Smith & Wesson's M&P
(9mm)
At the end of 2007 and early into 2008, the price of ammunition was
on a decided uptick. This was no mere minor adjustment for
inflation, this was a result of a whole scale run on the market
for the raw materials required to produce, package, and distribute
ammunition. Such price increases made it very difficult for me as
an active shooter to spend the desired amount of time on the range,
prefering to shoot larger caliburs such as .45 ACP, .40 S&W,
.44 magnum, and the cowboy bullets. The only logical answer was to
change to a less expensive round. That, to me, meant searching for
a suitable 9mm semi-auto pistol.
The quest for the perfect pistol
A quick tour of the various gun shops I frequent led to the
creation of a short list. This included the Beretta 92 model, a
SigSauer P250, the Springfield XD, H&K's P30, Ruger's SR9, and
Smith & Wesson's M&P 9 or 9c. Over the course of perhaps
two to three months, much soul searching was done, frequent
observation of the bank account balance was made, handling of these
arms was done often, substantial research on specifications and
reviews was performed, and even test firing of two pistols from the
cabinet at my local range was done on more than one occassion.
After four to five weeks, the short list was made even shorter. The
Beretta was rejected because that frame and that slide, while an
excellent shooter (my cousin has one and I do quite well with it),
just didn't speak to me. Sig's P250 intrigued me and is still on
my list of probable future purchases but it just didn't seem to be
the time to go for that and since I already had one Sig, I decided
that one could wait. Ruger had introduced the SR9 early in 2008 and
from the various reviews, it certainly seems to be a pistol that
can take it but I look at Ruger more for rifles and revolvers than
I do for pistols, so while I have the utmost respect for Ruger,
that option too was laid aside. This left the H&K, the
Springfield XD, and the S&W.
The remaining choices were all relatively new offerings, with the
H&K also hitting the market at the end of '07 or early '08. Two
sessions test firing the Springfield was enough to tell me that
this was not the pistol for me. The weapon is well respected by gun
dealers and shooters alike and Springfield Armoury has worked very
hard to build and maintain a strong reputation in the arms
industry. All that is good and well, but when you get right down to
it, in my honest oppinion, the trigger stinks. It has a very long
stroke and a very long reset and frankly feels like mush. This, to
me, is not suitable so off the list it went.
The H&K felt darned good in my hands. I have had a chance to
fire one of their older .45 ACP pistols and was quite satisfied
with the performance. The company may not have the best reputation
for customer service, but reports of problems are also few and far
between. However, the price of the P30 was about $900 and while I'm
sure it would have been worth every penny, the budget just would
not allow it.
In the end, there can be only one...
So the Smith & Wesson won the prize. When I was finaly able to
make the purchase, I actually had to go to the second shop on my
list because these pistols tend to be hard to keep on the
shelves. After breaking it in, I can understand why. This pistol is
made to perform. Introduced in 2005 at
the IACP's Miami
conference, the M&P was designed specifically for law
enforcement and military use (hence the "Military &
Police" designation) but with S&W's usual savvy eye
towards the private consumer and has become popular among law
enforcement agencies and citizens both. When S&W set out
to design this pistol, they started by asking a lot of
questions of everyone, gaterhing all the likes, dislikes,
wanted features, hated features, and weird
idiosynchrosies of various arms that just bugged the daylights
out of them. It was only after they had that information that
they set to work on designing this new generation of
pistol. For years, Smith & Wesson ruled police armouries
with their classic revolvers. But when the Glock revolution
occured in the late '70s, and the decision was made in the
1980s by most departments and most officers to move to
semi-automatic pistols, Smith & Wesson just couldn't
manage to design a pistol that law enforcement wanted to
use. That opened the door for many other makers to get a toe
hold on that market with Smith & Wesson playing catchup
ever since. No longer.
