M&P's Auto Forward

[LOBONCA]

I have both an M&P Pro and an M&P 40c. Both slides will automatically go forward after I slam a mag in. There have been references to this in other forums but I wanted to get info from other M&P owners.

Some people say this happens 100% of the time, others say it only happens some of the time. Still others say that S&W has changed something and the newer guns do not do this.

What is the real scoop?

Were the guns designed this way or is it just a fluke?

Personally I like it and I can count on both guns auto forwarding. Makes things very fast on reload. What is your opinion?

 

[Dragon88]

There was a recent thread on this. The slide is designed to stay back after a magazine is inserted. Slamming in a magazine may bump the slide stop out of place, but it is not a "feature". Slamming in a magazine to make the slide go forward is not a correct loading technique, even though a lot of people do it.

That part is called a "Slide Stop" not a "Slide Release" for a reason.

 

[NCW Ray]

It happens with a lot of different brands of pistols. My opinion is it's fine if you are playing games, but I wouldn't like it in a self defense situation and the reason being is this. Whether this will happen with M&P's I don't know, but I had an officer tell me his dept issue Sig P229 40s&w was malfunctioning. He said it wasn't chambering a round when inserting a partially loaded magazine during a drill. We were able to replicate the issue easily and what was happening was he was inserting a 1/2 loaded magazine with enough force to cause the rounds to compress the magazine spring and in turn when the slide went forward automatically it wasn't able to strip off the top round. He had to recycle the slide to chamber a round. Like I said, I don't know if this will occur with the M&P mags, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind...if it should just go "CLICK"

 

[Helderberg]

Auto slide close.

I called the S&W phone number and talked to a tec. According to him the gun is designed to do this. I have no idea if this is S&W making lemonade out of lemons but this is what I was told. My 45 does this and I hope it always does.
Best, Frank.

 

[SoCalDep]

That part is called a "Slide Stop" not a "Slide Release" for a reason.

Really...I wonder why, then, they made it external, protruding, and ambidextrous.

 

[markush]

I called the S&W phone number and talked to a tec. According to him the gun is designed to do this. I have no idea if this is S&W making lemonade out of lemons but this is what I was told. My 45 does this and I hope it always does.
Best, Frank.

Total BS!

This is something that has been known about for a long time now. A lot of people will tell you "it happens to mine, it's normal, don't worry about it". But it doesn't matter how many people say it happens to them, it is not supposed to happen that way!

I didn't have the problem with the original magazines that came with my M&P40. Then I got my two rebate magazines and it did happen with these two new magazines. What I found out was the springs in the new mags were shorter, therefore exerting less pressure on the follower and in turn on the slide stop so it didn't engage the slide stop notch fully. So when the next mag was inserted forcefully the stop slipped off the notch. New springs in the new mags fixed the problem for me.

If not weak mag springs in your case it could be a worn slide stop or the notch on the slide could be misshapen/rounded. But in any case the rep gave you a load of BS which is becoming far too common lately!!

 

[mittenzon]

Really...I wonder why, then, they made it external, protruding, and ambidextrous.

So you can push it UP with either your right or left thumb when you want the slide to STOP OPEN.

Any further questions!

 

[SoCalDep]

So you can push it UP with either your right or left thumb when you want the slide to STOP OPEN.

Any further questions!

Yes...Why, then, did they put serrations on the top of the two levers, and why would they consider an administrative function so important as to make it ambidextrous, yet leave the take-down lever conducive to right hand use?

 

[Dragon88]

The takedown lever does not need to be activated quickly in the field or during use. The slide STOP does have to be activated quickly in order to clear certain types of malfunctions, or to do an administrative lock and clear.

This is the most ridiculous thing to argue about, yet there's about two threads a week on it. If you want to play games with your pistol on the range and "auto forward" the slide, go for it. I hope you never have to use your pistol for real and get a click-no-bang because you trained yourself to operate your pistol incorrectly.

 

[Lost Lake]

It's kind of like setting down a mousetrap. If you bump it the trap springs!

On a M&P there is NO TRIP mechanism that would cause auto-loading. I suggest reading the owner's manual for verification. Shame on the S&W tech that told you this was designed to auto-load.

 

[LOBONCA]

In my case with both guns which auto-forward they have the mags that come with the guns from S&W. Both guns are under a year old.

 

[jdh]

Doesn't anyone read the manuals that come with new stuff anymore?

 

[missiondude]

The takedown lever does not need to be activated quickly in the field or during use. The slide STOP does have to be activated quickly in order to clear certain types of malfunctions, or to do an administrative lock and clear.

This is the most ridiculous thing to argue about, yet there's about two threads a week on it. If you want to play games with your pistol on the range and "auto forward" the slide, go for it. I hope you never have to use your pistol for real and get a click-no-bang because you trained yourself to operate your pistol incorrectly.

