M&P9 FS - is it as bad as the internet makes it seem?

[RobbyMaQ]

FYI, info on changes: Articles- M&P PRODUCTION UPDATES: Slide stops,barrels,sear

Info on barrel identity & changes: Pic of the Day: New Production M&P Barrel | Modern Service Weapons

 

[drillsgt]

FYI, info on changes: Articles- M&P PRODUCTION UPDATES: Slide stops,barrels,sear

Info on barrel identity & changes: Pic of the Day: New Production M&P Barrel | Modern Service Weapons

Thanks for the link, I checked mine I picked up about a month ago and had the dimple barrel. It does shoot very well.

 

[cedartop]

Apex parts aren't necessary. It's just that those of us who cut our teeth on Glocks came to prefer a certain kind of feel. A box stock M&P will run just fine.

I disagree Evan. Their triggers aren't just different, they are crap. Shot a shield last weekend and it was just as bad. That being said I might get another M&P because I want the ambi feature as well as something that takes a RDS easily.

 

[drillsgt]

I disagree Evan. Their triggers aren't just different, they are crap. Shot a shield last weekend and it was just as bad. That being said I might get another M&P because I want the ambi feature as well as something that takes a RDS easily.

How do you define "crap"?

 

[cedartop]

How do you define "crap"?

Well, I guess that is subjective, but I get to shoot a lot of different guns and to me the M&P has one of the worst triggers. Don't get me wrong, I like the M&P's. They are what I had switched to from Glocks when I went to SI and sorta had to shoot a Glock. I was shooting a CZ P07 the other day and even in double action I liked its trigger better, but its not ambi. I like the Walther PPQ trigger way better and it feels great in the hand, but the shape of the slide will make it tough to fit a dot sight on it. How do I define crap, I guess by saying it feels worse than everything else except a hipoint.

 

[Lunati]

I disagree Evan. Their triggers aren't just different, they are crap. Shot a shield last weekend and it was just as bad. That being said I might get another M&P because I want the ambi feature as well as something that takes a RDS easily.

Agree 100%, I put a few mags through a new 9fs and the trigger felt like it was lubed with rubbing compound or something. Terrible.

 

[derrickgoins]

Well, I guess that is subjective, but I get to shoot a lot of different guns and to me the M&P has one of the worst triggers. Don't get me wrong, I like the M&P's. They are what I had switched to from Glocks when I went to SI and sorta had to shoot a Glock. I was shooting a CZ P07 the other day and even in double action I liked its trigger better, but its not ambi. I like the Walther PPQ trigger way better and it feels great in the hand, but the shape of the slide will make it tough to fit a dot sight on it. How do I define crap, I guess by saying it feels worse than everything else except a hipoint.

Looks like Mark @ L&M installed an RMR on a PPQ.

 

[cedartop]

Looks like Mark @ L&M installed an RMR on a PPQ.

Thanks for that. Looking at the gun it didn't seem possible, but there it is. All I would have to do is move the rear sight to the correct location.

 

[shooter521]

Mark @ L&M installed an RMR on a PPQ.

ORLY? GR8! LOL.

 

[derrickgoins]

ORLY? GR8! LOL.

I couldn't help myself. I was so tempted to put Mark's initials in there.

 

[netsecurity]

Well, I guess that is subjective, but I get to shoot a lot of different guns and to me the M&P has one of the worst triggers. Don't get me wrong, I like the M&P's. They are what I had switched to from Glocks when I went to SI and sorta had to shoot a Glock. I was shooting a CZ P07 the other day and even in double action I liked its trigger better, but its not ambi. I like the Walther PPQ trigger way better and it feels great in the hand, but the shape of the slide will make it tough to fit a dot sight on it. How do I define crap, I guess by saying it feels worse than everything else except a hipoint.

Agree 100%, I put a few mags through a new 9fs and the trigger felt like it was lubed with rubbing compound or something. Terrible.

I really can't understand comments like this. Are you judging the trigger based on what it feels like when you squeeze it while it is empty and decocked? That is the only time it feels funky that I've noticed, but it has no relevancy. The firing pin safety plunger gets scraped when it isn't cocked, making it kind of grind. You can't even pull the trigger on a Glock when it isn't cocked, the trigger just locks back, and is completely disabled--and no one ever complains about that weirdness.

I have a PPQ and I don't think the trigger is much better than the M&P at all. It has a clicky, short reset. But I care most about the trigger pull, because that is what affects accuracy. Both are light and have a clean break. The M&P break is even crisper in some ways. I shoot them equally well. There are many, many cheap guns that have heavy, dirty triggers that affect accuracy, but the M&P is not one of them IMHO.

 

[VERT]

M&P trigger has a long and sloppy take up and then a mushy break. Mine is a Pro Series and it is still bad. Think opposite of "break like a glass rod". I tend to slam right through the trigger press and throw shots low and left. If I take my time and really concentrate accuracy is OK.

