I'm picking up on tidbits concerning accuracy issues with the 9mm, searches aren't yielding much valuable info tho.
Are there any issues?

Mostly software, aside from rare mechanical defects.

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Science plus Art

They aren't bullseye guns, but I trust them with my life.

Most of the accuracy noise is coming from the M4 forum. I haven't been able to figure it out: is it one or two disgruntled owners, or someone wanting to make money on aftermarket equipment, or perhaps just nothing.

From personal experience, I didn't shoot my own M&P 9 as well as other 9s that I own. But my trigger time on the M&P was pretty minimal before I sold it. Certainly not enough time to make a judgement on the inherent accuracy of the pistol.

If you like the feel, buy one. Shoot it. If you don't like the way it shoots, sell it and try something else. Doubt you will lose much if you have to sell. M&Ps are pretty popular.

Out
West

Long story short since I already had a thread on this, my FS 9mm M&P has early unlocking issues. I have an Apex hard sear and polished/rounded the striker block. It has a better trigger than 80% of my handguns.

Originally it shot 10" groups at 15 yards with 7 different brands of ammo in 3 different weights weather bench resting or off hand, sent it to S&W and all they did was adjust the rear sight, took it to the range and they adjusted it to shoot to far to the right and I still got 10" groups.

While at the first range trip after I got it back I put a 20# recoil spring in it and the groups went down to 4" at 15 yards, went home and my laser bore sighter showed the rear sight was indeed off, I set the sight back where it was suppose to be and am now waiting for Apex to come out for a real fix which includes new locking blocks and/or barrels.

Basically, it's not always the shooter and the M&Ps don't have some special,one of a kind trigger that will take crates of rounds to learn. It may or may not be the gun, but the only way to know is to eliminate every possibility like I did, otherwise people will tell you it's you learning the gun. Not all are effected but mine is and S&W refused to fix it.

That's the short version...really it is.

Had the same sear installed in mine.

At 25' 5 shot group you could cover with a quarter.

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COTEP

Like NAK posted, I have an M&P that was build in early May 2012 that was not accurate... actually would not group out at 15-25 yards. I would have shots off the paper (25yd slow fire bullseye target) at 25 yds. This was sandbaged on a sturdy bench. Sent it to S&W and they replaced the barrel. My gun was in their shop the same time as NAK. One trip to the range and I'm on the paper getting decent groups of 4-5 incheds at 25 yds... with the still occasional flyer out of nowhere. For a defensive gun, it is now accurate enough. For a competition gun, I shoot better than the gun can. I have a new Glock 34 that was accurate right out of the box. I like the feel of the M&P much better (apex competition AEK), but the glock is more accurate. The glock with a .25 cent trigger job and competition springs is still not the trigger on the M&P.
I will probably try the #20 spring like NAK did to see if I get further improvement. Certainly, the new locking block that apex is developing should increase the dwel and improve the early unlocking issue this gun has.

My new barrel is definitely a tighter fit in the slide and locking block. For those non believers out there... well, my targets tell the truth. Still can't explain the occasional flyer... that is the weird part.... and these flyers are off a sandbag. At least now for the most part I can call my shoots with the M&P.

Believe what you want, but the accuracy of these FS 9mm varies from gun to gun.

Cw

Now I feel better. I thought it was just me.

I still dont regret trading a Sig SP2022 9mm for my M&P9 FS though. There is something about the grip that I just really like. The Sig that I had was a fine shooter but I just could not get comfortable with it.

I did have some accuracy issues with the M&P since I know I could shoot pretty accurately with a 1911 to 25 yards and a Kahr CW40 to 10 yards. Right now I average 3" 5 shot groups to 10 yards with the M&P and I'm happy with that. If I wanted better, I would have bought a target gun.

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Corpsman Up!
1990-2010

My 9 Compact and my Shield have been very accurate. I posted a photo in the Thread link below of my wife's target....a 68 year old grandma to boot!

my wife loved my shield.

and another......

The compacts and Shield do not have a know accuracy issue.
All the accuracy (or lack of accuracy) observations are in regards to the FS 9mm M&P

Mine hits where I point it. Is it as accurate as my SIG P220? No My first time shooting it had my confussed because I could not hit the target Went to the range a few days later and had no issues with it 7 10 15 yards. It is not a tack driver but its my home defense and car carry pistol.

To those who own M&P 9fs pistols exhibiting accuracy issues, I really do hope that S&W addresses whatever flaw there is in your pistol.

At 10 yards, I can keep 17 rounds within a 2" group. As I push out, the groups progressively widen. The M&P 9fs shoots so well in my hands that I sold my other semi-auto pistols.

