JeffWard

Depends on your fitness level... I'm 45, in the best shape of my life. Just started competing in bodybuilding. My joint injuries heal slower, but I'm also a lot smarter. I'm a Personal Trainer for a living, including shooting clients. Many of my 50-something shooters are faster today than they were before training with me. Faster than they were in their 30s. My eyesight is the only thing dropping off, and that's correctable. Jeff

Great advice. I'll pull a few.

I've been running 147gr RN Xtreme bullets in my M&P 5" Pro for a while, mostly with old Solo 1000 powder. I switched up to Titegroup, as I have a bunch of that, and now, by bullets (1 in 8 or 10 rounds, are tumbling. I've run everywhere from 3.2-3.6 grains to play with the velocity, but they still tumble. It is an older M&P 9 Pro, which likely have the older barrel twist rate. I bought 1000 of these bullets, and I've shot the 180 gr and 165 gr .40s for a while, typically shooting 40-Minor, with no issues. It seems I had no issues with the first 200-300 rounds. I'm loading on a Dillon SDB, at "Factory Length". I don't think I'm over crimping. I just simply close the bell on the rounds. I'm shooting into a dirt berm, so it's impossible to recover one to see if the coating is stripping, but I'm shooting them SLOW, at production velocities... Ideas? Jeff

My biggest fear is drilling the frame for the front pin in that SJC Mount. I wonder how much SJC would charge to mount it to my existing frame??? Jeff

I'm back considering building an M&P Open Gun. My "Base Gun" is a used 5" M&P Pro Series. Go with Carver components, or SJC? KKM Barrel w/ Carver 4-Port, or KKM/SJC 4-Port? WHY? Carver Optic Mount, or SJC Mount? WHY? C-More Railway (sideways or vertical?) or C-More RTS? Or OTHER? WHY? I'm definitely going with a frame-mount, not a slide mount. Ammo: 9-MAJOR Power Factor... 115gr? 124gr? Preferred powder, charge, bullet, COL? WHY? Any issued long-term shooting Major in the M&P? Thanks a TON! JeffWard

I have a threaded 5" M&P 40--->9mm conversion barrel from KKM. I'm looking for a threaded 4.25" M&P 40-->9mm conversion. Anybody want to trade? Jeff

I shot a carbine match last night. It was my first match with my Burris MTAC 1-4. I knew it was going to take a bit to get use to a new optic. First stage, we had a few 3.5" paper plates (steel) in close. It was MY stage design, with a few plates at 2 yards, and a few out past 20... To start the stage, I turned on my optic, took a quick sight picture on a full size IDPA target before LAMR, nose on the charging handle, set the brightness, good to go.... BEEP! 4 large papers in a few seconds, everything's great... then the first set of 3.5" paper plates... WTF! The plates are all over the place, and TOO DAMN BIG! Shit... Ran the rest of the stage, SLOWLY, constantly searching for the small plates (12 of them) in the damn optic. Got to the end of the stage and sure enough.... Scope was still on 4X from my 100 yard sight in... CRAP! The next two stages were FANTASTIC save one clipped no-shoot because I was blazing away TOO FAST with the scope set on 1X... Tell you what, a 3.5" paper plate at 2 yards on 4 power... That's tough! Jeff

Some guys seem to have a few slide-ride optics that have run forever, and some seem to die after just a few thousand rounds (replaced under warranty). I know... USE A FRAME MOUNT! Well lets forget frame-mounts for now... Which ones survive, and which ones die? Are they getting better with the latest versions? If you were REQUIRED to carry one on a defensive pistol, which one would you choose? JeffWard

Agreed...

My "Low-Buck" 3-Gun Rifle... which has run 100% since the second magazine with every ammo on the planet: - DPMS "Sportical" 5.56 16" (base gun) - JP Adjustable Trigger at 2.5# - Miculek Comp - YHM Low-Pro Gas Block - DPMS Rifle Length Free-Float Hand-Guard (Custom Machined) - MagPul CTR Stock - Ergo Tactical Deluxe Pistol Grip - LaRue Tactical SPR-E QD Scope Mount - Burris M-TAC CQB 1-4X24 - PMag 40-Round Mag - Taran Tactical Innovations +6 Mag Extension This 5-year old (5000-6000 round) DPMS shoots 1 MOA groups all day with cheapo 55 grain .223 ammo! Total Investment including optic is under $1500! JeffWard

147 grain Bayou Bullet with the powder of your choice, chronoed down to 120 PF is super soft, yet utterly reliable. I prefer my 200 grain 40 loads for mouse-fat soft, but the 147 grain Bayous will do the trick. 12#-13# string will be more reliable. JeffWard

