Long over due update!!!

I finally made it to the range. Yes, I know months went by while the gun languished in my safe, but the purchase of a FPC ended my procrastination and Sunday morning found me at the local range.

Unfortunately, I only had one brand of ammo to shoot (I don't reload 10 mm as I don't shoot it much), so I can't really offer a comprehensive report but the ammo I had, which was Blazer 180 gr FMJ, fed and functioned flawlessly. No failures to feed or extract.

Accuracy wasn't as good as I had hoped for. I'm not sure if there is an issue with the red dot or not, but the group size was larger than what I felt it should be. I am going the recheck the mount and since the factory sights are tall enough, try using them for a check. This is the first Blazer ammo I've ever used too, so perhaps that is a factor. At any rate, I expected the accuracy to be in the 2" - 3" range, and it was not.

As with all 10 mm, recoil is stout. That's not a problem per say, but I found an issue with my finger that I've had with some other handguns. My natural grip for me causes my finger tip to point down, which causes the bottom end to get pinched during recoil. It is more noticeable on some guns than others, and this seems to be one of the former. I will experiment with the back straps to see if they will help mitigate this. Another option is to switch hands.

One other pet peeve is loading the magazines. The design of the follower makes it difficult to center the first round when loading. Depressing the back of the follower with a magazine loading aid makes it much easier and once the first round is loaded, the problem goes away. The magazine spring is strong however and as more rounds a loaded, successive rounds become harder to load. A loading aid is highly recommended, especially for older shooter who are losing their hand strength. I don't know of a aid made specifically for the M&P 10 mm mag, but I was able to make a generic unit work - kind of.

So it's a mixed review. Other than the issues pointed out, I didn't experience any of the failures to feed others have reported. I do not believe all the accuracy issue are directly linked to the gun, but will report back if/when I discover the cause.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!