My M&P 9fs serial prefix is DXJ. The test fire date is 3-15-2012.

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-John

Well my M&P 9fs was made back in early 2010 and it is way more accurate than I am. When I shot it side by side with a Glock 19 I shot the M&P much better.

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M&P 9 because 'Merica.

Very confusing. I believe all the reports; the ones that say the gun can't group and the ones that say they shoot just fine.

I sold my M&P 9FS just because I had other guns I wanted. I will buy another, but think I will wait until the range reports are more uniformly positive.

Out
West

I believe it's a roll of the dice at this point since the accuracy issues with the FS 9mm M&Ps began with the introduction of the Compact and S&W changing the profile of the 9mm barrels throughout. I shot my Shield at the same 15 yard distance and got a nice sub 3" group with my first 5 shots. By the end I was getting closer a 2" group and I'll bet under that the next time out.

I just called S&W again and they're sending me another shipping label. I asked how I would know if they would actually do anything this time and the guy said "Well, it will be marked as sending it in the second time for the same thing." yay.....another month of waiting ....hopefully it won't be for nothing this time.

I have three stock FS 9's (FS FS-L FS PRO) that are 3-4 years old and ALL are tackdrivers right out of the case and got better the more I shot them. 9c is a few months old and shoots just as good and getting better. Had the Shield 9 since late April and it's just as good as the rest and getting better as I shoot it more too.

Most any gun can shoot better than the shooter doing the shooting. Might be better to trade for a Springfield XD and see if you have better luck.

I've had 7 XDs and they all shot fine, I've had 6 Glocks and they all shot fine, I've had 15 1911s and they all shot fine, 2 P89s - fine,2 P95s - fine,Berettas - fine,multiple revolvers, multiple surplus guns, multiple pocket guns - fine, etc - all fine. Honestly, the M&P is the only gun where fans tell owners to buy something else just so nobody brings up legitimate problems. It's been the same on other forums so it must be a brand thing.

The M&P has everything I could ever want in a poly gun, but the accuracy is not there in my particular model. My Shield shoots close to 2" groups at the same 15 yard distance even though it has less grip, a shorter barrel and sight radius while using the same ammo I tried in the FS.

The thing I see most is the older model owners talk about decent accuracy ,yet you'll get random people talking about the accuracy problem in the FS 9mms, post Compact introduction. It's enough of a problem that a very well known and trusted aftermarket parts company is designing new locking blocks and barrels to improve the accuracy and lock up in models exhibiting these issues.

ETA: I'd link a current thread with 9" groups at 15 yards while being bench rested and pictures of targets from another forum and FS 9mm but I know that's against the rules. Let's just say ARFCOM and leave it at that. I'm glad not all models share the characteristic of mine and many others, but considering it's random, it's hard to pin point the problem in the production line.

I have no accuracy issues with my early manufacture fullsize M&P9 related with the pistol itself. Frankly, it is more accurate than I can shoot it. However, I've seen enough reports in enough places that I believe some fullsize M&P9s are having real accuracy issues.
Hopefully S&W will make everything right for everyone with a problem pistol. It certainly will be more difficult than shipping out a new striker. I would feel much better about purchasing another fs M&P9 if they took the problem head-on...

Nak, I hope they resolve your problem.

I love the m&p. The one I would never trust my life to would be a Sig. Why? Because personally, I cant hit a dang thing with them. I have tried multiple different ones, all with the same result.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

I started last winter with a 9 FS that would give me 8" groups at 25yds. I know it's not me as I can frequently pull 2" groups or smaller at that range with my Blackhawks and MKI.
Put in a 20lb spring and it got better but I was paranoid so I sold it and got a 9c. No issues with it. 3" at 25yds is fine with me for a CC pistol.
According to the thread on M4c forums Apex is working on a new locking block for the FS to correct the issue but it's been a few months since there has been an update on that project.



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Does this accuracy issue vary with caliber? Is the M&P45 more consistent than the M&P9s and 40s?

I have a MP45c that is very accurate , I have been very impressed.Thats why I started the thread, I was considering a 9mm.

I want to thank the forum and all members who replied to the thread. Has been very helpful and informative. I hope Nakano will update us on his new barrel...
My .45 has been excellent in every way, still hoping to add a 9mm. I believe with threads such as this, we'll get a fix. The M&P line of pistols are way too promising to allow for an inaccurate 9mm!

I will defiantly update everyone on how the new barrel performs. I plan on using 3 weights and at least 4 different brands of ammo next range trip which will either be today or tomorrow the latest.

