On Tuesday, we brought you the breaking news on the latest product out of Smith & Wesson. And the internet dang near exploded. The S&W M&P FPC Response dropped across social media like a thundercloud. And while most of it was pretty positive, we also saw a tremendous amount of supposed gun fans attempting to eat our own. And we’re wondering what made everyone so crazy?

S&W M&P FPC Response

The keyboard commando culture reared its ugly head this week. And some of the comments hurled at S&W were beyond ridiculous.

In case you missed it, the M&P FPC comprises a folding, magazine-fed, 9mm PCC. It comes packed with a ton of features real shooters want in a compact folder. With the ATF Pistol Brace ruling still fresh, the M&P FPC hits right on time. It offers an incredibly compact package, perfect for behind a truck seat or in a pack. The side-folding design accommodates a red dot optic. And the stock includes two cavities under the cheek piece for extra magazines. Throw in the M&P pistol magazine compatibility, and you’ve got one awesome package, priced at $659 retail! What’s not to love?

Well the internet sucks, let’s just be honest. And social media is where the weak and cowardly make their avatar stand. So anytime a new gun of any kind comes out, the usual suspects rush to their keyboards to poo poo on the world. The M&P FPC proves no exception. Keyboard warriors shouted that it doesn’t take Glock mags. They cried for chamberings in .40, .45 or 10mm. Put a shorter barrel on it. Where’s the pistol brace. On and on it went.

Others wade in to tell you what they’d rather have. “I’ll keep my Scorpion.” “My Beretta is just fine, no thanks!” Or better yet, J. Barron commented: “Hello Glock engineers!!! Hellooooo!! ” I mean, he’s not wrong. The shooting public would go nuts for a Glock folder. But so did we for the FPC. Others, well, the internet remains a dumpster fire.

The Funny

We’ll start with a zinger. We posted the animation below, showing how the gun opens and folds. We thought it was pretty cool.

But V. Eddings posted to FB: “That’s handy! It’ll fit in the trash better when folded.” Ok, that one is pretty funny. Absolutely ridiculous, but at least funny.

Tons more piled on. D. Acuna called it “Smith and Keltec.” And D. Kurtz commented: Folding 5.7 in 3, 2, 1…” Given the recent introductions from S&W and others, we wouldn’t bet against this one.

And even Keltec didn’t shy away from the viral madness either. Especially after the release of the M&P12, which everyone says rips off the KSG., Again, we’re not sure how valid the claim of copy is, but you gotta give Keltec some credit here for running with it:

KelTec Rage!

OK, we get some of the comments comparing to the SUB 2000. We even understand some acting like they know S&W ripped Keltec off. But some, predictably, took it too far. I. Rideout’s Facebook profile commented: “Kel Tec makes something ingenious and gets shamed. S&W makes the same exact thing decades later for twice the price and gets all the credit. Crazy.”

Yeah, that is crazy–your comment, that is. Don’t throw that shade on us. While some out there may say disparaging remarks toward our Florida friends, you won’t read it here. We love KelTec. Long fans of the company’s innovative designs, we went so far as run an entire story on just that. Read Why KelTec is the Underappreciated Modern Marvel of Firearm Innovation.

Iowa retailer Midwest Gun Doctors commented “Smith and Wesson has run out of original ideas.” The retail site also displays a massive S&W banner ad in rotation. So yeah … that’s awkward.

Most Shooters Get It!

Thankfully, so many readers, shooters obviously, commented to let us know they get it. They see the interesting aspects of this firearm, and they’re like the rest of us, they just wanna get some trigger time with it on the range.

B. Boros posted: “Hey Smith–Make it in the .40 and use your M&P mags, and I can guarantee a couple will be bought by me and my sons. We’ve been looking at the Kel-tec, but hadn’t pulled the trigger so to speak-yet. Make some 25 rd mags also. And don’t be swayed by the B.S. rhetoric about the .40 being a ”dieing” cartridge. More gun writer hot air!!

Wait just a minute, this is a no hot air zone, sir! In fact, we only recently posted a story about how the .40 ain’t quite dead just yet.

S. Muzayen found some love for the S&W, while flaming another recent introduction. “Well, definitely a better design of a PCC than the crap Henry dropped.” We couldn’t disagree more here. The Henry brings an old school type of design. And you can pair it to Glock, S&W or SIG magazines. C’mon man!

Finally, we have a pair of shooters that truly see the potential here. C. Farmer says “Everyone’s talking about this being a KelTec ripoff, but IDK. Side-folding’s a bit more practical, and actually allows for the top rail to be used!” Meanwhile, B. Williams offered: “I love by sub 2000, but this is intriguing.”

Editor’s Take on the S&W M&P FPC Response

Does it look like a KelTec SUB 2000. I mean, it folds. It’s black. Beyond that, the M&P FPC probably looks less like the KelTec as compared to every AR-15 that came after the Colt. Or after every 1911 made by Springfield, Kimber and others, after the Colt. We’re no patent lawyers, so we can’t speak on whether any company did wrong upon release. But we see plenty of originality in the S&W design.

If you don’t like it, here’s a wild idea. Don’t buy it. For the rest of us, happy shooting, and we’ll see you on the range.