Type: |
Semi-Auto, DAO, Striker fired |
Caliber: |
9mm / .357 Sig / .40 S&W / .45 ACP |
Capacity: |
17+1 (9mm) |
Barrel Length: |
3.5, 4.25, 5.0 in. |
Overall Length: |
6.7, 7.5, 8.5 in. |
Weight: |
22, 24, 26 oz. |
Sights: |
3 dot, dovetail front, fixed rear |
Finish: |
Black Melonite® |
MSRP: |
$656-$758 |
With the M&P series pistols, Smith & Wesson is now back on
a level playing field. The M&P (also refered to as the
"model 10") is not a feather light, but it
is still light weight by comparison. Weighing in at only about 32
ounces, fully loaded (24 oz without the magazine), it is lighter
than my SigSauer P229 is empty. They have accomplished this by
utilizing polymer for the frame while retaining the stainless
steel slide. Interestingly, the rails on the frame
are not inserts nor are they molded into the frame
itself but, rather, are formed by projections from the loading
block and sear housing. When taken in combination, the reduced
weight serves to make it pretty easy to carry around and
seems especially suited to a duty holster. Having an all-steel
slide provides necessary mass to help control recoil and muzzle
flip. In combintation, it seems to me that this pistol is at its
peak when chambered in 9mm but still imminently controllable with
larger calibers.
The full sized M&P is configured with a 4.25" barrel
(or 5" barrel in the "Pro" series), striker fired, with
an overall length of 7.5" and stands 5.5" high. This
somewhat taller than normal height along with the relatively sharp
rear corner on the grip can be a problem for concealment but for
those looking for a carry pistol, this series is also provided in a
compact model. One dimmension which perhaps doesn't get quite as
much discussion as it might deserve is the width. Measuring at just
1.2" it is somewhat narrower than other pistols but still
provides that high capacity magazine (and comes with one spare.) In
terms of concealment, the width of a pistol makes a big
difference. Most I looked at seemed to be about 1.4" or even
larger. If you think the corner of the butt prints on this
pistol, just look at some of the others. You might be surprised
at just how obvious some of these can be. Shave a little distance
off on the side and it can make all the difference in the world.
Standard equipment is dot sights with the front sight set in a
dovetail groove for windage adjustment, a Novak® Lo-Mount
Carry rear sight with the expected option of tritum sights, and in
a nod to all the left-handed shooters out there, the M&P is
equipped with reversable magazine release and ambidextrious
slide lock, and of course, this pistol provides a Picatinny
rail. Two magazines are provided each holding 17 rounds. On
top of the receiver is also a loaded chamber view port.
Personally, I prefer a tactile loaded chamber indicator to
better allow reference in low light but this serves well
enough. For those wishing it, this pistol can also be equipped
with a locking mechanism to allow a small key to be inserted,
disengaging the magazine disconnect and preventing the pistol
from being fired until that key is reinserted and turned the
other way.
One feature that has become all the rage of late is a reversable or
changable backstrap. This feature is found on all three of the
pistols that made my shorter list. Smith & Wesson provides 3
different sized backstraps with the middle of the two being factory
mounted.
Changing the grip strap is a simple matter of removing the
magazine, twisting the grip change tool 90 degrees in either
direction and then pulling it free. The grip can then be pivoted
rear-ward, removed, and replaced. All this takes mere seconds to
accomplish.
So if your buddy wants to
try out your pistol but it doesn't quite fit his hands, it is easy
enough to fix that. I find that the middle grip fits my hands quite
well but there are guys out there with smaller hands than mine and,
yes, there are those out there with hands that could make a grizzly
feel out classed. Some of the ladies out there will doubtlessly
also appreciate the smaller grip since it seems that few pistols
are made with lady shooters in mind. With this innovation, I
expect that may change since it now becomes relatively cost
effective to offer a smaller grip. One thing about this method
compared to others, the extra grips must be kept track of. Rather
than being on a reversable panel, they are separate from the
pistol. Generally this is not a problem since once you settle on
one, you're not likely to change it. It also seems to me that this
mechanism allows for some pretty easy customizations, provided you
match up the finish.
Smith & Wesson advertises this pistol with a 6.5 lb trigger
pull. A quick check with my gauge confirmed that. In my limted
experience, I have come to expect long strokes and stiff triggers
from DAO pistols. When I pulled this model from the rental
cabinet, I was pleasantly surprised. This pistol just didn't
feel like any DAO pistol I have previously fired. It felt far
more like a single action gun. The trigger preloads at perhaps
80% of its stroke and then breaks quickly and cleanly.
This allows you to take up perhaps two to three
pounds of tension while you sight. At that point, the
remaining force effectively is what you find on most SA
pistols. After firing, the trigger only has to travel back to
a little before that 80% mark (0.14" according to
S&W's litterature) before you're ready to fire again. The
clean trigger and the short reset weighed heavily on my
decision to ultimately purchase this pistol.
