I received an unexpected call Saturday morning from my GD informing me my M&P 9L PC that I had ordered on Wed. had arrived, and to stop by and pick it up. When I had purchased it, he had told me that if it didn't arrive by Friday to expect to get it next week after the Labor Day Holiday. It was a pleasant surprise.
I went and picked it up along with 150 rounds of Estate 115 grain ammo.
Got it home and cleaned/oiled before heading out to range.
Please keep in mind when you read my comments that they are coming from a novice. This is only my 2nd handgun purchase, with the first being a Walther PPS in December of last year.
On to the range. Speaking of ranges, this was my first visit to formal one. "All" of my previous experience shooting was in my brother's backyard. He lives in Western Carolina on the side of a mountain. Backyards there are ranges. So, I do have some experience shooting an array of guns.
I was met by some very welcoming individuals at the range and they showed me the lay of the land and the rules. I had signed a digital waiver online that hurried the process up.
Set in my stall, I loaded a couple magazines with my Uplula speed loader. Worked the targets out to 7 yards and made my first shots. Here's a picture of my first shots. These targets are small... at least for me they are: 12x18. (I had to take the pictures at home because they do not allow cell phones or cameras in the shooting area.
I hit 15 out of 17 shots. Not bad for me, especially seeing that it was the first time I had shot the gun.
Here's my last shots with less than a full magazine. Again, 7 yards.
First impressions from a novice. I loved the trigger. It was comfortable and very smooth. I could shoot a thousand rounds out of this and be ready to go for more. I wouldn't have said that about my PPS.
I had spent hours and hours researching this gun and one of the main complaints I heard was about the trigger. It was spongy, gritty. The travel was too far and no audible or tactile reset. It's funny because I saw some of these guns that had the audible reset and some that didn't. Unfortunately, mine doesn't. But it ended up not being an issue for me. After the initial pull and shot, the reset was so short and easy to find; and i'm sure will be even easier as I get used to the gun. I did do a 10 shot rapid fire. The gun stayed on line easily and sounded like a machine gun. However, I was politely admonished by the range master that there is to be no more that 1 shot within 2 seconds. Hey, I didn't know, but he was nice enough about it.
The ported barrel seemed like it made a difference compared to some of the other 9mm's that I have shot. It was easy to get back on target, as I mentioned, when I was doing a rapid fire or single shots. One of the issues that I was well aware of before buying the gun, is the porting would foul the front sight... and it did. To make matters worse, the lighting was terrible in my stall. One of the lights was out and they were positioned too far back to help much. It was so bad that I could barely pick up the front sight: it was just a black bar that I was reasonably able to position between the back sight. That shouldn't be a problem in the future, as I have a Vortex Venom on the way.
All in all, I am very happy with my purchase. I wasn't willing to spend anymore than I did, and with everything I looked at, this seemed to be the best value for the dollar.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please "fire" away.
I went and picked it up along with 150 rounds of Estate 115 grain ammo.
Got it home and cleaned/oiled before heading out to range.
Please keep in mind when you read my comments that they are coming from a novice. This is only my 2nd handgun purchase, with the first being a Walther PPS in December of last year.
On to the range. Speaking of ranges, this was my first visit to formal one. "All" of my previous experience shooting was in my brother's backyard. He lives in Western Carolina on the side of a mountain. Backyards there are ranges. So, I do have some experience shooting an array of guns.
I was met by some very welcoming individuals at the range and they showed me the lay of the land and the rules. I had signed a digital waiver online that hurried the process up.
Set in my stall, I loaded a couple magazines with my Uplula speed loader. Worked the targets out to 7 yards and made my first shots. Here's a picture of my first shots. These targets are small... at least for me they are: 12x18. (I had to take the pictures at home because they do not allow cell phones or cameras in the shooting area.
I hit 15 out of 17 shots. Not bad for me, especially seeing that it was the first time I had shot the gun.
Here's my last shots with less than a full magazine. Again, 7 yards.
First impressions from a novice. I loved the trigger. It was comfortable and very smooth. I could shoot a thousand rounds out of this and be ready to go for more. I wouldn't have said that about my PPS.
I had spent hours and hours researching this gun and one of the main complaints I heard was about the trigger. It was spongy, gritty. The travel was too far and no audible or tactile reset. It's funny because I saw some of these guns that had the audible reset and some that didn't. Unfortunately, mine doesn't. But it ended up not being an issue for me. After the initial pull and shot, the reset was so short and easy to find; and i'm sure will be even easier as I get used to the gun. I did do a 10 shot rapid fire. The gun stayed on line easily and sounded like a machine gun.
However, I was politely admonished by the range master that there is to be no more that 1 shot within 2 seconds. Hey, I didn't know, but he was nice enough about it.The ported barrel seemed like it made a difference compared to some of the other 9mm's that I have shot. It was easy to get back on target, as I mentioned, when I was doing a rapid fire or single shots. One of the issues that I was well aware of before buying the gun, is the porting would foul the front sight... and it did. To make matters worse, the lighting was terrible in my stall. One of the lights was out and they were positioned too far back to help much. It was so bad that I could barely pick up the front sight: it was just a black bar that I was reasonably able to position between the back sight. That shouldn't be a problem in the future, as I have a Vortex Venom on the way.
All in all, I am very happy with my purchase. I wasn't willing to spend anymore than I did, and with everything I looked at, this seemed to be the best value for the dollar.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please "fire" away.
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That red dot is what I'm considering running too. 
I was going back and forth between it and the Glock 34 MOS and the M&P just seemed like a better deal.
. I ordered the Apex RAM kit and the delivery guy just dropped it off not too long ago. Installed it in less than 5min.