Likely a mix-up in the bag. I'm sure Apex will make it right. Just give them a call. I have a Poly FSS in both my Limited gun, and my carry gun. The ONLY difference between the two guns is the trigger return spring. The factory spring yields about 2.5#, and the supplied spring is about 4.5#. With the FSS, you use the factory spring to go LIGHTER. Jeff

There's no money in paying Jerry to shoot revolvers anymore... There's money in shooting 3GN. Just a guess. Besides, last I checked... Rob is pretty good with any gun in his hand... still... He was the best shooter, that day, that match. That's all that matters. Congrats to him! JW

I compete with a highly modified M&P 40 Pro in Limited Major. I carry a lightly modified M&P 40 Full-Size. My carry gun has the same Apex FSS Polymer trigger as my competition gun, but it pulls about 4# instead of 2#. My carry gun also wears TruGlo TFO sights. Otherwise the carry gun is stock. The manual of arms is identical, the dimensions are identical, and the trigger feels/breaks the same as my competition gun, just heavier. This way my competition muscle memory carries over to my carry gun well. JeffWard

We have a steady influx of new shooters at Wyoming Antelope Club, and I design a LOT of stages for our matches. YES... it's up to the shooter, especially at a major match, but at our evening fun-shoots, we try to barrel up, or simply avoid possible 180s. Keeping new shooters in the sport is good for the sport, and the club. Sending newbies home on their first night with a 180 DQ ensures a VERY low re-show rate. Level II or higher match? Shooter-be-ware. Level I or Fun-Shoot? Barrel it up. JeffWard

That ought to break it...

My M&P Limited gun shoots "flatter" than the second video. GRIP STRENGTH. JeffWard

LF Arms: Extended Magazine Release (Steel)

I agree. They are a sister company with Freedom Munitions, and their 180gn heavy plates shoot GREAT in my M&P. They also offer a .mil discount! I just bought another 1000. Jeff

I'm thinking of going with a frame mount C-More optic, as opposed to the slide-ride... so holster selection is limited. Can't use the AA with the Carver frame mount, since it uses the accessory rail. JW

NO problems with inadvertent drops. The release is no wider... just longer than the factory release. I'm shooting my third competitive match with it Sunday. It's taking a while to rebuild THOUSANDS of reps of muscle memory to STOP twisting the gun! I'm keeping my palm planted now and just slightly re-gripping with my fingertips to make drops, so the position in the palm (the critical part) is consistent. LOVE this extension. Jeff

I've been happy so far with my +18 from Nordic, BUT... I just bought a TTI extension for one of my 40s. I'll take a bullet-proof 46 over my 48 which makes me nervous every time I load it up. I've been very happy with my extensions for my M&P Limited gun! We'll see! Jeff

If you're shooting an M&P in Limited or Open... this is a MUST have for <$30 Jeff

I picked up one of LF Arms' extended mag releases this week. I've been looking for an extended mag release for a while for my USPSA Limited Gun, and debating back and forth the advantages/disadvantages. Costa built theirs, but it was impossible to find. Now LF Arms (www.lf-arms.com) has this one, so I jumped on it. And so far... VERY happy. Solid steel stock with a nice melonite finish. The finish is flawless, even for a part where 90% of it is inside the gun. The fit is perfect (see pictures). It looks and feels like the mag release S&W should have put on the gun all along... Many aftermarket extended releases (for 1911/2011 guns) have an issue of being TOO big, so you can inadvertently drop a mag when you don't intend to. I highly doubt this will happen with the LF Arms version. I'm going to run some drills with it this weekend, and shoot a match Tuesday night to make sure... but so far, I'm really impressed. I have BIG hands... so the Apex FSS trigger puts the trigger the right distance forward, and the large backstrap stippled deep to make it BIGGER, fit my hands well. I've never had to rotate the gun a LOT in my hand to release the mag, but it's a subtle shift that can change you grip from mag to mag. With the LF Release, I don't think I'm going to have to rotate the gun AT ALL (see pictures). The tip of my thumb fell on the factory release, but I couldn't get enough pressure on it with a thumb tip to reliable drop mags. With the LF Arms release, I can put plenty of pressure on the release to drop a mag, with no shift! If you've got shorter fingers, and find you need to rotate the gun a BUNCH, or even drop mags with your trigger finger... this release will be a god-send. JeffWard

I load 200gn Bayou Bullets out as long as 1.170" in my M7P 40Pro with no feeding issues. The pressure builds fast with a long 200gn bullet, so I max them out. I'm switching back to 180s this week, so I may shorten them up, but I'd rather load more powder to make PF, than shorten them up. Heaven forbid I get one that's set back, it's less likely to blow the gun up. Jeff