Police like new M&P because ...

[BobC357]

Our local rag says that the police department like their new M&P 9mms because... "The difference is that the new gun can fire without the magazine, which police said will make it easier to pull the trigger."

Now, I don't know any LEO except Barney Fife that only carries one round in their service firearm.

They also like the fact "The new 9mm M&P without the magazine disconnect safety allows us to achieve a smoother trigger pull,"

My magazine disconnect safety doesn't have any impact at all on trigger pull.

Colorado Springs police trade get new handguns with 'smoother trigger pull'

Whatcha all think?

 

[roundgunner]

I like my M&P because it shoots like a revolver.

 

[rwsmith]

Either....

Either the PD or the newspaper, or both, are blowing a lot of hot air.

BTW It's good that S&W is aggressive (like Glock) in getting their pistols used in PDs. Smart move on their part.

 

[LVSteve]

Placebo effect I reckon.

 

[Alpo]

I don't know about S&W - I don't shoot S&W autos - but if you remove the magazine disconnect on a Browning Hi Power, the trigger improves greatly. As an added plus, the magazine will drop free.

As for the Barney Fife/one bullet thing. IF I was in a gunfight, and IF I had to reload, and IF in the middle of the reload (while the empty was falling to the ground but the full one had not yet made it into the hole) the bad guy were to jump out and attempt to shoot me, I'd feel much better if I knew my gun would fire.

That is, after all, one of the advantages of an auto over a revolver. You don't have to take it out of action to reload. Unless there's some stupid magazine disconnect on it.

 

[charlie sherrill]

For the last several years I was issued the Glock 22. I carried M&P's off duty and still do.

 

[Arik]

Someone is confusing the BHP with the M&P

 

[DeadAye]

I thought the best thing about the NEW M&P is that you can't find it with a metal detector....
The old ones had great triggers AND could be reloaded with speed loaders quite rapidly with practice. However, you can find one with a metal det.

 

[Cyrano]

That is, after all, one of the advantages of an auto over a revolver. You don't have to take it out of action to reload. Unless there's some stupid magazine disconnect on it.

One of the nice things about the old Model 39s is that you can remove the 'stupid magazine disconnect' if you wish. I've collected a couple that had no magazine disconenctor. Since I'm a collector and don't usually carry them in unsafe situations, I put the disconnector back in to keep them original.

 

[Rastoff]

This is just another example of ignorance. S&W capitalizes on this ignorance by calling the M&P a DAO.

In all honesty I'm glad they like the new gun regardless of the reasoning.

 

[4506517]

It is junk. My agency issues it. We have replaced them several times. Of course, I've been told I don't know what I'm talking about. Guess the Kool Aid is delicious....

 

[Doug M.]

^That's interesting. I have heard of a few agencies that have just had a terrible time with them. Just enough to make me wonder what the issue is, especially when most of the users with which I am familiar have had a good experience.

Newpaper article: It was probably a press release and depending on agency size, it was written by the Chief or an assigned ROD who is PIO because they can't do police work. Most of both categories are people who know about guns an amount similar to my knowledge of physics.

 

[Rastoff]

Guess the Kool Aid is delicious....

That "Kool Aid" thing works both ways. Some people have one problem and declare an entire product line or company as garbage. We don't know what the issues you had were. Maybe you got a bad batch of guns? Maybe they were mishandled? I don't know. Tell us what the problems you had were.

As of now, the overwhelming response to the M&P line, at least on this site and with the people I've personally met, has been positive. So, to claim they're garbage without backing it up with some kind of explanation is like being the tuba player marching the wrong way and claiming that it was everyone else that turned the wrong way.

 

[4506517]

That "Kool Aid" thing works both ways. Some people have one problem and declare an entire product line or company as garbage. We don't know what the issues you had were. Maybe you got a bad batch of guns? Maybe they were mishandled? I don't know. Tell us what the problems you had were.

Apparently most find the Kool Aid quite delicious. I am merely pointing out MY experience. I think it is junk. I carry it DAILY and have shot 1000s of rounds through it. How about most people? Do they conceal carry it? Hmmm....wonder if those concealed carry M&Ps see half as much use as mine? I'm gonna say no...they probably ride in custom holsters. Mine? Mine's a working gun....not an object of worship.

Want to know what problems I've had? Use the search function. I have enumerated the many problems my agency has had with the M&P. Failures to fire, to extract, broken strikers, sights falling off, rusted slides, rusted mags, broken mag springs.....

Oh wait.....I still don't know what I'm talking about, right? Unlike many, I don't base my opinion of the M&P line on what I've read. I laugh everytime I say something adverse about the M&P line and someone says "well I read that _____ Department hasn't had any problems in XX,XXX rounds". Really? Really?

Im sure there are plenty LEOs here that carry an M&P on duty. They can only attest to THEIR experience with the gun, and I'm sure many have had positive experiences. Now I'm sure most M&Ps in their well cushioned protected environment NEVER malfunction.

And before we even go there....my squad LT has us break them down and clean them once a week, along with the shotguns and rifles. Don't want to hear about poor maintenance.

Before we were issued the M&P we were issued the 4566. Loved it. Did I anywhere mention there was a better gun than the M&P? Nope....

Sorry to be so long winded....I understand that you guys love your M&Ps. Guess what? They aren't perfect. I base my opinion on personal experience with the gun in a tough environment, much tougher than what MOST folks here subject it to.....different people, different experiences. I think sometimes people take it too personal....almost as if I am personally attacking their decision to carry an M&P..if you like it carry it...is it perfect? Nope.

