A Smith and Wesson M&P Must Read...

[jamesr]

As for the gun I only shot 50 rounds through. We took my friends 1911 with us and shot both. It was more accurate than the 1911 at 25 yards. The recoil was about the same as a 357. The triger is one of the best I have shot as far as double action goes. The 15 shot clip is nice, and the over all weight of the gun is fine. The sights were nice, and the take down is nice. The take down is like a ruger.

As for the 40 caliber, i personally think it is the best hand gun round for general purposes. When researching hand guns I went out with a few guys shooting different rounds. I thought the 9mm was too weak, the 45 acp and 44 mag too big, and the 357 mag and the 40 just perfect. I just perfered the auto over the revolver. The 357 and 40 s&w were almost identical with recoil and penitration. We were shooting 25 yeard with mine belt as a back stop, and a hill behind that of course. Both did about the same damage on the mine belt. I didn't get a chance to shoot a 357 sig, but heard great things about them.

 

[Ukraine Train]

I think maybe the lack of cleaner on the rag you used to wipe it down may have removed the dust but left some oils from your hands, which caused the rust. Regardless, though, it shouldn't be that bad and hopefully you don't get any grief from S&W.

 

[Coronach]

We've had some surface rust on our rear sights as well at my PD. This is after exposure to the weather and not wiping the weapon down. For the record, the reason we don't wipe our weapons down after exposure is that we never had rust problems with our 4506s, even the rear sights, so we got lazy. *shrug*

My M&P fullsize had a few spots of rust on the rear sight the last time I cleaned it. Wiping it down made the visible surface rust go away, but I dunno if it will reappear.

A simple fix would seem to be to go back to whatever subcontractor provided the rear sights for the Gen3 autopistols. Those things seemed impossible to make rust. I don't think I ever oiled mine, despite being exposed to the elements for 6 years as a duty gun. No rust.

I've never seen rust on any other parts of a M&P personally, but I have seen pictures online. I'm gathering S&W is having some teething problems getting the finish to go on right.

Mike

 

[gudel]

I think that's just a fluke, send it back and it will be fixed.
I can't say that I ever had a gun that rusts, and I live near the ocean and it gets humid.
Except my Sigs. heh. damn rust bucket.

no rust on my MP45 on the slide, sights or the lever. I never wipe my gun anyway, well not the one that I put under my pillow every night.

 

[ryan b]

My buddy has a glock that the replacement sight does the same thing he can oil it one day and the next day and I mean the next day the sights will be rusty

 

[Radjxf]

Until S&W works out the bugs, there are many better plastic pistols out there. None quite have the superior ergos the M&P has, but quality this gun is not. I had one, got rid of it quick, no rust issues though. Good thing S&W at least has among the best CS reputations out there. Good luck, hope they take care of it for you.

 

[Texshooter]

S&W will take care of you without a doubt.

If it had been a Glock, the problem, of course, would have been because you were "limp wristing."

 

[Coronach]

Or there would have been no problem, just a recall and upgrade of several thousand frames.

I can understand waiting until the kinks are worked out, but I'll disagree that the full size guns are not quality. They run fine, with the occasional glitch that all manufacturers have. The compacts seem to be a little more twitchy. While I would not call my M&P40c bad, I'm not yet pleased with its reliability. My full size 40? Good to go.

Mike

 

[Onmilo]

We have had some issues with S&W M&P pistols at the shop but I do believe Smith and Wesson will get everything sorted out.
They hurried the guns onto the market to gain sales and as always happens when a manufacturer does that, there are some teething problems.

I recommend getting a bottle of M-Pro7 CLP.
I light coat of this stuff cuts the rust issue on any firearm that is stored.
Because the product molecularly bonds with the surface to which it is applied, each application builds up the rust prevention even more.

We buy the product from http://www.brownells.com and it is one I highly recommend as a general cleaner, luricant, and rust preventer.
As a bonus this product is 'green friendly' and is less toxic to the user and the environment than many other commercial cleaners on the market.

 

[CZF]

Strike one up for the Glock, and even the CZ with the polycoat finish.

 

[Babalouie]

I love my M&P but I got to tell you S&W uses the worst grade of stainless steel I've ever seen. I had my M&P bead blasted to show off the stainless and in less than a week in my safe it was covered in rust. I had it hard chromed so now its beautiful. My son shoots it in uspsa. We were at a gunshow last month and my says "OMYGOSH LOOK", I look down on the gun table and theres an M&P with horrible deep rust spots all over the slide. New In Box too, made us sick to our stomachs. I'm not convinced S&W can make it right without renew their stainless steel recipe. I have Para, Taurus and Springfield stainless autos that I can neglect for months on end and nove of these has seen a single speck of rust. I absolutely love my M&P but S&W has really dropped the ball regarding the quality of their stainless steel.

