need input on S&W M&P9

[UniversalFrost]

was looking at getting an xdm in 9 (already have several xd's) , but just came upon a really good deal on a near new M&P9 (full size) locally (so Face to Face and no sales tax or dealer transfer fees)....

never really paid attention to the M&P series of pistols, since i am a beretta shooter and most of my "plastic" picstols have been glock or xd...

I am starting to see more M&P guns at the ranges , but never stopped to ask questions or shoot one...

input from past or present M&P9 users would be appreciated... for the price i dont think i will past this up (could always flip it if I dont like it) , but help is appreciated on what to expect and what to tweak

 

[cfullgraf]

I have an M&P9Pro (5 inch) and a regular M&P9. I like them both.

I did instal an APEX kit in the M&P9 and it makes the trigger better than the M&P9Pro.

I have not had any shooting issues with either of them.

If it feels good in your hand, I do not think you will be disappointed in an M&P.

 

[digsigs226]

I have an M&P9c for my EDC and I have been really pleased with it. It has superb ergonomics and reliability. I have put hundreds of rounds through it, including reloads, and have yet to see it fail. It is also incredibly easy to disassemble and clean.

I would definitely recommend it, plus it's made in the USA!

If you do end up getting one, look into getting the APEX DCAEK trigger kit, it is a relatively simple install, and a great improvement over the stock trigger.

 

[justice06rr]

I have owned a M&P9 (it was my very first pistol ever) and a M&P40. They are excellent pistols. Never had a problem with them. In my opinion they have best quality over Glock's and XD's (I've owned those too).

Plus they are American made, and Smith&Wesson has one of the best lifetime warranty I know of. Buy with confidence!

 

[Ankeny]

I had an M&P 9 Pro. Recent manufacture with the new barrel. Still, it exhibited horrific accuracy so away it went. The 5 inch Pro has earned a reputation for hit and miss (pun intended) in the accuracy department. The 4 inch models don't have the issue.

 

[dacavasi]

One of the best 9's in that price range out there. I've got about 2k rounds of various flavors through mine without one hiccup of any kind. Mounted XS big dot sights on it about a year ago, it is a real shooter...

 

[allaroundhunter]

I prefer any M&P over an XDm. IME, the XD line (including the 'm' series) do not have exceptionally great triggers, even when compared to the M&P that some don't like.

I shoot my M&P9 FS in competition, and just to try to get a feel for the difference, I shot a friend's XDm9 (5.25" bbl) at one and I was very relieved getting my M&P back in my hands

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[Shuler13]

APEX DCAEK and RAM and your M&P will be top notch. After that, add some stippled grips and a light. Even without, it's a winner, but that is my preference.

Then start shopping for the 9c.

 

[Havok7416]

I have an M&P9c that I occasionally use as my carry piece. It does a fine job and has given me no reason to complain.

 

[gpjoe]

I have an M&P9c that was my first carry gun. It is reliable and accurate. I don't carry it much anymore as I prefer carrying a thinner pistol, but it is still used regularly at the range by my wife. She says it's "hers" now. It's a great little pistol.

 

[Sam1911]

The only concern I'd have is in finding out (if you can) why exactly the guy is selling it.

One of the biggest recurring problems with the M&P9s (especially the Pro series, it seems) is with seemingly un-fixable extraction problems. I know more than a few competition shooters who've sold off M&Ps after multiple trips back to the factory trying to get the guns to run consistently. (One of my best pals, a master class shooter who puts something like 20K rounds a year downrange, has owned and sold off three after repeatedly swearing he'd not go down that road again!)

The only other problem I know of is the light primer strikes issue which seems to be fixable, at least temporarily.

I don't know how you ensure you aren't buying someone else's problems but that is something to be wary of.

 

[UniversalFrost]

guy is selling because there is more month than there is money for February ... (been there done that long ago)...

he ran it at a few local matches and scored decent scores so no problems with the gun


other than that nothing wrong with the gun and he is a stand up guy and i have bought and sold with him in the past.

he did mention wanted to trade for a G19 3rd gen at a later date , but i said i got cash now (i only have a 2nd gen anyway)..

 

[Bushpilot]

I've been very satisfied with the performance of my M&P 9, even though I’m generally not a striker gun fan. I found it to be very accurate, surprisingly so, and completely reliable. I really like the finish on the M&P's. The barrels and slides are melonite coated which has a very high hardness rating. This makes them very smooth as well as wear, scratch and corrosion resistant. I also like the fact that they have a stainless steel reinforced chassis imbedded in the polymer frame. They are slimmer than the Glock which I find to be a big plus as well. As far as light primer strikes are concerned, this is really a problem that is common to all the striker guns, not just M&P’s. Although, I haven't experienced any light strikes in my M&P yet. I find when this problem is reported the cause is frequently that the owner has lubricated the striker channel or over lubricated the entire pistol, allowing lubricant to get into the striker channel, which then attracts a lot of crud.. The striker channel is meant to run dry on an M&P. Over all, I’d say give the M&P a shot, I doubt you will be disappointed…

 

[Sam1911]

I'll totally concur on accuracy and shootability! If you don't run into the reliability issues those guns are fantastic shooters!

I shot my very best time ever on the IDPA Calassifier match with a standard M&P9 that I borrowed on a whim, and shot cold. Fantastic, very shootable gun.

Breaks my heart to see them go down.

 

[340PD]

I only have the single stack Shield. Great firearm.

 

[mooner]

I own an M&P 9 pro 5" and M&P9C. Both are completely reliable and plenty accurate. I highly recommend them to anyone. Some complain about the trigger, but I have come to like it. If it is gritty (most are when new) a little stoning on the trigger bar where it contacts the sear. The trigger bar is a stamping and has rough edges. These rough edges are what makes the grittiness as they come in contact with the sear. Light stoning with a fine stone removes the rough edge and makes the trigger much smoother.

