I've been thinking about buying a modern combat / service type pistol for quite some time now. The last such gun I owned was a 1st gen Glock 17 back in the 80's. I shot well with it but hated the trigger and wasn't very fond of the ergonomics (or lack there of for me). I kept at it for years and felt the same way about it the day I sold it. I went back to single action steel guns for a decade or more.

After carrying a Star Firestar 9mm for 15 or so years I wanted something lighter. I purchased a Kel-Tec PF-9 after shooting my brother-in-law's and finding it more than serviceable for a CCW. This turned out to be a good decision - it been reliable, comfortable to carry, and as accurate as any pistol its size. Its trigger is no prize but it's not a range gun so no matter.

The PF-9 sort of warmed me up to the idea of buying another polymer gun. After handling just about everything worth considering and shooting several of them the M&P came out the clear winner for me. For my part it has the best trigger of any of the striker fired polymer guns and certainly the best ergonomics.

I purchased a 209301 M&P 9mm, 4.25" barrel, no internal lock, no magazine safety, no thumb safety. After reading a great deal from owners online I decided that none of the additional lock / safety features would really serve any purpose for me. In this way the M&P will be everything I wish my long gone G17 had been. I got a pretty good deal I think - $465. It'll cost me about $525 after the FFL transfer and tax (WA state now charges sales tax on the purchase price of FFL transfers). This is at least $60 better than I can do anywhere in state.

Should be fun!

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M&P15T M&P9 M&P9c SW1911 4506

I purchased an M&P9 a couple of years ago. Mine has no key lock. However, it has a magazine disconnect and cannot fire without a seated magazine. After reading your post and a couple of others, I'm seeing that it is commonplace on your side of the border to have these pistols capable of firing without a magazine. Is that the case? Is it primarily guns that were shipped up here to Kanuckistan that have the disconnect?

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Don't know, don't care.

I don't think it's geography, but just personal preference. I read a recent post by a LEO (or perhaps former LEO, I don't remember for sure) who said all their department issued guns were required to have the mag disconnect safety, and that it was a good idea for your personal safety. The reason was that if you are ever in a situation to struggle for the weapon with a bad guy, just hit the mag release and let him have it. He's now trying to shoot a paperweight, which gives you time to get your BUG.

I also believe that some states within the US require the mag safety, but most do not.

TFred

This guy, nutnfancy, is a YouTube cult hero amongst his TNP-er (TNP=The Nutnfancy Project) devotees. He does a pretty decent job at reviewing guns, knives, etc. and considers himself to be an objective consumer advocate. You'll really love your 9 after you view this video.

YouTube - nutnfancy's Channel

I definitely dig Nutnfancy's reviews and enjoyed that one - thanks for posting it.

So long as UPS doesn't drop the ball I'll be picking my M&P9 up tomorrow. It'll come home for an initial clean, lube, and function check and then I think I'm going to spend Wednesday's lunch hour at the indoor range to see how it shoots.

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M&P15T M&P9 M&P9c SW1911 4506

Thanks for the NutnFancy Link, haven't seen him before.

Enjoy your M&P I have a 9c which is my carry gun and an M&P Pro as a range gun. Both of these pistols are reliable and great to shoot.
Good choice.

Not to sound too much like a TNP geek, I've viewed many of his videos, especially the "philosophical" ones. Quite frankly, he has "adjusted" my thinking about carrying. The key is not to, necessarily, view these vids all at once. You (at least I did) need time to digest what he's saying.

The Sheepdog Concept: YouTube - nutnfancy's Channel

Close to Engage: YouTube - nutnfancy's Channel

Gun Free, Death Pay: YouTube - nutnfancy's Channel

Obligation to Carry: YouTube - nutnfancy's Channel

Lessons of My Father: Depussification: YouTube - nutnfancy's Channel

and finally the longest video, Concealed Carry Protocol: YouTube - nutnfancy's Channel

Being that this is strictly an M&P blog site, I'm wondering if I should post these in a separate, stand alone post. They're actually very good.

This is the M&P configuration I have, and it's just right for my needs. Like you, the Glock was not very pleasant to shoot, and hard to shoot well. The M&P just does everything right, and it is a good fit for my hand, and points very naturally.

