a lot of money to stock all those different calibers of ammunition and different types of magazines and accessories and I decided that I needed to downsize my "collection" and concentrate on commonality.

One of the reasons I made this decision is because I don’t feel like I get to the range all that often so I want to maximize the time I’m there and I feel like getting myself up to speed on various platforms takes away from that so I stick with the one.

I looked around I did some research and eventually settled on the M&P.* I sold off all my other handguns (except my 4006 just because I bought it in a private sale) and bought an M&P9 and a 9C.

I now have one trigger to get used to and one type of sights. The grips on each gun are essentially the same and the sight radius is almost identical. I only have to buy one caliber of ammunition and I find it's easier to buy in bulk that way. Both guns take the FS magazines and now that I can buy Colorado legal FS magazines I can stock up for both guns.

This may not be ideal for everyone but for someone like me who has a limited training budget it works

*If I had to start over from nothing I'd buy one (maybe 2) Glock 19s and call it good but the M&Ps are adequate to the task and I can't really afford the loss I'd take selling them off to buy a Glock

 

I take a slightly different approach.

I really don't want to get involved with all the different calibers, but for survival purposes, I want to be able to shoot whatever ammo I can get my hands on. It may reach a point where we cannot be picky.

So if you are dedicated to 9mm and in SHTF can only get .40, you're kind of screwed. Caliber diversity is a pain in the ass, but it will give you more options when the bubble pops.

I have a 9mm compact, a .40 Shield, a .380 Bodyguard, and .223 AR, all from the M&P product line. I'm thinking of getting a full size M&P 9mm. I also have a .357 revolver and some .22LR.

I understand not everyone can afford multiple guns/calibers, but it's worth doing if you have the resources.

I've had excellent results with the M&P's and think they are great guns for not too much money. One of the benefits of sticking with a single product line is that all the guns field strip in roughly the same way. Once you figure one out, the rest are pretty much the same.

 

The premise of standardizing on one caliber and platform sounds great...until you need something different. Yes, you can bark a squirrel, or perhaps stalk a deer so you may get well within range, but you're compromising.
It boils down to the correct tool for the job imho.

 

This thread specifically addresses handguns but I do have a rifle in .223 and a S&W 4006 that I bought in a private sale and will probably never get rid of even though it's essentially a safe queen.

A couple of years ago I got a chance to participate in some professional training on an ongoing basis and I found that I objectively did better in training when I limited myself to using one platform.

As far as scavenging ammunition I don't foresee a complete and permanent societal breakdown on that level.

That said I DO remember 9mm being unavailable at Walmart and I remember standing in line to get .40 S&W and being told there were 2 boxes left and having the guy behind me throw a fit because he thought I was going to buy both of them (I'm not that heartless).

At some point in the middle of all that I decided that I was NEVER going to get caught with my pants down like that again.

I'm not going to list a number but my wife watches the sales and when she sees a good one she lays in another thousand rounds. Ammunition is durable. Every round I own will still be good long after I'm dead and it will never again be cheaper than it is right now. As for magazines my minimum number is 12 factory magazines per gun.

Where this ties into the topic of consolidation is simple logistics. It's simpler to track and stock one type of ammunition and one type of magazines/ spare parts/ accessories.

That's how I choose to do it and why. If that doesn't appeal to you fine. You live your life, you make your decisions you live with the consequences

 

You had me until

I have the M&P 2.0 in .45ACP on my to get list. They look good (for a modern pistol) feel good and shoot well.

Welcome to the Monkey. BTW, You're one of my favorite pistol powders

 

Perhaps my concept of one platform is more in line with Ray Kroc's McDonald's.
First came the .45 ACP 1911. Then the .22 LR 1911. Then the 9 mm 1911.
Same thing with revolvers. First came the .357 Mag Dan Wesson Pistol Pack. Next the 22 LR Pistol Pack Dan Wesson. Then the .44 Mag Dan Wesson. It's a formula that I've repeated for all the handguns I've purchased over the course of my lifetime.

So whatever platform I was working with I'd purchase a 22 LR that matched in order to keep down practice costs and reloading time on the bench. When shooting competitively, 100 rounds of practice a day isn't really much. Now it's obvious that I'm not exactly just starting out, but if I were I'd look for the most versatile (or highly copied) handgun. The 1911 Platform is probably the most copied semiautomatic pistol, while the Dan Wesson Revolvers are definitely versatile.
Welcome Aboard.

 

I have a little different point of view .
this story explains it.
Two men were hunting in Alaska and came back to camp getting ready for the night and a grizzly came into camp and began mauling one of the men, the other man tried to fight off the bear from his friend and both were bloody the gun was hanging on a tree limb and the one partner went for it, but has no idea how to operate the weapon .
His hands were so slippery being covered in blood he could not fire the weapon.