 

[gudel]

CZ with the polycoat finish.

at least my MP45 finish looks great compared to CZ's finish. Saw one at the store, as if it was some kid used a paint brush to finish that gun.

 

[Coronach]

I think they've had some variation in either the degree of stainlessness (is that a word?) of the steel or the application of the finish. I've had my M&P40 plenty wet. The only area that has shown any signs of corrosion is the rear sight. The slide itself, even the recesses of the serrations, is corrosion-free.

Mike

 

[Srigs]

What your talking about is chromed tanned leather.

was it a leather holster? A gun should never be stored in a leather holster, as the chemicals used to tan the leather will often cause a gun to rust.

Gun leather is vegetable tanned leather that does not have this problem. The holster should be sealed so sweat and water does not penetrate the leather and then the gun.

Sounds like your sweat is very acidic and you may need to wipe down the gun more often then you would otherwise. Like daily.

 

[GTSteve03]

at least my MP45 finish looks great compared to CZ's finish. Saw one at the store, as if it was some kid used a paint brush to finish that gun.

And the CZ will continue to look like that while your MP45 starts to rust all over the place. I know which one I would prefer.

From personal experience, the CZ and Glock finishes are definitely the toughest/most rust resistant.

 

[airwrench]

Not typical. I have shot my M&P .40 in misty rain and hot weather when my hand was sweaty. I have also waited several days before cleaning it. No rust or misfires when the gun was dirty.

 

[rugerfreak]

I don't think its typical----I started reading this thread and went - oh s@#t---my M&P 9 has been stored in a holster(DeSantis) in a range bag for about 2 months now(I know I know) since its last range trip.

Took it out just now---no spots at all.

I just put it all back and locked it back in the cabinet---no problem.

 

[medmo]

Stainless steel is stainless steel. There isn't some recipe that S&W creates and makes their own. It is ordered from a supplier and probably is either 300 or 400 series. No stainless steel is rust proof. All stainless steel is rust resistant.

Aren't the sights on the guns Novak? They sure look like Novak low mounts. If the corrosion/rust is coming from the sights then they are probably talking to Novak about their black oxide process. Black oxide on chrome moly has to be neutralized in the final process of coating. If it isn't it will continue to "rust" or "creep".

 

[Coronach]

I dunno. I agree in general, but I have several stainless steel guns. None of them have shown any indications of rusting, except my Sig P232. It has developed slight feckling on the slide. It has been exposed to the same conditions as my other stainless guns (S&W M64 and 4506). So, clearly there is a variation in the degree of rust resistance of the base metal.

Mike

 

[greener]

Guess you can always learn something new. I didn't know stainless would rust. Pit, corrode, yes. Something else to watch for. Been storing my M&P9 in a similar holster off and on for about a year. No signs of any problems. I clean the pistol each time it is fired and wipe down the slide with a very lightly oiled cloth as a last step.

 

[gtmtnbiker98]

M&P's aren't the only make that will rust on you! Sigs will rust in a heart beat as well - if you don't take proper care of them. Any gun will rust, it depends upon the environment and manner of maintenance.

 

[Coronach]

Interestingly enough...

Several officers got caught in a rainstorm the other day. None of them wiped down their weapons, all of which were exposed to a LOT of rain. None of them showed any signs of rust except for one, which developed several spots of active, aggressive rust on the slide and in the chamber and barrel (!) within 24 hours.

This tells me two things:

1. The problem is inconsistent...some guns have it, some don't.

2. When one will rust, it will REALLY rust.

Sub-optimal!

Mike

 

[jon_in_wv]

My M&P 9C and my fullsize have both been 100% reliable and more accurate than they have any reason to be. I find most reports of the "problems" highly suspect due to the fanatical nature of the Glock guys who can't stand the competition. I have heard of more than one claim of rust with the M&Ps though. I carried my 9C almost daily this summer. I use only Mobile 1 oil to clean and lube it and not a spot of rust anywhere. I can't see how yours rusted up like that so quickly but I'll take your word for it and my heart goes out to you. Get it fixed and stick with the M&P. Its an awesome gun.

 

[teknoid]

Definitely strange. I've had mine for six months, and it has been hot & humid here all summer. The M&P still looks the same as day 1. Rain, humidity, etc haven't had any effect at all on it.

 

[bluecollar]

MD W--IIRC there was a recall years ago on the one piece plastic grips on the 4 digit S&W pistols. I'm not sure which models were involved but I know the 5906 was one of those affected. I know because I have one (an excellant pistol BTW). It seems that if the pistol is dropped and the grip cracked or shattered in some way it would tie up the firing mechanism somehow and make the gun inoperable. Not a good thing for a duty weapon. I think the way you could tell if your gun was not part of the recall was to look at the bottom of the grip and if the grip had a small dimple it was good to go. If yours did not have that dimple S&W would send you a new grip. (Mine just happened to be O.K. by the way). Memory fades sometimes but I'm pretty sure that was the way it worked.