m&p 9 full size spring and guide rod q's

[exitinyourhead]

I have a sweet shooting M&P 9 full size pistol. I sent it to Dan Burwell and had trigger, reliability, nickle teflon, front and rear sights.

Now i'm looking at a couple of other things i'd like to do. I am going to shoot factory loads and I'm using this pistol for general plinking, classes and I'm thinking about getting into some light competition at the local gun club as well.

I'm looking at a couple of other items and was wondering what advice I could get on the subject.

question 1.
I'm looking at a storm lake match barrel
http://www.speedshooterspecialties.com/catalog/displayitem.php?rowid=663&type=S&W M&P 9 Stainless Match Barrel
but i also so this, i'm interested in the extra barrel length for accuracy vs. equipping with a silencer...
http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=SW-MP-9MM-475-OP-01T&reference=/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi%3Fsearch%3Daction%26keywords%3D%26searchstart%3D0%26template%3DPDGCommTemplates/FullNav/SearchResult.html%26category%3DSLBA
I guess my main question is a four parter...
a. is the extended length threaded barrel considered match grade?
b. would having an extended barrel take the pistol out of a stock class?
c. could i, at some point, have the extended barrel crowned?
d. with either barrel, would i need to send it off for feed ramp work like was done with my original barrel?

question 2.
I'm looking at a non captured guide rod...
http://www.speedshooterspecialties.com/catalog/displayitem.php?rowid=548&type=Tungsten%20Guide%20Rod,%20Non-Captured,%20S&W%20M&P%209/40/357/9L%20&%209%20Pro
I would have to purchase a recoil spring as well... is there any benefit, given my use, that a heavier or lighter spring would give me? The choices I am considering are 15# and 17#.

any help would be appreciated before i drop the wad. On a side note the gun is pretty accurate as is and is not used for home defense or carry, just fun.

[ToddG]

I guess my main question is a four parter...
a. is the extended length threaded barrel considered match grade?
b. would having an extended barrel take the pistol out of a stock class?
c. could i, at some point, have the extended barrel crowned?
d. with either barrel, would i need to send it off for feed ramp work like was done with my original barrel?

I'm sure Storm Lake considers it the same "grade" as their other barrels. The better question would be, "what makes them match grade?"
Depends on the sport, but in most cases yes it would take the gun out of a division intended for stock guns.
Yes.
You shouldn't ... was there a problem with your stock barrel that required feed ramp work?


question 2.
(...)
is there any benefit, given my use, that a heavier or lighter spring would give me?

That depends completely on what ammo you're shooting.

[exitinyourhead]

no nothing wrong with my original that I am aware of this gun went directly to dan after purchase. I have a completely stock m&p twin to it with no issues whatsoever.

only standard store bought standard fair ammo. I don't do any reloading and don't think I ever would.

I understood (and i could be very very wrong) that storm lake "match" grade barrels were mfg'd to a tighter tolerance than the stock barrels. Is this just marketing and hype or is there some truth to that?

[ToddG]

eiyh -- I haven't shot a Storm Lake M&P barrel, so I couldn't say. They may lock up a little tighter at the hood, which will improve accuracy with lower-pressure ammo. The Storm Lake barrels are a 1:16 twist as opposed to the oddball 1:18.75 that Smith uses for its 9mm barrels.

As a general rule, I wouldn't suggest dorking around with the recoil spring weights if you're shooting standard factory ammunition. Heavier springs will accelerate wear on the locking surfaces of the barrel and increase felt recoil; lighter springs will increase wear from battering if used with full power ammo. In either case the difference is probably relatively minor but manufacturers do not come up with standard recoil spring weights at random.

[exitinyourhead]

Thanks for the advice, good stuff to ponder.