Shot the M&P with the stock recoil spring and below are the best results. All shooting was done at 15 yards.

WWB 115gr.


PDX-1 124gr. +P


HST 124gr. +P


To be honest it's nothing special, but it's way better than what I was getting with the old barrel. I went from a 10" group at 15 yards to what you see above. I've already sent in the gun twice and got a barrel on the second trip so I'm not going to bother with it again since I think this is as good as it's going to get. I'll just throw it in the back of the safe and wait for Apex.

I'll throw the stiffer recoil spring back in there next range trip but that won't be for awhile. All I've been doing with this gun is using up ammo for test purposes only and it's time to shoot my other 9mms until Apex comes up with something to make it somewhat decent.

I was hitting bowling pins at 25 yards last night with no problem

Spot on analysis. My experience and observations (barrel crown, accuracy, etc.) have been exactly the same. Although the groups were "acceptable", they were nowhere near the accuracy of my Glocks.

Here was a 12 yard/36 foot group shot standing unsupported onto a 7" paper plate. While it may look acceptable, my Glocks will clover leaf everytime with no crazy flyers that come out of nowhere.



While I have not messed with the crown, I did pick up a factory threaded barrel, so we'll see if there is any difference this weekend. Out of curiosity what did you do to smooth out the crown chatter?

Just wondering where you picked up the factory threaded barrel? Would like to get one myself. New gun laws go into effect here in Oklahoma Nov. 1st regarding suppressors.

This is all pretty interesting because the remarks here are totaly different from those I got on my question (How accurate can the M&P fs be). I had a question regarding the ultimate capable accuracy of the FS models. Of the few responses I got there owners were claiming sub 2" groups at 25 yards to be typical.

Out of curiousity, has anyone tried swapping an after-market barrel into a M&P 9FS with accuracy issues? I know that S&W has "supposedly" resolved the issue for some individual owners by swapping barrels... and I know that some third party barrels are considered as good or better than factory barrels... but has anybody tried doing this to resolve this particular issue?

I'm waiting for APEX to get their Apex/Barstow barrel into production and I plan on picking one up.

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Get off my lawn.....

I'm assuming you are shooting jacketed bullets ... make sure the rifling on your M&P9 are not fouled by copper.

If rifling is pretty much filled up, there's not enough grip on the bullet so you are essentially shooting on smooth bore (with no rifling), ending up with a highly unstable bullet. Same thing if you are shooting lead.

Your regular Hoppe's #9 don't remove lead or copper fouling much.

How much ammo would it take to foul up the barrel?

I have a 1911 with over 4k of 45 acp and a M&P9 with over 2k through it with mostly plated bullets. So far i dont see any issues on either pistol with regards to accuracy or copper/lead in the barrel rifling.

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Corpsman Up!
1990-2010

I usually try to stay positive, but geezzzz, please understand that there are experienced shooters posting about the accuracy issues of the full size M&P 9mm. This is real.
Congrats on having 4 guns that shot consistently. Some of us aren't experiencing that. I received a new barrel for mine, purchased in May, and went from unable to group, unable to keep 5 shots on the paper at 25 yds (benched and bagged), to geting 4-5 inch groups at 25 yds. I still get the occasional unexplained flyer. And anyone who wants to get pissy about shooting out to 25 yds, well, I'm not going to try to explain it to you, you don't want to hear it. (For some shooters, that is the Gold Standard of measured accuracy. That doesn't mean we are practicing to shoot defensively at 25 yds, unless required during a drill or shooting station).


As far as proven design.... It is my understanding that there were changes made to the barrel production when the compact was introduced. So if that is true, the proven design was altered.

As far as QC, my son is an engineer for Micro VU, which makes optical scanning equipment for QC inspection of parts put into production. Used in many, many industries. This is what S&W needs, to pull parts out of a production run to check if they meet the specs of the "Proven Design" benchmark. There are a lot of variables that can change during a production run of a part.

What I can tell you is that the replacement barrel that I received has a much tighter fit to the slide. Hard to really tell how it is interacting with the locking block.
Bottom line, it shoots better.... dramatically better. I don't think I changed very much while I waited for the gun to return from S&W. Infact, I did not fire a single round in any handgun while I awaited its return.

Cw

The rear site on mine was way off center when I got it...moved it...and now at 10 yards, I can shoot the center X out of the silhouette target.

I also added an inexpensive Sig Sauer laser site to it...for night work. (I have the 5" Pro)

I picked it up from Gunbroker.

Thanks for letting me know where you got the threaded barrel. Much appreciated.

