For those of you with high-mileage M&Ps, I thought you might be interested in my experience with a factory rebuild. As my trusty, near flawless M&P 40c approached 10,000 rounds, it started to have light strikes. Some were out-of-battery, but most were not. A new striker did not help with the in-battery light strikes, so S&W customer service quickly agreed to have it sent back to the factory for repair.
They had it about a month. They replaced the sear housing block, the barrel locking block, the trigger mechanism, and the slide stop. The only mechanism in the grip that they didn’t replace was the magazine release. Since it already had a new striker, it was not replaced. They did not replace the recoil spring assembly, which I found surprising, because it had 5,000 rounds on it, and could have been contributing to the out-of-battery light strikes. They also thoughtfully returned the parts from my Apex DCAEK trigger system that had been in the 40c when I sent it in.
Upon receipt, I immediately took it to the range and put 200 rounds through it. It was flawless, with one exception: I now had a new M&P trigger (sigh). It was gritty and stiff of course, but I resisted reinstalling my Apex, because I wanted to see how good the factory trigger would become. I had been completely satisfied with the original M&P trigger (after break-in), and had only installed the Apex kit because I’d developed some painful arthritis in my wrists, and needed a lighter trigger pull. A change of statins from Lipitor to Crestor eliminated the arthritis, so a lighter trigger is no longer a priority for me.
Over the next three weeks, I made four more visits to the range, firing an additional 675 rounds. During this period, the trigger lost its stiffness, and the grittiness evolved into a mild sponginess during takeup, which I don’t really notice when I’m shooting. The trigger now has a nice, clean break at an appropriate (not too low, not too high) pull weight, so I’m not sure I’ll need the Apex. Also, it may be my imagination, but it seems like it has a shorter reset than the original M&P trigger.
During the course of intensive shooting that followed the return of my 40c, I experienced five more light strikes, all out-of-battery, and all after firing more than 100 rounds. To me, that meant I had a worn and weakened recoil spring assembly. The one in the gun had replaced the original RSA as preventative maintenance when the original hit 5,000 rounds, though I had never had any problems with the original RSA. I called S&W customer service again, and they again quickly agreed to send me a new RSA. In the meantime, I reinstalled the original RSA, and shot 160 rounds with no problems.
The Saga of the New RSA
My first replacement RSA for my 40c had arrived quickly after I’d talked with customer service. This time things would be different. For some reason, it took eleven days from the time of my phone call to customer service until my notification by Fedex that a shipping label had been created. I assumed it was finally ready for shipping. Then my new RSA sat. And sat. And sat. After five days had elapsed and the Fedex tracking system showed no movement, I started making inquiries to both S&W and Fedex by phone and by email. Days passed, and back and forth I went with both companies. S&W told me they had no idea why Fedex hadn’t picked it up. Fedex told me that S&W had only created a shipping label, not a package, and if they wanted to ship the RSA, they would have to deliver an actual package to Fedex for delivery through their oh-so-slow Smartpost service. I continued to pester S&W, and finally, two weeks after my RSA was scheduled to be shipped, I got an email from Brett at S&W customer service stating that my RSA was on its way. He was kind enough to send it second day air, and three days later I had it in my 40c. The elapsed time from my first call to customer service to receipt of the RSA was almost a month. I suppose I can’t really complain, because there was no charge. But the process certainly could have gone more smoothly.
Two days ago, I did get to shoot with the new RSA, and sent 150 rounds down range without a hiccup. While my first target was horrible, (can a stiff new RSA affect accuracy?), I shot as accurately as I’ve ever shot with my 40c with the rest of the targets. My 40c is now back to its accurate, reliable self, and returns to its position as my principal everyday carry. I’m thrilled to get it back.
For those of you who need have your M&P rebuilt by S&W, don’t hesitate to send it in. Smith & Wesson does stand behind their products. There may be a few glitches along the way, but if my experience is any indicator, the time and trouble is worth it in the end. I now have a virtually brand-new gun, good for another 10,000 rounds, and it was free.
Good Shooting!
Report on My Factory Rebuilt M&P 40c
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