My initial impressions of this pistol were quite good however there
are still two items about which I am disappointed. The first is the
lack of a lever safety. Yes, I hear all of you out there that will
cry, "If you handle your gun correctly, you don't have a
need for a safety. Besides, it'll just get in the way in a
life and death situation." To you, I ask how often you
have made mistakes in handling your own arms or how often have
you been trying to teach a novice
to shoot and seen them make mistakes in handling the
weapon. It's just insurance. I'll grant you the second point
but I'll also state that those who carry guns for personal
defense ought to be practicing with them or at least taking
courses in self defense. When properly trained, such fumbling
is far less likely to happen. True, this pistol does have the
trigger safety which you can clearly see in the photo as well
as a magazine interlock so it won't fire with the magazine
removed to guard against that round you forgot you left in the
chamber and that will prevent a great many accidents, but I
don't think it's really a substitute.
The other item I take issue with is the take down. In order to
disassemble the weapon for cleaning, it is necessary to drop the
magazine, lock the slide open, turn the takedown lever, and finaly
reach into the slide and pivot a small metal lever to deactivate
the sear so that when you release the slide and bring it forward
that it will actually come off the pistol. I don't know about any
of you, but the prospect of reaching into this with my fingers to
release that lever doesn't excite me. I've found the best solution
to be either the cleaning rod or the letter opener I keep near
by. I'm just paranoid enough to figure that I'll manage to hit the
slide lock by accident or I won't have secured it properly and the
slide will slam forward and take a bite out of my finger. So my
fingers stay clear of the chamber.
Shooting Impressions
One thing I will say right off about this pistol is that
shooting it is deffinitely no chore. In fact, I find it quite
pleasant. I have no problems whatever sighting this pistol in
and can sit there all day poping rounds off without feeling
like I've been takled by a 400 lb
linebacker and the more I
shoot this pistol, the more I like this pistol. The grip and
feel are among the best of all the semi-autos I've had a
chance to handle. Since I purchased this weapon, I've put over
1500 rounds through it without a single jam or misfire.
Generally, when target shooting, I shoot either what the range
has for sale or I buy Winchester's 115gr FMJ bulk packs. Not
premium ammunition by any stretch but, in my oppinion, the
true measure of the performance of an arm is not in how it
does with extensive tuning and the best ammo on the market,
it's how it performs for the average Joe when they pick it up
and shoot it.
So, this sort of ammunition being typical of that used by
budget shooters, it is appropriate to select it for this
evaluation. Setting up my chronograph showed that these rounds
left my pistol at an average velocity of 1154.5 fps with a
standard deviation of only 83.1 fps over my sample.
As I've noted in other articles, I'm not the world's greatest
shooter and do not presently shoot competition, yet I have had
a great deal of personal practice. With some of my pistols and
revolvers, I have discovered a wide range of controlability
and accuracy. This pistol ranks tops among then, second only
to my Kimber. About the only thing I would change would be to
install a wider front sight to eliminate more of the parallax
error since, with my arms, the front sight doesn't really fill
the notch in the rear sight and my eyes need all the help they
can get. Still, from a free stance, I do well enough with this
pistol as evidenced by the targets shown. Such patterns are the
routine for me when taking this critter out to the range for
some exercise.
Often, when I go out to the range or into the desert, there
are multiple of my friends along for the ride. Mostly just out
for a good time but also to work on their own skills and
techniques. When they've had the chance to get their hands on
this pistol, they have largely echoed the oppinions I have
formed regarding comfort and overall shootability.
We have a winner!
It took a few years, but Smith & Wesson deffinitely hit a
home run with the new Military & Police series of pistols and
rifles. These weapons have made a strong impression on the
all sectors of the shooting community, whether it be law
enforcement, personal defense, or competition. For me, this
pistol has made such a strong impression that, since I've been
interested in getting a .45 semi-auto that's not a 1911
(I love 1911s but also like variety), I'm seriously considering
getting a .45 compact as another option for personal carry.
Kudos to the Smith & Wesson engineers for producing what
is perhaps the most comfortable and easy shooting semi-auto to
come out in the last 15 years!
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