Finally shot my new .45FS this morning

[Zell]

Well, despite the work I did on my brand-new gun to successfully squeeze together (what I deemed as a flaw) a larger than usual gap between the dust cover and the slide -- I was pleasantly surprised how well and accurate the gun shot for its first time at the range. The groupings were spot on -- even with a small target that was way down the lane. I put over 80 rounds through it in less than an hour without a hiccup. It crunched through, and spit-out, rounds like a raging beast. It is now my favorite gun. The gun and it's little brother, my M&P 9c, will stay in my collection for a long time.

 

[accessbob]

Glad to hear. I just shot my .45 FS for the first time on Saturday and I immediately fell in love. Big as it may be, I'm going to see how well I can conceal carry it with my Remora holster as soon as it gets here.

I like the M&P 45 a lot.

 

[Zell]

Glad to hear. I just shot my .45 FS for the first time on Saturday and I immediately fell in love. Big as it may be, I'm going to see how well I can conceal carry it with my Remora holster as soon as it gets here.

I like the M&P 45 a lot.

It is a great gun. I don't think I could hide it inside my waistband, though. It's a whopper of a gun but a good one for protection. I just wish ammo wasn't so stinkin expensive for it.

 

[smith10]

Congrats, glad it shot well and you enjoyed it.

 

[Zell]

Congrats, glad it shot well and you enjoyed it.

Thank you.

 

[Houdini1953]

Glad to hear. I just shot my .45 FS for the first time on Saturday and I immediately fell in love. Big as it may be, I'm going to see how well I can conceal carry it with my Remora holster as soon as it gets here.

I like the M&P 45 a lot.

try it at 3:30 4 and 4:30 position where I wear all mu IWB's I have the Five inch barrel as well as the 4.5" which would both be considered full sized, to me at 5'6" and 140 pounds (yes I am a small man) it conceals well with a tee shirt untucked and we just hit a high of 86 degrees today in Nashville and I carried my 40 compact in comfort and concealed!

 

[DustyDawg48]

It is a great gun. I don't think I could hide it inside my waistband, though. It's a whopper of a gun but a good one for protection. I just wish ammo wasn't so stinkin expensive for it.

Sounds like I see some reloading in your future! It really is the only way to make sure you have enough ammo on hand and to be honest, the reloading hobby is a great one in and of itself. I enjoy making my ammo almost as much as I enjoy shooting it!

 

[judgecrater]

I am reloading .45 for about $.15 but you have to enjoy it to make it really worthwhile. Fortunately, I do. I normally return from the range with more brass than I take. Lots of folks are glad to give you their old brass.

 

[Arkie45]

It is a great gun. I don't think I could hide it inside my waistband, though. It's a whopper of a gun but a good one for protection. I just wish ammo wasn't so stinkin expensive for it.

Mine actually hides pretty well with a UBC IWB from Nate. I carry it probably 25% of the time (at night) and my 40c the rest.

 

[walkin' trails]

Been shooting mine for four years now, and still not tired of it.

 

[BoDog]

When you reload,especially with home cast bullits the cost of ammo becomes meaningless, more shoooting means better performance from the shooter and the gun. The cost of good reloading equiptment new is about $1000 but if you can find a Dillon 550 used (ebay or where ever)
you can cut that considerably. I have also had good luck with used dies. Pistol calibers are best with carbide dies, Lee dies are acceptable but Dillon are primo.

 

[bubbajoe45]

I just got one of these. Looking forward to firing a few rounds this weekend. Really likin' the feel and pointability.

 

[Martya]

Zell, I see your 'adjustment' did no damage, great!

I mostly carry a 4513TSW but just for a change sometimes I carry my M&P 45 FS in the same IWB holster at around 3-3:30-ish. I have a thin not-very-fancy Bianchi suede holster with the metal belt clip, works great. A loose untucked shirt covers either one no problem.

 

[Smith357]

I made a IWB SmOB holster for my FS45 It conceals very easily for such a large firearm but then I usually carry a 4" L frame revolver so I'm used to dealing with full sized firearms.

 

[Zell]

That looks great. Thanks.

 

[federali]

Zell:

My M&P .45 also has excessive space between the dust cover and slide. May I ask what technique you used to narrow the gap? I hesitate to use a heat gun as there's no room for error.

 

[Zell]

My M&P .45 also has excessive space between the dust cover and slide. May I ask what technique you used to narrow the gap? I hesitate to use a heat gun as there's no room for error.

Take a look here.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/239937-yahoo-repaired-gap-my-45-a.html

By the way, the gun shoots perfectly after the modification. Looks and works like it should. Although, of course, I can't guarantee it will work out this way for you. Just don't get the hairdryer too close, or even touching (Yikes!), the polymer dust cover. I held it back about 2" from the dust cover and swirled the air around the target as well as I switched from side to side every 30 seconds or so. I also moved the hairdryer up and down the sides of the frame from time to time so the heat wasn't focused just on the gaps. I actually hit it with the hairdryer about 4 times over about 4 or 5 days only taking the clamp off to examine it (after it sat in the clamp for a few hours) and shoot it a couple times.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[federali]

Same Experience

I too was a bit dismayed with what appeared to be a warped frame on my new S&W M&P .45 ACP. Following Zell's hint, I disassembled the gun and clamped the frame into position using padded bar clamps, supporting the frame along its edges on 1X2s. Once everything was in place, I used a heat gun to soften the frame a bit, just forward of the trigger guard, then left it to cool. I was able to shrink the gap quite a bit and to my satisfaction.

I hesitate to recommend the use of a heat gun unless you have considerable experience with it. While it may look like a magnum hair dryer, you'll wreck the frame for sure if you apply too much heat or fail to keep the heat gun moving at all times. I normally use the heat gun to heat and bend PVC electrical conduit, together with various craft projects.

 

[Zell]

I too was a bit dismayed with what appeared to be a warped frame on my new S&W M&P .45 ACP. Following Zell's hint, I disassembled the gun and clamped the frame into position using padded bar clamps, supporting the frame along its edges on 1X2s. Once everything was in place, I used a heat gun to soften the frame a bit, just forward of the trigger guard, then left it to cool. I was able to shrink the gap quite a bit and to my satisfaction.

I hesitate to recommend the use of a heat gun unless you have considerable experience with it. While it may look like a magnum hair dryer, you'll wreck the frame for sure if you apply too much heat or fail to keep the heat gun moving at all times. I normally use the heat gun to heat and bend PVC electrical conduit, together with various craft projects.

I think if I had a heat gun I would have used it and probably wrecked the polymer frame. I wouldn't know what I was doing.

Good for you.

Seems like a fairly common problem. Too bad because some people won't fix it but it will bug them to the point of never buying another M&P.