New M&P 9 Pro 5"

BigDog48 · #1 09-02-2017, 07:33 PM

Folks--

I don't want this to turn into a "problem with my new ..." thread.

I picked up a new M&P 9 Pro at my LGS that he ordered for me which I planned to use to compete in low-level, semi formal action shooting.

This pistol is not my first rodeo. I have more S&W than I care for my wife to discover, and several (5) are M&Ps. The others are revolvers. So far I have NEVER had an issue. I also have Glocks, Berettas, Rugers, Kimber, pick one, I probably have or used to have it. This one IS EVENTUALLY going to be my new baby, but..

I got it Wednesday; cleaned the factory goop out, lubed it lightly, per the manual (which I read), and headed to the range with a bunch of factory name brand 9mm FMJ of the 115 and 124 gr variety. No cheapies; no exotic brands or reloads.

Decided to start with 124 Speer Lawman. First mag, failure to feed first round. Figured I rode the slide (long one) and released the slide for the next round (after clearing the misfeed) with the "slide stop". I know, I had never done that on an M&P before, because it didn't work, but this one seemed to like it. Shot the rest of the mag and tried another...same deal EXCEPT it mis-fed in the middle of the mag (different ammo).

The longer I went on the more frequent feeding problems became ... first round, middle of mag, you name it. They're not making it up to the feed ramp in time. Tried 115, other 124, many name brands -- same deal. The mags are fully seated (although they seem loose, but can't be pulled out & it happened on both mags).

Came home, broke it down and cleaned it and see nothing odd except the take down lever is really loose when disassembled (just swings around) and the locking block seems rough.

Interestingly, if you slam a mag in it will (sometimes) chamber a round, and when reassembling the take down lever will reset itself when you pull the slide all the way back.

Since it's Labor Day weekend, I figured I ask the "experts" here before I call S&W Tuesday (which I will be doing).

Thanks for any advice you can give on what the issues might be!

"Oh no, S&W quality control sucks" answers will be ignored, unless helpful solving the problem. S&W QC doesn't suck -- I have at least 8 of them of different vintages (including 2 Shields and 2 others of recent vintage) and they're all fine except my new baby.

Harold

OKFC05 · #2 09-02-2017, 08:56 PM

Aside from the FTF, nothing you describe sounds odd. For my 2 Pros, I also disassembled deburred and cleaned the mags with CRC silicone, and lubed the rails fairly generously with break free for initial runs. I now routinely use Brownells Action Grease on the rails. I also put a little Remoil on the RSA at first. Good luck.

Smakmauz · #3 09-02-2017, 09:12 PM

Yeah, I would clean the mags up. Sounds like the followers are sticking. Might have some excess flashing left from the molding or something. I really like the hornady one shot gun cleaner and lube...for everything really but particularly good for cleaning mags. The stuff dries to a dry film type of lube that doesn't attract krud and it's lubrication properties are really good.

northbay shooter · #4 09-02-2017, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigDog48

Folks--

I don't want this to turn into a "problem with my new ..." thread.

I picked up a new M&P 9 Pro at my LGS that he ordered for me which I planned to use to compete in low-level, semi formal action shooting.

This pistol is not my first rodeo. I have more S&W than I care for my wife to discover, and several (5) are M&Ps. The others are revolvers. So far I have NEVER had an issue. I also have Glocks, Berettas, Rugers, Kimber, pick one, I probably have or used to have it. This one IS EVENTUALLY going to be my new baby, but..

I got it Wednesday; cleaned the factory goop out, lubed it lightly, per the manual (which I read), and headed to the range with a bunch of factory name brand 9mm FMJ of the 115 and 124 gr variety. No cheapies; no exotic brands or reloads.

Decided to start with 124 Speer Lawman. First mag, failure to feed first round. Figured I rode the slide (long one) and released the slide for the next round (after clearing the misfeed) with the "slide stop". I know, I had never done that on an M&P before, because it didn't work, but this one seemed to like it. Shot the rest of the mag and tried another...same deal EXCEPT it mis-fed in the middle of the mag (different ammo).

The longer I went on the more frequent feeding problems became ... first round, middle of mag, you name it. They're not making it up to the feed ramp in time. Tried 115, other 124, many name brands -- same deal. The mags are fully seated (although they seem loose, but can't be pulled out & it happened on both mags).

Came home, broke it down and cleaned it and see nothing odd except the take down lever is really loose when disassembled (just swings around) and the locking block seems rough.

Interestingly, if you slam a mag in it will (sometimes) chamber a round, and when reassembling the take down lever will reset itself when you pull the slide all the way back.

Since it's Labor Day weekend, I figured I ask the "experts" here before I call S&W Tuesday (which I will be doing).

Thanks for any advice you can give on what the issues might be!

"Oh no, S&W quality control sucks" answers will be ignored, unless helpful solving the problem. S&W QC doesn't suck -- I have at least 8 of them of different vintages (including 2 Shields and 2 others of recent vintage) and they're all fine except my new baby.

