Bought a M&P 9 Pro... I'm not feeling it at all..

[Tzoid]

I read so many positive things about the M&P pistol on this forum I figured I would go out on a limb and buy one. I decided to go with the 9MM Pro series and my impression after 200 rounds is that the trigger is gritty and for a 5" barrel it's nothing special at all. I can out shoot this gun with all of my P226
and My P229 SCT 9mm.

I guess I should provide a little background.. I own 10 Sig Pistols and this is my 1st Fantastic Plastic gun I have ever owned.

Any suggestions before I write this gun off and take a beating on selling it used? I'm trying to like it but I have my concerns. :rolleyes:

[Robb Jensen]

The trigger in M&Ps is one of the easiest to 'tune'. On Pros I just polish everything up and shorten the reset so it's about the same length as a Glock. On my own guns I do this as well as add a Mass. compliant trigger spring which requires a modification to the trigger bar. This gives a 5.5lb trigger pull with a very fast positive reset. Going back and forth from my 1911s, 2011 and my Pro doesn't feel very different.

[ralph]

I read so many positive things about the M&P pistol on this forum I figured I would go out on a limb and buy one. I decided to go with the 9MM Pro series and my impression after 200 rounds is that the trigger is gritty and for a 5" hammer forged barrel it's nothing special at all. I can out shott this gun with all of my P226
and My P229 SCT 9mm.

I guess I should provide a little background.. I own 10 Sig Pistols and this is my 1st Fantastic Plastic gun I have ever owned.

Any suggestions before I write this gun off and take a beating on selling it used? I'm trying to like it but I have my concerns. :rolleyes:

Give it a chance..The trigger usually smooths out after about 4-500rnds,and will become quite useable, if you are shooting to the left as many do at first, remember the M&P is very unforgiving of poor trigger control, snap caps and dry fire practice will work wonders (worked for me) Try some dry fire practice and some live fire practice (about 300rnds) if you put any effort at all into it, you should see a noticable improvment..

[Tzoid]

The trigger in M&Ps is one of the easiest to 'tune'. On Pros I just polish everything up and shorten the reset so it's about the same length as a Glock. On my own guns I do this as well as add a Mass. compliant trigger spring which requires a modification to the trigger bar. This gives a 5.5lb trigger pull with a very fast positive reset. Going back and forth from my 1911s, 2011 and my Pro doesn't feel very different.

Thanks Rob..

I may be taking a trip to your neck of the woods soon so maybe I'll bring it in for a tune up.

I shoot it pretty good but the creep and gritty feel just feels cheap to me.. Maybe I'm just comfortable with a different ( P series SIG ) platform. I'm not liking that front site so what options are there?

[cougar_guy04]

Thanks Rob..

I may be taking a trip to your neck of the woods soon so maybe I'll bring it in for a tune up.

I shoot it pretty good but the creep and gritty feel just feels cheap to me.. Maybe I'm just comfortable with a different ( P series SIG ) platform. I'm not liking that front site so what options are there?
I know where you're coming from there. When I went from my XD-45 to my Glock 34, after one match I was ready to throw the Glock back to Smyrna. Nothing felt right about the 34 to me. I gave it a little more time, more rounds, lots more dry firing, polished a couple parts and changed out the craptastic sights and *voila* I had myself a pistol that was really agreeable to me.

[Thomas M-4]

I read so many positive things about the M&P pistol on this forum I figured I would go out on a limb and buy one. I decided to go with the 9MM Pro series and my impression after 200 rounds is that the trigger is gritty and for a 5" hammer forged barrel it's nothing special at all. I can out shott this gun with all of my P226
and My P229 SCT 9mm.

I guess I should provide a little background.. I own 10 Sig Pistols and this is my 1st Fantastic Plastic gun I have ever owned.

Any suggestions before I write this gun off and take a beating on selling it used? I'm trying to like it but I have my concerns. :rolleyes:

Polish the firing pin safety plunger, trigger bar contacts and just a a little on the firing pin were the sear contacts the firing pin.
The safety plunger helps a lot to polish remove and use a punch to hold it and use a dremel at a 45 degree angle polish mirror smooth do-not reduce the height of the firing pin safety plunger.
The M&P forum used to have a sticky on trigger jobs very good. Do not re file the angle in the sear leave it alone unless you have a spare to play with.

As gotm4 said it is one of the easiest pistol to do a trigger job on doing the polishing will greatly smooth things up.

[Tzoid]

Thanks for everyones input.

I'll give it a try and see if I can warm up to it.

[civilian]

Might have to bring both of mine down to the shop for you to work your magic Robb. The trigger remains the only part of these guns that I really don't care for. Can't feel the reset and in general the pull just doesn't feel right to me.


