View Full Version : How are the newer M&P9 strikers?
I have a MRE2000 serial M&P9. Never took the platform seriously, so sat unused for a long time. Started training with it one month ago. Broke the striker at 1400 rounds. Ordered a new striker from Midway, but in the meantime thought I'd be able to use the old striker assembly for dedicated dry fire. Broke the leg in 10 minutes.
How much mileage are you guys getting from the new M&P9 strikers? Normally, I'd have a duplicate backup gun, but I haven't committed to the platform yet.
Vinhinator: are you dry firing with/without a snap cap or is that 1400 rds of live fire? Just curious.
FWIW Speed Shooter Specialties has the new "stainless" strikers in stock for $33 each.
Vihn, I had similar results with at least three different generations of factory S&W strikers. None held up to serious dry fire. S&W is very good at replacing them though. Simply call them up and they will have a new one out to you in 2-3 days max.
I have no firsthand experience yet using the newest revision strikers but hear they are much better than the older ones, but they can still break. It looks like "Apex Tactical" will be coming out with a striker in the not to distant future that will take care of the problem once and for all . IMHO, by adding some of the new Apex Tactical
parts to the M&P pistols you can transform them into pistols that can be taken seriously.
S&W is very good at replacing them though. Simply call them up and they will have a new one out to you in 2-3 days max.
Definitely, call them, tell them the striker broke and you need a new striker. Make sure to ask for the whole assembly. The newest striker does not work with the old cups.
Chris Rhines
03-14-10, 20:10
Oddly enough, both of mine have held up very well. I finally broke the striker on my #2 M&P last year, after somewhere over 150,000 dry snaps.
I still keep a couple spares around.
-C
John_Wayne777
03-14-10, 21:19
I have a MRE2000 serial M&P9. Never took the platform seriously, so sat unused for a long time. Started training with it one month ago. Broke the striker at 1400 rounds. Ordered a new striker from Midway, but in the meantime thought I'd be able to use the old striker assembly for dedicated dry fire. Broke the leg in 10 minutes.
How much mileage are you guys getting from the new M&P9 strikers? Normally, I'd have a duplicate backup gun, but I haven't committed to the platform yet.
S&W has made 3 generations of strikers. The Gen 1 strikers broke at hideously inappropriately low numbers of dryfires. The Gen 2 strikers did better, but still broke if you did too much dryfire sans snap cap. Most of my M&P's have gen 2 strikers and they've held up for years over thousands of dryfires using snap caps.
The latest gen 3 strikers are made of stainless steel and are much more tolerant of dryfire without snap caps. They are all silver instead of black like the gen 1 and gen 2 strikers.
Call S&W and they will send you another striker.
subzero,
I was doing 5-10 minutes daily without snap caps for the past month. Quit using them last year since I kept tearing the rims off, but it looks like I'll have to get a new set.
Jason Burton
03-14-10, 21:45
The latest gen 3 strikers are made of stainless steel and are much more tolerant of dryfire without snap caps. They are all silver instead of black like the gen 1 and gen 2 strikers.
Are the 1st and 2nd generation strikers also stainless steel but finished with the same “black Melonite” finish as the slide?
John_Wayne777
03-14-10, 21:46
They are finished black, but I don't think they are made of the same steel as the "stainless" strikers currently being used on guns.
crazymoose
03-15-10, 00:23
Any metallurgists or engineers take a look at this one? I'm wondering why Smith has had such an issue with striker breakage, which is uncommon in most other striker-fired guns, especially the Glock, to which the M&P is very similar in this regard. Is there some part of the striker's geometry that lends itself to stress fracture formation? Is there a less cushioned or more forceful impact of the striker against the breech face? Is Smith just using inferior materials?
Never been much of a fan of the M&P, but I can't figure out what's behind this huge issue in an otherwise pretty sound (and very popular) design.
They were MIM parts based on the mold lines on them. Hopefully, someone will mill them (and charge us for the extra work) to make this pistol do what it was supposed to do...
Actually, I may be confusing the sears on this one. A buddy broke 2 of his sears but I don't recall what they looked like except for observing the "cupping and coning" surrounded by the shiny compacted area which is indicative of a fatigue failure.
Sorry for any confusion.
How can I tell which "gen" my M&P is? The piece of the striker that protudes down through the slide is black so I assume 1 or 2. It is not that old -- I've had it maybe 15 months -- so would guess gen 2(?)
The latest gen 3 strikers are made of stainless steel and are much more tolerant of dryfire without snap caps. They are all silver instead of black like the gen 1 and gen 2 strikers.
I would not count on that because it’s exactly what S&W has said about every generation of striker. Yet, they all have broken on me in short order.
I would seriously suggest people use snap-caps or pick another hand gun.
subzero,
I was doing 5-10 minutes daily without snap caps for the past month. Quit using them last year since I kept tearing the rims off, but it looks like I'll have to get a new set.
The Triple K snap caps I used to use were like that. I switched to A Zooms a while ago and I've found them to be much more durable.
John_Wayne777
03-15-10, 08:51
How can I tell which "gen" my M&P is? The piece of the striker that protudes down through the slide is black so I assume 1 or 2. It is not that old -- I've had it maybe 15 months -- so would guess gen 2(?)
Gen 2 is the most likely candidate. I'll try to get some pics of the strikers up tonight since I now have gen 2 and gen 3 strikers.
I would not count on that because it’s exactly what S&W has said about every generation of striker. Yet, they all have broken on me in short order.
To this point I haven't seen evidence of anyone breaking a Gen 3 striker on an M&P.
