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S&W M&P 9mm...don't buy one.

105K views 36 replies 30 participants last post by  Bozz10mm 
#1 ·
I recently purchased an M&P 9mm. I have been teaching my girlfriend to shoot, and she was learning on my Walther P22, my 1911, a friends Glock, and my XDm. After showing a reasonable amount of proficiency, I decided to buy her very own gun for her. She is 4'10" and has pretty small mitts, and after trying out a variety of guns, she felt that the M&P fit her hands the best. I had done some research on the internet, and found pretty mixed reviews about the gun, which made me a bit hesitant, but Smith and Wesson seems to have pretty reliable customer service. Although I found it depressing, ( I wanted her to get an XD ) I caved and purchased the Smith and Wesson.

I took it home and taught my girlfriend how the gun functioned, and how to properly field strip it, and clean/lube it.
I took the gun to the range the next day. We were shooting 9mm military ball ammo. I've fired this ammo thru all kinds of pistols (Berettas, XD's, Glocks...you name it) without a problem. The first round thru the M&P resulted in a failure to extract. As did the second, third, and every other successive round. The expended brass stayed in the chamber, and the slide would push the next round into the ass end of the first round.
Needless to say, I was less than thrilled. This occured with both magazines. Also, 90% of the time, loading a magazine forcefully into the pistol with the slide locked back resulted in the slide coming forward and loading a round, without touching the slide release. This has never happened with my XDm, but I've experienced it with Beretta's, and once with a Glock. On one occasion, I also had the slide fail to lock back on an expended magazine.
After 8 magazines of being extremely frustrated and shooting a semi automatic one shot at a time, the failure to extract problem started clearing up. The last 2 magazines resulted in ONLY 2 malfunctions per 17 round magazine. Out of 170 rounds fired...I never got thru a magazine without a malfunction.

The next day I purchased 50 rounds of CCI Blazer Brass in an effort to determine if it was simply the ammunition that the pistol disliked. The pistol fired properly thru all 50 rounds, though I still experienced the problem with the slide coming forward when loading a magazine.

On the upside...I have to agree with my girlfriend when it comes to the ergonomics of the M&P. I have rather small hands as well, (I use the smallest backstrap on my XDm) and the feel of the pistol is spot on. The reach to the trigger and the handle is very comfortable, and pointing/aiming the weapon is very natural feeling. Much more so than the Glocks, and arguably, even more so than my XDm...which I hate to admit.
The trigger pull is somewhat quirky, and I've read that the pistol requires a "break in" for it to even out and become consistent. That sounded kinda retarded to me, but it turns out to be true.
The pistol is easy to shoot, and pretty accurate. I could keyhole rounds at 10 meters, and at fifteen meters I was shooting a 2 inch hole in a 3 inch dot without trying too hard.
So...basically the pistol was a blast to shoot...When it actually fired. :?

So, the bottom line is...I would never rely on this gun for self defense. But that's not what I bought this gun for. It's fun to shoot but certainly picky about ammo. I thought about sending the gun back to Smith and Wesson, but I think I'll experiment with different ammunition some more. If Smith and Wesson built this weapon to compete with Glock and XDs, then they have achieved failure of epic proportions because it doesn't compare in my opinion. Even without the failure to extract issue, the slide going into battery when loading a magazine is enough to piss me off. I didn't buy it with the expectation that it would outshoot my XD or a Glock, but I certainly didn't think it would be a POS right out of the box.

I dunno...I have pretty mixed emotions about the gun. I'll fire it some more, and then do a follow up.
If anyone else has had issues like this, then drop me a line.
 
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#2 ·
I'd send it off to S&W and see if they can make it right. I've heard enough good reviews about the M&P that it seems like you may have gotten a lemon. Too bad you couldn't convince her to get an XD :)
 
#4 ·
I'd send it off to S&W and see if they can make it right. I've heard enough good reviews about the M&P that it seems like you may have gotten a lemon. Too bad you couldn't convince her to get an XD :)

+1. It sounds like there is a problem with the gun and you should give S&W a call to see if you should ship it back to them. I have shot a few different M&P's and never had a problem.

