Has anyone ever removed the beavertail off the M&P? I hate the way it looks and my hand doesn't really contact it anyway. I know there are some smiths out there that do it, but if it is something I can do myself, that would save me having to ship it out and be without it for too long.

Yes. With a medium grinding wheel. I read somewhere on the internet not to do it, since the beavertail was hollow; however, mine are not hollow (one had an air bubble that caused some concerns). There is some risk with doing this, though, so go slowly and be careful...

If you remove the beavertail, I would recommend not grinding it down too far. I left a lip for safety. You can use various weights of sandpaper to get the finish close to the original. Pics of one of mine, compared to a 9c. The 9c is on the left side in the first pic, and on the top in the second pic.

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I dont have a grinding wheel....wonder how else this could be done?

File or rasp.

Please remember any alteration to the frame "may" alter the structural integrity of the frame, aka, weaken it.

So in other words Smith & Wesson designed the weapon with a Beaver-tail for a reason so why would you want to remove it? My 40 compact does not have one but all my other M&P full size or mid size do.

So maybe if the beaver tail bothers you you might want to rethink it and get a compact that does not have one or ask Smith and Wesson what the purpose of it is before altering your weapon and voiding your lifetime warranty!

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59,M&P9,40,40C,357,(2)45,G26

I think you are right -- if the frame split or broke near the rear pin, or in some way a fault could be traced to the modification of the beavertail, the warranty would definitely be voided. And the frame is the gun, and is expensive.

Having some confidence in S&W customer service, however, I don't think they would void the warranty as it affects some other part of the pistol because of a modification that is not related to the specific failure. Not unlike the situation with installing an Apex kit. They don't warranty the Apex part, obviously, but they cover the rest of the pistol.

Now, why remove the beavertail? Because of the ancient urge to put one's own mark on a possession -- to customize the weapon a little bit. And, based on the compacts, I think the M&P looks better without it. Clearly, it is not required if the compacts don't have it. It is one of the modifications that Mr. Burwell has performed on M&Ps shown on his web site. With it gone, the M&P full size becomes a little shorter and easier to handle. But it is pure personal preference; I don't recommend it for anyone but me!

Another reason to take it off (for me, at least) is when I carry my 9 FS, the beaver tail digs into my side (love handles, you know...) even with a sweat shield. I don't see a reason for the beaver tail to be there, yet I don't trust myself to take it off. I may send it to Burwell and let him do it. Or, I'll just carry my Shield :-)

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Gary

Follow up on an old post. Like others I have been wanting to remove the beaver tail on one of my M&P pistols, just never moved forward on the project. But now that I have seen pictures of the new M2.0 pistol that does not have to protruding beaver I am thinking now is the time. If S&W believes the lack of the beaver tail is the future, why not.

Remove part of it. No worries. In the mass manufacturing world of S&W, a large (long) beavertail fits all hands, including the few extra large hands out there. However, it is overkill for the rest of us average sized hands people. S&W recognized this by shortening the BT in the M&P 2.

I have medium sized hands. I did not want to remove the whole BT, but I did shorten it by about 1/2 on three pistols. No problems. It is solid, not hollow. This in no way detracts from the structural integrity of the frame. It is not a void the warranty adjustment. The gun world is full of scaredy cats living their lives in the shadow of Mas Ayoob's worse case scenarios.

I used a bench grinder, slowly & carefully, to remove the excess length.

Then I contoured to my final profile with a hand file.

Next I used a Dremel with a fine sanding drum to finish the shape and smooth the surface.

Takes about 45 minutes going slowly and carefully.

Finally I used a progression of finer grit grey wet/dry sandpapers to smooth the surface, closely duplicating the surrounding factory finish. 400-600-800.

Compare the M&P 9c to the full size. The beaver tail is much smaller on the compact with the same width grip and slide. If you want 17 rounds, you can get a full size magazine and add the XGrip. I have this and love it. You can carry the pistol with the standard 12-round magazine in it and also the 17-round magazine for backup. The M&P 9c will also fit a lot of the M&P 9 full size holsters -- the length of the slide is the major difference.
For a full size, I have a Glock 17 Gen3 which has a smaller beaver tail than the M&P 9 full size.