The trigger in M&Ps is one of the easiest to 'tune'. On Pros I just polish everything up and shorten the reset so it's about the same length as a Glock. On my own guns I do this as well as add a Mass. compliant trigger spring which requires a modification to the trigger bar. This gives a 5.5lb trigger pull with a very fast positive reset. Going back and forth from my 1911s, 2011 and my Pro doesn't feel very different.

[Ak44]

I read so many positive things about the M&P pistol on this forum I figured I would go out on a limb and buy one. I decided to go with the 9MM Pro series and my impression after 200 rounds is that the trigger is gritty and for a 5" hammer forged barrel it's nothing special at all. I can out shott this gun with all of my P226
and My P229 SCT 9mm.

I guess I should provide a little background.. I own 10 Sig Pistols and this is my 1st Fantastic Plastic gun I have ever owned.

Any suggestions before I write this gun off and take a beating on selling it used? I'm trying to like it but I have my concerns. :rolleyes:

One thing I've noticed, Once a Sig...Always a Sig. Everyone I have met that has bought a Sig, usually will 95% of the time buy another sig. Much like CZ enthusiasts...I dunno what it is..:cool: Sell that S&W and get another Sig :D

[dirksterg30]

Polish the firing pin safety plunger, trigger bar contacts and just a a little on the firing pin were the sear contacts the firing pin.
The safety plunger helps a lot to polish remove and use a punch to hold it and use a dremel at a 45 degree angle polish mirror smooth do-not reduce the height of the firing pin safety plunger.
The M&P forum used to have a sticky on trigger jobs very good. Do not re file the angle in the sear leave it alone unless you have a spare to play with.

As gotm4 said it is one of the easiest pistol to do a trigger job on doing the polishing will greatly smooth things up.

Dan Burwell has DIY instructions for the M&P trigger job: http://www.burwellgunsmithing.com/M&Ptriggerjob1.htm

[ToddG]

I decided to go with the 9MM Pro series and my impression after 200 rounds is that the trigger is gritty and for a 5" hammer forged barrel it's nothing special at all.

First, you're comparing two completely different actions. The way a hammer-fired gun works and the way a striker-fired gun works are simply different. A great trigger on a Glock/M&P would be considered unacceptable on a 1911. It all sounds like you're comparing a worn-in SIG trigger with a brand new M&P trigger.

Second, as gotm4 and others pointed out, the M&P can easily be tuned if you aren't happy with the trigger. Having shot both tuned and stock M&Ps, the reset is the only thing about the M&P that I think really needs tuning. While the triggers on stock guns may not break like glass rods, they're certainly perfectly shootable.

Third, unless something has changed, the barrels on M&Ps are not hammer forged. They're made of a very dense stainless steel which is the Melonited inside & out.

[Thomas M-4]

Dan Burwell has DIY instructions for the M&P trigger job: http://www.burwellgunsmithing.com/M&Ptriggerjob1.htm

That is the one I used works great.
Couple of points beveling and polishing the firing pin block and trigger bar contact took out 80% of the gritty trigger pull on my M&P. Polishing the trigger bar contacts and striker took car of the last 20%.
The sear modification for over travel I would strongly recommend if you decide to do this to have a spare ask me how I know :eek::o When you get it right the trigger pull is great for a striker fired pistol.

[TY44934]

Unless you are trying to shoot NRA "Bullseye" competition with these guns (not suggested), then you need to evaluate them in the manner in which they were designed, which is: rapid-fire defensive use.

Short of getting into a gunfight, you should be evaluating these guns with the use of a shot-timer.

How are your split-times with each gun? Any change in draw-times from the holsters you use? How about time to first shot? Accuracy of your fastest fisrt shot from a holster?

As far as accuracy, any accuracy beyond center of mass at the distances to which you expect to engage threats, is simply not relavant to the gun's intended purpose. Of course, another use of these types of handguns would be the various types of combat pistol competition shooting out there.

If you are using a machine-rest to evaluate accuracy (or you are bothering to read that sort of test result in a gun rag), then you are focusing on the wrong qualities in the gun, since a defensive gun's purpose is to rapidly put defensive rounds into the center of mass.

If "tight groups" are still of a concern, you might consider a single-shot rimfire or an air pistol rather than a defensive handgun.

[Robb Jensen]

FWIW it's been my experience in the last 3yrs shooting M&Ps that I find that they all seem to shoot 124gr, 147gr and 158gr ammo more accurately than 115gr. Don't know why but they just do.

[threeheadeddog]

I had bought an MP45 as a "combat gun" replacement for my "game gun" 1911 in the role of defensive firearm and I can say from experience that the trigger is the one issue that people have with these guns that is completely fixable. My gunsmith set it at a very nice crisp 3lbs that I could not complain about at all. He did say that all he did was look online at some of the trigger tune primers for the MP and that I didnt really need him to do it as it would have been just as easy for me to do it.

