Smith & Wesson M&P9 Review (Dial-Up Beware)

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My wife has a M&P9c, and I have a G19. I don't think I could have put together such a good review, but I will say that I agree with everything you said (except she still has the stock trigger, and we've yet to mar the finish). This is a very good review.

I just took both pistols to the range tonight, and both ran flawlessly. I am not yet ready to get rid of my Glock, but I do like her pistol very much. I shoot each about the same, though I admit that I like the M&P trigger more than the Glock.
 
...I am stuck on xd vs m&p. Just can't make up my mind. Everytime I go to the gun store and get ready to lay down the cash, I just get this little "well, let me fondle 'em both a bit more..".
Click to expand...

Did the same thing. If you're thinking your afraid of making the wrong choice forget it...

I went with the XD-9 5" Tactical first. If you have smallish hands you'll love it. I have rather large longish hands and at times couldn't fully engage the grip safety with that soft spongy part of my hand. After more than a few hang-ups during IDPA matches I traded for a Glock 17. I also picked up an M&P-9 as well. So having had all three all I can say is... they are all great shooting guns (exception being the grip safety on the XD for me). I switch off between the Glock and the M&P now for IDPA. I shoot them equally well, no hiccups at all. I really can't knock any of these three guns.
 
It's funny that you mention hand size, 2bigfeet. My wife can shoot my G19, but her fingers are short, so she has to shift her hand a bit to the side in order to reach the trigger. The M&P fits her hand better, just enough to allow a proper grip. She uses the small backstrap, unsurprisingly.

Also, my Brother in Law has a XD 5" tactical, and it is quite accurate. But it has a LOOOONNNNNNGGG trigger...
 
zahc,

Sorry for the delayed response. I am not sure what the complete list of upgrades is from the top of my head. The biggest one is a change in the striker design. There are some more. If you go to MP-Pistol.com you an search the forums there and get the complete list.
 
You'll find if you wipe down your M&P with a very lightly oiled rag the marks just disappear . I've been carrying mine in an IWB Bladetech kydex holster for a year and no permanent marks have been left on mine .
 
Just got M&P Compact and full-size, mainly for training new shooters with small hands who can't use Glocks. The sear lever was a rude surprise, but it seems to be a non-issue other than an unexpected complication.

I did not get the carry package, so would appreciate info on IWB or tuckable holsters, mag carriers (do carriers for other brands/models fit?) and night sights. I'd like to get 3-dot sights for both guns, would appreciate leads on a relatively inexpensive solution.

Thanks to BOONER for turning me onto these guns.

cavalry4340.jpg
 
Oleg,

I just purchased a Comp-tac CTAC for my M&P9c. I purchased the slide version so it would also fit my full size M&P9. This configuration allows the compact to sit flush with the bottom of the holster, and with the full size gun, about 1 1/4 inch of the muzzle is exposed under the holster.

This is my first CTAC, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

I put it on the first day I got it and the "out of the box" configuration was not comfortable at all. The cant was bad and it dug into my hip/rear pretty badly. I was afraid that I had wasted away $80 on this one.

But I gave it another chance this weekend and I'm glad I did. I changed the cant and raised the clips so the holster sits lower now and it is perfect. I wore it all day yesterday with a shirt tucked in and it was very comfortable. I wore it all day today with a t-shirt over it and it was fantastic. Comfortable. Easy. Stayed in the same spot all day, despite doing yard work, dragging limbs, etc.

So, I can vouch for the CTAC.

Congrats on the M&Ps. They are fantastic guns. I've been very pleased with both mine so far.

ETA: Talk to Coronach. He has had some extensive testing with his full size M&P40. He might be able to make some recommendations for you as well. Check out Dan Burwell (be sure to wear sunglasses when you visit his site). He supposedly does great trigger jobs on these pistols.
 
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I dunno about extensive testing, unless you're talking about just going out and shooting the darned thing. ;) But yeah, I'm keeping track of my rounds and malfunctions. See the link in my sig line.

Top Three Things You Can Do For Your M&P Compact

1. Get a trigger job by Dan Burwell. This goes for the full-size, too.

2. Get a Comp-Tac Infidel IWB holster. I prefer to get one of the struts, too (Gurkha or CTAC, I have no idea which is better...they seem about the same). I think they make a model for the full-size, too.

