S&W M&P 10MM VS Glock 20

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S&W M&P 10MM VS Glock 20

July 11, 2024
By Jared Daub

S&W M&P 10MM VS Glock 20

You want a 10mm shootout? How about a S&W M&P 10MM VS Glock 20 comparison? We gotchu. Let’s dive into it.

Disclosures:

I think it’s important to let you know if we have relationships with the companies we use in videos, blogs, or other content. We have a working business partnership with the folks over at TREX arms. They retail our steel targets. I’ve been friends with them for many years. They sent me the sidecars we used in the video for free. They did not pay us for placement, I simply asked them if they’d send us a holster. I’ve also sent them steel targets in the past.

ANR designs is also a close industry friend. I’ve known Alex for many years. I did pay full price for his holster.

If you want to support us and invest in yourself, shop our products HERE.

The pistols were purchased off RSR group (a distributor) and I paid Dealer price because we are a 07FFL & 02 SOT. S&W and Glock did have no affiliation with us.

The red dots and the lights were purchased at regular prices. No other ammo or products were given and no payment was received WHATSOEVER for this blog or the videos we shot.

Why did we choose 10mm pistols?

I decided recently to purchase these two full-size pistols for my overlanding journeys. I wanted a pistol that was more capable of defending against large game, and I did NOT want another revolver. It isn’t that I hate revolvers, but I wanted a higher capacity of ammo in these pistols. Additionally, the ability to mount a weapon light onto the pistols was a MUST. You might be asking why we wanted weapon light capabilities, the truth is: bad things often happen at dark. This is true even in the wilderness camping. The ability to SEE is critical.

I landed on the M&P10mm and the Glock 20 because they are both mainstream competitors. Both are performance oriented, both have a trusted track record. I knew both would run well, and I wanted to ultimately test two different pistols to determine which would be MY personal backwoods companion. More on that later.

The Pistol Setups:

Holster selection was…depressing. I couldn’t believe how difficult it was to find proper holsters for each pistol. Each pistol was SUPPOSED to have an X300V on it for the video, but finding a light bearing IWB holster similar to the TREX arms sidecar was impossible. I landed on a high-quality option from my friends over at ANR designs and it did the trick (The Daisho AIWB). I wish it was light bearing, but I will survive for now. Similarly, TREX arms came through with the sidecar holsters. Interestingly enough, I ended up getting a sidecar for a Glock 21 SF and it fit perfectly with the X300v. Now, I can’t recommend you do that as the holster was not designed for the Glock 20. Dimensionally the G21SF and the Gen 5 G20 were nearly identical, so I wasn’t surprised when it fit like it was meant to be.

As far as the setup of each pistol goes: I mounted a Holosun HE508T to the pistols for consistency. It’s a great red dot, very reliable, and I’ve run this model for years. Mounting the dot to the M&P was simple. The Glock 20 basically came with NO extra mounting screws, but thankfully I had some extras laying around that were perfect. I should note: The M&P 110% wins in the category of features out of the box, including things like mounting plates and screws. It just has more options right from the factory.

Let’s talk about the video format:

Inside the video we discussed several different aspects of each pistol. We tried to cover only what you all would care about and then we left out the nonsense. In the video we covered:

1.) Trigger (Feel, weight, quality, reset, etc.)

2.) Recoil Impulse

3.) Accuracy

4.) Our overall pick from these two pistols

Let’s start out with the triggers.

Comparing the Triggers:

Both Austin and I chose the M&P for its trigger. It’s better than the Glock 20 hands down. There really is no debate about this. We noticed that the Glock 20 had a TON of creep in the trigger. It was mushy all the way to the virtually non-existent wall. I know some of you are already saying “well, yeah. Duh. It’s a Glock.” Well this one was exceptionally horrible. During strings of fire it wasn’t very noticeable. Taking precision shots it was VERY noticeable, unfortunately. On the contrast, the M&P has a more refined feeling trigger. The weight of the two felt very similar, but the M&P 2.0 10mm had a very distinct wall, a clean break, and a tactile and audible reset. Traits all pistols should possess. The M&P was our collective choice for the winner of the trigger category.

If you are looking for an “out-of-the-box” hunting pistol, the M&P trigger will be appealing. In higher pressure situations, the clean, consistent, and more refined feel of the M&P trigger should help land those shots.

