View Full Version : Another VTAC M&P9 not fully dropping mags
Littlehendrick
10-01-12, 21:29
I was about to pick up a full size M&P9, in VTAC form. Courtesy of this forum, I had heard of mags not dropping freely. The two mags that it came with were fine, one of my fullsize mags was ok, but alas, the 2nd mag I owned/brought in did not drop free.
My guess is that this is a newer production pistol, because it recently arrived at the LGS.
So, bottom line, if you are looking at a VTAC M&P9, take a few mags and check for dropping free, it might save you some time and warranty "fun" with S&W. And thank you M4carbine for being a resource to learn about these types of problems.
My M&P doesn't always drop free, however the issue is my grip. My middle finger does not allow the mag release to fully depress without me changing my grip. I'm considering swapping it out for the Costa Catalyst which is slightly extended and should assist
Littlehendrick
10-01-12, 21:45
Interesting point Wahoo. The one I was looking at seemed to stop about an inch out of "battery" or fully seated. It had the problem both with the magazine full or empty. Hopefully the release helps you out!
I bought my VTAC last year. It came with three mags, all dropped free just fine. I purchased an addition six factory mags last year, those all drop free as advertised, even after painting the bottom 1/3 of each mag and the base plate. This year I bought a M&P .40 S&W slide assembly from a member here and additional six .40 magazines, I painted the bottom 1/3 of these magazines and baseplates as I did the 9mm magazines. I have had no issues with any of these magazines either. The pistol functions fine with either slide assembly, in either caliber. I have not experienced any malfunctions with the pistol. Accuracy is on par with any other service pistol I have either owned or have been issued. The only issue I have had is early on the front hi-vis tube backed out. I repaired this myself for less than $10.00 and the problem has not repeated itself. I have approximately 3,000 rounds through the pistol, probably close to 1/3 .40, and 2/3 9mm.
Apricotshot
10-02-12, 07:55
I was dry firing last night and was practicing reloads on empty mags. At first I thought it was the mag or the gun that was hanging up one or two of my mags. Then I noticed that I wasn't hitting the mag release as far/deep as I should have that casued the hang up. I'm taking a 3 day pistol course this weekend and I hope to see if repetitions will cure it. Right now I think its a software issue, not the hardware.
My VTAC 9 bought last year drops all of the magazines I've used in it just fine (probably at least 8 or so different ones). Now it does eject the brass straight back at me; breaking my concentration on followup shots by bouncing casings of my forehead or burning my arms...but the mags are never a problem.
Slvr Surfr
10-02-12, 18:45
I posted this on another thread here regarding the mags not dropping free in my VTAC 9mm. All three mags that came with my gun are all different widths that can cause issues.
I have had the same issue with an VTAC 9mm I just picked up from a member here. Two of the three mags kind of dropped free. One is noticeably thicker than the other two when putting it in and releasing it. I lightly polished out the magwell on the gun and things got a little easier than before.
I measured all three mags at the magazine release notch with a digital micrometer and this is what I found:
.8550 inch
.8580 inch
.8600 inch
The first two mags drop better than the last. The little difference between the first two and third make a huge difference in how they drop. Based on what I see the issue most likely resides with the magazines being "out of spec". I am not sure if polishing the mags will make much difference. Heavy usage of the magazines will definitely polish them up enough to drop easier.
Last year I posted about this problem with a VTAC M&P9 that was being sold at Shooter's Express in Belmont, NC. This pistol would not drop free any of the supplied magazines. I pointed it out to the store owner as a deficiency with the pistol - he did not seem to care.
About 3 months later, I purchased a different VTAC M&P9 from Hyatt Guns in Charlotte. I was careful to inspect all of the supplied mags and even brought a few of my own for testing prior to finalizing the sale.
Last year I posted about this problem with a VTAC M&P9 that was being sold at Shooter's Express in Belmont, NC. This pistol would not drop free any of the supplied magazines. I pointed it out to the store owner as a deficiency with the pistol - he did not seem to care.
About 3 months later, I purchased a different VTAC M&P9 from Hyatt Guns in Charlotte. I was careful to inspect all of the supplied mags and even brought a few of my own for testing prior to finalizing the sale.
Hyatt? Hopefully that didn't cost you $1k....LOL!
I had the same issue running my VTAC through an ISPC match this weekend, I think I wasn't pressing the mag release down as well as I was during class though. I will probably give the costa catalyst a try and see if that makes any difference
Hyatt? Hopefully that didn't cost you $1k....LOL!
Hyatt is very simple to deal with - simply show them where you can find it for less and they will cut the price. I paid $609 for my VTAC 9mm instead of the sticker which was $709. Most of their Gen3 Glocks can be had for $509-525 if you drive for a bargain which is not too bad for a gun store (I understand the military / LEO is less). Most people do not seem to know this a get taken to the cleaners.
