folks,just got a mp9c with ct grips

[twomoons]

folks, i hate to start another thread,but it just donned on me after reading these posts,that i had better find out which mp to get.
i mean,i read where the early mp guns had problems.
at what point or serial number,or year did sw get the problems figured out.
at what point in production should i not worry about any problems from the early guns
thanks folks

[TFred]

This question is neither a trivial one to answer, nor insignificant in importance. Until these answers are made fairly clear, the used market for M&Ps is tainted at best (for those who do sufficient research to discover that there were early issues) and diminished at worst (for those who don't want to risk buying one of those issues).

I can honestly say that lacking these answers, I decided to not even try to find a good used MP9c. The 2 mag rebate offer pushed me over the top to buy new.

So... is this good for S&W, to drive new sales, or bad for S&W, to hurt their used market, and consequently, resale value?

TFred

[Kanewpadle]

If your buying a brand new one, I wouldn't worry about it.

[GaryM&P]

Make sure that "brand new" gun on the dealers shelf is actually brand new. A lot of dealers sell new old stock. Check the date on the fired casing envelope. Current guns have serial numbers starting with "DU".

[twomoons]

gary
thanks,
i see the used market coming down on these mp guns.
but then,unless some one knows about the early problems,
a good deal could turn into a lot of trouble.
gary,can i ask of you or anyone who reads this,
what were the early problems sw had with the mp.
i agree with you,the 2 mag rebate or 50 rebate,will definately switch me to buy a new gun.
so the defintive thing to look for is the du on the serial number??
thanks a bunch friend

[MotorCityGun]

Originally Posted by twomoons

i agree with you,the 2 mag rebate or 50 rebate,will definately switch me to buy a new gun.
so the defintive thing to look for is the du on the serial number??
thanks a bunch friend

2moons, FYI, I bought a slightly "used" 40c at a gun show from a sporting goods store/gun dealer. I submitted a copy of the receipt along with the rebate form to S&W and they honored the rebate. So, in this case, I did not have to buy a brand new gun in order to receive a rebate.

[twomoons]

THANKS MOTOR CITY
,I AM ON THE SEARCH NOW TO SEE WHEN SW FIXED THE PROBLEMS THEY HAD.
AND ALSO,I AM on the hunt to see what were the major problems
i can glean from the posts here,some idea of the problems people had,but it would be faster and easier, if i could get a summary of the problems,or problem in the early mp gun's

[GaryM&P]

Here goes. In case I miss something read through all the pages of this:
The #1 Compact, Full Size, and Modified M&P Pistol Source :: MP-Pistol.com

M&P problems or changes to the pistol:
1. Mag catch - early guns had problems with mags dropping out when they weren't supposed to.
2. Slide release - design was changed to make it easier to operate.
3. Loose sights - this has been a problem for a long time.
4. White dots popping out of sights.
5. Recoil rod - they went from a rounded end to a hex end.
6. Slide finish - a LOT of guns made in 2007 had terrible finishes on the slide.
7. Magazine finish - early 9mm and 40cal guns had glossy finish which was changed to a matte black finish.
45 cal guns had black finish which was changed to a gray finish.
8. Magazine springs - all calibers have switched to stronger springs.
9. Magazine followers - 9mm has changed design twice.
40cal has changed design twice.
10. Slide stop spring - compact guns have had problems with early lock back. Newer versions have stronger springs.
11. Sear block housings have changed. A few early ones had problems with loose housings and loose ejectors.
12. The design of the striker channel liner has changed.
13. Striker breakage - this is a biggy. Lots of people have had problems with broken strikers. They are currently on their fifth design. The newest strikers are silver colored. I replaced all my strikers with the silver ones.
14. Sights were changed in 2010 to "stepped" sights. This allows for one handed slide manipulation.
15. Sights installed backwards. I've seen this on Pro models.

Enough reasons? Personally I wouldn't buy an M&P that wasn't made in 2010. I would consider the pistol good to go if it had the new style stepped sights and a silver striker. Lock the slide back and look underneath at the leg of the striker. It is easy to tell if it is silver or black.

As an absolute minimum I would get a gun with a serial number that began with "D"(2009 or 2010) and replace the striker with a silver one if it had a black one.

[twomoons]

holy smokes gary,
i did not have any idea about all of this.
i guess my 225 sigs from austria and swiss police surplus will stay untill i can find a mp9c that has all these issues fixed.
thanks a million gary
i had my heart set on the mp9c

[Mortech]

I have one of the very first ones with the MPA serial prefix , never had one problem with it . I look at it this way ,you will hear about the problem gunsalot more than the good ones .

[enidpd804]

I think both of mine are 2007 and have been perfect through 1000s of rounds.

[twomoons]

ENID
THANKS,I CAN GET A SMOKING DEAL ON A M9C WITH A CT LASER FOR AROUND 400.
i know some guns have problems.
but the mp has gotten such good reviews,the couple bad posts scared me,i agree.
you dont here about the thousands with no problems.i need 1 good ccw gun,and really like mp9c.
i am getting it.and will report
thanksa million for your help guys

[shawn mccarver]

It is not S&W's used market, so I doubt they care since the factory makes no profit from the sale of used pistols!

As to the M&P, they continue to have little issues crop up, including the latest on the firing pins.

The really annoying one for me is the fact that I continue to read of light strike experiences.

