M&P Question

[DrewH]

Might be getting some money soon, so after a new sofa, dental work, etc, I am thinking of picking up an full sized M&P 9mm, based on the positive reviews from Todd and others.

I'd like to take advantage of the product improvements after a couple of years on the market. Specifically I would like the upgraded magazines and the slight refinements to machining the slide that fixed the potential cracking problem, as outlined by Todd.

Is their a serial number range that I can refer to after which M&P 9mms will have these updates? Or at least the slide (I can look at the magazines myself, of course) If there is no serial number range, any pictures of the improved slide to identify the changes? Any other product improvements I should be aware of?

[98z28]

I am not sure on difinative dates or serial numbers. My M&P9 was purchased new in April of this year and has serial number MPZ****. It has the updated slide. I have no idea if it is the updated striker or not. I believe the stikers were changed in April or May 2008. It did not come with the updated magazines (new finish). The magazines I received with the rebated were the new ones. I can't remember if I received them in May or June.

I think that if you can find one that was made after June (Maybe as early as April?), you should have all of the known updates.

This might help if you want to dig through it: http://mp-pistol.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=360

Others should be along with better info...

[Beat Trash]

The M&P's have been selling well enough with the mag promotions that Smith & Wesson has been offering, that any new in the box gun you will find would have the new upgrades.

Our Department has 1,200 M&P 9mm's in the field for over 2 years. These were some of the first 9mm's produced. (The 3 NIB T&E guns we received to test were THE FIRST THREE 9mm's to leave the factory!) (I pulled some strings to get transitioned the first day. As the guns came to us in batches, as they were being produced, my issued gun is definitely one of the earlier produced 9mm's)

THE ONLY issue we have had so far is slight surface rust on a very few of the magazines. Smith blamed this on the subcontractor of the mags. Before one gets excited about the rust issue on the magazines, you would have to work in and around Law Enforcement first. Most officers clean their guns the afternoon of training (all Officers have to shoot twice per calender year). That is the only time many guns ever seen any type of care or cleaning. Magazines get rained on when the officers get rained on.

My issued gun has around 8K through it. I know of guns with over 46K through them, with no issues so far.

My point is that the M&P is a good gun (this from a die hard Glock 9mm fan!). If you like the gun, then get one. It will serve you well. I would not worry about trying to look up serial numbers, ect.

I am so impressed with the M&P, that I bought two full sized M&P 9mm's to set aside for my kids.

[ToddG]

The new slide design went into effect around April of this year.

Well over 100,000 M&P pistols were built before the slide design modification; about a dozen of those cracked their slides due to wear. Some people also broke theirs by using unauthorized sight tools but that's another story. ;)

Smith just sent me 10 new mags; they all have the old finish on them. I've got some pretty early new-finish mags and the finish polishes off fairly quickly. Since the only improvement is in the corrosion resistance I don't find it to be a big deal either way. I wipe the mags down with a Tuff-Cloth regardless and never have rust problems.

The bitter reality is that no matter when you buy your gun and when it was manufactured, you could get a peach or a pit. That's true for the M&P, a 1911, a Glock, SIG, or anything else. No one is immune to a batch of bad springs or a hiccup in heat treat or any of the myriad problems that hit firearms manufacturers. Hope for the best (pick the gun you want) and plan for the worst (pick a gun from a manufacturer that will stand behind its product if you have a problem).

[Jerm]

The new slide design went into effect around April of this year.

is there any way to ID the new design?

[ToddG]

I'm sure there is, but I couldn't explain it adequately. There is a slight bevel to the corners of the rail cuts in the slide. But the bevel is really slight, and I don't know how obvious it is to look at it. Plus, most pre-change guns had some bevel already. The change was made to guarantee that even the first slides cut with a fresh tool wouldn't get a square angle.

[Jerm]

thanks,just curious.

mine was test fired March 31st...probably missed the change over.

[Alpha Sierra]

Quit worrying about it.

If it should break, Smith & Wesson WILL take care of it in stellar fashion.

[HK45]

I just picked up a new 9mm full size this weekend. Serial starts with MRC. These pistols just keep getting better. Excellent fit and finish, trigger, and nice solid click in and out magazines. A bargain for the price and you know Smith backs up their products. I know a little bit about manufacturing (enough to be dangerous) and would like to know how Smith implements continuous improvements while maintaining quality control while in production.

[DrewH]

Thanks for the replies. Not overwhelming worried about it, but I figured I would check. Looks like I won't be able to get one till October,so I most likely will end up with the later slide in any case.

[ToddG]

Quit worrying about it.

If it should break, Smith & Wesson WILL take care of it in stellar fashion.

In this particular instance I would agree. As a rule, "don't worry, it's under warranty" isn't really comforting for a duty/carry gun. The danger, real or imagined, is that it will break during a fight rather than at the range. No warranty is going to cover that.

But, at least in my case, the gun continued to run after it cracked. I fired 301 rounds that day, and somewhere in there it broke. There was no indication by the way the gun was functioning. When I got home and field stripped the gun, it was cracked.

In fact, the gun had gone over 6,000 rounds since the last time I cleaned it, and for all I know it cracked even sooner.

I've shot many Berettas with cracked frames. At SIG, we had a frame that had the entire front rails machined off, leaving just the two small rear rails to hold the slide on ... gun wasn't very accurate but it was 100% reliable.

[dialM4murder]

Just put another full size 9mm in layaway. I made sure they gave me new stock. I opened the box and the date on the spent casing was 4/08.
It had the new finish on the mags with the new grey followers.