Another M&P barrel question: diagnose the targets

[PatEgan]

Rather than thread jack Grant's M&P/Storm Lake thread, I figured I'd start a different one for this subject...

I recently bought another M&P VTAC 9mm (my wife shoots the first one) and am just beginning to put it through the paces. The Storm Lake thread caught my interest, but I'm not sure where my stock VTAC barrel falls in terms of quality. I've never owned an aftermarket barrel, so I don't know what to expect in terms of quality, or if it's even worth switching. I've included three targets for you to judge. All three were shot with 17 rounds of varying weights and makes of loose 9mm, and all were shot standing off-hand at 25 yards with no rest. Let me know if you think I should stick with what I have, or if you think an aftermarket barrel would be in order. Here they are:

Number 1: The highest hole was my first shot, to get an idea where I'd hit with.a center hold. The one thats at the bottom of the 'Shoot N See' sticker was from a 12.5 yard warm up group. I could feel the shots I shanked outside of the black:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/13/ra2edu7u.jpg

The next one is on a fresh target. Again, I could feel my shanked shots. Hey, I'm 46, so I (allegedly) have an excuse...
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/13/5upumuva.jpg

The third string of fire was on the same target as above, but I marked the previous string's hits with a pen, so the unmarked/uncrossed marks are the fresh hits:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/13/ge2aqu3e.jpg

Verdict? Yea or Nay on the need for an aftermarket barrel? I've always been one to stick mostly with what's stock/issued, so I'm on unfamiliar ground.

Thanks in advance,
Pat

[Lomshek]

After trying different things myself there is no way to tell from a few targets. You need some control targets shot with other guns and the same ammo at the least.

My own ultimate control is to do group shooting with dummies mixed in. That guarantees if I'm pulling any shots it will be proven with the dummies (no "feel" to it).

Edited to say "feel" not "fee"

[mdain]

It's hard to judge the accuracy of a barrel based on the info you've given. Shooting a mixed bag of ammo for groups isn't going to give a true representation of what you, or your gun can do. Honestly, if your VTAC can shoot that well with mixed ammo, I wouldn't change a thing.

For a true test, pick up a few different brands of ammo in a few different weights (115, 124, and 147 in each of several brands). You will probably find that it prefers a particular load for the best accuracy.

I have a 9mm that shoots rat holes with 147 SXT, but barely holds 15" with 115 ball at 25yds.

[kenndapp]

It's hard to judge the accuracy of a barrel based on the info you've given. Shooting a mixed bag of ammo for groups isn't going to give a true representation of what you, or your gun can do. Honestly, if your VTAC can shoot that well with mixed ammo, I wouldn't change a thing.

For a true test, pick up a few different brands of ammo in a few different weights (115, 124, and 147 in each of several brands). You will probably find that it prefers a particular load for the best accuracy.

I have a 9mm that shoots rat holes with 147 SXT, but barely holds 15" with 115 ball at 25yds.
Glad to here that. I just bought an m&p pro off a guy in anouther forum for my daughter in law who has Been wanting one ( kind of excited to try it myself too). The man I purchased it from ( when questioned on the accuracy) said he had a shotgun that grouped better at 25 yards than this specific mp9 pro did with 115gr fmj's. I am hoping that it does stellar with 124 and 147 grain as not to gift the girl with a problem gun. I keep hearing that the accuracy gets much much better with heavier loads. This doesn't really make sense to me. With the slow twist rate of th mp9 (around 1/18?) shouldn't the problem be with the heavier bullets not stabslizing? It seems to me with a slow twist rate like that the lighter loads should be more optimal, not the other way around. Am I missing something here?

[mdain]

I have heard, and maybe Grant or someone else with better first hand knowledge can chime in, that Smith has played around with different rifling rates over the years. Another issue might be that lighter ball ammo has less bearing surface than longer/heavier rounds, but now I'm just guessing.

[C4IGrant]

OP, without knowing what quality of shooter you are, I would get a sand bag and bench it. Shoot 5rd groups X 4 and see what you get. Shoot 115gr and 147gr as well.




C4

[beastfrog]

You can't tell from those targets.

My results with the M&P were similar. I always wondered if it was the pistol or me. Did not have anything to compare it with. Had a couple of known good shooters shoot them with similar results and I still wasn't convinced it was the pistol. Finally, bought a Glock and the first group shot was under 2" at 25 yards. Lesson learned. Every M&P sold and now own Glocks. Will I shoot M&P's again? Don't know, I'm open to it, but honestly, if I can't shoot them before hand I probably won't trust them blindly again.

Advice: Try same targets/methodology with different guns (beg, borrow, or steal - well not really steal, but you get the idea). I'd try Glock, HK, Sig, ... not Hi-Point. :)

[PatEgan]

Copy, thanks to all.

I'm happy with most aspects of the platform now, and wouldn't really tweak very much of it. I am very happy with the sights, and these are a big highlight for me.

All I need it to do is deliver reliable combat accuracy with ease of acquiring ammo and relevant spare parts. Being 9mm, the ammo availability part is easy. So far, so good with everything else.

Pat