S&W Perf. Center Core vs. standard 2.0

[Drillbit]

If you forget about the optic mount...  Is the Performance Center C O R E 9mm that much better then the standard 2.0? 

 

 Worth the money performance wise other then the slide cut ?

[SteelCityShooter]

If the CORE cut is not needed then my two M&P9 2.0's, one a 5" CORE and the other the standard 5" version, are pretty much identical.  

[robertg5322]

I have both. The PC CORE 2.0 comes with an extended/enlarged slide stop, which doesn't look like much, but the larger slide stop feels better (to me). According to S&W, they will not sell this part to you. See pics below.

 

Also the PC CORE comes with a reshaped firing pin block plunger that makes the trigger a bit less stagey, and also an over travel screw.

 

Both come with the stupid slide stop lever detent that prevents the slide from auto-forwarding, a huge negative if you ask me. I removed the spring and detent from both of my guns, but they still don't auto-forward, which is why I like the enhanced/extended slide stop on the PC CORE gun. 

 

All of that said, the PC CORE gun is going for $740.00 in my area (AZ), and the non-PC CORE gun goes for $530.00. Are the PC upgrades worth $210.00? Not to me. Some judicious spring tuning and recontouring of the firing pin block plunger gives the non-PC CORE gun a very nice trigger comparable to the PC gun's trigger. With a slightly reduced striker spring and a reduced firing pin block spring, a nice 2 lb trigger is not a problem.  

 

And there's always Apex if you want to dump more money into the gun, and if you're going this route, I'm assuming you'd do it no matter which gun you bought.

 

Oh, and my PC CORE gun is black, the non-PC CORE gun is FDE. If I was asked, I'd prefer it was black, but I don't really care much about the color, so it wasn't a big deal for me. Some people may feel differently.

Edited June 30, 2021 by robertg5322

[SteelCityShooter]

On 6/29/2021 at 7:59 PM, robertg5322 said:

I have both. The PC CORE 2.0 comes with an extended/enlarged slide stop, which doesn't look like much, but the larger slide stop feels better (to me). According to S&W, they will not sell this part to you.

 

And there's always Apex if you want to dump more money into the gun, and if you're going this route, I'm assuming you'd do it no matter which gun you bought.

 

Oh, and my PC CORE gun is black, the non-PC CORE gun is FDE. If I was asked, I'd prefer it was black, but I don't really care much about the color, so it wasn't a big deal for me. Some people may feel differently.

 

 

Yes, the CORE has an extended slide stop but, since I always slingshot the slide, that's an unimportant difference to me.  I'm left handed and, on both guns, the right side slide stop is so hard to operate it doesn't help to have a more prominent lever.

 

I installed Apex DCAEK parts in both guns so they now have nearly identical, and much improved, trigger pulls.  

 

My PC CORE is black and my non-CORE pistol is FDE since that was the only color available when I bought my 5" 2.0.  I would also have preferred black but the FDE is acceptable.

 

[hlsccsfa]

No significant difference if you have Apex trigger installed in both of them. The extended slide stop/release is the only thing different.