Harold

Since you have other M&P 's I would try an older (broken in) mag. Perhaps also switch out the recoil spring with an older one. Every time I get a new mag, there is always some failure to feeds until it gets broken in. I have both a 5in Pro and a 5in CORE. They are both fine now but they were sticky for the first 100-200 rounds.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

swsig · #5 09-02-2017, 09:30 PM

I've learned with my three M&P pistols (Shield 9, Shield .45, 40 Compact) that the manuals' lube recommendations may be too conservative for a new, tight gun. This was especially true for my Shield .45, which had serious failure to feed problems. My solution: About double the manual's recommended lube, plus a mild polishing of the feed ramp (using some car polish I had on hand and cleaning patches), plus a thorough cleaning of its magazines, plus a light lubing and buffing the magazines' insides so that the followers moved up and down like pistons in a Ferrari. I don't know which of these things brought an end to my FTFs, and I don't care. All I know is that the problem went away.

bsmiley · #6 09-02-2017, 11:41 PM

This makes me feel fortunate. I have a 5" Pro 9 for 4 years and I've never had an issue with it, Scouts Honor, no kidding, zero issues. I even bought some Promags before the miracle of Hillary's loss! The Promags have a lack luster rep but I've had no issues with them. Also i have never taken the mags apart and cleaned them. I hope its just a tight pistol and some lube & use will break it in.

BigDog48 · #7 09-03-2017, 08:34 AM

Thanks for the replies. I'll try those solutions and see how it goes! I love the feel of it and the sights!

BigDog48 · #8 09-06-2017, 05:13 PM

Well after trying all your solutions, I did get it to cycle OK for a while. However, it would not dependably feed every round. It's to be my action competition pistol, so I can't have failures. I shot about 250 rounds in a very frustrating range session and, when it began to get dirty (150 rounds), it would fail to feed almost every round, so I quit. Came home, cleaned and lubed it per the manual, and talked to a very nice guy, Paul, in S&W customer service who emailed me a FEDEX label after seeming very unhappy with my description of its behavior. It is now on its way back to S&W.

Smakmauz · #9 09-07-2017, 10:22 PM

Keep us posted on its performance after you get it back from smith.

BigDog48 · #10 09-08-2017, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smakmauz

Keep us posted on its performance after you get it back from smith.

Will do. It shot tight groups when it was shooting.

BigDog48 · #11 09-25-2017, 04:50 PM

Well, as an update, 10 days after S&W acknowledged receipt of my M&P 9 Pro (which was 9 days after it was delivered to them (according to FedEx tracking) I got a notice that it was on its way back. I'll report further when it is in my hands and I get a chance to shoot it. Assuming they corrected my issue it should be back to me within 3 weeks of me giving it to FedEx. That could possibly be a new best for S&W customer service!

Racer X · #12 09-25-2017, 10:10 PM

I absolutely love it when a CS rep says "That ain't right" and says they will take care of me. More CSRs should behave that way, and companies should LET THEM!

FWIW, I purchased a number of Mec Gar mags, and right out of the package, they were goopy and sticky. I break everything down and clean it well first.

BigDog48 · #13 09-26-2017, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racer X

I absolutely love it when a CS rep says "That ain't right" and says they will take care of me. More CSRs should behave that way, and companies should LET THEM!

FWIW, I purchased a number of Mec Gar mags, and right out of the package, they were goopy and sticky. I break everything down and clean it well first.

So do I. I only use factory mags though.

misswired · #14 09-26-2017, 07:08 PM

I bet they send it back to the deburr/final fit dept.
Uhh...wait a minute....they shut that dept down.

Oh yeah, I remember now.
You're supposed to shoot it 500 or more times until it's final fitted and deburred.

yellowtr · #15 09-26-2017, 07:15 PM

I have had the Pro for about 4 months now. The first round fired failed to eject, stovepipe.
The rest fired ok but on the last round, the rail did not lock in the rear.
The ammo was Blazer brass 115 fmj. Did the same for about 30 or so rounds I fired that day. A few stovepipes and a fail to feed or 2.
On my next visit to the range, I tried American Eagle 115 FMJ and it was perfect.
The blazer worked better, not stovepipes but never locked to the rear on the last round. So I just figured it was tight and the blazer was a bit under powered.
Well here I am on my 2nd box of blazer after 2 boxes of AE and the blazer ammo is working just fine.
It was either a low power box of blazer or a tight pistol.
Last 200 rounds or so, no problems what so ever. Just wish my accuracy was as good as when I shoot my SW22.
Bob

BigDog48 · #16 09-29-2017, 04:52 PM

I have all good news to report.

I got the M&P9 Pro back from S&W Thursday exactly 3 weeks since I dropped it at FedEx. I took it to the range today and put a variety of range ammo through it with no problems.

It shoots to point of aim, all 5 of my mags were used today and everything functioned perfectly. I shot Freedom Munitions, Blazer Brass and Speer Lawman in 115, 124 and 147 gr. varieties. The only real point of interest to me for competition purposes is that the 147 had less felt recoil.

I am very happy both with the pistol and the S&W customer service. Three weeks including a roundtrip from NC to Massachusetts and back is about as good as I could hope for.

A small note was included that said only that they had examined, repaired and tested my complaint about FTF...no real specifics of what the issue was.