The slide release on my M&P9 activates whenever a mag is installed. Even with very light pressure. Any way to adjust/fix this without sending the gun back to S&W since I've put a full APEX kit on it?

Thanks guys.

__________________
Matt H.

That slide shouldn't close unless you slam the mag in. At least that's the way it is with my full size 40 & my compact. Unfortunately S&W will probably blame it on the Apex kit. (I joke but there may be some truth to that) It's possible the slide catch isn't holding good enough & maybe you could get a new assembly & install it yourself. Hopefully someone onsite can give you an educated answer. It might be as simple as bending the part that catches the slide a little bit.

I really can't see a real problem with the slide closing on a mag insertion. Just make sure your fingers aren't in the way. My friend has just the opposite problem with his M&P40 - it won't close on a hard insertion like both of mine do & he's jealous. I rarely do it that way but I have in mag change drills. It's good to know that both of mine will do it every time.

__________________
Former USN, Retired US Army

My M&P 45C does that.

I like it.

I have difficulty understanding why this is a problem. If you're loading a full mag into the pistol, isn't the next step releasing the slide? Or are you intending to insert a full mag and then walk around with it locked back? None of mine do it and I wished they did, it would eliminate a step.

__________________
Minimize the variables

When you seat a mag in your handgun, the grip angle is 18 degrees and you're probably pressing forward just a bit with the meat of your hand. This means there is some force vectored to push the frame forward. As the frame accelerates forward, the weight of the slide causes it to lag behind a moment until the recoil spring presses enough to move it along. This lag behind in the slide mimics you pulling it back a little and gives an opportunity for the slide catch(not slide release) to fall by it's spring pressure. You can get this to happen in most semiautomatics by hitting slightly forward with the meat of your hand when you seat a mag. It happens a little easier on the m&p for a variety of reasons, one being the rear of the slide stop cutout is angled to reduce local stresses that could cause a crack there.

It's not a big deal and will actually help speed up reloads. Keep in mind, your muzzle should be in a "safe" position and your trigger should be out of the trigger guard until you're ready to fire anyway, so this shouldn't cause anything bad. View it as more of a feature than anything and enjoy.

My .40 does it with a normal insertion. You can see it in this video: Smith & Wesson M&P Pistol 400 Round Test - YouTube

My .45 does it as well, but takes a little more force.

I have a friend that doesn't like this "feature" on his 9mm. He says that it causes him to eject a live round when it happens. He has a habit so ingrained that when he sees the slide closed, he automatically racks it when inserting a new mag. I think it's a problem with his technique and he thinks its a problem with the gun. We have agreed to disagree on this point.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

What you are experiencing is what is called "auto forwarding" and most of my weapons do it unless I gently insert a mag which is seldom. It is not really supposed to but the fact that it doe for me at least it is a bonus.

Now when I insert a new mag I make sure I am pointing downrange and verify that my slide is in fact ready to go again and proceed from there.

To some people like me this is a feature and not a bug! I like not having to rack the slide if I don't have to!

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

I don't like it one bit. My other 3 M&P's and 3rd gens do not do it. IMHO its not a bonus. I don't want a function that "sometimes" does this. Screws up your consistent training and shooting.

I guess I'll play with the release a little bit. If not I'll strip the apex kit out and send it back to S&W.

If anyone here has fixed this themselves please let me know the process you used.

__________________
Matt H.

I 100% agree with your friend.

__________________
Matt H.

My Glock 19 gen 4 does it on a hard reload. I don't mind it.

Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk

__________________
Aim small miss small

My full size 9 does it my 9c does not - bummer!!

I would agree if it only does it sometimes. Mine does it every time so, I have no issue with training.

Also, it's easy for me to say this because my M&Ps are secondary guns. They are not my carry guns or my competition guns so, it's not something I worry about. If they were, I'd be more concerned. Still, because mine do it every time, I'm fine with it.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

I appreciate the opinions on the matter but can anyone give me insight on how exactly to fix it so this doesn't happen anymore? As I mentioned I have 10+ S&W's and various fire arms in the safe, none of them do this.

__________________
Matt H.

I don't think anyone's found a surefire cure for it. If you send it to S&W they will say it's within specs. I honestly hope someone posts a fix.

