M&P owners past and present. Why is the S&W M&P a bad pistol?

[ceadermtnboy]

I dont want to become a fan-boy of the M&P! I have had a 9mm for about a year now and honestly I can find no faults. I seriously want to buy a H&K P30 to see if its worth the extra dollars. Please give my some reasons to doubt the M&P and try the H&K. Or talk me into keeping the M&P and being happy that I have the most advanced poly pistol on the market. Now please dont say Keep the M&P and buy the H&K. My goal is to have the best polymer pistol on the market! I also have the XD and do not care for Glocks. Please give me some examples of why the M&P has been a dissapointment for you.

 

[SureThing]

Honestly, HK's and Sigs are great weapons. Are they worth the extra price compared to the Smith, probably not. Remember, Smiths are offering a 2 mag rebate now, and budsgunshop has them at great prices these days.

Curious, which do you like best, XD or the M&P? I posted the quesiton on glocktalk, and most of those who own both prefered the M&P .

 

[Frog48]

I dont have one, but a deputy I worked with had an M&P in .40 S&W, and he said its his favorite service pistol. I'm not sure what other brands/models he has carried in the past, but I figure that he did his homework before buying.

One thing that I found somewhat unusual is that quite a few of the deputies carried Rugers... I remember specifically seeing several P89's and P90's. This could be due to the policy that all personnel had to privately purchase their own duty weapons... and Rugers tend to the significantly less expensive than M&P's, Glocks, XD's, Sigs, etc.

 

[jdh]

Ford, Chevrolet, or Dodge?

How about this? Find a range in your area that rents guns and try them before you loose money on a trade.

 

[gudel]

I've owned HK, Glock, M&P, and Glock.
I prefer the HK. In my opinion, the HK is better built, better workmanship quality, with absolute reliability. That's just me.

You should buy what you want and what you can afford.

 

[rbernie]

Please give me some examples of why the M&P has been a dissapointment for you.

I cannot - I have a few M&Ps and have put thousand of rounds thru them with ZERO complaints.

The only thing I can stetch to complain about is that they should have crammed a few more rounds into the 45ACP.

 

[mbpautz762]

my M&P .40 is a dream to shoot. It's the only pistol that I can shoot 1 ragged hole with all day long, and it's the softest recoiling .40 I've ever shot. that being said, mine has had some serious problems. after about 600 rounds, the slide developed a crack on the bottom slide rail. not a ding or a chip, but an actual stress crack! I've never seen anything like it on a pistol, and I've only shot tame factory ammo out of it. Luckily, Smith&Wesson took care of it no problem - replaced the slide for free, and pretty quickly too. love their warranty!

then, about 1000 rounds later, it started developing a problem that would cause the magazine to eject after every few shots. NOT the kind of problem you would want to happen when you really needed it. sometimes it would just release the magazine about a inch, sometimes it would actually eject the magazine all the way out, onto the ground. so now it's being packed up for it's second trip to smith & wesson.

the bottom line is that if I had these problems with any other pistol, it would be sold within a week. however, I am so accurate with this gun and it feels so good to shoot it, I decided to keep it and get it repaired again. I'm one of the few who's even had problems with their M&P at all.

 

[ceadermtnboy]

I live in Asheville NC. There are two ranges within an hours drive. Neither have the H&K for rent. I like the XD but not as well as the M&P. I also like the p226 and CZ again not as much as the M&P. I hear a lot of opinions on the M&P that are somewhat negative, but I am looking for examples of problems owners have had, and likewise examples why the H&K is better.

 

[Defensory]

Posted by cedarmtnboy:
Or talk me into keeping the M&P and being happy that I have the most advanced poly pistol on the market. Now please dont say Keep the M&P and buy the H&K. My goal is to have the best polymer pistol on the market! I also have the XD and do not care for Glocks.

M&P the "most advanced poly pistol on the market."?!

NOT!

The Springfield XD-M is light years more advanced than the M&P.

The M&P isn't even as good a weapon as the the standard XD.

And I own BOTH!

 

[ceadermtnboy]

mbpautz762, Did S&W give any reasons why the slide would crack and mag would release? I have approx 2500 rounds through my 9mm without those problems. But this does raise concern on the quality of the parts used in manufacturing.

 

[SureThing]

The XDm is pure marketing BS. I have the new Guns and Ammo, and they go on and on how great it is.

But when they shot it from 25 yards, it produced groups no better than the regular XD's get. Which is at best 2.5 inches to 3.5.

So accuracy is the same, but a few features are better. They sould have just replaced the XD with the new one, then charged a few extra bucks for it.

Corbon 134gr 3.25 in
Corbon 140 3.25
Magtech 130 SCHP 3.0
Hornady 155 2.5
Black Hills Blue box 3.75
Blazer PHP 2.5

I'm leaving off a few, the list is long.

 

[ceadermtnboy]

I like the xd. It is not as ergonomic as the M&P in my opinion. Also the back slide rails are plastic with no steel inserts, so for whatever reason that bothers me. I like the steel rails on the M&P. However the M&P does not seem to have as tight a fit as the H&K. I do remember a gun rag comparing the M&P to the HK P2000, XD, and Taurus. I was stunned that they rated the HK below the M&P and the XD. The HK P30 has a very ergonomic grip and I am surprised that I acutally like the mag release. But I have been so impressed with the M&P that it is really difficult to make myself trade it for the P30.