3. Get a spare full-size magazine and a grip sleeve from luvmy40 on mp-pistol.com for $9, and expand your reload capacity from 10 to 15 (in .40 S&W).

http://mp-pistol.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=4886&highlight=grip+sleeve

Mike
 
You sure that your keys left a gouge in the surface of the slide? Carbonitrided stainless should be a lot harder than average-joe-housekey. Try rubbing the scratch to see if it will come off. Some rivets on my favorite pants leave marks on the slide of my XD, but they come right off.
 
I have never used David Bowie for gunsmithing, so I cannot comment on him or his work. Burwell is nice, personable, does a great trigger job for less money, and (I think) has a one week turnaround time (call and make sure, if that's an issue).

Of course, there is the advantage of saying that Ziggy Stardust tweaked your trigger. So, I dunno.

Mike

PS Bowie also seems to offer an option between a short and long trigger, that Burwell may or may not offer. I'm happy with Burwell trigger, which would seem to fit Bowie's L-trigger description.
 
The one with the "CAUTION: CAPABLE OF FIRING WITH MAGAZINE REMOVED" warning is lacking the magazine disconnect, yes.
 
After an extensive review of pros and cons from different forums and threads finally M&P 9mm is my first and handgun of choice. Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow after almost 2 weeks of waiting time.
I just want to know specially from your extensive first hand experience if this firearm can withstand reloads. in my place imported cartridges like remington and winchester are almost 10x more costly than reloads offered by my dealer. Obviously, high end costly ammo is a limiting factor as far as target shooting is concerned although i put premium to its cost efficiency without compromising the longevity of my firearm.
what are other particular measures that must be considered regarding the use of reloads?
 
In the 6th picture down, the detail pic of the back of the slide, are those cracks in the slide?
 
Options...

dscn0009kp2.jpg


Efficacy...

dscn4850vf7.jpg
 
Oleg, I had a Glock double mag holster that was perfect (Fobus). The only problem is I don't remember which glocks it was for. :( I imagine any that are the same caliber as your M&P.

One more plug for luvmy40's mag sleeves (from m-ppistol.com). He is great. I still can't believe he is only charging $9 for them.
 
Caronach, plz tell me since u live in the USA. In your best opinion, how does the M&P match up as a CCW?


Del
Jamaica
 
Caronach, let me rephrase that. I now see you have a 99.77 for your M&P 40. I like 9mm, but reading about issues they have with the M&P 9. Don't know if it's just a one off weapon prob or it's more so a line of them. I need to buy CCW and i'm torn between the M&P 9 (uncertain about the reliability) and the glock ( handle a bit bulky for my small hands)


Your thoughts plz.
 
Not sure what issues you are referring to with the 9. I know that some of the early models had some issues, but they were addressed with the change to Rev N. My unit has been 100% reliable from day 1. The one failure was definitely ammo related and not the gun. I has given it back to the wife, so the round count has slowed considerably. We have put about 2k through it without a hickup, mostly whatever ammo happens to be on sale.

Guns are individuals so to speak, so YMMV.
 
Delmardel-

Are you looking at a fullsize M&P or an M&P compact? I can recommend the fullsize 40 without reservation, we have a sample of about 1900 gunhs in service and have had only a few problems. I also have heard that early 9mms had problems, but they seem to have been resolved.

The Compacts are a bit twitchy. My Compact 40 is running about one malfunction per session, which is annoying. I'm trying to figure out if it is an ammo issue (lots of people have reported problems with WWB ammo, and my Ultramax reloads include a fair percentage of WWB cases), or something else. Living in Jamaica, I would imagine that shipping a gun back to S&W for service could be a serious PITA. You have to consider that, especially if you are going to get a compact.

I think the M&P stacks up well against the Glock in terms of CCW, as long as you like the ergos and trigger (and most people do). If I were in yoru shoes I would find out exactly how much of a pain it would be to do S&W warranty service before you got a Compact, but if you were looking for a fullsize and liked the ergonomics, I'd just take the plunge.

Mike
 
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