Hope it all works out.
 
#5 ·
Sorry you had a bad experience. Many have not had the same problems.

I can't recall ever having an XD drop the slide when loading a mag, but this is not uncommon in semi-auto pistols and I wouldn't call it a problem.

Please keep in mind that a sample size of 1 is not sufficient to make a statement such as "If Smith and Wesson built this weapon to compete with Glock and XDs, then they have achieved failure of epic proportions because it doesn't compare in my opinion." I realize it may look that way due to your experience, but any pistol ever made; Glock, XD, M&P, Sig, HK; can and has had similar stories.
 
#7 ·
Well I have not shot the 9mm. My Dad however owns a .40. It fired Winchester, and hollowpoints with no hitches. Now when you shot the Blazer, you said the slide was being released when you inserted the magazine? Where you forcefully inserting the mag? That can cause the slide to drop if so. Some weapons may be picky on certain ammo. Everyone makes a lemon from time to time, I would try a few more rounds of different ammo. Then if you are still having problems, send it back to S&W.
 
#8 ·
Yeah I agree send it back to S&W and expect that it will take only about 2 weeks.
I have a M&P9C and it was an earlier model where the mags would release/fall out when I was shooting it. In addition the slide would lock back w/one rd in the mag.
Since I've had it fixed I've fired over 600 rds of all kinds of ammo and have not had one problem. Zippo! You have a good gun there. Contact S&W they will send you a shipping label and fix it w/no cost to you. It will be worth it!
 
#9 ·
+1 for sending that pistol to S&W to have it fixed, the one you have has obviously got issues.

I'm sorry that you've had a bad experience with that pistol and have a sour taste for it now, although I certainly don't blame you. I personally have two M&P's and plan on buying more in the future. In all honesty I trust my M&P 9 more than any other pistol I've got, including my xd. If that doesn't show that the M&P can compare to xd/glock, I don't know what to tell you.
 
#11 ·
Well I have not shot the 9mm. My Dad however owns a .40. It fired Winchester, and hollowpoints with no hitches. Now when you shot the Blazer, you said the slide was being released when you inserted the magazine? Where you forcefully inserting the mag? That can cause the slide to drop if so. Some weapons may be picky on certain ammo. Everyone makes a lemon from time to time, I would try a few more rounds of different ammo. Then if you are still having problems, send it back to S&W.
The slide goes into battery when inserting a magazine forcefully regardless of the type of ammunition. I realize that this isn't a terrible problem, but it's one I personally find undesireable. This has never happened with my XDm or my Springfield 1911, but I've had it happen with other pistols.
 
#12 ·
+1 for sending that pistol to S&W to have it fixed, the one you have has obviously got issues.

I'm sorry that you've had a bad experience with that pistol and have a sour taste for it now, although I certainly don't blame you. I personally have two M&P's and plan on buying more in the future. In all honesty I trust my M&P 9 more than any other pistol I've got, including my xd. If that doesn't show that the M&P can compare to xd/glock, I don't know what to tell you.
You're right...I've got a bad experience w/ one pistol. I mentioned I loved the way it shot when it did fire correctly. It's just a drag when I spent 500 dollars after finally getting my girlfriend to be excited about shooting, and the gun didn't fire properly for her. It makes me feel better that many other people are happy with their M&Ps. I'm certain S&W will correct the problem if I continue to experience it.
Thanks to all for your replies....
 
#13 ·
Take apart the bolt or whatever and clean the extractor, there is probably just way too much grease under it to allow it free motion. The slide release yeah that would irritate me as well. I have one magazine for my ruger 94 that won't hold the slide open, so its the last mag in the gun when I carry it, so it doesn't really matter. If nothing else the person I'm shooting at won't know I'm out of ammo.
 
