Looking at getting a S&W M+P 9

Joined
Aug 11, 2008
Messages
4,794
Likes
793
Location
Live Free or Die!
Feedback: 2 / 0 / 0
Hello Everyone,

As the title says, I'm looking at trading in my Browning Hi-Power and picking up the S&W M+p 9mm. My local dealer has one, and it fit my hand fairly nicely. Much more concealable than my BHP. I'm hoping that my NES family can give me their impressions and opinions on this weapon.

Thanks in advance!

Navy Moose
 
Hi!

I would say keep the High-Power and save up a little more to buy the M&P outright. It would be a shame to give up the Browning for any polymer gun IMHO. For what it's worth I traded my M&P 9 in for a 3913 and never looked back....
 
The M&P had the worst trigger of any gun I've ever shot. I had a trigger job done but the smith effed it up, so I restored it to original condition and sold it.
If I were to buy another one I'd swap out the Mass. trigger.
I wish I didn't sell mine. I'd trade it for your Browning in a New York minute.
 
Last edited:
Looks like the op is in NH. Trigger will be fine. OP, check out S&W forum, they have a M&P section. Your going to get a lot of M&P bashing here.
 
Last edited:
No bashing here. I had the M&P9c which I recently traded. I bought it when I lived in MA and I had Greg Derr do the trigger on it. The difference was night and day. I only traded it because after I moved to NH and went to Glocks, I stopped shooting it. Not because I didnt like it, only because once I made the switch i wanted to be consistent. If you think the M&P fits you better than a Glock, go for it, but consider getting the Apex kit or having a smith fix the trigger.
 
I love the gun. However even the "free state" versions all need a trigger job or an Apex kit.

Mine was a "free state" version and felt like pulling thru sand. Greg Derr did an outstanding trigger job on it for short money (less than the Apex parts, but they didn't exist when I did it) and it is now a great shooter.

If your BHP is a C&R (or close), I'd keep it and save up for the M&P. If it is a new version, then sell it if you like, as you can always replace it with a new one when/if you want to do so.

You'll probably find the 9c to be a better CCW gun.

If you want to try both and even some custom holsters, feel free to give me a shout if you want to travel down this way (Braintree or Mansfield). I have both FS and Compact and same model holsters for both.
 
I have a free state trigger in my M&P9, and after a couple hundred rounds without cleaning, it was pretty nice. I just wish I could have regular mags for it.
 
I have an M&P9c with a non MA trigger. The trigger pull is fine but I personally don't see how they can consider that cheezy safety to be any kind of safety device at all. I changed out the sights for truglo fiber optic sights. I kept losing the white dots against white targets. I've been shooting mostly reloads in it and it doesn't like the loads that all my other 9s like. I tried half a box of winchester white box crap and a bunch of them smokestacked on me. I cleaned the gun and took a can of spray silicone lube and hosed the thing down. I shot the rest of the box without fault. I've had to go to a slower powder for my reloads to improve accuracy and reliability. I'm still working those up.

I'm not sure I hate it but I'm not overly excited about it. The sights are a big improvement over stock. If a 3 year old pulls the gun out of your holster there is nothing about that trigger mounted safety that will prevent the trigger being pulled.
 
Looks like the op is in NH. Trigger will be fine. OP, check out S&W forum, they have a M&P section. Your going to get a lot of M&P bashing here.

It'll only be fine if the buyer doesn't know any better. IMO anyone interested in an M&P is selling themselves short by not having the action worked over. The differences, particularly in the trigger reset distance, are dramatic.

-Mike
 
I have an "almost new" M&P 9mm, full size that I am looking to sell. I just got it back from S&W and they assure me its fine now. It had been suffering from stove-piping. In this most recent trip back to the factory, they swapped out the barrel and the mag followers. It "could" be as good as new, but I'm not going to find out. I've moved on and purchased a Springfield Armory XDM 5.25 in 9mm that I absolutely love. PM me if interested.. maybe we can work something out. I'm not an M&P basher, I love the ergonomics of the gun, I think I just got "a bad one" off the assembly line. I hope S&W has it fixed this time .... for the next owner. P.S. I also live in the beautiful state of NH, so we can always try it out at MFL.
 
M&P9c and love everything about it. although i didn't think the trigger was as horrible as most make them out to be, i dropped in an APEX sear ($39) and not only did i get an instant drop from 12lbs to 7.5lbs, but the trigger is getting lighter now the more i use it. i haven't checked the pull since originally installing the sear, but i know it's lighter than 7.5 now.
 
I've had my M&P .40 full size for a few years now - GREAT gun (Identical to the 9mm, but for the caliber). I run a Storm Lake .40 - 9mm conversion barrel for 90% of my range shooting with it. The whole setup runs flawlessly. Took the stock Novak sights off and replaced them with a set of XS Big Dots on it. The only "trigger job" I have ever done is shooting it - ALOT. Personally, I think the MA trigger bashing has been blown out of proportion. It's a combat gun. 'Shoot it in'. Based on my observations the average shooter's abilities are such that the trigger pull on their new M&P is the least of their problems. It's a great, capable firearm, and a great value for the money. It will perform better than you will. There are better, and there are worse guns to own.
 
