Parts breakage/wear on M&P

[jmbaccolyte]

A buddy and I have very low round count M&Ps (1,500 rounds) and we have had some problems with parts breakage and wear. First thing, his slide release broke and the slide started locking back when the magazine still had cartridges in it. Then my magazine release wore out and started dropping magazines by itself. Is the magazine release plastic all the way through, including the portion that retains the magazine in place? Then my trigger started failing to reset, so I couldn't fire again (this last was traced to a mildly dirty firing pin channel).

I like the ergonomics of the M&P, but if these problems are common, I'll have to consider unloading it to some guy I don't like. I have fired about 50,000 rounds through a Beretta 96D and I broke two trigger return springs (since fixed permanently by a Wolff Gunsprings redesign of the part) and the lever that lifts the firing pin block out of the way (fixed by a Beretta redesign of the part). My Tanfoglio Witness Match has 5,000 rounds through it and I had to tighten the rear sight. Both pistols run fine with some dirt in them, although I normally keep them clean.

Could someone with a fairly high round count tell me what to expect with this pistol?

[nick romero]

also the strikers on the MP break very often

[Leozinho]

Then my magazine release wore out and started dropping magazines by itself. Is the magazine release plastic all the way through, including the portion that retains the magazine in place? Then my trigger started failing to reset, so I couldn't fire again (this last was traced to a mildly dirty firing pin channel).

There's a little metal tab in the magazine release. I think some early M&Ps experienced dropped magazines. A friend's .40 would drop the magazine every single time he fired it. A call to S&W got him a new magazine release, which fixed the problem. I haven't read of anyone complaining about that recently, so I imagine S&W figured out the problem and corrected it.

[Sin-ster]

Around what time frame were your guns "born"? A lot of the issues you are reporting (mag drop and firing issues) were pretty common in the earlier generations, and have since been corrected.

Leo covered the mag release problem well, so I'll skip that.

The failure to reset the trigger was common to the small sear spring design, which has also been updated/corrected. In fact, in a class I was in yesterday, we had a shooter who had switched his M&Ps to the updated housing and spring, but somehow managed to stick a small spring in by accident. The gun actually ran for ~2k rounds that way (astounding, that) and then started to crap the bed. It was quickly diagnosed and repaired, and chugged along flawlessly through the remaining 300-400 rounds of the class.

You can easily diagnose this issue visually without even cracking open the gun by inspecting the sear movement with the top end removed. With the sear disconnect *deactivated* and flush with the interior part of the magwell, the sear should sit at a fairly dramatic angle (eyeballed at 30 degrees or so, but I'm bad at that type of thing...) that slopes towards the muzzle end of the frame. When you depress the trigger, it should settle back to a nearly-flush position with the surrounding plastic of the housing. If it barely moves in either direction, you have your culprit.

[twodelta]

I have an M&P 9 Pro with close to 15K rounds now. I had to change the striker spring at 10k because it started getting light strikes. It even has the original small sear block and spring. No other issues. It's had an Apex sear, safety block, and trigger return spring in since about 2k rounds. I also have a 40 Pro with around 8k rounds, and the same Apex modes as the 9 Pro. It's setup for Limited with a magwell, and mag extensions. The slide stop on the 40 broke at around 6k rounds for some reason. I only shoot it in USPSA, so it almost never goes to slide lock. I still need to call S&W to get a replacement.

[kend]

also the strikers on the MP break very often

The latest striker upgrade seems to have corrected that.

[Dr Mitch]

My brother has had four strikers break in his M&P. All of them were during dry-fire practice. There is another shooter in our group that has gone through eight strikers. Each of them has gone through more than one of the updated strikers.

[kend]

Apparently the problem hasn't been eliminated but we haven't seen near the number of broken strikers after the latest upgrade that we had seen before.

[blind bat]

Weedwhacker had a barrel almost break in two. It had a nice stress fracture right where the barrel meets the chamber (round part meets square). Granted he estimates closed to 100k on that barrel. That happened on factory ammo, no crazy squib type stuff. It was more than a little freaky to see.