#14 ·
I have trouble blaming the extractor if it ran other ammo with out a hitch

as for the slide not locking back I have this problem with both my xd and M&P 9c but its me riding the slide stop

slide dropping on insertion of mag may want to have that looked at
not uncommon to hear of but never happed to me


I do agree strip it down give it a complete cleaning & proper lube

run a few different brands of ammo including the military ball(what ever brand that is bulk, reloads?) see if there is a pattern then call smith and talk to them

40-45
 
#16 ·
Or the extractor claw might not be deep enough of a cut so that thicker brass won't extrat, or will slip on really rounded brass.
 
#19 ·
SAAMI | Unsafe Arms and Ammunition Combinations

CENTERFIRE PISTOL & REVOLVER



[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In Firearms Chambered For [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Do Not Use These Cartridges [/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]9mm Luger (Parabellum) [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]9mm NATO (Military) [/FONT]

Hmmm...I'll be damned. I guess the name "Military and Police" wasnt' meant to be taken literally then. I've also found thru research on the internet that various law enforcement agencies use the M&P and fire +P+ ammo thru it. M882 ball ammo is still 9x19mm, it's just loaded hotter than other factory ammo...but not as hot as +P+...Also I'm sure there are guys out there who load their own ammo hotter than factory loads. The Glocks chambered for 9x19 ammo have been found to malfunction with +P+ ammo, yet function without fail when firing NATO ammo. I've put thousands of these rounds thru my XDm w/out failure or abnormal wear.
Also, +P+ ammo still isn't loaded as hot as the proof ammo the manufacturers use when testing the gun. I'm taking this information I've gathered with a grain of salt, as with any info I get off the internet. So don't bust my balls if you find any of it is too off base.
Thanks for all the replies. I'm leaning toward the 'Extractor gunked up with grease' explanation. The gun did have a healthy coat of grease on it when I brought it home. I field stripped it as per the manual, and cleaned/lubed it with CLP before firing it. However, it would be difficult to remove any grease inside/under the extractor. I didn't remove the extractor because 1) It's pinned in 2) I'm not a gunsmith 3) I didn't expect the ass pain with the gun in the first place.
This theory could hold water because the gun did start firing more normally toward the end of the first day, and today it fired w/out a problem. Tomorrow I'm gonna run a few more rounds thru it after work. Both "factory" and NATO ball, and see what happens. I didn't mean to bash the M&P as hard as I did. I was upset, and wanted to see if any other owners have had similar problems. There are alot of things I like about it...but the initial day of firing it left me wanting to drop kick it over the berm at the end of the range. Whatever happens, I'll get it sorted out. If nothing else it'll make a killer looking door stop or paper weight. :cool:
-Happy shootin....
 
#23 ·
The girlfriends works great. We only have about 150 through it (my fault, I need to take her more). If you slap that mag in good and hard it will auto-ride. My Glock will reliably auto-ride if I reliably smack the **** out of it =).

I would call them up and tell them you want to talk to Mr. Smith or Mr. Wesson personally. :wink:
 
#24 ·
From what I have been able to glean from my reading on the web. There are some brands/models that were originaly designed for law enforcement that automaticaly drop the slide when the mag is installed to get the gun ready ASAP. For cops every second truely counts and having the slide close when you slam that next mag in saves a small bit of time that might save their life.
 
#25 ·
Actually there are two verisons. One that will fire the gun w/a rd loaded in the chamber if the mag is released and one that will not fire if the mag is released.
The latter is especially good for LEOs as they can wind up in a tussle w/BGs and sometimes they do get their weapons.
 
#26 ·
I took the gun to the range after work today. I fired another 10 magazines thru it, using NATO ball ammo. The first three magazines resulted in 1 failure to extract per magazine. After that, I had no more problems with the gun, other than dropping the slide occasionally when forcefully inserting a magazine...which I can live with.
So...what does that mean? I guess it had to develop a taste for the ammo I was running thru it? I've never really heard of a break-in period for a gun, but it seems that a gun would run more efficiently once the surfaces wear together. I dunno.
I can say that once it started firing properly every time, it was a blast to shoot. It has noticeably less recoil than my XDm using the same ammo, and you'll go thru magazines in a hurry having fun shooting controlled pairs.
I wasn't sure about it at first, but I like the gun.
Thanks for all your replies/ideas.

Keep shootin-
 
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