M&P .40 S&W review

[Cybrludite]

Recently picked up one of these, and over-all I have to say that I'm impressed. The full-sized model is decently concealable and has a respectable 15 round magazine capacity. Accuracy was plenty good for a fixed sight defensive gun. I was able to keep my shots in the X ring and the face of a B-27 silhouette target at ten paces. No jams, even with complete newbs shooting it. Field stripping it is a breeze. They also have learned from Glock's mistakes in that regard. Pop out the magazine, lock the slide back, rotate the disassembly lever down, and either rotate the widget that disconnects the striker, or squeeze the trigger after releasing the slide. Either way, you shouldn't be shooting yourself in the leg as part of the field stripping process. Slide the slide off the front, remove the recoil spring & guide unit, and then the barrel. Easy as cake. As a bonus, the widget which disconnects the striker is designed in such a way that putting the magazine back in moves it back out of the way, allowing you to fire even if you forgot to move it back after reassembling. I use it as my truck gun now because I can easily pop off the slide and take that with when I get to work. That way if someone breaks into my truck while I'm inside, all they'll get is a hunk of plastic that isn't even a decent club, but still locks them up for ten years Federal with no plea bargaining.

Gripes: Only one. A full magazine rattles. Not much noise at all, really, but a minor annoyance.

 

[pntbllr228]

Can I see some more thoughts on the M&P models? I am considering buying one and I havent read much on them.

 

[JBP55]

Accurate, soft shooting and has three different backstraps for different hand sizes. IMHO the M&P out of the box is as accurate as a Sig.

 

[gunut]

I have the M&P in 9mm. Nice gun. Very smooth and easy to field strip. I've got about 150 rounds through it and haven't had a FTF.

 

[asianak]

sweet i really want one.

 

[kirby]

I own a full size .40, which i need to get rid of, and a compact 9mm. They are awesome guns. Much more accurate than I am, and I have never had a reliability problem. I feed the 9mm the cheapest ammo I can find, and it takes it like a champ.

The only downside to these pistols is that the spare parts are not as available as glock parts are.

The only reason I want to get rid of the .40 is to buy a 1911, or a .45 M&P

If you are thinking about it, do it you will not be disappointed.

 

[Hitman]

They also have learned from Glock's mistakes in that regard. Pop out the magazine, lock the slide back, rotate the disassembly lever down, and either rotate the widget that disconnects the striker, or squeeze the trigger after releasing the slide. Either way, you shouldn't be shooting yourself in the leg as part of the field stripping process.

Which is why love the SA XDM.

Lock slide to rear,
Roatate take down lever forward,
Release slide = Field Stripped

No trigger pull, quick and easy.

Glad your satisfied with you Choice. I like the way the MP looks. It also got 2007 Gun of the year I believe.

 

[kpm]

I have an M&P .40 and like it as well (I am also a glock owner). I actually like both in their own respects. One point to be aware of with the M&P... depending on the model number the mag release metal was crap. Around 1150 rounds my mags began dropping out caused by some wear on the mag realease itself. I called S&W and they shipped me 2 so now I have a spare. They told me this should fix the issue. No problems since. Enjoy!

 

[SpeedRacer]

I've been carrying a M&P 9c for about a month now. Overall it is a great pistol, very comfortable to shoot and accurate. I do find it to be a bit overcomplicated internally, and am truly amazed they are reliable considering the ridiculous amount of parts. But alas they are reliable, so I guess it's not an issue. My only other complaint is the size, the slide is HUGE for a pistol chambered in 9mm. Alot of unnecessary girth and weight. I wish it had the same dimensions/design as my XDm slide.

 

[Ske1etor]

Have heard problems with the mag release. The only people complaining about it are saying that it is too soft. Mags are easily dropped if your holster comes close to touching the release. The easy fix is to put a heavier spring in the mag release.

 

[LSUh20fowler]

I have the full size M&P .40 and absolutely love it. Have about 500 rds through it with no issues.