I no longer own that gun but my personal issues with the MP were associated with the way it did or did not fit in my hand when holding it in "1911" grip with the thumb safty. I do not think I would have had near as many problems had my personal MP not had the thumb safty.

[ra2bach]

if I could either get used to, or improve, the (lack of) reset , I could probably fall in love with my M&P Pro. presently, with the way it is, I'm just infatuated.

has anyone had any luck tuning the reset to be significantly more distinct?

[Thomas M-4]

if I could either get used to, or improve, the (lack of) reset , I could probably fall in love with my M&P Pro. presently, with the way it is, I'm just infatuated.

has anyone had any luck tuning the reset to be significantly more distinct?

Doing the polishing job helps a tiny amount on the reset. The sear modification part if done correctly does help with reset [ Not as good as a Glock but close] Try Dan Burwell e-mail him see what he says good guy will tell you anything you want to know.

Own my pistol when I did the sear modification 1st attempt I took very little off reassembled didn't notice much different. 2nd attempt took a little bit more off [not as much as shown in the pic ] reassembled the trigger pull was slightly lighter not as much over travel and the reset was more positive:D I should have left good alone but looking at the sear angle on the finished pic my I thought I still had room to do even more that is were I screwed up my first sear :p I got greedy and tried to take it down to what the pic showed:eek::( After I messed up my first attempt I posted my problem and Dan Burwell told me that the tolerances vary some pistols need that much taken off some and some don't.

[ToddG]

has anyone had any luck tuning the reset to be significantly more distinct?

Distinct as in a tactile & audible click when it resets? Very easy to do with a decent action job.

If you mean more forceful (the trigger is pushing forward trying to reset when you've pressed it), that can only be accomplished with a spring change.

[Tzoid]

I went to the website and downloaded the PDF and reviewed the 46 or so slides and decided that maybe I will give this a try. I guess buying a new pistol that a company puts Professional on doesn't mean it's any better then the standard.

I do need to buy a few items like a dremel and polishing stone. Lord I guess if I screw it up I can pay someone to fix it.. :rolleyes:

[Littlelebowski]

My standard shot like a champ out of the box and now another forum member is enjoying it. Suggest you commit to shooting only your M&P for a while and work on some drills.

[Tzoid]

Thank you everyone for your input, I will take it all in and see where I end up.

I dove in and used the link provided in this thread to get the step by step instructions on doing the trigger job and it's pretty damn easy.. One thing to note is that I have the M&P 9 Pro series and the Sear is already modified so I just polished it and moved on to step 2 and now I ran into my 1st hurdle and I feel kinda dumb. How the hell does the striker cover come off? I rather not gauge it or break it. I'm not familiar so I'm being cautious.

Thanks again...

here is the link again that was provided.

http://www.burwellgunsmithing.com/M&Ptriggerjob1.htm

[Robb Jensen]

Push down (toward the muzzle) on the plastic spacer (inside in front of the strikers protrusion). Then slide the cover plate off. To remove the striker you'll have to push upward on the firing pin safety. It's the same as on a Glock but on a Glock you don't have to press the firing pin safety to release the striker.

[ra2bach]

Distinct as in a tactile & audible click when it resets? Very easy to do with a decent action job.

If you mean more forceful (the trigger is pushing forward trying to reset when you've pressed it), that can only be accomplished with a spring change.

actually both. I've got a PRO with the PRO sear. is that what you get with the PT dot com gun when you combine the PRO sear with the Mass trigger?

I'm patiently waiting...

[Tzoid]

Push down (toward the muzzle) on the plastic spacer (inside in front of the strikers protrusion). Then slide the cover plate off. To remove the striker you'll have to push upward on the firing pin safety. It's the same as on a Glock but on a Glock you don't have to press the firing pin safety to release the striker.

Thanks Rob

That was cake...now I need a polishing stone to finish that part and see where I'm at.

Another question... The Striker looks different on my gun compared to the one pictured in the step by step instructions. Is that another Standard VS Pro distinction?

[Robb Jensen]

Thanks Rob

That was cake...now I need a polishing stone to finish that part and see where I'm at.

Another question... The Striker looks different on my gun compared to the one pictured in the step by step instructions. Is that another Standard VS Pro distinction?

The new ones are different than the ones used at the time when the PDF was made.

[Tzoid]

Gotcha...

Well so far so Good...

I will be sure to post when I finish the job and get to the range to check it out.

I love this place and Rob as usual You are the Man!

[Thomas M-4]

The new ones are different than the ones used at the time when the PDF was made.

So they S&W finally did change the firing pin?

[Tzoid]

I completed the entire Burwell Gunsmithing trigger job on my M&P 9 Pro.. I'm going to the range tomorrow and see how it feels and I will post my 1st impressions.

