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January 2008

Full-Size Polymer .45s: S&W’s M&P45 Beats H&K and Glock

Put head to head with two previously high-rated handguns, Smith & Wesson’s Dark Earth .45 was nice to shoot and nice on the wallet. We’d pick it over the Model 21 and USP45CT units.

Gun Tests readers sometimes ask why reviews on certain guns vary over time. For instance, they wonder why Gun A, reviewed two years ago, got a "Don't Buy" rating, but in a more recent evaluation, it gets a B+. The short answer is that test to test, guns vary, ammunition varies, the story angle varies, and, perhaps

When we tested a $619 Smith & Wesson M&P 45 .45 ACP (top) against a Heckler & Koch USP Compact Tactical USP45CT that cost twice as much (left), we didn’t find twice the performance in the more expensive gun, which earned an A in the June 2007 issue, but which falls to C- here. The $635 Glock 21 SF, (right), which we tested in July 2007, was a B+ gun in July, and it maintained that ranking when pitted against the M&P45.

most important, the match-ups vary. In an earlier draw, Gun A may have run up against other models that made it look like chopped liver. Then when we tested it again, Gun A may have whipped Guns B and C because the latter two weren't much good, and Gun A benefited from the…

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Full-Size Polymer .45s: S&W’s M&P45 Beats H&K and Glock

Put head to head with two previously high-rated handguns, Smith & Wesson’s Dark Earth .45 was nice to shoot and nice on the wallet. We’d pick it over the Model 21 and USP45CT units.