M&P9 25yd inaccuracy: Myth or Fact?

[jawman]

Yes, but how are we as consumers able to sniff out the "good" versions? It would be nice to know what serial number range to look for in order to identify the more recent revamped models.

 

[CZ57]

My Shooting Partner has researched this pretty extensively and has found that there are accuracy issues with the older M&Ps but that they are limited to 9mm. S&W is supposed to be addressing this but as has been posted, there doesn't seem to be a definitive date of manufacture as seems to be the case with the "improved" trigger.

He recently bought an M&P .45C and it is a tackdriver. It has the Apex kit installed. He would very much like to have a companion 9mm other than the Shield he also bought recently and BTW, the Shield is an excellent performer for what it is designed for. He very badly wants an M&P 9mm but has a lot of trepidation about ever owning one and he has not warmed up to the idea of buying one and then needing to buy an aftermarket barrel to correct the accuracy problem.

 

[jawman]

He very badly wants an M&P 9mm but has a lot of trepidation about ever owning one and he has not warmed up to the idea of buying one and then needing to buy an aftermarket barrel to correct the accuracy problem.

BINGO! Same boat that I'm in. I'm very leery about spending my money on a company that knows it has problems but refuses to admit it or recall the defective products.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Much of the M&P's inaccuracy is due to a combination of some poorly fitted barrels and the 9mm barrels unlocking prematurely.

The M&P was designed around and optimized for the .40 cartridge...due to LE contracts. Most 9mm models function satisfactory for 80% of their customers. It doesn't make economic sense to go through a major redesign (barrel timing) for a small segment of their customer base. They even use the same extractor for both calibers and you hardly ever come across reports of that issue...it exist and there is an aftermarket fix, it just isn't common.

S&W did address some of the early problem such as the strike tips fracturing, sear float from the smaller sear spring plungers, magazines disassembling themselves

 

[jawman]

Not sure if it's worth it to get an M&P9 now.

 

[9mmepiphany]

That is, of course, your choice.

For my purposes, the M&P9 has been great, responded well to little tweaks and is quickly becoming my favorite

 

[LiveLife]

All it would take is to call/email S&W customer service and they should be able to tell you the serial numbers that have the new lighter/cleaner M&P trigger.

Darn, now S&W will probably hate me for having their customer service inundated with emails/calls!

 

[jawman]

All it would take is to call/email S&W customer service and they should be able to tell you the serial numbers that have the new lighter/cleaner M&P trigger.

Darn, now S&W will probably hate me for having their customer service inundated with emails/calls!

I guess I'll have to try that. What are the odds they will admit to their faults and give me the information I'm looking for?

 

[Old Dog]

Sigh. I'm issued this weapon. I've shot hundreds of these pistols, mostly in 9mm, but also in .40 S&W and .45 ACP. We've had phenomenal success with the platform. Qual scores went up considerably after replacing our expensive German pistols with these American pistols. We had minor issues with a very small number of the 9s, and initially with the .45s. S&W fixed the problems post-haste.

I personally have not detected any accuracy issues (and I'm a firearms instructor) over the past four years with the M&Ps that I'd blame on the pistol.

But if some of you want to jump on the internet bandwagon and believe bunk over the word of someone who's been shooting, and supervising the shooting, of this pistol for the past four years, have at it.

 

[Manco]

Yes, but how are we as consumers able to sniff out the "good" versions?

I'm not sure whether there are any "good" versions, although it appears that one's chances are improved with the latest barrels and frames.

As for checking individual pistols, I don't know whether there is a definite method, short of test-firing, but I'd sure feel better if the slide and barrel would stay locked together for some distance when I pull the slide back. So how long is enough? Conservatively, I'd guess that 1/8th of an inch should be more than sufficient to ensure that bullets will exit the barrel before it unlocks from the slide. My M&P40 has about that much, albeit I don't know whether it is fair to expect that much from the M&P9. You could get away with less, but without more data I'm not sure exactly how much.

Sigh. I'm issued this weapon. I've shot hundreds of these pistols, mostly in 9mm, but also in .40 S&W and .45 ACP. We've had phenomenal success with the platform. Qual scores went up considerably after replacing our expensive German pistols with these American pistols. We had minor issues with a very small number of the 9s, and initially with the .45s. S&W fixed the problems post-haste.

Lots of people have had no trouble with their M&P9s, but with all due respect, premature unlocking and its significant impact on accuracy is a known issue in the M&P community at large, and I've actually seen an example myself. It isn't talked about much anymore, which probably means that it is even less common than it had been before, but apparently it still happens and S&W still claims that the guns are within specifications (which is probably true--the flaw seems to be in the design that allows some in-spec guns, in rare cases, to shoot 12" groups at 25 yards), which means that they won't fix the problem (maybe they would for law enforcement?). This is what I've gathered from discussions over time, anyway, some of which involved gunsmiths.

I personally have not detected any accuracy issues (and I'm a firearms instructor) over the past four years with the M&Ps that I'd blame on the pistol.

I hadn't either, until recently (although the gun in question was an older one).

But if some of you want to jump on the internet bandwagon and believe bunk over the word of someone who's been shooting, and supervising the shooting, of this pistol for the past four years, have at it.

Well, you may not have seen it (yet), but as the old axiom goes, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

 

[Old Dog]

Lots of people have had no trouble with their M&P9s, but with all due respect, premature unlocking and its significant impact on accuracy is a known issue in the M&P community at large,

So this would be the internet M&P community vice the M&P community that carries them for a living? We've shot more'n a few of these, but ... hey ... whatever ...

 

[jawman]

Manco everything you stated was very well said and articulated. Very good points you make in your post. Old Dog, don't you think it may be possible that you just never came across one of the lemon M&Ps, and like Manco stated, it isn't discussed as much as it used to be because maybe it is less common than before?

 

[Old Dog]

jawman, I'd concede that ... but my sample is fairly large, and we've been using 'em for the past four years ... And yeah, we've had lemons, for sure, but I guess my point is, the percentages are wildly in one's favor for getting a good one; I think one can buy with confidence, and if for some reason, it isn't a shooter, S&W will make it right.

I should add -- we shoot every gun right out of the box when we get new ones, watch hundreds of line staff quals a year, thousands of rounds downrange, and our people have to shoot for score, to particular standards, not just Joe Sixpack picking one up at the LGS for a nightstand pistol or range plinker, so my experience has been practical, not simply what I've read on various forums or internet websites. I'm fairly confident that I've seen the accuracy of this platform amply demonstrated.

 

[jawman]

jawman, I'd concede that ... but my sample is fairly large, and we've been using 'em for the past four years ... And yeah, we've had lemons, for sure, but I guess my point is, the percentages are wildly in one's favor for getting a good one; I think one can buy with confidence, and if for some reason, it isn't a shooter, S&W will make it right.

...my experience has been practical, not simply what I've read on various forums or internet websites. I'm fairly confident that I've seen the accuracy of this platform amply demonstrated.

You make a good point. Practical, real world experience is the best experience.