[aeropb]

A spare parts/springs kit would be a fantastic idea to have in your bag. Get one or two of every spring in your gun, a few strikers, an extractor, an ejector, a slide stop, a mag release, a trigger assembly, and some spare mags sounds about like mine.

[jmbaccolyte]

aeropb- that's a sh*tload of spare parts!

Dr Mitch- I guess I'd better buy a spare striker too.

Sin-ster- the night sights are dated 2008. Will S&W send me the updated mag release, striker and updated sear housing (& larger sear spring)? Is there an updated slide stop (aka slide release) as well?

Thanks for the help.

[theycallmeingot]

i've had about 5000 rounds through my M&P 45. quite a few dry fires. not sure how many, exactly. it's a later model one and i have had none of the issues mentioned here.

i even had a squib that i didn't catch in time, and followed it up with another round. it blew both rounds out, and slightly bulged the barrel just after the barrel hood. enough to where the slide would lock back on it, but you could force it closed. no other damage was done to the gun, or me. i ordered a new factory barrel and it's been chugging along ever since. i've seen other plastic guns (not naming names) end way more catastrophically under the same circumstance.

[nick romero]

it is a very big issue but as long as you carry extra strikers i have no other complaint about the gun. i own a mp pro and also a vtac

[jmbaccolyte]

Does anyone know whether the factory will supply the updated/redesigned parts free? The night sights are dated 2008. It sounds like I need the updated mag release, striker and updated sear housing (& larger sear spring)? Is there an updated slide stop (aka slide release) as well?

[theycallmeingot]

If those parts break, yes.

[Sin-ster]

If those parts break, yes.

That, for sure-- although they may be willing to replace the sear housing and spring without any "breakage" as it's more a matter of just not working properly. You'd have to contact them and see, and I feel safe in saying that they'll require you to send it to them (on their dime) for the fix.

Personally speaking, I'd buy the new parts and drop them in myself. They aren't terribly expensive, and the time saved is well worth the extra few bucks IMHO.

[mcracco]

aeropb- that's a sh*tload of spare parts!

Count wise it really isn't. And a complete spare parts kit for an M&P will take up about as much space in your range bag as a pack of cigarettes.

Anyone who shoots more than occasionally should carry a spare striker. It's a fast, no tool swap even at a firing port on the range.

Probably the other most likely part to fail will be a trigger return spring. I pack springs but it also means bringing a hammer, punch, and having enough off line time for a repair. For larger out of town matches I would just bring a second gun.

[sniperfrog]

My brother has had four strikers break in his M&P. All of them were during dry-fire practice. There is another shooter in our group that has gone through eight strikers. Each of them has gone through more than one of the updated strikers.

I always use snap caps when dry firing to avoid this. keeps me from having to replace strikers.

Edited June 2, 2012 by sniperfrog

[S391]

Maybe it's just me but I've owned 6 M&P's, I carry one daily, I shoot them in IDPA / USPSA and I am not easy on them and I have never had a part break. I clean them every so often, I make sure they are properly lubed and I run decent ammo.....

I understand that things can, and do, break but I think it is safe to say that the M&P line has the bugs work out of it at this point. If your buddy is having problems the first thing he should do is to contact Smith & Wesson and have it checked out.

Good luck and I am sorry to hear about his problems. Hopefully they can get it sorted out and he can enjoy the same level of reliability that the rest of us seem to enjoy.

[jmbaccolyte]

theycallmeingot-I plan to carry this pistol on duty, so I want to fix it before it breaks.