 

[DrDeFab]

One minor complaint: my M&P 40 will sometimes FTF one brand of range ammo that my CZ 75b digests without complaint. It's been perfect with every other brand, though.

 

[mbpautz762]

ceadermtn....I was hoping S&W would give me a reason, but all the packing slip said was "slide assembly replaced", nothing else. to be fair, it didn't change the reliability in any way, and I actually shot about 300 rounds in it after the crack developed before I got it fixed. here's a picture:

I'm sure it was just a defective model, because I have not heard of this happening to any one else.

I've also shot the XD, and thought it felt like shooting a brick. more uncomfortable than a glock, and was too dang top-heavy. way too much muzzle flip, even for a .40. I guess it really comes down to which one fits your hand best, since all the guns mentioned so far have stellar track records, minus a few bad apples. when it comes down to that, the S&W warranty is what sells their guns. good luck!

 

[Defensory]

The M&P does NOT have a "stellar track record":

Magazines falling out due to recoil.
Slides locking back with rounds still in the magazine.
Slides not locking back after the final round is fired.
Broken strikers.
Unreliable feeding.

The M&P has had numerous significant issues from the get-go:

http://www.defensivecarry.com/vbull...1819-tell-me-about-your-s-w-m-p-problems.html

http://forums.officer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51326

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

You will hear no such complaints about my M&P 9C. Well, maybe one: the slide could be slimmer, for more comfortable carry and less of a "top-heavy" feel - hardly insurmountable. But its trigger pull is pretty good, its accuracy is very good, and its reliability has been perfect.

While I have not shot one (none available for rental), the H&K P2000SK (their closest equivalent in size to the 9C) would have to be mighty good to overcome the 50% price difference.

 

[FieroCDSP]

Cedarmtnboy, if you want another gun, just buy one. If you need to sell the M&P to get one, just do it.
There's no need to call a gun "bad" if it's not. Just say "I sold it to get this one, and I wish I hadn't."

My goal is to have the best polymer pistol on the market

Lost cause. You're not going to find it. You might as well be searching for the "best GPS unit". No matter what you do or how much you'll spend, you'll find something about it you're not happy with. That's because it's designed for most, not for you. Unless you build the gun, you're not going to think it's perfect. Even then, you likely won't be happy.

 

[magnumman44]

I guess its the shooter with the XD...I had an XD40 tactical for 4 years, and averaged 1.5" groups with Winchester White Box! My XD45 tactical averages 1.75" with CCI Blazer Brass 230 FMJ. Good groups in my opinion.

 

[kwelz]

I just purchased my first M&P today. A Dark Earth .45. I hate S&W. Except the 686 they have never produced a Firearm that I likes. That is until now.

I must say that this is a Fine firearm. I own a SC XD in 9mm, a Glock 23 and a Glock 17 along with a few 1911s, revolvers, etc. So far I think I like the M&P better than any of the other Polymer pistols. The Glocks point a bit better for me but the M&P is more comfortable and sleeker. Also the bore axis is lower than the XD which I like.

I fully intend to eventually own more XDs, maybe another glock. But my next purchase will be another M&P in 9mm

I am sorry I just remembered I do have one problem. The gun came with two mags and one of them is to tight. The guides formed into the side of the mag at the top push on the rounds to much causing them to hang. I am going to bend them out a bi and if that doesn't work S&W has already states they will replace them.

 

[greener]

Wouldn't venture a guess as to which one is better. I have an M&P9 that has been absolutely reliable. It's been a pretty accurate shooter. I've fired a couple of HK's and liked them, but really didn't see that the extra bucks would have gotten me that much more than the M&P.

 

[Disaster]

The only disappointment I've had with my M&P is a little corrosion creeping in on the slide. Contacted S&W about it and they sent me a shipping label to get it fixed. I have yet to send it in because I hate being without it and going to my backup.

I've never had a mag drop issue, a slide lock or not lock issue, a firing pin failure or one single FTF through several thousand rounds of ammo and probably the same number of dry fires.

I don't see the point in getting the HK if you like your M&P. If I was really curious, I might buy one to compare, but I wouldn't part with my M&P to experiment.

 

[klane]

{I cannot - I have a few M&Ps and have put thousand of rounds thru them with ZERO complaints.

The only thing I can stetch to complain about is that they should have crammed a few more rounds into the 45ACP.}/

Ditto for me.

Sorry I tried quoting someone else and I failed!

 

[Caipirinha]

Mine has a terrible trigger but it is slowly improving.

 

[Fatdaddy]

I owned a MP40 for about 8 months. The gun is a very ergonomically styled weapon that fits the hand well. I just couldn't ever shoot it as well as my Glock 20 or my XD45. I didn't feel the trigger was anywhere as good as the XD or my G20 with 3.5# connector. Traded it to greener pastures.

Oh, did I mention the MP will burst into flames at the 100,000 rd. mark...probably. There, you have a reason to buy the HK.

 

[romeo212000]

You wont hear a complaint from me. Mine is one sweet gun. I picked it over the glock and xd because of the ergonomics and interchangeable grips, and because i liked the trigger better than the xd. Have not had one problem with it.