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Extractor problem in M&P 9


Mike21STI

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A friend of mine has an M&P 9 and seems to be having issues with feeding rounds and extracting them. I have an M&P9 pro and haven't had any issues with it at all. His model is older and he has already sent it back to Smith for an extractor problem before. He shoots factory ammo out of it. Is this a known problem? any quick fixes for this without having to send the gun out again? any information you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I told him to give it a good cleaning because it was a dirty but I thought that might be the reason for the failures to feed but not the failures to extract.

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Some questions need to be asked before trying to find a solution to his problem.

Has he changed recoil springs? If he is using too light a recoil spring it can cause problems.

Has he EVER taken the extractor off and cleaned it or replaced the extractor spring?

Make sure the extractor is not chipped or broken.

Has he ever had the feed ramp and chamber polished? A good cleaning can't do any harm either.

Until someone can see the malfunctions it is all guess work but you may want to try to look at these things first.

I have had problems with failures to extract but that was after thousands of rounds and was cleared up by just cleaning under the extractor and putting in a new extractor spring.

Just some ideas.

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I've also had issues with the extractor. Unknown number of rounds through the gun.

Extractor issues are a known problem with early M&P's. I took mine out, cleaned it and sharpened it up some (similar to tuning a 1911 extractor). It was perfect again after that. The hook was worn just a bit. Apex sells a replacement, but the solid pin S&W uses is pressed in. It takes a tapered punch, large hammer and some concrete under a 2x4 to get it to move. I replaced the pin with a roll pin to facilitate easier future cleanings.

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It's complicated - sort of.

When I got my M&P Pro I had some extraction issues, read about some early problems with the extractor and sent it back. All S&W did was polish the chamber. No evidence they did anything with the extractor. That seemed to work ok. When I ran out of PMC Bronze ammo, I started using some WWB and the problems returned - but only with WWB ammo.

I put in the Apex part. The Apex part comes shaped for 9mm use and includes instructions on how to reshape it for 40S&W. Comparing the factory part to the Apex part, it seemed the factory part was shaped more for 40S&W than for 9mm.

My guess is the factory part is a compromise between 9mm and 40S&W and as such it probably works most of the time with most 9mm ammo but not all the time with all 9mm ammo.

After a good cleaning and inspection to make sure nothing is broken and it still happens, I'd suggest put in the Apex part. Even if S&W replaced the extractor, I'm sure it would a standard part that I think is a compromise to work with both 9mm and 40S&W so it may not work all the time with all ammo.

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to answer the questions posed above, his M&P is bone stock, and he only has about 1000 rounds through it. I'll inspect the extractor to see if there is any visible things that stick out and look out of place. I'll also stop him next time it happens to see if I can figure out what he's doing. maybe its something as easy as a spring. maybe it does have to be sent back to smith. we shall see, thanks for the info.

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Had the same issue after 30k rounds or so. Cleaning helped some. This morning I put the apex extractor in. hopefully that will fix it at tomorrows match...

The Apex instructions warn about a need to break it in (200-300 rnds recommended I recall) - it took me about 1 - 2 mags worth of shooting before good function. Don't be shocked if you get few failures for the first mag or two or more.

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I had an annoying extraction problem with my early M&P Pro 9mm. It was solved by replacing the stock extractor and spring with a tooled steel extractor plus extra power spring obtained from Kenny at Speed Shooters Specialties. When it was installed, the gunsmith (Steve Moore, CO) also releaved the pad the extractor pivots on. I have since had maybe two instances of extraction problems over maybe 15,000 rounds that I attribute to the nasty range brass I use. I consider the problem solved.

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Had the same issue after 30k rounds or so. Cleaning helped some. This morning I put the apex extractor in. hopefully that will fix it at tomorrows match...

The Apex instructions warn about a need to break it in (200-300 rnds recommended I recall) - it took me about 1 - 2 mags worth of shooting before good function. Don't be shocked if you get few failures for the first mag or two or more.

Thanks! good to know. I'll get there early and burn through some ammo to hopefully get the break in done!

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Had the same issue after 30k rounds or so. Cleaning helped some. This morning I put the apex extractor in. hopefully that will fix it at tomorrows match...

The Apex instructions warn about a need to break it in (200-300 rnds recommended I recall) - it took me about 1 - 2 mags worth of shooting before good function. Don't be shocked if you get few failures for the first mag or two or more.

Thanks! good to know. I'll get there early and burn through some ammo to hopefully get the break in done!

Used it today in a 3 gun match..... ran flawlessly!

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Had the same issue after 30k rounds or so. Cleaning helped some. This morning I put the apex extractor in. hopefully that will fix it at tomorrows match...

The Apex instructions warn about a need to break it in (200-300 rnds recommended I recall) - it took me about 1 - 2 mags worth of shooting before good function. Don't be shocked if you get few failures for the first mag or two or more.

Thanks! good to know. I'll get there early and burn through some ammo to hopefully get the break in done!

Used it today in a 3 gun match..... ran flawlessly!

Good deal. :cheers:

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