A good look at the Smith and Wesson M&P

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Ya had me right up until you dropped this one on us. The M&P is one butt ugly piece that looks like it was cobbled together from a number of different spare parts...
Click to expand...

We have different tastes in polymer pistols, sir, as I find the M&P to be quite attractive in all possible dressings, and the "curves" in the frame and grip seem almost perfect. I simply cannot believe that no other company thought of them before S&W. The gun makers of the world must surely now see that not all polymer frames need to be ugly... I look for further refinements from other companies in the future.

-Dave
 
I was, and still am, not overly enthralled with the M&P's looks but all that disappears when you feel it in your hand. Then it becomes quite beautiful.
 
So, another range trip today. 50 rounds of Winchester Ranger. No so much as a hiccup and man, this gun is scary scary accurate. I've never shot this well with my duty Glock.
 
Like it.

Went to the range tonight to break in my new .45 M&P. First .45 I've owned, and I'm more than pleased with it.

After about 6 mags worth of shooting, I was as accurate with the M&P as I am with my Sig P229 .40, which is my personal standard by which all others are measured.

Very pleased indeed.
 
The grip on the M&P is one of my favorite "feeling" grips. However, I find that I have a tendency to "thumb" it when firing. I can see a slight left to right jump of the sights when dry firing and have to work hard with my grip to reduce it.

Strangely, the thumbing doesn't seem to effect my actual accuracy. Last time, out at the range, I was hitting half dollar sized red dot stickers consistently from 21 feet.

With zero FTF's and it hitting everything I aim at I have huge confidence in it...which is good, since it is my daily carry.
 
m& P 9

When I first got my MP 9, I did not like the trigger system at all. very rough. I sent it to Dave Bowie and had the grip stippled and dehorned and had good novak sites put on it and the great Bowie action job. I have never shot a better weapon, not only is it deadly accurate, the gun looks great with his stippling job. This set the gun off big time and gives to me a complete different feel for the gun. But his action job saved the day. . to big for a carry gun for me but undoubtably my first choice for a range gun. I think the M & P is a very attractive polymer handgun to, being able to change backstraps is a real plus. can't knock the $50 rebate and the two free magazines either. Just IMO one well made handgun, that for me needs very little cleaning also.
 
I bought an early M&P-9 when they first came out, but haven't had a chance to shoot it much because of my frequent travels.

Having read an article on a different guide-rod, I did order one that contained multiple springs. I didn't notice the difference in muzzle flip when I shot it, but I did notice the difference watching other people shoot it.

Since I'm currently ~10,000 miles from my gun, I'm curious about something having read some posts in this thread about it being a striker-fired pistol. Can someone look inside and tell me what type of striker-fired pistol that it is? Is it a clone of the Glock design like the Ruger SR9 or is more like the Mauser rifle design like the Springfield XD? I just don't remember.

I have replaced the trigger group in both my G34 and G17L from different manufacturers, and the sear in my XD. However, I really haven't seen the need to do anything to the M&P. (The only reason I did the XD was that after the mods to the Glocks, I found that I shot them better than the XD for the first time ever. So I had to do something to lighten the pull on the XD, and now I'm back to shooting it better than the Glocks).

I really think that S&W got it right with the M&P. I once looked at a Sigma at Cabela's. The guy behind the counter racked the slide and pulled the trigger; he then racked the slide again and handed it to me. I asked permission to pull the trigger and he said: "sure". I tried to pull the trigger, but it didn't work. I handed it back to him, he pulled the trigger and it went click. He then racked the slide and handed it back to me with the instruction: "pull hard". Good Grief!!! In spite of it being on sale, and many years of training by my wife to never resist a sale, I went home without it, shaking my head.
 
Update:

So, more than a year since I purchased my M&P and better than a thousand rounds later I have had exactly 0 problems. No misfeeds, no FTE's, no broken parts, no failures of any kind. This gun keeps right on going and does it with delightful comfort. I really like this pistol and apparently so do an increasing number of police departments. Glock had better keep an eye on the rear view mirror.