Apricotshot
10-07-12, 20:37
Just finished a 3 day pistol course today using my 9mm VTAC. All my mags dropped free. The sights though don't work for me. The pistol shoots high and left. Confirmed by multiple shooters and instructors at 25 yards prone. So I think I may ditch the VTAC sights and get some blacked out Heine's.
Interesting. Mine is dead on, but for some reason I was shooting way up and to the left at 25 yd line. I figured it was just me. At 15 yds I am more than fine. I don't feel like it is a sight issue it must be the barrel. I will try to confirm from shooting at a supported position at 5 yard increments.
Apricotshot
10-08-12, 10:40
Interesting. Mine is dead on, but for some reason I was shooting way up and to the left at 25 yd line. I figured it was just me. At 15 yds I am more than fine. I don't feel like it is a sight issue it must be the barrel. I will try to confirm from shooting at a supported position at 5 yard increments.
Even at 15 yards and under you could tell there was a up and to the left tendency. I wish I would have taken a pic of my target at the end of class. 600 or so rounds formed a up and to the left pattern. The windage we can fix, but the elevation not so much.
are you convinced this is a sight issue or is it barrel related? I am having a hard time believing it is a sight issue considering how well they work before getting out to 25yds
Apricotshot
10-08-12, 11:30
are you convinced this is a sight issue or is it barrel related? I am having a hard time believing it is a sight issue considering how well they work before getting out to 25yds
Even at 3-5 yards there is a average of shots high left. Just very subtle. As you move farther out it just increases. At 3 yards firing 3 rounds into the same hole where my point of aim was on head, I'd hit high and left consistently by just a half inch if that. Moving back to 25 yards prone aiming center chest firing 5 rounds (3 seperate times), I was hitting to the left of the head.
My groups throughout class were in the fist sized range. So the barrel groups well when you do your part.
The thing is that the VTAC sights are alreay high, meaning that getting a taller sight may be out of the question. That reasoning may make it a barrel issue.
I might try and get Grant from g&r tactical's thoughts on this, if it really is a barrel issue then it might be time to get on his list for fitted barrels.
grant confirmed that this is an issue caused by the barrels. I am now on the list :D
Apricotshot
10-08-12, 17:15
Hmmm.....I may dump the pistol in that case.
I wouldn't dump it, especially since it sounds like you got a good one. not all m&ps are affected. I've got 2 full sized 2012 made m&ps and a Compact that have no accuracy issues.
I haven't found another striker fired handgun that has the reliability, ergonomics, light recoil impulse, and price that can match the m&p
I agree, there is no way I am going back to glock. This thing may have accuracy issues but anything within 15yd range of my isn't going to have good luck even with a poor barrel. I know I wanted to get a threaded barrel anyways, I can't wait to see how this weapon performs with a fitted match barrel in it!
"I haven't found another striker fired handgun that has the reliability, ergonomics, light recoil impulse, and price that can match the m&p."
Well said.
No issues at all with supplied or replacement mags bought from a retailer. However, there is that issue with the 6 o'clock ejection that I need to address after deer season is over here...
Pat
Apricotshot
10-10-12, 10:36
I haven't found another striker fired handgun that has the reliability(Glock does too on average), ergonomics(Glock does not have that), light recoil impulse(Hard to quantify that), and price (Same as Glock) that can match the m&p
The main reason I have tried M&P line as of late has been because of the ergos, they feel good in my hand. The mags dropping free have not been an issue for me.
However, the fact that I had to send in my pistol becasue it was mismatched in caliber (My sample of one issue, one in a million, but I digress.), comes with an abysmal trigger out of the box (Sent it in for a APEX Lv1 kit) and now a factory barrel that shoots radically off POA from the factory is now making me rethink this platform.
My Glocks do not have these problems as they are all Gen3 bought several years ago. Shitty thing about Glocks is that I have to add a a lighter disconnector and send them away ($$$) to get grip reductions for them to fit as good as a M&P out of the box.
Next I'll check out the Walther PPQ.
Littlehendrick
10-10-12, 11:01
Thanks for the heads up on other issues that have been encountered, especially things that could be training related (IE, mag release being fully pressed).
I ended up going with a "regular" M&P fullsize, and it has zero issues dropping magazines. I can not comment about the grouping size at 25 yards, I have a lot of practice that needs to be done first.
I switched to M&P's from a glock 19 because of the M&P22, and having the commonality of grips, etc.
policetested
10-13-12, 15:15
It was my understanding the VTAC was designed to not drop magazines freely...maybe I was given bad info; but when I got mine that was what S&W told me.
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