1st gun I got, by no means the greatest gun out there but goes bang faithfully. I take it with me to the range every time I go & I enjoy it. Just like everyone said, it needs a trigger job but for the price it's a decent gun. I have no idea how you plan on carrying it. I have a crossbreed supertuck and my M&P9 is just way too bulky. Did you mean M&P9c by any chance?

Finally, like someone said, i wouldn't trade, just buy it outright. Or buy a Sig :)
 
I own the 9c and 9FS, like both of them very much. I did put the DCAEK in both, the trigger is great. Reset much improved. Shot a junkyard of different ammo therough them including reloads no FTF or FTB on mine. Great gun.
 
Hmmm different (trigger) strokes for different folks I guess. I just picked up an M&P .45 a couple of weeks ago. The (MA) trigger was as one friend described it "like pulling a stick through mud". I am a pretty good shot and wanted this gun mainly for competition purposes and I could simply not shoot it accurately due to the stock trigger. The guy who sold it to me had picked up but never installed an Apex AEK trigger kit which includes new striker, sear, trigger-reset, and FP stop springs along with their "hard' sear and re-shaped FP block. I read up on all of the places to polish the trigger parts and installed the APEX kit. I can hardly believe that it is the same pistol! I can't wait to get it to the range for accuracy testing now.

Jeff Cooper once opined that "A good trigger release is what makes either rifle or pistol easy to hit with, and hitting is the purpose of the exercise. I examined four new handguns this year, and each had a worse trigger-action than the one before. Perhaps the idea is that since nobody can hit anything with a pistol anyway, what difference does "hitability" make?"

I tend to agree with the great late Colonel.
 
I bought my M&P9 in 2008. I have not any malfunctions of any kind and it eats any ammo I put through it without a hiccup. It points well in my hand and I find it comfortable to shoot. My only complaint is that I'm stuck with 10 rd mags, which you obviously don't have to worry about in NH.
 
I recently picked up a 9c and have only put 150rnds through it so far. The first 50 were Remington UMC and I had 3 failures to feed where the round got stuck halfway into the chamber because it seemed to be angled up too steeply. the next 100 were Winchester white box and had zero problems. The trigger isn't as bad as I was expecting but I'm starting to lean towards an APEX kit all the same. It isn't uncomfortable to carry and I love the way it fits in my hand and points. Accuracy isn't bad as long as I really concentrate on a good trigger pull. Once the trigger work is done I don't doubt I'll see grouping improvements. The reliability is paramount to me though, so we'll see how I feel after a few hundred more rounds that include some self defense ammo.
 
Thank you for your information everyone! I suppose I can wait longer and save up some green backs and buy the M&P and keep my John Moses Browning beauty. She'll become even more of a safe queen than she is now. Len, I'll be in touch with you about the holster once I have one in the house.
 
I used the Apex sear and it made a big difference in the trigger pull. It still does not compare to something like a Sig, but it's fun to shoot and accurate. I had one which had a horrible trigger, the thing on top was dragging across the firing pin block, it was just awful, but a gunsmith can fix it easily if needed. The MA trigger pull can be changed out with a lighter spring if you want.
 
I am in MA. Prior to getting my 9, i went to MFL to try this and the sig. I liked them both, but the S&W was significantly less, and this was my first pistol.

However, when i got the S&W 9 (not Compact), at 50' I wasn't hitting the target. at all! So I unfolded a paper grocery bag, put that up, and I am low left by like 1-2 FEET! Now I also have a Sig Mosquito 22, which I hit 6" groups at 50' , so I think my sight and technique is OK.

I ask around, and get told the trigger I shot with at MFL and the trigger I have are 2 different triggers. What.... MA trigger gets explained to me, and someone tells me about getting a trigger job.

I call local smith, tell him I have stock M&P, he says, 'let me guess. you are low left?'

Picking up redone gun in a day, and hoping it makes a difference.

BTW, I really do like how the sig is. If I wasn't going to take a $100+ beating by selling my S&W, I would gladly get rid of it for the Sig.
 
I have a 9C, and while I haven't shot it too much, I like it so far. It does need a new trigger and it shoots low and right, but both of those are fixable.
 
I have an M&P9c, and love it. Got about seven or eight hundred rounds through it now.

Make sure you clean and lube it as soon as you get it. I had a bunch of failure-to-feed (jam) scenarios which I attribute to a combination of lousy UMC ammo, my limp-wristing the pistol, and not enough grease on the slides.

I switched to Federal or WWB for practicing, learned how to hold the gun properly & to clean & and lube it, and now it fires everything fine. I use Speer Gold Dot 124grain +P short barrel ammo as my "personal defense" ammo, and this gun cycles it great.

I also started out hitting low & left. My groups have improved, but not enough for my liking. I have an Apex duty/carry action enhancement kit (DCAEK) and reset assist mechanism (RAM) on order from my gun shop. I can't wait to try the difference. I did a few dry fires with the shop guy's gun (he has the dcaek but not the RAM), and his 6 lb trigger felt like night & day vs. my factory 10.5 lb trigger (he had a pull gauge in the store).

I use a Crossbreed Supertuck holster, and couldn't be happier with the "carry" aspects of this gun/holster combo. Not too big or heavy. Easy to draw & fire.
 
I just got back from the store and confirmed it is a 9C without the magazine safety and key safety. The trigger pull is lighter than my BHP, the owner at the store said it is around 4-5lbs. Unlike my BHP, it will fire without the magazine in the weapon.
 
Back
Top Bottom