A good look at the Smith and Wesson M&P

[FieroCDSP]

Nail Shooter, the earlier compacts had that (and a few other) issues. I've heard fewer (to almost none) complaints the past six months or so. If it concerns you (it would me) call Smith and ship it in for a work over. Then again, if it seems to have fixed itself, them maybe all those guys that sent them in for the lock-open problem merely needed the snot shot out of their gun at the factory to fix it. I'd like to be the guy that gets that job.

If it's a recent poduction (as of August last year) I'd definitely call and have them pay to have it sent in. The lock back problem was supposed to be fixed.

 

[Nail Shooter]

FieroCDSP, the envelope with the spent cases is dated Jan of 2008. It also has the red slide stop spring which, from what I've read, is supposed to be the heavier one.

I bought the gun upon recommendations from gun stores with rental M&P's. Both of the high volume shops said theirs all ran perfect.

I was on the verge of calling Smith (might still) and then had a perfect outing with it. I want to like this gun and agree with the other posters about the feel and ergos being just about perfect. Trigger isn't too bad either. Regards,

Nail

 

[bmargolis]

Nice post Zulu6 -

I had very similar experiences when first trying the M&P 40. I purchased one used, but really almost new. It would not feed properly so I drove it up to S&W and not only did they fix it perfectly, but they added night sights for free and gave me another 15 rd. magazine.

I liked it so much, I purchased a compact 40 and a full size 9mm as well. They both shoot so well, that I sold my 13 year old Glock 23, which had been carried daily almost all of that time. I also sold my two HK's that I was not shooting. All in all, I sold 5 pistols and replaced them with three. (could have been two, but I really wanted the 9mm too!)

I just recently was at Front Sight and did their 4-day defensive handgun course and the M&P performed flawlessly.

Had Glock continued to evolve their handguns, I may have never have looked at the M&P's. Too bad for them, market share will continue to erode until they begin to engineer upgraded product.

 

[Bongo45]

I think that you will be pleased with the M&P. They seem to work great and if nothing else, they are better looking than a Glock or XD.

 

[boomstik45]

There have been problems with the compact .40s and 9mms, but they may have been worked out.

The .40 version has been one of the best .40 autos I've ever fired. And I've fired quite a few. The .45 version is nice. Nicer than a Sig 220? Nope. About on par with a Glock 21 (although with less capacity and slightly more perceived recoil). The M&P is a great gun. It's one of the first where I've liked the .40 version better than the .45. But hey....

 

[Black Adder LXX]

Nice review. I love my 9c. The takedown was a little disappointing (until I discovered the flat tip ), but to have a fully ambidextrous pistol makes up for it in this lefty's right mind...

 

[berkbw]

My turn? BTW, Nice thread. I am a LONG time 1911 guy. I'm OLD, I HATED the concept of Tupperware, OK?

I have grown to appreciate Glocks after reading M&P guys, and then G-guys. I just hope that the M&P series exhibits the lifetime reliability that the Gs do. Time will tell.

I have an M&P45/4.5". I love it. lower recoil, feeds anything, feels like the Gun Gods made it for my hand.

What really makes the plastic M&P a dream to shoot - it is REALLY easy to quickly recover for a double tap - and it doesn't take a year at the range to practice. Low mass means easy to bring back to point - and less overshoot when doing so. It's EASY!.

I have never been able to do the trigger pull, and get it apart. Maybe My MPY is somehow different, but I ALWAYS carry a ball-point.. which, BTW, fits the S/R fine, and the tool DOESN'T. I shoot about 1/3 the size group with the M&P that I do with my 1911s.. probably because I'm beyond retirement .

Anyone in Bristol , PA is welcomed to come to shoot with me - my range time is prepaid, eh? PM me.

The next thing S&W could do in perfection is to put the spring on top, barrel on bottom,

Thx for reading

 

[RON in PA]

My M&P experience:

I have two, a M&P40 and a M&P9. The 40 is from the first 10,000 made and the 9 was made in 2007 (it has the improved slide stop, but I don't have any problems with the original design on the 40, just not as convenient).

The 40 had a few failures to feed during the first approx. 200 rounds, while the 9 had a few failures to feed of the last round in the magazine in the first three mags. After that both pistols have been 100%. The triggers have continued to improve with use, less creep. The one place that the Glock trigger is better in comparison is in the Glock's trigger reset. In fact I believe that the Glock's trigger reset is the only superior feature of the Glock. That and the lower cost of magazines.

Regarding the field stripping controversy, how come nobody ever mentions that the Ruger P series pistols have essentially the same system. I suspect that many PDs have or will buy the M&P because of its availability, as well as the options of having a mag disconnect and internal lock.

I have posted before that IMHO the M&P pistols are product improved Glocks that are far superior in ergonomics and sighting.

Perhaps the only question that remains is weather the M&Ps will have the endurance of the Glocks. Will they survive a Chuck Taylor?

 

[zulu6]

I've had no malfunctions so far with mine. What a great shooter. I'm considering a second one.

 

[Navy87Guy]

A full sized M&P 9 just joined my M&P 9C this weekend. I was very impressed (surprise, surprise!) with the comfort and accuracy. I posted some pics of my targets on my website, here: http://home.comcast.net/~navy87guy/home/mp9.html

My only complaint was that the takedown lever gets very hot -- and with my thumbs-forward grip it started to get a bit uncomfortable after about 100 rounds.

I also did some stippling on my grips for added texture for competition shooting - the stock grips were too smooth and grip tape wasn't holding up too well.

Regarding the field stripping controversy, how come nobody ever mentions that the Ruger P series pistols have essentially the same system.

