M&P 9

[blkexp98]

Ive read a few topics now about the pros where they have has ejection issues. Is this a problem with the pro's or do all of the M&P's act up. I was thinking hard about buying one of the standard size models instead of the pro or compact but now that i see this im having some doubts. I plan to use it as a carry gun as well so thats why i didnt want to go the pro route. The compact while better for carry just seemed a little short in grip length.

How are these pistols doing in matches as far as accuracy potential and reliability? Hopefully what ive read is a small number of the population.

Ive also read the triggers leave something to be desired. Ive shot a full size .40 and didnt see too much of an issue. Then again i only shout about 15 rnds. Is there anything to give it a better reset (thats the issue ive heard) while keeping the trigger around 4lbs.

Im starting to drift the the gunsmithing section so ill leave it at that.

Thanks for any help,

Major

[Sarge]

98 Welcome to the forum!

Keep reading. It is pretty well covered on the forum. My personal experience:

M&P9PRO 100% reliable, accurate and all around great gun.

It seems some have claimed to have had problems but many others I think will share my opinion.

Buy one with confidence. The triggers are better on the pro than the other models but the others are still plenty good for a production gun. go to the gun store and compare the trigger to a sigma then tell me what you think.

I agree with you about the Compact model. It is intended to be small for concealment but I felt it was too small for me and sold it. But it fired around 500 rounds flawlessly before I sold it.

Again, use search and then form your own conclusion. Good luck

Edited April 3, 2009 by sandman78

[G-ManBart]

My Pro has been good so far, but I haven't shot it too much yet. I haven't heard of anyone having problems with the standard models. R,

[Coveyrise]

I have only seen a few people report problems with extraction on this forum, so I would say that the gun probably has the same percentage rate of problems as any other gun out there right off the factory line, except that this pistol is new, has all the bells and whistles that allows you to take is straight into production and compete so it garners more attention. My M&P Pro 9mm has been flawless, the trigger is far better than any other stock trigger out there, the sights are far better, and has the same grip angle as a 1911 that is even adjustable in size. In fact at one of the local IDPA clubs I shoot with they have a bunch of guys shooting Pro's in Production Class and none of them have had any problems and they are starting to beat the guys shooting much higher dollar guns in ESP. I say get the Pro.

[srt205]

I really like mine. It has been a long time since I would recommend a S&W product.

srt205

[TonyT]

My S&W M&P9Pro has been totally reliable without any malfunctions. It has the best factory trigger of any plastic framed gun I have ever shot with the possible exception of the S&W 99. I have also shot a Glock 17 and the ergonomics of the S&W line are far better for my hands.

[G-ManBart]

My Pro has been good so far, but I haven't shot it too much yet. I haven't heard of anyone having problems with the standard models. R,

I typed that too soon. While I really like the way it feels, points and handles, it has had some issues. I've been keeping an exact log and it's had one FTF and three FTEs in the first 900 rounds (rounding here). The FTF was very early on and hasn't happened again. The FTEs are a mystery. All factory ammo, the FTE cases look fine and aren't tight in the chamber...I don't get it. It'll go several hundred rounds perfectly and then totally out of the blue....FTE.

Having paid close attention to the topic here, on the M&P forum and on the S&W forum it's very obvious that this isn't an isolated problem. The Pros seem to be very slightly more likely to have this problem, but there are plenty of standard and compact 9s and .40s doing the same thing. In one thread on the M&P forum there were 26 different people reporting that either their gun or that of a close friend/student was experiencing FTEs.

The fix seems to be chamber polishing and sometimes a tweak to the extractor and Smith is now returning guns from warranty service with polished chambers and feed ramps, which usually fixes the problem.

So, I'm sticking with the Pro for a Production rig, but I don't quite yet trust it....we'll see how it does the second thousand rounds. R,

[SRD]

I have a 9L and it's been fine so far, although the round count is still low (well below 1000 rounds). Accuracy is good.

One wart I had to deal with ... the barrel had obvious rifling problems right out of the box. I immediately emailed S&W with pictures and was told it had chatter marks from a broken cutting tool. They replaced the barrel. I had them tune the action at the same time.

I can't explain why the folks at S&W didn't see the barrel problem during production, but to their credit they fixed it right away.

[Jake Di Vita]

I've experienced some inexplainable FTE issues as well.