I do not know why, but one would never hear of S&Ws having misfires back in the 60s, 70s, but the Model 459 was disqualified out of the M9 trials due to lack of firing pin impact energy. If they are that close on a brand new gun sent for testing, it can only get worse as springs weaken.

These failure to fire issues just keep coming up, and it is a mystery to me why they cannot seem to get everything just right.

If it is not firing pin impact energy and misfires, it is magazines self-ejecting, and if not that, it is firing pins breaking, and if not that something else. And that does not even get into the need for a felt "tampon" to be inside of a spring in the M&P, the SD and the SIGMA to prevent the spring from vibrating itself into two pieces.

S&W needs to get these issues fixed and now!

[STR]

Smith has long ago fixed the occasional problems that the early guns had, in my experience. I had one of the first ones made (an MPA prefix fullsize 40) that did have occasional light primer strikes and occasional failures to feed due to rounds impacting on the bottom of the feed ramp. Smith soon thereafter changed the foot on the striker so it would give a stronger impact to the primer. They also changed the mags and follower design early on to address the feeding issues. The next one that I bought was still an early production gun with a MPH prefix that is still going strong over 4000 round later with no problems to speak of. I now have 7 M&P`s (they seem to multiply like rabbits in my safe,) with over 20,000 rounds through them combined. Overall, they are some of the most reliable pistols that I have ever owned. The only light primer strikes that I have seen since the earliest ones seem to occur in guns that owners have allowed to accumulate oil in the striker channels. M&P`s (like Glocks) work best with a dry striker channel; the presence of lube there allows dirt, powder residue and brass particles, etc to accumulate and slows striker motion with firing. I have never had a mag fall out unless I pushed the mag release. I have never broken a striker (but I don`t dry fire.) If you think that only Smith has had to make updates to their guns, look at Glock; they are reliable guns but mags for the 9mm are on their 6th follower design, the 40`s are on their 9th follower design. They have had problems with 40`s functioning well with a light attached and finally came out with a redesign of the model 22 (4th generation .) If you buy any M&P used, except maybe some of the earliest ones, and put new mags of recent production in it or if you buy one of the ones most recently made, I don`t think you could buy a more reliable gun overall.

[twomoons]

gary,all the mp9c guns i have on my list start with a d prefix,or du,so i feel good about whta you told me to look for.thanks again friend

[twomoons]

folks,
after reading a ton of posts,and gwetting a lot of advice from this reat forum, i bought a mp9c with ct grips. i am really jazzed about it.first striker pistol for me. i cant wait to get it and shoot it.
i have had several guns i wanted to ccw.all the sigs,225 239,p6,2228
etc, and handled all the guns that came through the store i haunt.
for some reason,when i picked up the mp9c a few weeks ago,something anout it just felt right.just felt better,than the same guns in the same size range,sigs,glocks,springfields,etc and the number of police agencies going to them really impressed me too.I have talked to a lot of police dept. heads out here,and they can't wait to go to the mp serie's anyway,i am sure i will have questions in the future,and will post some range eports.
thanks for all your great advice friends.
serial starts with d by the way.
do you mp folks advise to get the apex sear,and the upgrades i see about on here

got a good deal also.

[MotorCityGun]

Originally Posted by twomoons

folks,
after reading a ton of posts,and gwetting a lot of advice from this reat forum, i bought a mp9c with ct grips. i am really jazzed about it.first striker pistol for me. i cant wait to get it and shoot it.
i have had several guns i wanted to ccw.all the sigs,225 239,p6,2228
etc, and handled all the guns that came through the store i haunt.
for some reason,when i picked up the mp9c a few weeks ago,something anout it just felt right.just felt better,than the same guns in the same size range,sigs,glocks,springfields,etc and the number of police agencies going to them really impressed me too.I have talked to a lot of police dept. heads out here,and they can't wait to go to the mp serie's anyway,i am sure i will have questions in the future,and will post some range eports.
thanks for all your great advice friends.
serial starts with d by the way.
do you mp folks advise to get the apex sear,and the upgrades i see about on here

got a good deal also.

If it's still available, reference the thread I posted about CTC laser grips.

[twomoons]

MOTOR,
THANKS
.GOOD ADVICE.i live about 40 miles from the ct factory.
i drive by thier every other day,so i might just stop in.

[MotorCityGun]

Originally Posted by twomoons

MOTOR,
THANKS
.GOOD ADVICE.i live about 40 miles from the ct factory.
i drive by thier every other day,so i might just stop in.

That might be a good idea, however, I was able to purchase my laser grip at a pretty decent discount (vs paying retail) from this site: https://www.manventureoutpost.com/lo...hp%3Faction%3D

FYI, retail price of the laser (model # LG-661) for my pistol is $329, I paid $217, w/o shipment. Shipment = $11.

[twomoons]

motor,
thanks friend
i sure hope i like the mp9c s much as i did in the store when i handled one. i have handled had all the sig models,all the compact models of every gun company out there.
and the mp9c just felt different.
i have a 228,225,and p6,and even though i like sigs,a fully loaded sig 228 is heavy. and bigger.the 225/p6 is a single stack,,but not much smaller than a 228
everyone has fought the same issues i have been.weight, capacity,concealability,reliabilty,shootability,,revolover vs semi.
i got a good deal on it motor,with the ct grips.
i am going to try my darndest to work,and practice and train,and make this gun my ccw. i need a good iwb holster,tuckable,.
anyway,thanks a million for your help buddy

[mrt949]

I have a fullsize 40. with a MPB ####.NEVER had any problems.