You mean to tell me that running out of ammo in a gun fight is so second nature to you that you will calmly drop the empty and seat the new mag with just the right amount of force that it fully seats, but has zero chance of auto forward so that you may grasp the slide and let it go. I personally dont think its a feature or problem. The California neutered 10 round mags dont fully seat unless you slam them home with enough force to get an auto forward most of the time. I dont count on the auto forward, but in hundreds if not thousands of reloads that it has happened, it has never failed to load a new round.

 

[markush]

Total BS!

This is something that has been known about for a long time now. A lot of people will tell you "it happens to mine, it's normal, don't worry about it". But it doesn't matter how many people say it happens to them, it is not supposed to happen that way!

I didn't have the problem with the original magazines that came with my M&P40. Then I got my two rebate magazines and it did happen with these two new magazines. What I found out was the springs in the new mags were shorter, therefore exerting less pressure on the follower and in turn on the slide stop so it didn't engage the slide stop notch fully. So when the next mag was inserted forcefully the stop slipped off the notch. New springs in the new mags fixed the problem for me.

If not weak mag springs in your case it could be a worn slide stop or the notch on the slide could be misshapen/rounded. But in any case the rep gave you a load of BS which is becoming far too common lately!!

In my case with both guns which auto-forward they have the mags that come with the guns from S&W. Both guns are under a year old.

I have posted this on several forums yet no one seems to give a rats *** that I may have offered a solution...It worked 100% in my case. Just like the REPS that hand out BS like it was candy...S&W is just as likely to hand out defective NEW parts also.

 

[Roadranger]

What's going to make any magazine hard to seat when the slide is locked back, there's nothing to interfer with it seating, no reason to slam it in, just insert it until it locks in place. As a LE firearms instrctor, we teach to give the magazine a little tug to make sure it is seated, then manually release the slide by pulling it fully to the rear to get all of the spring that you paid for, and let the slide run forward to reload the gun. If one hand is all that is available, one can use the slide stop to release the slide, or a boot heel , or whatever else is there. Think about reloading an auto with one hand while you slam in a magazine. Auto pistols are not designed to slam and close, it's unsafe at best and could lead to damage to your gun and magazines. Bob!

 

[jdh]

Just in case you didn't get a manual here is a link. Look at the third red warning on page 16.

"WARNING: DO NOT USE EXCESSIVE FORCE WHEN INSERTING A LOADED MAGAZINE INTO THE PISTOL. EXCESSIVE UPWARDS FORCE COULD CAUSE THE SLIDE TO MOVE FORWARD, CHAMBERING A ROUND AND MAKING THE PISTOL READY TO FIRE."

 

[missiondude]

What's going to make any magazine hard to seat when the slide is locked back, there's nothing to interfer with it seating, no reason to slam it in, just insert it until it locks in place. As a LE firearms instrctor, we teach to give the magazine a little tug to make sure it is seated, then manually release the slide by pulling it fully to the rear to get all of the spring that you paid for, and let the slide run forward to reload the gun. If one hand is all that is available, one can use the slide stop to release the slide, or a boot heel , or whatever else is there. Think about reloading an auto with one hand while you slam in a magazine. Auto pistols are not designed to slam and close, it's unsafe at best and could lead to damage to your gun and magazines. Bob!

Roadranger-

Your post made me think about what I wrote about having to slam the 10 round Ca mags. You are right, I was confusing my dificulty in seating a full 10 round mag during a tac-reload, or during an IDPA match when reloading with retention versus seating a mag at slide lock. Wierd thing is, I just pulled out my pistol and when I gently insert the mag, then give it a sharp hit (not necessarily hard) with my palm, the pistol auto forwards. When I give it the same sharp hit with no magazine in it at all it does the same thing. Pretty sure it is the slight shock to the grip that causes the slide to move back slightly and lose contact with the slide stop. Having just done this drill several times, I can see no way that the slide could move forward on a M&P and not chamber a round regardless of what causes the slide to be released. YMMV

 

[Lost Lake]

I have posted this on several forums yet no one seems to give a rats *** that I may have offered a solution...It worked 100% in my case. Just like the REPS that hand out BS like it was candy...S&W is just as likely to hand out defective NEW parts also.

How does your new spring idea work with 15 rounds in the magazine?

 

[Chris A.]

Yet, some Spec. Forces people I know that now do tactical pistol training for LE and civilians count on the auto forward ability of just about any modern semi-auto pistol to get sights back on target as quickly as possible.

Just saying.

 

[hberttmank]

Both of my M&P 9s drop the slide when slamming in the mag. I like this feature, comes in handy in action pistol competition. And my H&K USP does this also, so it is not just a S&W feature.