I used a dremmel tool attachment-cone shaped stone/grinder and wet/dry 400 grit sand paper, all BY HAND. NO power tools at all. The crown is critical to accuracy because it is the very end of the rifeling that the bullet is in contact with as it exits the barrel. There are different profiles at the end of a barrel, some are flat, some are flat and recessed and some are round. (the recessed style is to protect the muzzle crown) Regardless of the profile, the concern is where the lands and grooves stop and a slight taper opens up from the bore. This is easy to see. What is critical is that the crown is symetrical, with no imperfections at all. It must allow the bullet to exit without being upset by a burr or being sent wobbling because the crown is uneven.
First I noted the deepest part of the rifeling and worked the rest of it down to that point, making very sure it was square. This was a very small distance, just enough to bee seen with the naked eye. I hand turned the cone grinder bit and checked often. Then the 400 grit with oil to hone and smooth everything.
Be careful, you can ruin a barrel, but if you are careful and patient this can be done and if you have ridiculous sized groups, It wont hurt unless you are sloppy. This worked for me.

Tango... seams to me, You are a wordsmith and gunsmith! Thanks very much for passing on your experiance and knowledge on barrel crown.

I bought my M&P9 fs MPNxxxx back in 07 and have fired over 500 rds down range, after that I stopped counting. I shoot 3-4 " groups most times at 15 yrds. About 4 months ago my brother in law qualified with it for his CCW permit and the instructor had to double check due to all 30 rounds going through a 4" hole. He had never shot a M&P ever before. He then bought one and feels its not as accurate, was having hard time grouping. I asked to shoot a quick couple of rounds just to see and was still close to 4-5" group, He does not clean, break in or lubricating his weapons like I do. I love my M&P, trust it with my life and would never get rid of it.

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M&P9-BG380-59/66-590A1-10/22

So what changed around 2010 that earlier guns seem to be considered more accurate? What would be the serial number prefix range to look for / avoid ?

With so many guns being made/sold maybe it time for new tooling ??

I have had decent accuracy with my FS M&P's, just consistently low left, tight patterns. I was rifing the fence on Apex kits, but finally boke down and did the Burwell technique, and really lightened up the trigger. As far as objective measures, I don't have any. But my USPSA scores when from dead last to 50% at the first match after sear polishing. Also at the same match, I knocked down each steel with a single 115 gr round per target, down from from an average of 1.5 rounds per steel.

I am basically a Sig shooter but I wanted to try the M& P but my local gun shop had a used 40 SW at a good price. I bought it and a 9mm threaded barrel. Accuracy very good and no hiccups. Is the 40 accuracy no problem and the problem just lies with the 9?

Stay Safe!

Yes, the M&P 9's have accuracy issues. S&W knows this and they have begun to change their barrels. I bought a Pro-Series 4.25 inch barrel last year and it sucked at distances beyond 15 yards. I read this article by Hilton Yam and decided to change my barrel to a KKM precision, which is a drop-in barrel...no smithing required.

25 yard group (10 shots) with factory barrel:



25 yard group (10 shots) with KKM barrel:

I have an M&P9 (standard) and it shoots where I point it. So, it's accurate - whether I hit the bullseye or not.

From what I've read it seems to only affect the 9mm. Something about the locking block being not enough of a redesign from the .40 so the physics aren't quite what they need to be.


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Excuse me?? Where did you see that piece of information? I have four 9mm M&P's and every one is more accurate than I am. It's a tried and true design from day 1.

This target was shot by my wife...her 3rd magazine out of her new 9mm Shield from 15 yards. Bad shooting is seldom the gun's fault.

I've been doing a lot of reading of various posts on this issue and it seems the accuracy of any particular M&P 9mm is luck of the draw. Some have decent accuracy, while others cant keep it on the paper at 10yds.

From what I've read, I'm starting to believe that how tightly the locking block (aka barrel hood) fits into the slide notch determines the accuracy potential of that particular barrel/slide combination. If that is typically smaller than a .40 version, I can see that affecting using 9mm barrel in a .40 slide but I don't know why that would be a factor with a stock 9mm as it should be machined to fit correctly.

The other lockup issue I hear talked about is that the 9mm unlocks too soon and the bullet is then thrown high by the barrel pivoting down. I think this might be what bharner is talking about above and what others say a fix is being worked on by a popular aftermarket vendor.

So with the cost of buying a new gun, a trigger improvement, a couple other parts and a barrel, with no guarantee it will still shoot accurately, it isn't unreasonable to just go buy another brand and not have to monkey with it.