Thanks everyone for the help and especially the step by step PPT. It definitly gave me the confidence to tackle this job and I have to say it was very easy.:D

T

[mike benedict]

the gritty trigger feel in most M&P is from the striker safety
If you take it out and round the top like a dome it usually results in a much cleaner trigger. That in itself takes up to a pound off the trigger pull. On occasion I have found that the channel the striker safety rides in is rough and needs a bit of work. Mostly it will clean up its self.
My latest M&P Pro had a definite crunch in the trigger from the striker safety. but after a couple thousand rounds it disappeared by itself.

One common problem with the M&P triggers is user induced. While replacing the rear sight and accidentally kinking the little spring under that cap, you can make the trigger terrible.
I have done it my self and seen it several times on pistols broght to my shop for a trigger job after someone has changed the sights.
BTW my little M&P sight tool makes it super easy to change the rear sight without needing 3 hands.

Mike

[Tzoid]

Mike

I completed the trigger job and went to the range today and shot 100 rounds of WWB 115Grain target ammo. The trigger felt better but the statement you made " I have found that the channel the striker safety rides in is rough and needs a bit of work. Mostly it will clean up its self.
My latest M&P Pro had a definite crunch in the trigger from the striker safety. but after a couple thousand rounds it disappeared by itself."

I suspected that this was the cause of the gritty or as you put it "crunch" in the trigger pull . I'm not sure I'm going to deal with this for a few thousand rounds.
If It bothers me too much I'll sell it and move on.

Do Glocks have the same symtoms due to the Striker ?

[John_Wayne777]

Mike

I completed the trigger job and went to the range today and shot 100 rounds of WWB 115Grain target ammo. The trigger felt better but the statement you made "

I suspected that this was the cause of the gritty or as you put it "crunch" in the trigger pull . I'm not sure I'm going to deal with this for a few thousand rounds.
If It bothers me too much I'll sell it and move on.

Do Glocks have the same symtoms due to the Striker ?

Glock triggers do not break in the same way that M&P triggers do. From the box they tend to maintain about the same trigger characteristics from day 1, in my experience, provided you don't do any custom work on them yourself. On my guns the triggers may have improved smoewhat over time, but it's never really been noticeable to me.

When I first got my M&P's I did a bit of dryfire (using snap caps, of course) and in a relatively brief period of time any "gritty" feel in the trigger went away. My M&P .45, for example, has less than 1,000 rounds through it (paying for .45 ACP is a bastard these days) but I've dryfired it a LOT with snap caps, and the trigger has no "gritty" feel in it whatsoever. The improvement in the trigger was noticeable quickly.

My advice would be this: You've already got sunk cost in the M&P. Get some AZooms and dryfire, dryfire, dryfire. While it's not as good as live fire for breakin, it does have an impact. As a rule M&P Pro triggers are pretty darn good, especially with some breakin.

If you get into the habit of chasing trigger characteristics you'll end up spending god-awful amounts of money and regretting it. (Ask me how I know...) If you give the platform a chance, break it in, and work on your trigger control, you won't spend as much money and you'll be a better shooter in the long run.

[Littlelebowski]

My advice would be this: You've already got sunk cost in the M&P. Get some AZooms and dryfire, dryfire, dryfire. While it's not as good as live fire for breakin, it does have an impact. As a rule M&P Pro triggers are pretty darn good, especially with some breakin.

If you get into the habit of chasing trigger characteristics you'll end up spending god-awful amounts of money and regretting it. (Ask me how I know...) If you give the platform a chance, break it in, and work on your trigger control, you won't spend as much money and you'll be a better shooter in the long run.

Sound advice there. Dryfire, shoot, repeat.

[Tzoid]

Update..

I took the advice of JW777 and bought some snap caps. What a PITA to do dry firing with a striker gun. I went to the range Saturday and put 200 rounds down range and the trigger is definitly feeling much better. The " Gritty " feeling has all but disappeared and I'm feeling ,uch better about the M&P.

Thanks everyone

[John_Wayne777]

Glad you're feeling better about it. Trying out a new platform always takes some adjustment and some getting-to-know-you time, but once you get past all of that generally you start to see some good returns by sticking with it. The M&P is a pretty good platform overall, so I think it will probably serve you well in the long run.

...and yes, dryfire with a striker-fired pistol does kinda suck...but you get used to it.

[HK45]

One thing I've noticed, Once a Sig...Always a Sig. Everyone I have met that has bought a Sig, usually will 95% of the time buy another sig. Much like CZ enthusiasts...I dunno what it is..:cool: Sell that S&W and get another Sig :D

Lots of long time Sig people, like myself, have left the platform due to declining quality control and service.

[decodeddiesel]

Tzoid, glad to hear the Pro is working out better for you.

To the others who have suggested the Burwell DIY trigger job, where do you get a spare sear? Seems everyone that has suggested that mod has suggested you have a spare sear.

[frbowers]

If you send it to me I will break in the trigger. :D