The ugly truth here is that most guns will eventually break something with dryfire. I've broken several guns from different manufacturers with dryfire in the past. Snap caps are, in my view, cheap insurance for those who want to do regular dryfire practice no matter what handgun they are packing.
While the Gen 3 strikers look promising, I'll wait until Apex gets a billet striker made. I've no doubt it'll be a better part. I don't believe that a high stress part like a striker is the right application for MIM... So far though, I've had no problems with either of mine (Gen 2), But I've been using snap caps for dry fire practice. I do believe that helps alot.
Here is a picture of the latest striker.
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/7994/img0194sd.jpg
Hrmph,
I dry fire my guns without snap caps like a lunatic and i have yet to break a striker. Im literally at the point where im TRYING to break my M&P's. My full size M&P has 30k rounds on it now and i can only imagine how many dry fires. I literally sit in front of the television for at least an hour dry firing every evening and have been for well over a year and a half with this thing.
Is there any chance the snap caps are causing issues? Yeah i know, probably not but who knows.
Gen 2 is the most likely candidate. I'll try to get some pics of the strikers up tonight since I now have gen 2 and gen 3 strikers.
Please do, I'd like to see that.
I'm fairly certain that all of my M&Ps have the Gen 3 striker, nevertheless I use snap caps on a regular basis.
Any metallurgists or engineers take a look at this one? I'm wondering why Smith has had such an issue with striker breakage, which is uncommon in most other striker-fired guns, especially the Glock, to which the M&P is very similar in this regard. Is there some part of the striker's geometry that lends itself to stress fracture formation? Is there a less cushioned or more forceful impact of the striker against the breech face? Is Smith just using inferior materials?
I don't recall where I saved these pics from (hope I'm not stepping on any toes).I'm pretty sure they were posted n the M&P forums.
You can see where they've changed the geometry.The new striker is beefed up in certain areas and they've softened some of the harder angles...
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s277/jermwarfare_2007/45strikerswhole.jpg
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s277/jermwarfare_2007/45strikerscloseup.jpg
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s277/jermwarfare_2007/45strikerfoot.jpg
The leg(?) seems to be the usual failure point.
The spring is a few coils longer...The plastic guides and spring cups have been changed as well.
I don't know how long S&W has been putting the new stikers in guns.I do know that a few months ago Midway and Brownells were still shipping out the gen II versions.I'm pretty sure they've only been getting the new ones for a month or so(at most).
Thanks for the replies and pics. I think I will pick up a spare soon...
A side benefit of the Gen3 striker is that it helps to smooth out the trigger pull -- at least that's been my experience with them.
I'm curious. How much money is saved by using a mimmed striker instead of a machined one that is properly heat treated? In this case my guess is that their troublesome strikers are PR and customer service nightmares, which also cost money.
Williejc
The leg(?) seems to be the usual failure point.
The plastic guides and spring cups have been changed as well.
That's how they have broken on me. The plastic guide and spring cups don't just break either, they get crushed into pieces and then compacted. It can be a pain to dig them out.
That's how they have broken on me.
That's where every example I can recall seems to have broken.
The "foot" and the entire leg definitely seems to be thicker on the new ones.Along with the changed angle on the foot.
I'm hoping where the others have been hit/miss(I've yet to break one myself) the new design will do the trick.
Odd. The tip of my striker broke first, then the leg.
Contacted S&W for a replacement striker.
MidwayUSA sent me what appears to be a Gen I striker, so I guess they're sold out of the Gen III.
Tonight I remembered why I stopped using the A-Zooms. Specific to my M&P9 (tight chamber or weak extractor), the snap cap mushrooms inside the chamber and has to be beat out with a rod. Trying out the Triple-K for now.
Damn...right when I was thinking about trying an M&P out too!!! I hate when machines break down due to cost cutting measures by the mfg. S&W should have had this problem sorted out before the pistol released let alone being on "Gen III" and still not squared away.
[QUOTE=BiggLee71@hotmail.com;602854]Damn...right when I was thinking about trying an M&P out too!!! I hate when machines break down due to cost cutting measures by the mfg. S&W should have had this problem sorted out before the pistol released let alone being on "Gen III" and still not squared away.[/QUOTE
You could try a Glock, after 28 years they should have all their problems sorted out .:D
Odd. The tip of my striker broke first, then the leg.
Mine broke at the step down on the body, just behind the big section at the front. ETA: it was a first generation striker.
Tonight I remembered why I stopped using the A-Zooms. Specific to my M&P9 (tight chamber or weak extractor), the snap cap mushrooms inside the chamber and has to be beat out with a rod. Trying out the Triple-K for now.
That is not exactly confidence-inspiring, and perhaps worthy of a call to S&W on it's own.
[QUOTE=subzero;603089]Mine broke at the step down on the body, just behind the big section at the front.
I am curious to what generation your striker is.
John_Wayne777
03-17-10, 13:28
Odd. The tip of my striker broke first, then the leg.
Same here. When I broke my striker (I assume it was a gen 1) many moons ago it broke right behind the section that actually has the firing pin protrusion.
Contacted S&W for a replacement striker.
MidwayUSA sent me what appears to be a Gen I striker, so I guess they're sold out of the Gen III.
They probably never got the gen III. The gen III striker is fairly new and has been used primarily in the construction of new guns by S&W, IIRC.
Midway was shipping the gen III as of a couple weeks ago.I think it may have been the first of them that they have though.
All of the broken strikers I've seen have been Gen II if I'm not mistaken.They were from fairly new guns or recently purchased strikers (but still pre-gen III).
...Where the leg seems to have been the common issue.
I'm not certain how to distinguish gen I from II though.
No problems with A-Zoom snap caps in either of my M&P-9s.
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