Recoil impulse:

These guns are snappy, PERIOD. There is simply no getting away from it. Running full powder 10mm loads make shooting a 9mm feel like a pellet pistol. We ran Magtech 180 grain HP ammunition. Due to the short nature of this test, we did not go into the weeds and chronograph all the loads we shot. That wasn’t the purpose of this video. We wanted to avoid the fluff and just stick to our gut feel and first impressions. We also ran underwood 220 grain Hard Cast/Coated lead ammunition. The underwood ammo was nasty in the recoil department. It felt VERY similar to shooting potent 44 magnum loads from a six shooter. It’s just important to note that if you shoot ANY 10mm full power loads, they will be much harder to manage than a 9mm. If you want a lighter load, go .40 S&W or 45 ACP.

The M&P, to me, felt “snappier” than the Glock 20. With or without a weapon light, the M&P had noticeably more muzzle flip. This could be the lighter slide of the M&P, differences in spring rate, or grip angles. The Glock 20 felt like a more straight rearward recoil impulse and had less muzzle rise. This is even seen in the video and the photos. The M&P REQUIRES more grip pressure to keep the gun in your hands and takes more effort to drive it BACK onto target. It isn’t substantially more, but it is noticeable. That being said, we sort of landed on this category being a wash. Just expect more recoil, exercise good fundamentals and you’ll be fine.

Accuracy:

We stepped back to 20 yards to put some rounds on paper. Mechanical capability of each pistol, from our experience, is nearly identical. The M&P did perform tighter groups in our experience, but this was all with the Magtech ammo. Please don’t take this as a comprehensive analysis. We just wanted to roughly see how they perform. Both were up to the task, both put down nice groups. The M&P was able to be strapped into our Vortex Radian Carbon Tripod. The Glock wouldn’t clip in properly, so we had to free hand the groups. That makes this test even less scientific, so take that with a grain of salt, please. I’d trust either pistol to take down game out to 50 yards, no issues. They likely could go further with practice, but at that point I’d use a rifle to ensure I quickly take down whatever I’m hunting.

Reliability of each pistol

Each pistol had a healthy dose of around 400 rounds on this one range day. In that time, we experienced ZERO malfunctions with either pistol. 400 rounds is NOT a lot of rounds, so we need to explore this topic more. Interestingly enough, I had people messaging me saying they couldn’t get their M&P 10mm’s to run. I did not experience that at all. In fact, each pistol ran amazingly all day.

Our Overall opinion of these two pistols:

Both pistols are fine examples of a quality full-size 10mm. Both are very accurate. Each pistol will put rounds exactly where you want them to, if you exercise good fundamentals. For that reason, I feel confident with Either. Although I personally landed on the G20 as my consistent outdoor / camping carry pistol, the M&P is an equally fine pistol. I think it will simply come down to personal preference on the comparison side of this conversation.

Cons of the M&P:

The M&P overall felt like a snappier pistol. Additionally, the lack of light bearing AIWB holsters from reputable brands WITH an additional magazine attached is annoying. The grip texture of the M&P is SO aggressive, I’d hesitate to AIWB carry this pistol unless I sand down the texture.

Pros of the M&P:

The M&P feels like a more refined pistol. There really is no debate. It fits better into most peoples hands, it has suppressor height sights standard. The palm swells can easily be changed, it has more mounting options for red dots. Overwhelmingly the M&P SEEMS to have more value for the dollar. Even more so because it is LESS money than the Glock. Which is wild.

Cons of the Glock 20:

It’s a Glock. Kidding! It feels thicker in the hands, which does lead to better control in my opinion, but it’s girthy. It features CHEAP plastic stock Glock sights. No suppressor height sights, no metal sights. Glock didn’t even include mounting screws for a red dot, you have to buy them separately. I almost had to put the range day on hold because of this. It SEEMS like it has less mechanical accuracy capability than the M&P, but it is VERY close.

Pros of the Glock 20:

It’s a Glock. Not kidding this time! Reliability will be second to none. It seems to direct recoil energy straight rearward. It has a MUCH better flare to the mag well, which aides in reloading quickly. The Glock certainly has more holster compatibility both inside and outside the waistband.

Closing thoughts:

Personally, I LOVE 10mm pistols. I think they fill a sweet spot between an every day carry pistol and a 44 magnum. I think they play an important role for someone who wants more defensive capability in a pistol while in remote locations, but wants to be able to go to the gas station and be able to concealed carry a pistol. Heck, I even took the Glock 20 grocery shopping when I forgot my Glock 19 at work the one day.

Just be warned. These pistols are huge. They’re hard to conceal. But it is doable. I just recommend maybe wearing some sort of button up shirt or jacket over your Tee shirt while carrying. They are definitely harder for me to conceal.

If you found this blog helpful, let me know. Also: Which would you choose? Please consider watching the full video linked in this blog as well. I’ll catch you all in the next one.