Originally Posted by MacCool

Trigger jobs on carry guns are fine. From a safety standpoint, it might be a good idea to not get the trigger pull too light, but a 6 lb trigger with a nice crisp break make for a nice shooting pistol that is completely safe. The "legality" issues are a non-factor according to my buddy, who is the county attorney. On an M&P, an Apex ultimate striker block and machined sear will really clean up that trigger. Doesn't necessarily change the trigger pull unless you leave the original return spring.

If you're looking for a full size pistol with a great trigger out of the box, clearly the leaders in that pack are the Walther PPQ and the HK VP9. My preference is the VP9, but it's about a horse apiece comparing it to the PPQ. Both are truly exceptional pistols and IMHO both have better triggers than even an M&P with trigger upgrade (although the FSS does come close). Somewhere along the way, I developed a substantially negative attitude toward the Xd's. I've seen too many reliability issues and ammo "finnickyness". I had a Glock 19, but it was a piece of crap (unreliable ejection and super-creepy trigger). I fixed it with an Apex FRE and newer ejector, then dumped it. I'll never fall for the Glock trap again.

My personal preference for carry is a Walther PPS. Small and slim, shoots like a full-size. I looked hard at the M&P Shield, but at the time they only made it with a manual safety, which I absolutely did not want. Now, they have a Shield version without the safety and that might be worth a look. Apex makes trigger improvement kits for the Shield too, although I've never shot one with an upgraded trigger. I did look at Kahr and put several boxes through my buddy's PM9, but it was expensive for what it is, and I didn't want to have to go through what he went through to get it to be reliable.

If you're going to carry a gun, don't be one of those guys that takes your state's permit-to-carry course and stops there thinking that you're now qualified to use a pistol to defend your life. Please keep moving on and take some defensive pistol classes as well.