 

[ny32182]

I have about 21.5k through my 9 Pro 5", and also have multiple friends who have shot them through a season or more of competition.

FOR ME, the biggest gripe overall is the slim frame; I have larger hands and much prefer the width of the Glock frame. That is very subjective of course, but even the "full size" M&P frame is small by fullsize standards. It is very narrow for a double stack frame. I've "bandaided" this with lots and lots of grip tape wrapped all the way around the grip witht he small backstrap in place.

Other nitpicks based on my personal experience with the gun over the last year:

-The functional weak point is the sear, and specifically the sear reset. If it gets overly dirty even with all stock parts the sear can start failing to reset, and it will happen easier with the lightened aftermarket sear springs that are all the rage these days. The symptom of this when it starts to happen is intermittent, either doubles, and/or "dead trigger". The fix is taking the sear out, and cleaning/drying under it every 5-10k. There is no equivalent part in the Glock, (where the trigger bar engages the striker directly), and therefore the Glock trigger system is simpler, and more robust.

-It does not strike the primer as hard stock for stock as a Glock. I ran about 15k Wolf primers (hardest on the market) in two Glocks with nary a problem. My M&P, between several boxes of primers, two different stock striker assemblies so far, and perfectly clean/dry striker channel, maintains about .5% light strike rate with Wolf primers. Using any other brand will correct this, so it is not that big a deal for anyone who didn't buy close to 50lb of wolf primers once when they were on sale.

Other than that there is a lot to like about it and I plan to shoot mine all year again. The finish is tough, aftermarket support is second only to Glock, parts are available, and you can do virtually anything you need to do to it yourself (just like a Glock).

I've read all the bad accuracy and extraction problem stories on the internet, but I can say my pool of local shooters has yet to see any of this.

 

[powder]

Had a 5" Pro and could not get used to the trigger, nor could I get used to dumping more money into it with the Apex kits. Shot OK, but for half the money I can self-tune any Glock to have a 200% better trigger system, for feel preferences.

 

[ATLDave]

I've got an M&P9, standard length, with thumb safety. I think the ergos are great, and it has been so reliable for me that it has become my bedroom HD gun. Mine was accuracte out of the box. For the first couple hundred rounds, it tended to throw brass straight back at me, but it has since abandoned that habit; apparently, that's somewhat common as a break-in issue.

Hilton Yam has written quite a lot about them, so you can read his stuff to really dive deep on them, including the good and the bad (and the fixes for the latter if you decide to do that).

 

[rodinal220]

My FS M&P 9 range kit model couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. It patterns rather than groups. It will also at it own will vertically string shots from time to time,especially on slow fire drills. It has so far been 100% reliable but a bit lazy in ejection.I sent it back to S&W and they sent it back saying it was "in spec",I would like to know if their spec is one minute of garbage can lid.
My Chinese 213 9mm will out shoot the M&P FS as will any other 9mm platform I own.

Even Larry Vickers has publicly stated that S&W has screwed the pooch on this line.

Mind you,the accuracy issues seem to be with the FULL SIZE 9mm model and not the 357sig,40s&w,45acp or the Shield.

 

[Hangingrock]

I have a MP9 that I’ve had now for several years now. My preference is to leave the pistol in OEM condition until I’ve used the pistol over an extended period of time. That said my only modification to the pistol was to replace the OEM sight set with a Novak front night sight and a 10-8 plain black U notch rear sight. As for the magazines I changed out the OEM base plates with 10-8 base plates. Thru experience I’ve become accustomed to the trigger system. Accuracy is comparable to examples such as the Glock G17 & G19.

Personally I won’t use the over used terminology of “Flawlessly” or “Impeccable” but would say there have been no nettlesome issues. I use the pistol for concealed carry so therefore satisfied with the operation of the pistol.

 

[Old Dog]

Heh. My issued duty pistol. I hated to give up our previous issue, steel framed DA/SA pistols with a fine reputation (it all boiled down to $$ and we basically got our guns for free with lifetime factory support). Was not a fan at first.

Some four or five years down the road, I will go on record as stating my opinion that the M&P is a better pistol than the Glock and the SA XD/XDm. Great ergos, respectable accuracy, excellent pointability, above-average reliability (we train real hard with these guns).

 

[UniversalFrost]

picked up the M&P9 today and a couple extra mags (4 total)...

initial impressions were that it is light and trigger is not so bad... it looks new and had the medium grip installed... felt ok, and when i swapped out to the large grip it felt good but was a bit wide at the rear... i wish they had a mid size between the two sizes, but time will tell once it goes to the range.

wife liked the pistol and i am assuming that she will lay claim to it (like she did with the last beretta 92 i brought home)...:banghead:

 

[browneu]

Great, I have the 4.25 inch pro and its a great carry piece.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ankeny]

I've read all the bad accuracy and extraction problem stories on the internet, but I can say my pool of local shooters has yet to see any of this.

Yeah, I here you there. When I quit shooting Production Division I was only one classifier away from Grand Master. I was hoping the accuracy horror stories were way over blown, so I bought the M&P Pro 9 5" to get back into Production. Myself and two other shooters (one a pretty salty Master) worked on load development and we all shot the gun just to eliminate user error.

Alas, the pistol averaged 5-6 inch groups at 25 yards with various loads from 115 through 147 grain loads. We would find the occasional load that would shoot around 4 inches. Probably good enough for a lot of folks, but not exactly confidence inspiring in my hands. I just can't stand to have a pistol that has mechanical accuracy that isn't as good as my wobble zone.