Sorry that's about all the story I remember, but it's enough to point out the fact that the importance of being familiar with other platforms, can make a difference in life in the most unexpected events.
Having been a machinery mechanic and an abundance of other professions ,I have learned that diversity was my livelihood and doing so gave me more advantage than the next guy ever expanding my skill level, not being afraid of taking a new challenge.
Never had a lot of money and many of the guns I got were bought on lay away, ya that was long ago.
Sold a few as well, but only those that were not accurate enough or mechanically reliable enough to keep investing ammo.
Since I was a kid I did not burn a lot of ammo ,just to be shooting , every shot counts, and that's the way I taught my family .
As for trigger sensitivity knowing one gun from the other, takes but a moment to familiarize ones self ,and that job is done.
If I am shopping for a gun with an exposed hammer, I like to draw the hammer back and put my thumb deep between the hammer and anvil and feel the trigger sear and where the break off is .
I was never so impressed with a gunsmith's colt 357 mag. with a hair trigger. @ 100 yards I was destroying a bolling pin first shot. I emptied the cylinder not missing one shattered piece of that pin .
After that I wanted that work done on my Ruger , but he said it would not be for a home defense gun ,it's more for precision target shooting. After some thought I had to agree.

 

The reason(s) I would choose the Glock over the M&P is because the Glock 19 is just a little bigger than the 9C and just a little smaller than the FS. So it effectively fills both niches. One of the reasons I wanted a compact gun is for carry at home I currently carry the C around the house and the FS if I'm leaving. With a 19 I'd simply carry the 19.

 

I standardized on semi automatic pistol and rifle platforms so the battery of arms would be the same and also ammunition so there wouldn't be confusion about trying to use the wrong mag during an emergency. FWIW I standardized on M&P w/ safety and AR as the rifle platform. I do run an AR308, but no way you will confuse an AR15 and an AR308 mag. Bolt actions don't fall into this, though all mine currently have tang safeties from .22LR to 300 WM.

Pistol platform was mostly dictated by Mrs. 3M. She isn't a gun person so I went with what worked best for her since I am and the M&P was in my top three choices. I'm very glad we went that way as the Shield especially floats my boat. We also went 9mm also with Mrs 3M in mind but also due to availability as it's a standard service round. I also have an M&P 22 for training. IMO few pistol round are adequate for defense and those that are don't work well in a semi auto that weighs less than my truck so I prefer control with reasonable power. I still may get an M&P Shield 40 for carry.

 

This wasn't a spur of the moment decision for me, it's been an evolution. I've been carrying a gun privately as well as professionally for about 20 years and while I don't have combat experience I've been in a couple of fights.

I started out carrying a 1911 in condition 3, until the day I needed my 1911 and forgot it was unloaded. I had a friend do that with his shotgun once, he went on a call where he thought he might need the shotgun and afterwards went to make the gun cruiser ready and realized he'd never chambered a round. Anyway from that day forward I decided never to carry a handgun in a less than ready to fire state again.

After that I switched to TDA guns (predominately Third Gen S&Ws) until the day I engaged the safety during a Tap, Rack, Roll drill and couldn't figure out why the gun wouldn't fire. I decided then and there that I was never going to carry a gun that had any other controls than a trigger and a magazine release for self defense ever again. I don’t care if the mistake was nothing more than a stupid brain fart and I don’t care if it only happed once. It only has to happen once in a fight to get me killed.
There have been a couple other equipment refinements along the way as well. I used to carry my Multitool in front of my magazines because I used it far more often. Until the day I spent an entire training day trying to reload my gun with a Gerber. Now I carry my magazines horizontal in front of my Multitool and my Multitool in a pouch with a flap on it so I know which is which the second I touch it. I also clip my light to my kit so I can drop it if I have to. (guess how I reached that decision). I also carry things in the same place. Right hand things go on the Right and are never in my left hand and never in either hand at the same time.

I've been jumped a couple of times in the course of my job. Both times it happened faster than I had time to prepare for. Both times there was a moment of panic while my body was adjusting to my endocrine system dumping adrenalin into my blood stream while my heart rate was going from 60 to 160+ beats a minute and all my fine motor skills were going away.

I know exactly what that moment feels like and I can tell you from experience the fewer things that I have to consider (which gun am I carrying and where is it) during that moment the better off I am.

In a situation like that variables are bad. By definition if I’m in a self defense situation I’m already behind the curve. Every step I have to take to prepare to and defend myself is an opportunity for Murphy to rear his ugly head. Every step or decision that I can eliminate increases the odds in my favor.

 

We practice drawing the pistols so taking the safety off as we begin to raise the pistol after the barrel is pointed AWAY from us and then flicking it back on as we lower to re-holster. It's so ingrained I don't think about it anymore - it just happens, but we still practice. Same with the AR platform, I practice handling every few days even when I'm not able to shoot.

 

Have you ever failed to disengage the safety in training? You only have to do that one time in a fight to die

 

Not since the very beginning. Each time I missed I had to restart the training session from the beginning. I'm not trying to tell others to do as I do, except to remember that they need to practice the battery of arms for every weapon they use.

 

One thing I will add in here, IF you choose to carry an Auto of any type, ALWAYS press check when loading/reloading to make absolutely sure that you have a loaded chamber!!! For us 1911 guys, this is especially essential as this design has a pretty soft recoil spring and if dirty, can fail to strip a round off the mag stack!

 

The M&P line has a witness hole in the chamber you can see the round in the chamber. My guns stay loaded