I am also satisfied with S&W's service after the sale. I needed to solve some extraction problems, and they had it back to my door in just two weeks with a report on what was done. Oh yes, and the pistol works dandy now...

Thanks for the TNP links! Good stuff

I picked up my M&P9 today and thought I'd post a couple of pics (I'm terrible with a camera - sorry):






Here's a pic with my M&P15T:




...and here's a pic of all three of my S&W's (the SS gun is a 4506):

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M&P15T M&P9 M&P9c SW1911 4506

Congrats on the new M&P. I have the same exact model and also have a Kel-Tec PF-9 for carry!

that's heck of an M&P collection!

Thanks! I like 'em

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M&P15T M&P9 M&P9c SW1911 4506

While working from home this morning I have been doing some dry fire exercises to get used to the trigger. When I demo'd another shooters M&P at the range a while back I came to the conclusion that the trigger was the most usable of the striker-fired pistols for me but I didn't really observe much detail about the trigger pull, break, and reset. I thought I'd post some observations from this morning's dry firing:

Thee trigger on the M&P is really quite different from any other pistol I've tried. Regardless of what occurs before break it's the break that I really like. Without being too descriptive I find that I can keep the muzzle on target with no perceptible movement through the trigger pull and break. It doesn't feel anything like a good single action trigger (e.g. 1911) but I find the break surprises me in a similar way regardless of how predictable the rest of the trigger pull is. When the trigger is ready to break I find it breaks just a hair sooner than I think it will when squeezing it slowly and deliberately. This is just a perception though as the trigger is clearly breaking in a very consistent manner. The break could easily be described as 'crisp' when compared to, say, a Glock or XD/XDm - other striker-fired pistols seem to have a 'springy' or 'spongy' feel to the break, a trait I don't care for. The best analogy I can make to describe the difference is the difference between plucking a string on an electric bass guitar with a pick or finger. The pick gives a sudden and defined break as it leaves the string whereas plucking the string with a finger the string sort of rolls out from under the finger pad and springs away with a longer duration of hold on the string (sorry for the obscure analogy). I believe this is the trait that I liked so much when I shot the M&P.

The trigger pull is strange though not in any negative way. There are several interesting things that occur as the trigger is being squeezed from rest to where it's ready to break. First the jointed trigger hinges into place and clears the slot in the polymer frame - this is a short and nearly effortless squeeze. From here (as the trigger itself catches the rest of the fire control group?) there is an equally short, ever so slightly heavier, gritty motion rearward where it meets a definable point where resistance increases. Squeezing through this point it almost feels as though there is a detent, a smooth false 'break' of sorts that sets the trigger at the break point. Squeezing further the trigger breaks. With a slow and deliberate squeeze of the trigger it's easy to feel all of this occur. With a quick squeeze as one would use in a real-world application all of these subtleties go largely unnoticed by me other than I perceive the trigger as increasing resistance in a slightly stepped manner. This isn't bothersome in the least. No, it doesn't feel like a luxurious ride to a 'glass rod' break like my S&W 4506 in single action (some top shelf trigger work in this gun) or a similar brake without the take-up like on a good 1911 trigger, It is, however, just as serviceable. I don't feel anything in the trigger that would affect my shooting in any negative way. That I did not notice anything significant in the M&P's trigger pull while shooting one does not surprise me now.

The reset is perhaps a bit long but not overly so. I'll get a better idea of how I perceive the trigger reset after my first range visit. Actually, as I type this I cycled the M&P a few times and observed trigger reset with a bit more speed and I doubt the reset would ever bother me. Of course I'm not doing any competitive shooting (yet?) so shaving 1/10th's of a second off between shots is of no concern to me.

I may well add the Apex duty/carry action enhancement kit at some point down the road but for now I believe I'll be quite happy with the stock trigger. I'll put at least 500 rounds down range before I even consider the Apex kit. By then I'll be familiar enough with the pistol to make a practical decision regarding the Apex kit.

A few other observations:

All three of the interchangeable backstrap inserts are very comfortable in my hands. If I had to pick one that fits best it would be the medium I guess, with the large possibly being my next pick. I can raise the pistol to a target with eyes closed and then open them to find the pistol pointing where it should be regardless of which backstrap is installed so, again, any of them would be a good fit for me. This is good because I have a Crimson Trace LaserGrip on the way. If the CT ends up being somewhere between the medium and large backstrap in size (I've read this observation more than once it seems to me) it will fit me very nicely. I placed a small amount of rolled up and flattened paper right where the CT pressure switch is located and it seems like the switch is in a great place for predictable activation with a firm grip. I'll know soon enough.