I think it will ultimately have to do with the way the slide stop engages the slide. You may have to alter the angles a little.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

Well, you are quite right, it should NOT happen, PERIOD. Now it appears that lots of posters are having this issue, and it is a safety issue. NONE of my autos do it, Colt, Springer, Beretta, nor my Smith and Wesson 3913, in fact I have never fired another auto that exhibited this "feature"???? So???

The slide is held open by the slide stop bearing on the lower slide stop notch in the slide, if the insertion of a loaded or unloaded magazine, causes the slide to strip a loaded round and go into battery, with out depressing the slide stop, or retracting the slide, it is most likely the slide stop that is out of spec, probably not the slide stop notch in the slide, and very unlikely the frame being wonky, but any one of the three could be the issue. If you tell S&W to fix it or replace it, it will return to you "fixed". billy magg

You are quite right Rastoff, it is likely the slide stop, the angles MUST be right for it to function as it is designed, but "fitting" is done by hand, too much bearing surface and it will not disengage properly, to little and it will not engage properly, it is an "art", hence the term "gunsmith". billy

I have 2 of the Pro CORE 5" pistols and they would Both release the slide when mag inserted under normal speed. It kind of reminded me of my H&K P7, M13 squeeze cockers. I needed a slightly larger/longer mag release due to hand size. I recently ordered a pair of M&P Extended Length Magazine Releases from LF Arms. They are steel bar stock and work perfectly. Besides working the mag release as needed, they also eliminated the slide release when mag is inserted under any pressure/speed. I have intentionally slammed mags as fast/hard as I can now and No slide release until I release it. Hope this gives some light?

My Makarov started doing this so I replaced the slide catch which was worn and no more slide releasing upon magazine insert unless manually operated. I spent $14 for a new slide catch and the problem was solved.

Well it may save a millisecond not having to slingshot the slide or pressing the slide release button and have the slide operate on its own upon inserting a magazine it does not guarantee a round is stripped from
the mag. and chambered as the slide could release before the mag is fully seated. Just my opinion.

__________________
"Who Dares Wins!"

My .40c only does this with a forceful mag insert, a really hard insert. I kinda like it. Never had a live round eject though.

Lots of semi-autos will release the slide when a mag is inserted forcefully or not. Personally I like it and it's never failed to chamber a round. If it's an issue for you I understand.

I guess I need to start slamming the mag home harder as none of mine are doing it. Don

__________________
USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

My 1911s never "auto forwarded". I bought a Ruger SR 45 that did part of the time. Sent it back to Ruger, and the gunsmith decided to "fix" it. Made it happen all the time. For me that was moving from bad to worse. Because I don't want different behavior, I eventually sold it.

Since I started shooting polymer guns a few years ago, I have gotten used to the slide dropping on it's own when inserting a full mag. I am now shooting the darling husbands 1911 45. Once in awhile, when forcibly inserting a mag the slide will drop. I have never had a gun strip off a round off the top when the slide auto closed. I just count it as a bonus and carried on.

If it doesn't strip off a round when it closes where is the bonus? Seams like you have a empty chamber and now have to rack the slide to load one. Or am I missing something? Don

__________________
USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

Mine has gotten to where its been 100% of the time it drops the slide. My M&P40 full size does it too. Its really sped up my reloading if it goes dry during a match. At first I hated it. Now I'm totally cool with it.

__________________
Matt H.

I've never had that happen, even once, with my 9c, 40c, 45c, or S&W full size 1911. I don't think I would mind if they did. Would save me a step in the process.

Try putting slight pressure on the slide lock as you insert a magazine, That's the way I do it sometimes during and IPDA match or at the range.

I have a FS M&P 40 that does this with the 3 mags I have. If I put the mag in real slow it doesn't but with a bit of force it does. This particular gun is an unissued police trade in w/o a safety. I thought maybe it was a 'feature'. I like it.

I can see It being a safety issue if for some reason the firing pin was stuck or frozen in the fire position;
Or if you had your trigger finger in the trigger guard and on the trigger! Safety First, keep your finger out of the trigger guard and always have the muzzle pointed down range or in a safe to fire zone!

mb

I witnessed a Sig 226 DA/SA do it without stripping a round from the mag......definitely not good. I never had the auto forward occur with any Sig I had.