Sin-ster- If I have to pay for all those parts or send it in for repair, maybe I'm carrying the wrong gun. I love the way the M&P feels in my hand, but my Beretta 96D & Tanfoglio Match have been reliable, while the two M&Ps (early models both, I guess) even at really low round counts (1,500 rounds each) have been unreliable to say the least.

mcracco- I'm not sure I understand your comment. I said on 29 May 2012 - 07:55 PM: To aeropb- that's a sh*tload of spare parts!" To which you replied, "Count wise it really isn't." We procured the M&Ps used and the round count adds what we were told had been shot through the pistols (the owner didn't shoot much- probably not even that much) to what we actually shot (600 rounds apiece), but the problems I listed are just the problems that we had with the pistols, while we've had them. Are you saying 1,200 rounds (or even 3,000 rounds lifetime) should cause the problems I listed? If so, please reread the part of the original post that lists the parts that I replaced in a Beretta and a Tanfoglio while shooting over 55,000 rounds.

S-391- I guess we screwed up by buying early M&Ps. But if you read everyone's post on this topic, I believe you will find that average respondent has had a fair amount of trouble with this model of pistol, if he shoots much. The striker problem still seems prevalent. I'm glad that your's work (do you work for S&W?). Just kidding, I love S&W revolvers for hunting and shooting paper, but prefer semi-autos for carry. I'm not yet sold on S&W semis, regardless of how well they feel in my hands, if I need a armorer to follow me around to keep them running, then perhaps they're not the right duty/carry pistol for me.

I plan to run another 5,000 rounds through mine and if it sh*ts the bed much more, I'll have to make a list of shooters that I don't like, so I can sell it to one of them (but most shooters are really good people, so that may be a problem). Hopefully there won't be another reloading component shortage before the next election. I think the FAQS said don't discuss politics, so maybe I should close here instead of mentioning why I think we had the last component shortage.

Edited June 6, 2012 by jmbaccolyte

[theycallmeingot]

if you have parts in your gun that are actively causing problems, send it to smith and wesson. they will fix it for free. they will probably send you the part that needs replacing to save you time/headache, if you wish.

if you're just trying to prevent things that may or not be issues that you've read about on the internet, chances are, they can't help you.

as an aside, i've always talked to a real life human being when i called customer service. the guy who answers will probably know more about the gun than anyone here. if not, he knows someone who does. if you called them and said "i really think i need a new striker, because this gun isn't running right," i wouldn't be surprised if they asked very few questions and sent you the part. (which will be the latest design.) whether that design works is another story.

if you don't feel comfortable risking it with a duty gun, i can't say i blame you. it doesn't matter how many flawless rounds i've had through my gun, or that someone else broke part X after only x rounds. what matters is you trust your gun to work every time. there are too many semi-auto guns with good reliability to use one that isn't. whether that reliability issue is real or imagined is irrelevant.

Edited June 6, 2012 by theycallmeingot

[mcracco]

mcracco- I'm not sure I understand your comment. I said on 29 May 2012 - 07:55 PM: To aeropb- that's a sh*tload of spare parts!" To which you replied, "Count wise it really isn't." We procured the M&Ps used and the round count adds what we were told had been shot through the pistols (the owner didn't shoot much- probably not even that much) to what we actually shot (600 rounds apiece), but the problems I listed are just the problems that we had with the pistols, while we've had them. Are you saying 1,200 rounds (or even 3,000 rounds lifetime) should cause the problems I listed? If so, please reread the part of the original post that lists the parts that I replaced in a Beretta and a Tanfoglio while shooting over 55,000 rounds.

Nope, nothing wrong with my reading comprehension. I replied to aeropb's post, not yours (nice screen name, I just got it). The topic was number of parts in an M&P spare parts kit not MTBF on your gun.

[sdm74]

Just go shoot the gun...

[retarmyaviator]

I have put several thousand rounds through a full size M&P 9mm since January, so far nothing has broke.

The only issue I had was magazines jamming when the magazine release was reversed for left hand use. Switched it back to the original position and the problem went away.

[MGMorden]

I've got 4250 rounds through my M&P since buying it last August. So far nothing has broken. Only extra parts I keep around are guide-rod/recoil spring. If the gun breaks at a match I've got a Glock in the bag I can use.