SteelCityShooter

I recently shot a falling steel match using my JP GMR15 and, for the first time, a 33 round Glock factory mag with a TTI +10 extension. The mag/extension setup ran flawlessly and, even with my very mediocre skill level, I never had to reload during any stage. I can't think of any other magazine that would have performed better. I was surprised to discover the mag+extension "only" took 41 rounds but have since learned that Glock 33-round mags and really 31 round mags with a factory+2 baseplate. So the mag body with the +10 TTI extension is really good for 41 rounds.

First, nothing is indestructible. If you work at it hard enough you can wear out any pistol. S&W K-frame revolvers (M19, M66 etc) had a reputation for having their top straps gas cut and cylinder end shake develop by a steady diet of high pressure 125gr .357 loads but it took a lot of them. The larger L-frame 586/686 frames were developed to greatly improve the gun's lifetime and succeeded. The Ruger GP-100 is basically an L-frame with the same (Ruger fanboys say it's better) durability. The SP-101 is also very durable but smaller and not quite the equal of the L-frame/GP-100. The Ruger Redhawk and Super GP-100 are probably the most durable .367 revolvers made.

Time to revisit my VQ hammer recommendation. The last time I had the PCC to the range, I had several failures to fire and the gun doubled once! Apparently the hammer was occasionally following the bolt down as it didn't catch on the sear adequately. The FTFs were when the hammer fell slowly enough not to fire ne next round and the double was the time it did fall fast enough. It seems the hammer hook on the VQ isn't quite deep enough to be reliably retained by the sear. I've reinstalled the factory hammer.

Back to the dry fire practice discussion. You don't want to use a laser that you have to watch for the light strike, you want a laser that scores the target for you. You concentrate on your sights and trigger pull and evaluate the hits after you fire. A company named EMLS (there are others) makes battery powered laser "cartridges" that you load into the gun like a regular round. The firing pin strikes a pad where the primer would be and makes a quick flash. You shoot at a paper target and the "hit" is recorded using a free app on your smart phone. These cartridges are available in a variety of chambering and the price is modest. They work well and provide good practice. However, as you note you have to recock the gun after each "shot" unless it is a DA/SA.

Congratulations and great shooting as usual. I may be wrong about this but at 2:01 and 2:33 in the video it looks like there were spectators allowed to stand where careless gun handling could have swept them. You obviously didn't but not everyone is a skilled as you.

Yeah, several comments on the ETS website say their M&P mags aren't reliable. Too bad as their Glock mags seem very good.

All of the full size, compact and Shield OR models come with a DPP plate as standard. However, all of the S&W plates are plastic and that bothers some owners. Aftermarket plates in metal are available from CH Precision and DPP Titanium (from Amazon and others) if you insist on a metal plate. The trick to not breaking screws in to tighten them to spec. and a little blue Loctite.

I installed the Volquartsen "Target Hammer" in mine and it made a very noticeable improvement in the trigger pull. VQ no longer shows it (or any other parts for the PC Carbine) on their website but it should be available on ebay. A low cost and very worthwhile upgrade. I've also installed TandemKross' trigger group cross pins, and their "Bolt Keeper" extended bolt hold-open and retaining pin and Taccom's ambidextrous rotary safety.

Is your plastic M&P a 4.25"? Could be the front sight of the 5" Competitor catching on the holster end during the draw if the holster is made for the shorter barrel.

I have a Ruger PC Carbine I purchased when they first came out in early 2018. It's pretty much stock except for a VQ target hammer but the problem I describe below predates the new hammer. Used with Ruger SR9 magazines it is 100% reliable. I've tried the Glock magazine insert with mixed to poor results using both G26 10-round magazines and G18 33-round magazines. I get failures to lock back on the last round and an occasional ejection of an unfired round (i.e. load 10 rounds, fire 9 rounds followed by a click and find the 10th unfired round on the bench). Any suggestions or comments. I'd like to be able to rely on Glock magazines but so far I can't.

No, not at all. Draw is just like my polymer frame M&P. Now, mine is the 4.25" standard format gun, not the Competitor, so I can't speak to that model.

I have a DAA Pro holster for my 5" M&P 2.0 CORE and to fit my new 4.25" Metal Frame all I had to do was back out the tension knob a couple of turns. Yes, the Metal Frame is a bit wider but not a lot.

Sport Pistol is particularly recommended FOR use with coated bullets. It is cooler burning than TiteGroup and easier on the coating.

Have you checked with Novak? They should be able to supply an exact match. Otherwise, Dawson should have a suitable one.

If you can't find the factory supplied tool, get a set of "jeweler's screwdrivers" at any hardware or big box home store. It will have several small and thin blades and one or more of these will fit perfectly.