 

[Doug M.]

We had 1076s and then 4566s. They were pigs - broke a lot, with horrid ergonomics. Mine were accurate, but they were also big and heavy and felt like bricks in my hand. Mine never broke, but I saw a lot of them fail on the range, with problems that required gunsmithing or a return to the factory. Yet, I know a lot of people and agencies that swear by them.

There are a lot of hard people who shoot a lot who have nothing but good feedback about the M&Ps, but I have heard just enough reports similar to 4506517's to accept that they are not perfect and can have problems.

 

[Fastbolt]

According to this article, they're trading in earlier production M&P 9's for new ones.

Colorado Springs Police Department Ditches Sidearms With Magazine Disconnects For Better Trigger

Not surprising. It's happened elsewhere, with other agencies and other gun companies. Sometimes a gun company will simply replace an agency's existing "new-ish" guns with brand new ones in order to satisfy them.

Maybe someone working there just tried a current production M&P 9 which has received the ongoing improvements and revisions that are in the newest guns? (Barrel, sear, sear housing block, striker, extractor, trigger bar, slide stop lever, etc?)

Having been an armorer for some different pistols commonly used in LE, and having worked and listened to a pretty fair number of other armorers, it's not surprising that occasionally that hard/well-used guns sometimes require attention (service, repair, correction, replacement, etc).

I just had to upgrade an ejector in a fairly new plastic .40 made by another company, replacing the original old-style ejector with a newly revised ejector. The owner had been experiencing erratic ejection since buying the gun (while shooting over a thousand rounds, according to him). I just recently watched him shooting it for a qual, and empty cases were being sent right, left, up & back (over his head and into his face).

I replaced the standard ejector with the revised factory ejector and the problem was completely resolved.

It wasn't quite so simple correcting the same problem with one of my own guns from that company, though. I bought one at the end of 2010 that eventually required trying several extractors & ejectors (old & new style), as well as a couple of recoil spring assemblies. I finally hit upon the right combination of parts to get the gun running "normally", though.

 

[SoCalDep]

I work for a very large (~9,000 - 10,000 sworn, depending on the hiring cycle) sheriff's department.

We are in the process of a department-wide conversion to the S&W M&P from the Beretta 92FS platform. While the conversion is optional, most are taking advantage of the new, simpler gun with the Surefire X300 Ultra included in the package.

The M&P has been in service as an optional pistol for several years, and even after a bit of a rocky start, has proven extremely durable and reliable.

Each handgun has advantages and disadvantages, but for our agency, the pistol has worked extremely well. I have a department-issue M&P that has been 100% reliable...not one malfunction over nearly 5,000 rounds. I haven't cleaned it in at least a month, and just put around a thousand rounds through it yesterday at an Academi advanced pistol course.

My range M&P has over 30,000 rounds with only a few malfunctions, most having been ammo related. My personal M&P has around 8,000 to 10,000 rounds, again with only a couple malfunctions. It went over 5,000 rounds without either cleaning or lubrication over a three month period.

I have witnessed some sight movement (including on one of my guns) and I've blown a few front night sight vials (including a set of Trijicon HDs, so not just the factory sights, and we have a few here and there that end up having to go back to the factory due to malfunctions. The nice thing is that the problems present themselves immediately and consistently, so we simply issue a different gun and send the defective one back. It happens rarely. I have trained literally thousands of deputies and recruits in the M&P pistol and problems are few and far between.

We adopted the pistol for many reasons, including the simplicity, ability to disassemble without pulling the trigger, ergonomics, interchangeable grip-inserts, and durability/reliability.

That's not to say the pistol is perfect, but nothing is. Everyone's experience is different and I know all about certain batches of handguns (and anything) having problems. We have many participating agencies whose recruits attend our academy and thus we see Springfield XDs , Glocks, Sigs, HK USP, and 1911s. I've seen problems and breakage with every one except the XD, because there aren't that many in service.

 

[KeithR]

Now, I don't know any LEO except Barney Fife that only carries one round in their service firearm.

FYI... Deputy B. Fife carried his ONE round in his buttoned shirt pocket. Sherrif A. Taylor didn't want his deputy to blow his foot off if said deputy where to actually need to pull his revolver from his holster...

 

[DurdyBert45]

Most departments in my county and all over the cincy area are carrying m&p9 or 40, I actually carry an XD40 at my department but we are allowed to carry many different approved firearms. I don't believe my M&P 45 would be ideal for carrying on duty. I haven't heard anything bad about the m&p from anyone in my department. No platform is without issues. Some of the first gen glocks were garbage, even some of the 4th gens that rolled out were **** but a good manufacturer will fix them and make it right. Its your responsibility to make sure your weapon is right.

 

[Rastoff]

Each handgun has advantages and disadvantages, but for our agency, the pistol has worked extremely well. I have a department-issue M&P that has been 100% reliable...not one malfunction over nearly 5,000 rounds. I haven't cleaned it in at least a month, and just put around a thousand rounds through it yesterday at an Academy advanced pistol course.

But, but, but, how can this be? According to 4506517 only the blind kool aid drinkers have an M&P that works that well. You must work in an environmentally controlled clean room if your gun works that well. Because, in the real world the M&P won't stand up to real use. At least that's what 4506517 is telling us.