Get one soon in your preferred caliber along with a bunch of mags before our President ruins things.
 
So, when are you going to admit the obvious and declare it better than a Glock?

By your own reckoning:

  1. The M&P is more comfortable.
  2. It is more thoughtfully designed.
  3. It allows the end user to determine its final trim as to certain features.
  4. You are more accurate with it.
  5. It hasn't bobbled mechanically.

And I'll bet two further things have been noticed by now--the backstrap hasn't come off--and even if you remove it to the bare frame the M&P is still more comfortable to grip than is a Glock.

Time to fess up.

I like my wife's M&P9, not enough to replace my 1911s or Berettas, but enough to declare it the best striker fired polygun going, especially for the reasonable price charged.
 
M&Ps or Glocks ?

Have owned and fired both pistols. Both have their strong points. Glock has more aftermarket stuff such as barrels ,spring kits and lightened trigger disconnectors such as the 3.5 lb . but as the M&P gets more followers, I think it may match the aftermarket business products before too long. My present 9mm M&P fullsize is extremely accurate as a Poly gun and has a more comfortable grip fit. Glock needs to play some serious catch-up IMO. Now that the ammo situation is what it is ,the Dawson Precision adjustable sights have turned my 9mm into a different pistol, increasing my personal best accuracy, while being able to zero any load I can find with just a small screwdriver! Try that with the fixed sites!
 
I just want to add something for the OP, I see were the take down without using the sear disconnect was addressed, his other compliant was the (will fire with mag removed) on the side of the slide, next time you buy a MP get one with the mag lock, then simple change out the mag lock with a cheap ball point pen spring, takes about 30 minutes,
My first MP had the Mag lock, which made it hard to use for IDPA, MY second MP had no mag lock, ether way I never notice the label, with over 1000 rounds down in both, not one proplem, the only thing I noticed was the 45 has a larger grip due to larger ammo, so I changed to the small grip on the 45, and the medium on the 9 both feel the same and shoot great, the 45 has a tad bit more felt recoil as it should, I Trust the MP family for any one.
 
I am looking at getting a 45acp in either an xd or an M&P. xd is cheaper by about 100 bucks and can shoot lead reloads. going to use it for target shooting and a nightstand gun. What does the m&p offer that the xd does not?

Matt
 
The M&P and XD are fairly comparable. IMO, the XD offers more safety features and some say a better trigger. The M&P offers better ergonomics and is better looking, IMO. FWIW, I shoot my own lead reloads in my M&P and have never had an issue...it doesn't have the Glock style rifling.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. Next time I get a chance I will handle them and see which one points better. I was really wanting to know about the rifling mainly.

Matt
 
Read your original post with great interest. I went to the S&W site and it says: "Certain firearm models and configurations in this section are not available to the general public." (Law Enforcement, Military and Government)
I assume you are a current LEO. Do you know if the M&P is available to the general public? I also noticed on their site that the M&P that you are referring to is now priced at $719. I assume that's MSRP. Do you remember what the retail price was when you bought yours? That's considerably more than what you paid a year ago.
 
Five-O

I am LE but the M&P is available to everyone. I bought it at BudsGunShop.com online last year for $439 delivered. At the same time Smith had a $50 rebate going so after a few weeks of waiting to get the rebate back I was in for about $390. Not a bad deal. As of this posting, Buds price is right at $499 delivered. So like everything else these days, its gone up. Still, the M&P would be a good buy even at that price. In any event, ignore suggested retail prices given to you buy the maker, MSRP is generally crap. Actual retail value is usually much much less and can be found quite readily.
 
Five-O

You went to the Law Enforcement, Military and Government part of the S&W website. Instead of that, just click on pistols, and the M&P's are there too.

M&P's tend to grow on you. I now have 3.
 
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