[JeffWard]

I'm a fan. I shoot a PRO in USPSA, and I carry a 9c.

Here's why:

Ergonomics. I think it is the best fitting gun on the planet. With three backstrap choices, it's excellent.

Bore Axis. The bore axis is very low, so muzzle flip is minimized with everything from gaming loads to +p. Similiar to a Glock, MUCH lower than XD or Sig, or HK.

All Steel subframe. Should lend to accuracy and durability.

Exceptional Customer Service. Smith and Wesson may be the best in the business.

AMERICAN MADE, FROM AMERICAN PARTS. No further explanation needed.

1911 grip-angle... The way a gun should be.

Issues:

Crunchy trigger in the standard models. A bit of fine grit sand paper or 500 rounds should fix MOST of the this. Dan Burwell can do it right away, for under $70.

FTEs... MOSTLY found in the PRO Series. While it's at Dan's, have him polish the chamber and ramp.... I got mine polished, and it's been flawless since.

I don't see either of the above "issues" as issues, as I would have the trigger tweaked to my preferences on ANY gun I bought, and I'd have the chamber and ramp polished too. I see it as a $100 upgrade to any gun.

That said... my 9c has been 100% flawless. The trigger is excellent, since it is currently equiped with the PRO Series trigger out of my PRO... Dan retooled mt 9c sear group and installed it in my PRO... shhhhhhh...

www.burwellgunsmithing.com I think...

BUY IT!

JW

[tripwire]

I have a FS 9mm and 40 and have shot both in competition over the last 2 years and have never had a FTE. I would buy with confidence and I am currently saving up to pick up a PRO model later this season.

[tomfturner]

I have almost completely switched over to the M&P line with my guns. I have the Pro and the FS 9 (as well as the FS 40). I don't think you could go wrong with this gun. Mine do have some polishing issues on the standard full size models, but I'm not complaining about them. The 40 has an issue with the take down tool in that it fits too tightly, but that's not a problem once I get the proper grip strap on. The 9 has a release lever that needs to be polished, again no big deal when you do a pull release to drop the slide (so I don't run into it). Both are far more accurate than I am, and have never jammed even with my 40 minor test loads. The pro trigger is far better than the standard trigger, but if you polish a couple of parts yourself, you can smooth up the trigger. Mine seemed to polish itself on the 9, and has a break very similar to my Pro model. I like the M&P trigger more than the other "plastic" guns. It feels like S&W spent a lot of time on them.

[BigTinVA]

M&P 9, Whats the verdict?

I will report back on my M&P9 Pro after my club match this Sunday. My gun was just returned from S&W with a new extractor and "modified barrel" after being sent in for extraction problems. I am really glad that S&W made an effort to correct the problem instead of just test firing it and shipping it back to me as I have read about on this forum.

I really like this gun and have been shooting very well with it during three recent matches, but I had extraction issues during the last two of the three matches and had to switch back to my Glock 34 after the first stage of the last match that I shot it in. I really want to run this gun, but I will have to wring it out real well before I trust it in any serious match. I bought this gun to compete with and if it is not reliable then I have no use for it. I am going to have to shoot my Glock in the upcoming Section Championship due to my trust issues.

I do own three other (4") M&P's and this is the only one that I have had any trouble out of. I am not a S&W or M&P hater at all, I'm just passing on my experience with this particular gun. I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from purchasing an M&P pistol.

[SRD]

Just put another 150 rounds through my 9L at lunch and it did fine once again.

[Sarge]

I must admit I bragged alot about my pro not having problems. Then it went to crap in one match. FTE'd several times. FTE'd in a steel match a few times. FTE'd during chrono session. I called Smith today to get a shipping label. Looks like I will be without a gun for a month or more according to the rep.

But there is a bright side! My wife said maybe I need to think about getting a backup gun! Gotta love a woman like that.

[kaiserb]

I must admit I bragged alot about my pro not having problems. Then it went to crap in one match. FTE'd several times. FTE'd in a steel match a few times. FTE'd during chrono session. I called Smith today to get a shipping label. Looks like I will be without a gun for a month or more according to the rep.

But there is a bright side! My wife said maybe I need to think about getting a backup gun! Gotta love a woman like that.

