The S&W M&P problem thread

[Ed L.]

Got a phone call and hit the submit reply button before I finished posting.

I also had a S&W 9mm compact when they first came out. It had failures to feed with certain ammo hollowpoints, notably the Ranger Talon 147 grain JHP. One trip to the S&W factory got it feeding better but it still had problems. I wound up selling the gun rather than playing with it.

[Jakus]

I am in the middle of loose rear sight issues on a compact and full size. The problem is with both the OEM sights as well Warren 2 dot.

Not sure if it's appropriate to link from this collected thread to my single thread, but all the details can be seen here

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=51090

From the thread above it looks like a couple of others have had the same issue.

[John_Wayne777]

When I broke the striker on my oldest M&P S&W sent out a replacement that day. I had it in less than a week after the call. Robb beat S&W with an even faster replacement.

I've experienced most of the issues related in this thread firsthand. The only one I haven't encountered is the accuracy issue mentioned. So far I've found that my M&P's (all 7 of them that I own/have owned) are more accurate than I am. Granted I suck, but still...I don't think there is a problem with any of them off a rest.

I still carry M&P's.

The issues are manageable, in my view. I've had two FTX on two M&P's with a combined round count of XX,XXX, both with Winchester White Box. Not ideal, but not the end of the world either. All the other stuff from aluminum Blazer to Gold Dot ran just fine.

The reset issues seem to be confined primarily to guns with the performance center sears.

I've encountered the problems...but I've encountered a bunch of problems with a lot of other guns I own. I was on the phone with Templar yesterday and he said "Dude...I know you're like a Marine with bowling balls..." The old joke goes that if you lock a Marine in a room with two bowling balls for a few days, when you come back one will be broken and the other will be missing.

I'm...special.

They aren't as bulletproof as 9mm Glocks, but few machines on earth actually are.

[LorenzoS]

... M&P 9mm barrels are setup for + P ammo and typically shoot the best (accuracy wise) with hotter ammo.... a Storm Lake barrel is geared more towards standard loads.

Grant, what is different about the barrels that makes them more accurate with different ammo?

[C4IGrant]

We have experienced numerous broken strikers with 9mm M&P's. None were the new "Gen 5", but each was the "newest" version at the time and were advertised as "Safe for Dry Fire" by S&W reps. Sadly none could actually do it and all broke with catastrophic results. Oddly enough the early "Gen1" version held up the longest. Hence our reservations on any claims the "Gen5" is the answer until it holds up over time and a substantial number of guns.

Up until these Gen5's came out I have never heard them say that they tested them to the extent that they have (70,000 dry fires).

While we are on the subject of dry firing, we all realize that dry firing is generally bad for all pistols made right??? This is why they invented snap caps.

At the last advanced pistol class with Hackathorn, he pointed out that excessive dry firing with Glocks can lead to issues. So no pistols are immune to it.


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[C4IGrant]

I have the new Pro standard length 9mm. Aghhhh!!!!! That's what I have to say about that. I've replaced everything with the awesome Apex parts and I'm still having issues. Thank god Randy is working with me on this issue. I've had ejections/extraction problems from day one with ALL ammo brands and different grains.

If I had to do it over again with my M&Ps (the Pro 9mm and a mid-size .45 sent in to get the Performance Package). I would skip the PC stuff and go directly the Apex route with standard guns. Apex works much better in my humble opinion.

I also had horrible FTE with the .45 before it went to Smith for the PC package. Afterwards it worked but I had trouble with WWB (which of course is my agency's choice of practice rounds). It went away after about 1000 rds. Smith polished the shit out of the chamber so I suspect that helped.

I love the guns but I wouldn't recommend them to the average shooter/cop out of the box if you didn't know what you were doing.

I agree that the Apex items are nicer than the factory S&W parts.

I disagree with you about ease of operation. They are generally easy to shoot and maintain.


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[C4IGrant]

So, does S&W send out the new strikers for free if you have problems?

They may, but are generally going to want to see the pistol.


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[Alpha Sierra]

M&P9: zero issues in 1814 rounds. I love the slide drop when you slam the mag. Never a misfeed doing that.

M&P9c: zero issues in 810 rounds. Does not autofeed.

[C4IGrant]

I am in the middle of loose rear sight issues on a compact and full size. The problem is with both the OEM sights as well Warren 2 dot.

Not sure if it's appropriate to link from this collected thread to my single thread, but all the details can be seen here

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=51090

From the thread above it looks like a couple of others have had the same issue.

The majority of factory sights we remove are easy to do. Warren Tactical sights tend to be oversized and hard to get in.


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[C4IGrant]

Grant, what is different about the barrels that makes them more accurate with different ammo?

I wish that I knew more about it, but I don't.



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