 

[Lunati]

I really can't understand comments like this. Are you judging the trigger based on what it feels like when you squeeze it while it is empty and decocked? That is the only time it feels funky that I've noticed, but it has no relevancy. The firing pin safety plunger gets scraped when it isn't cocked, making it kind of grind. You can't even pull the trigger on a Glock when it isn't cocked, the trigger just locks back, and is completely disabled--and no one ever complains about that weirdness.

I have a PPQ and I don't think the trigger is much better than the M&P at all. It has a clicky, short reset. But I care most about the trigger pull, because that is what affects accuracy. Both are light and have a clean break. The M&P break is even crisper in some ways. I shoot them equally well. There are many, many cheap guns that have heavy, dirty triggers that affect accuracy, but the M&P is not one of them IMHO.

Yes I was referring to the gritty trigger while shooting. The PPQ has been known to be the best stock striker fired pistols on the market.

 

[Exodus]

What type of shooting do you guys that hate the trigger normally do?

 

[cedartop]

What type of shooting do you guys that hate the trigger normally do?

Both kinds of shooting, Country and Western. Saying I hate the M&P trigger is a little strong. I just prefer most of the other ones. For the life of me I can't figure out how netsecurity can say a M&P trigger is equal or superior to a PPQ, but then if everyone liked the same thing we wouldn't need so many models I guess.

Oh yeah, what kind of shooting? Anything that might even be remotely beneficial when it comes time to shoot for life. Close and low percentage shots, 100 yard shots, Qual courses, trying to make the pistol sound like a machine gun, you name it.

 

[netsecurity]

I've had two M&P's and carry the 9C every day. The trigger is great. It has a little take up, and then it breaks exactly like I imagine it should, crisp and light. My PPQ First Edition trigger RESET is obviously superior, but the trigger pull and break have no advantage. It feels tighter, whereas the M&P feels looser on the takeup, but I kinda prefer the loose feeling. I also don't like how wide and flat the PPQ trigger is, nor do I like the trigger safety in the middle. The M&P's trigger feels much better on my fingertip. The bottom line is that my MP's shoot fine, and the trigger has never affected accuracy one bit.

EDIT: Ironically, both my M&P and PPQ had a very slight bit of a grind at first, which I discovered was from the trigger bar rubbing against the ambi slide release, and improved by simply pushing the two apart.

I wonder if these trigger haters are thinking of the S&W SIGMA (S&W9VE). What they are describing fits it exactly. It has an absolutely terrible trigger, just terribly gritty and heavy, and is impossible to shoot accurately. i know because I had one. It took some real convincing to get me to try another S&W poly gun after that! But while the Sigma may look similar to an M&P, it is a totally different gun. To make things more confusing, I know there is a new version of the Sigma that looks even more like the M&P, but I can't think of what it is called (maybe they just dropped the name "Sigma" and call them SD9's now).

S&W Sigma SW9VE 9mm Black/Stainless $313.00 SHIPS FREE

 

[chezuki]

The cause of the grittiness is two-fold. The actual "grit" you feel from the striker block plunger scraping across a burr that is left from the machining of the slide, and this grit is felt whether the pistol is loaded or not. The burr is where the striker channel meets the striker block channel. If you manually depress the strike plunger with the slide off, you will find it moves freely without any grit if depressed straight in from a 90* angle to the slide. Unfortunately, due to the sharp bevel of the striker block plunger, the trigger bar does not depress the plunger from a straight angle, it drags the edge and causes the plunger to go off center and drag the afore mentioned burr. The can be rectified by either carefully removing the burr with a round jewelers file, or simply replacing the plunger with the Apex USB which has more of a rounded bevel to meet the trigger bar at a straight angle.

 

[Rob377]

I have 2 FS M&P9's, one 4.25" and one 5". Both are far more accurate than I (and I like to think I do alright). As far as the trigger, the 5" came with the "performance center sear", but I didn't see it as a significant improvement to the regular stock sear. Both pistols received the Apex treatment, a DCAEK on the 4.25" (my carry gun), and a CompAEK on the 5". IMO, the only negative about the M&P line are the stock triggers.

Can they hold a 5 shot group on a 3x3 post it note at 25yds? That's my litmus test.

I've been kind of curious about this M&P accuracy thing myself. There are enough good shooters on Enos complaining about it that I think there my be something to it.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

My shooting is not so great, but I thought the results below were interesting.
Trained with a FS m&p for half a year (with apex kit) before purchasing the compact & pro 5" (stock, no mods) within the same week. I took them out for their first shoot, and test drove them last December.

I'd always felt something was off, and discovered the rumors about the lock-up issue on my full size. It just seemed every 5 rounds or so I would get a flyer out of whack.
Referencing the link I posted earlier, I recently discovered that barrel on the FS has no dimples. The compact & pro both have 2 dimples.
The xdm was a buddies I shot for comparison also. I like that gun, but the grip is really uncomfortable to my hand (too boxy).

 

[chezuki]

Can they hold a 5 shot group on a 3x3 post it note at 25yds?

The gun probably can, not sure about me.

If I'm keeping a practice schedule, and I'm being slow and deliberate, I can generally keep all my shots in the A/B zone of the head from 25 yards. I generally call my shots well enough to know if I throw a mike.