She sounds like a keeper

[Sarge]

Just put another 150 rounds through my 9L at lunch and it did fine once again.

I hope yours continues to run great. I know it seems like a waste but you need to do some rapid fire if you have not already. Mine seems to have problems when I am pushing it hard.

[Zebp45]

I have a 9L and it's been fine so far, although the round count is still low (well below 1000 rounds). Accuracy is good.

One wart I had to deal with ... the barrel had obvious rifling problems right out of the box. I immediately emailed S&W with pictures and was told it had chatter marks from a broken cutting tool. They replaced the barrel. I had them tune the action at the same time.

I can't explain why the folks at S&W didn't see the barrel problem during production, but to their credit they fixed it right away.

I had the same problem with my second PRO. S&W replaced the barrel no problem. Anyway I am on my 3rd PRP and all three have run 100%.

[BigTinVA]

I am just following up on my previous post. I took my recently repaired M&P9 Pro out to a small local match on Sunday. The round count was advertised at 96, but there was some steel so I know that I took plenty of make up shots My gun ran perfectly all day. I am going to leave it un-cleaned and take it with me to an RO class this coming weekend and see how it does there. I really want to trust this gun to run and shoot it in the upcoming section match.

[Tokarev]

I'm close to 1,000 rounds through my Pro and I had my first failure to extract yesterday. It was a good one and couldn't be cleared by racking the slide. The extractor jumped off the case even though the rim looked fine.

It took a cleaning rod and a couple light taps with a rubber mallet to get the casing out of the chamber. Ammo was Speer frangible.

I've got a full-size .45 that's got 1,250 rounds through it without issue. That's with mostly 200gr cast reloads but I've also run the gun with Federal 185JHP and Winchester 230 ball.

Edited June 2, 2009 by Tokarev

[JeffWard]

After almost 2000 rounds, post-chamber polish, I had a few "marginal" extractions, the other night in a match. The rounds cleared, but ejection was VERY weak.

I brought the gun home, and inspected the extractor closely. I soaked it in CLP, and dug in with a plastic toothpick. The extractor was literally HALF plugged with carbon. One half of the extractor gripping surface was plugged up with carbon. MY poor cleaning technique.

After scraping out the extractor claw with the toothpick, and cleaning the gun, I shot it again today, another 100 rounds. The cases flew normally again (considering the low power factor).

Tonight, I brought the gun home to clean again, and really looked closely at the barrel after shooting some moly bullet reloads. I was scrubbing and swabing it until it came "clean", but looking closely, it still had imperfections in the rifling grooves. I took out the barrel, and dropped it in a zip-lock sandwich-bag, then filled the bottom of the bag with Breakfree CLP to immerse the barrel. I let it sit for 3 hrs, soaking in CLP. I then han the brass brush again a few times and swabbed it with a white cloth... BLACK.

My cleaning routine was NOT good enough. Now, the extractor get attention and a fine cleaning, and the barrel will get scrubbed better (the jacketed Zero bullets leave a LOT less cr@p...).

Get the chamber polished, and keep that extractor spotless, and soak your barrel in solvent every 2000 rounds or so.

Probably good advice for any heavy-use gun...

JeffWard

[itchy]

The 4 inch M&P 9mm is also having issues.

I've personally seen 25 guns that were consistently having failures to extract. The guns were only 3 months old and had less than 1000 rounds through them.

They were all sent back to S-W, who was able to duplicate the issue with the ammunition we sent back with the guns. They're still investigating.

I have both a 9L and a 4 inch and both have been functioning fine. I have less than 1000 rounds through them though.

Seiichi

[Tokarev]

The 4 inch M&P 9mm is also having issues.

I've personally seen 25 guns that were consistently having failures to extract. The guns were only 3 months old and had less than 1000 rounds through them.

They were all sent back to S-W, who was able to duplicate the issue with the ammunition we sent back with the guns. They're still investigating.

I have both a 9L and a 4 inch and both have been functioning fine. I have less than 1000 rounds through them though.

Seiichi

You don't happen to work for LASD, by chance? There have been some threads on a couple other boards about the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office having problems with their M&P's.

[poke_53]

Mi likey. I have not had a problem with mine after about 1200 rounds so far.

[rack&roll]

My 9L just continues to work fine at both practice and my local Tue. night match. Hope it continues! It's an easy gun to shoot.