I like the magazine release button position. It is easily reached and depressed with intention. I will never unintentionally depress it though because of where it is located. Perfect!

The slide release is also in an ideal location for my hands, is easily to actuate (except with an empty magazine - snap-caps used for the test at home), and very low profile. Nice!

The slide serrations provide a positive grip for cycling the slide.

The grip texturing is quite sufficient for a positive grip on the pistol, certainly enough for my part. At this point I doubt I will ever need or want to stipple mine. Time will tell.

Lastly, I really like the sight picture with the low profile Novak 3-dot sights. For this type of pistol I prefer 3-dot sights over others I've used. I'm pleased that the pistol comes with 3-dot sights. I may opt to install Trijicon night sights in the future if I see a practical use for them. I have Trijicon's on my 4506 and, while I like the sight picture, I haven't yet experienced anything that would make them a must. Between a tac light and a laser sight I doubt that they would ever be used as more than standard 3-dot sights.


Now I just need to get to the range and shoot it. It's looking good for this weekend!

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M&P15T M&P9 M&P9c SW1911 4506

I enjoy shooting mine as well. I find the medium grip panel fits my hand better than does my Glock (although I like it, too).

I'll be letting some co-workers have a go with it this weekend as well. Since this is Canada, not a lot of people have exposure to handguns, so, for the second year running, I'm taking a bunch of them to the range for that purpose. The M&P9 was a hit last year and I'm sure it will be this year as well. Indeed, I'm sure it will be even more popular this year since the local constabulary is transitioning from Beretta 96Ds to the M&P40.

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Don't know, don't care.

I posted a thread about the CTC laser grips a couple of weeks ago. I assumed there would be pro and con responses but the majority of them were pro CTC grips. In terms of which backstrap it feels like with the laser grips installed; to me, it feels like about half way in between the med and large.

BTW, CTC will provide you with a set/pair of new batteries for your grips every year for free. Once you register your name with them, you will be in their data base, and all you have to do is call them each year and they will mail you new batts. I also lost one of my teeney tiney allen wrenches at the range. I called their cust. service no. and they send me 4 more, also for free. Not sure where/who you bought your laser grips from but I found the best price at https://www.manventureoutpost.com/. The model LG 661 retailed for $329 and I got mine for $217 plus shipping.

Couple pics with the TLR-1 light and extended mag:

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M&P15T M&P9 M&P9c SW1911 4506

I took the M&P9 to the range for the first time today and sent 100 rounds downrange. I really enjoyed shooting this pistol!! I'm shooting pretty well with it so far. All shooting was done at 15 yards. I shot some with hands rested on the bench to see if the sights are centered - they are. I also zero'd the CTC LaserGrip while shooting from the bench. The rest was shot two handed standing.

The pistol performed flawlessly - no failures. The 23 round extended magazines fed flawlessly. I like the trigger more after todays range visit than before. I will be installing the Apex carry/duty kit after a few more trips to the range but not for any dislike of the stock trigger (what's not to like about an improved trigger?).

Here's my last target from today:



This is an 8" target with 10 rounds fired. The two farthest apart are exactly 5" center-to-center. The 7 shots inside the 9-ring are in a 1-5/8" size group. I need a little more trigger time to become consistent with it but I'm happy with the results from today!

Here are a couple of pics with the CTC laser installed:





So far I like this pistol almost as much as I like my S&W 4506! That's saying something - the 4506 is easily my favorite handgun of any I've owned, including the 1911's. The M&P-9 is a joy to shoot! It's also more economical to shoot than a .45ACP. With a little improvement in the trigger this could easily edge out my 4506 as my favorite range pistol.

I'm very pleased with every aspect of this purchase (including the accessories) and really happy with my S&W experience altogether (I own three S&W's now - a 4506 3rd gen. DA/SA, a M&P-15T built in-house at S&W, and a M&P-9). All have performed flawlessly to date and all are very enjoyable to shoot Color me happy!

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M&P15T M&P9 M&P9c SW1911 4506