 

[dukeryder]

I shot the M&P @ the S&W factory range. I wasn't impressed but that might be because I had just shot a couple Performance Center Revolvers and a Doug Koenig 1911 prior. I swear up and down though that I was much more accurate with the Sig 226 in .40 S&W. It shot the M&P 40 about as accurately as my old Glock 22 which I traded for 17 because I felt the 22 wasn't accurate enough. I'm sure if I spent more time with the plastic guns in the caliber I could get more accurate but the weight of the sig makes it much easier to shoot tight groups right in the middle of the paper.

 

[Paul Gomez]

This is from August 2006. My initial impressions.
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Since this pistol has been coming up in several discussions, I figure now is as good a time as any for this post.

Prior to coming onbaord with my new employer, the decision was made to arm with the brand-spanking new Smith & Wesson M&P pistol...in .40SW...with 3-dot tritium Novak sights.

As some of you might recall, I have nothing but disdain in my heart for .40SW, I dislike 3-dot sights and I dispise Novak sights.

The idea of arming a platoon with a brand new, unproven, design strikes me as foolhardy, at best, but I had no control over that. To date, I have approximately 2000 rounds through my issue gun and the other weapons have around 1000 rds through each of them. I should have those numbers doubled by Friday after next.

So far, much as it pains me to admit, I am finding this thing to be a very nice pistol.

Perceived recoil is markedly less than perceived recoil from a Glock 22 or 23. When I first fired the gun, it seemed to be a bit gentler, but, I was unwilling to comment because I shoot .40 so rarely that I thought my perceptions were suspect. However, at least six of my guys come from the local law enforcement arena and are/were issued Glock 22s or 23s. Each of them, independantly, made similar comments concerning recoil and perception of control.

The trigger is interesting. Overall weight is similar to a Glock, but there is more trigger motion involved. Additionally, there is more of a tendency to 'shortstroke' this trigger if the shooter is attempting to utilize 'trigger reset' as traditionally taught with Glocks. While the trigger physically resembles the trigger found in the Sigma, it feels completely different.

The 3-dot tritium Novaks suck. This is the single most egregious component of the design. If you take a look at most tritium sights, you will see that a hole is drilled into the blank, a vial of trit is inserted, a window or plug is used to seal the hole so that the rear face of the front sight is flat. That is not done on the M&P sights...the hole is drilled, the trit is inserted and then the inside of the hole is painted white. Very cheap, very poor and very unimpressive. As soon as someone gets some decent sights on the market, these turds are going the way of the dodo.

Another area of failing of the Novaks, in my eyes, is the inability to use the rear sight during any sort of one-hand gun manipulation. The racy wedge shape of the rearsight does not protrude enough from the slide to be functional in this aspect. Remember, of course, that the Novak sights come from the era of wiping stovepipes off of M1911s and the focus was on not cutting your hand on a sharp rear sight...

Blackened stainless steel for most metal components, including the magazines, is a nice touch. The interchangeable backstrap idea works very well. The mag disconnect is a worthless feature, but, once I've attended the official armorer course, should be a nonissue. Of course, I could pull them now, but I'll wait until I've been annointed.

The slide stop is pretty friggin tight...tight enough on new guns that it is not viable to use as a slide release. Not a big deal for me, as I'm an 'overhand rack' guy, but problematic for guys who grew up on traditional Smith semis.

My issue gun bares an MPA prefix, the other guns bear MPE prefixes. There was a definite change in the slide stop design from the A to the E series guns. [I'll get pics posted at some point, guys.] The A series slide stop was never, ever, by any stretch of the imagination intended to be used as a release. It is flat and recesses into the frame slightly. The E series has a slight outward bow to allow somewhat easier access, but it is still fairly low profile.

To recap:

I like the ****ing thing.

Even though the sights SUCK!

So far, they have been reliable, easy to shoot & easy to run.

I'm not willing to give them an endorsement, as I don't have enough rounds downrange to talk about durability, which is always a question with .40SW guns. I'm certainly not looking to sell a Glock to buy a Smith or anything like that, but the guns are working out so far.

 

[Paul Gomez]

Here's Todd Louis Green's 62,333 round test of the M&P.

I've got three of them and have no issues reccommending them to people. For a new shooter, or people new to training, the M&P is hard to beat.