Probably because with the P-series, it's easy enough to activate the sear disconnect by hand without ripping your finger. I haven't found that to be the case with my M&P's.

Jim

 

[Babalouie]

My son shoots his M&P40 in uspsa. About four thousand rounds through it now with out a failure. He loves it. The only problem is when we had the slide bead blasted for a matt stainless finish...it rusted in a matter of hours...don't do it...the "stainless" grade is not real stainless. We had it hard chromed. We also had a trigger job and its AMAZING how nice you can make this trigger.

I can usually get the take down lever down with my finger, sometimes I stick whatever I have close by...a pen, pencil, pocket knife. Don't let this take down lever thingy keep you from owning this fine weapon.

 

[thegooch]

2200 rounds through my 9c as of yesterday with various ammo, it's gone boom every time. I can't ask for much more

 

[former-redberet]

I've thought the same thing about the sear disconnect. I hate that it's there. Pointless imo. I thought about "sticking it" in place. Micro welding anyone ?

 

[Lupinus]

great gun I have the 40 and love it. Bought new on sale for an even 350.

Just cause it's been mentioned I actually got it out and tried the trigger take down and it didnt work. Locked slide back, flipped takedown lever, held trigger and released slide (by hand of course letting it ride down) no dice it stopped.

 

[former-redberet]

no no no...

all you do is just pull the trigger and the slide comes off (after lowering the take down lever of course)

Lock the slide to the rear, lower the slide release then release the slide. Now pull the trigger and the slide comes off. Walla! no sear deactivation bs.

(the slide has to be forward BEFORE you pull the trigger)

 

[zulu6]

redberet is right. let the slide come forward after flipping the take down lever THEN pull the trigger. Slide comes off - no prob. I made the same mistake when I first tried it too.

 

[TimboKhan]

My Ruger P90 has a lever similar to the M&P and I fail to see how it has anything to do with a nanny state. I would add that it has also never been a point of contention for the roughly 15 years I have owned it now. THe Ruger doesn't need a special tool, but having disassembled an M&P, I just really can't understand the vehement argument against it.

 

[zulu6]

"In March 2000, Smith & Wesson signed an agreement with the Clinton Administration in order to avoid lawsuits. The company agreed to numerous safety and design standards, as well as limits on the sale and distribution of their products."

The lever has been put there as a result. Smith and the government do not trust you to be safe enough on your own and feel that they need to protect you from your harmful behavior. This is the nanny state. Its the same kind of thinking that brought us those silly locks on Smith's beautiful revolvers (that got on fine without locks for generations).

The only devices that I need on a weapon are those that are mechanically required to make it function and take it apart. Extra liability locks and levers ruin otherwise good designs.

 

[goon]

Really, what is the primary complaint with the sear release?

Nanny state or not, if I were a gun manufacturer I'd do whatever I could to avoid being sued too. It keeps them in business, which is essential if they want to make guns and if we want to buy guns.

It also seems that they didn't take anything away from the design. You can still disassemble like a Glock. If you do use the release, inserting a magazine flips it back into the firing position so it's not like you're setting yourself up to have your gun malfunction.

Now the mag disconnect, those I generally despise. I bought my M&P without one and have another one ordered without it.
But S&W can't be blamed for that idea.
IIRC, the Browning Hi-Power also sported a mag disconnect from the beginning. I think it was originally added to the design to make the gun safer for soldiers who were transitioning from revolvers. Seems there was a concern that these guys would forget to check the chamber when "unloading" and accidentally shoot themselves.

The more things change...

 

[fastbolt]

The M&P is an attempt by S&W to get back into the police/law enforcement market, and perhaps the military market at some point.

The ability to field-strip a striker-fired pistol without having to pull the trigger in order to decock it is likely to become of interest to at least LE agencies.

The system developed by Walther for their 99 series (present in both the Anti-Stress and Quick Action models), and shared in the traditional double action versions of the SW99, seemed to attract an unexpected amount of negative feedback from the market place.

The elegantly simple system designed by S&W engineers does add an extra layer of user-involved safety, which is something rather marketable when it comes to LE sales. The sear deactivation lever's shape was changed, essentially for ease of reassembly if a user was a bit 'inattentive' regarding its position when installing the slide onto the frame after cleaning. The original one has a dog-leg curve and the current one is straight at the end.

Yes, the design used by Ruger in their P-series is easier to access with just a fingertip, but then that's likely because it incorporates the ejector as part of the plate, and the ejector is what is most easily used to move the plate into the take-down position.

The M&P magazine safety is also a surprisingly simple design. Somebody had their thinking cap on when they designed it.

I've carried S&W service pistols which have been equipped with magazine safeties since 1990 and it's never bothered me. The magazine safety in the M&P is an even simpler design and it wouldn't bother me in the least.

Of course, as with anything else in the marketplace, everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinions ...

 

[zulu6]

A pic of the reviewed M&P

Here's a pic of my M&P.

 

[zulu6]

So far Hydashoks, Gold Dots, Winchester Ranger SXT, standard Remington JHP, and an assortment of ball rounds have all functioned flawlessly. 100% reliability.

 

[varoadking]

...you feel it's for little kids and people lax on safety, you might be one of those people that could expect an ND someday as a result of this specific idea.

Unnecessary speculation...and pretty rude to boot...

 

[varoadking]

the M&P a high quality look

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...

 

[TG13]

could this actually be the mag disconnect feature that has been somewhat disabled?? pull the mag, and the mag pulls the sear release and the pistol cannot be fired.. reinsert the mag, it trips the lever and the sear is now reengaged and able to fire..