My Shield 40 has never done it. But my FS M&P 40 does it occasionally. Personally I don't like it, but I'm aware of it when it happens. When it does it, it has never failed to strip a round from the mag.

The one thing I found among my 3 mags is a differently designed follower in one of the mags. I haven't bothered to "test" it to see if it auto forwards after emptying that particular mag and inserting one of the others, but I will specifically test it next time out.

__________________
MSP - Retired

There is a little to be concerned with here. While some guns do this, most don't. If you begin to rely on this "feature", it can cost you if you use another gun.

One of my students this weekend had a Glock that did this. He then picked up another gun. When it didn't "auto forward" upon mag insertion, he actually paused for about 2 seconds while he tried to figure out what was wrong. In a defensive situation this could have been deadly.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

Never experienced an auto-forward 'feature', but to me it seems like it can never be a 100% guaranteed activation.
Whatever time you save by not manually hitting the slide release or slingshotting the slide is probably trivialized by the time it takes for you to realize that it happened, process, confirm, and be ready for a condition of an empty chamber.

For the style of competition shooting I do, I have the luxury of knowing how many shots I'll need and reload points will be planned, and reloading with one in the chamber from the previous mag has worked just dandy for me so far.

I'm in agreement.
mb

Plan/prepare for it, but don't expect it. That's how I'd train with it if I had to live with it. If you can replace the slide stop or other possibly worn component, do it.

No auto I've ever shot has done this, but I also do not "slam" magazines home. Maybe I've just been too gentle.

None of the pistols I have ever shot has done this auto load . I personally wouldn't like it for the reason Rastoff stated, using a pistol that didn't auto load in a life or death situation could very well get you killed. Since you would have trained for the round to load after slamming mag in after a reload. My Beretta is so tight that you have to rack the slide and can't use the lever to release the slide.,and that is how I have always trained!

My M&P FS is much looser than my Shield, and the FS will usually auto forward with every firm mag insertion. I can make it do it pretty much 100% of the time if I slam the magazine in, intentionally smacking the butt of the grip with the heel of my hand. The mechanics are this: as you smack the butt of the grip, the frame will rotate forward with an impulse. If the gun is "loose" or doesn't have a very tight recoil spring, the slide will momentarily remain stationary while the frame rotates forward and the recoil spring compresses just a bit more. This "unlocks" the slide stop lever, in exactly the same fashion as when you slingshot the slide home on a new magazine. Naturally, the "unlocked" slide stop lever will fall (as there's no magazine follower to keep it up) and the slide will ride home, stripping and chambering a round.

My FS does it and two of my three CZ pistols did it (P-09, and 75). They are all full-size guns with recoil springs that aren't super tight (because of the mass of the slide, etc).

My three semi-autos that will not auto-forward under any circumstance are my old CZ P-07, my current Shield, and my current Kel-Tec P-32. All three of these guns are smaller guns with smaller slides and tighter recoil springs. The tighter recoil springs do not allow for the slide and frame to move independently during even a forceful magazine insert. Theoretically, you could get it to happen, but it apparently takes more force than I care to deliver.

That's a good explanation.

That was a decent explanation hokiefyd, but let me add just a little to it if I may...The mag doesn't need to be slammed in. This happens more due to the direction of the force than the magnitude of the force.

This is close, but with one addition; the M&P slide stop has a spring on it. This spring has a downward force on the slide stop. Thus, even if the gun were upside down, the slide stop will move out of the way if the pressure of the slide is released.

I can get my M&Ps to do this even without a mag. Lock the slide back and pretend to insert a mag. Using a normal force, the slide will close. Check this out:

If a mag is inserted and the direction of force is with the red arrow, it's unlikely the slide will go forward. However, alter that direction of force like the green arrow, and mine will close every time. Yes, it still requires some force, but it doesn't need to be slammed.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

Mine's done the same thing since day 1. I like it that way, but I know it's not right.

Correct. I used the term "fall" in this context because that's the motion that it takes under normal circumstances, but yes, it is spring-loaded. Thanks for the clarification; I can see how my terminology could be interpreted to mean that the slide stop lever would fall due to the force of gravity alone.

Yep, me too. As noted, it's the vector of force on the butt of the grip, and not the actual magazine insertion, that allows the slide to close.