M&P 9mm Pro Point of Aim Question

D

Dlister70

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
119
Reaction score
33
Using this picture as a reference:

Shooting_002.jpg


When I shoot my M&P 22, I use the first sight picture. Line up the dots, or line up the top of the front sight to the top of the back sight, however you want to look at it.

When I shoot my 9mm Pro 5", I have to use the second sight picture, or actually even more pronounced than that. The front sight is way above the back sight when I'm hitting center mass. If I try to line up the front and back sights. I always shoot way low.

Since the rear sight is not adjustable for elevation, I'm not sure what else I can do except just aim differently with that gun. But it's frustrating because I'd rather have the same point of aim for each gun.
 
Register to hide this ad
I have 9FS same problem. Sent it back to S&W they said they replaced the front sight. Same problem! Put on a set of TFOs. Same problem! I had another 9FS and it shot much better and a 9mm shield that shoots perfect. Don't know the answer.
 
All of my m&p's shoot very close to point of aim so I do not have your problem at all.
 
Dlister70 said:
Using this picture as a reference:

Shooting_002.jpg


When I shoot my M&P 22, I use the first sight picture. Line up the dots, or line up the top of the front sight to the top of the back sight, however you want to look at it.

When I shoot my 9mm Pro 5", I have to use the second sight picture, or actually even more pronounced than that. The front sight is way above the back sight when I'm hitting center mass. If I try to line up the front and back sights. I always shoot way low.

Since the rear sight is not adjustable for elevation, I'm not sure what else I can do except just aim differently with that gun. But it's frustrating because I'd rather have the same point of aim for each gun.
Click to expand...

Have somebody else shoot it . . .
 
Also try shooting it from a rest. A 9mm has a lot more felt recoil than a 22 does. You might be influencing where POI is when you press the trigger.
 
AGoyette is asking the right question. If the gun hasn't been tested from a rest, you don't know where it's shooting. Even if you shoot your .22 well, the 9mm is a different animal. It's possible you're flinching a little as you shoot.
 
Having carried a model 14, with adjustable sights, for so long, I put adjustable sights on my 5906 and 4566 but have not needed todp so with my M&P 45 full size. That is always an option.
 
Digging up this old topic again..

I had only been shooting handguns a few months when I first posted this. Six month later, I have much better trigger control and much less shot anticipation problems. I'm still shooting low with this gun.

Last weekend I went to a class taught by Brian "Gunny" Zins and he shot my gun after he saw I was shooting low. He put up a very tight group at 15 yards, but it was 4.5" below the X.

After googling for awhile on others with the same issue, it seems like a lot of people went with a Dawson .160 front sight to fix the problem. The shorter front will make me raise the barrel more. I guess I'll give that a shot.

I like my gun, but I'd like it more if it hit what I was aiming at instead of me having to guesstimate my hold a few inches above where I want to hit. Or doing what I explained in the original post and holding the front sight high above the back sights. Hopefully new sights will fix it.
 
What grain of ammo are you shooting? Shooting low with 115 grain ammo is a commom occurance that a lot of times can be corrected by switching to 124 grain ammo which is what most 9mm handguns are designed to shoot. You may want to give that a try before changing your sights.
 
Jake D said:
What grain of ammo are you shooting? Shooting low with 115 grain ammo is a commom occurance that a lot of times can be corrected by switching to 124 grain ammo which is what most 9mm handguns are designed to shoot. You may want to give that a try before changing your sights.
Click to expand...

I have been shooting 115 grain. I will give the 124 and 147 grains a try before I spend money on a new sight.

I just realized that the stock M&P 22 front sight is .160 so I'll probably try installing that to see if it helps before trying to buy a Dawson. I switched the 22 over to a HiViz sight, so I have the stock sight just sitting around anyway.
 
Sight Picture

Had a problem shooting low also. Found this somewhere on the forum not too long ago. Sight picture #3 was recommended for the 9c--working for me now although it takes come getting used to (as does any new firearm).
 

Attachments

  • PistolSightImages.jpg
    PistolSightImages.jpg
    11.5 KB · Views: 444
I think hstrawn is on the right track, with combat sights you should be centering the dot on the front sight on the center of the bullseye.
 
I have a pro series M&P 9L with a 115 target load from a bench my pistol printed a solid 4in low from a center mass hold. If you do a search you will see this is a pretty common issue with the pro series 9L. I solved most of my problem by finding a 147gr extreme plated bullet under a modest dose of AA#7 and it brought the impact to 1/2" under POA. This runs very good for me for steel challenge. If that will not do it, then take a trip to dawson precision for a lower front sight. To me there is only two acceptable sight pictures. And that is #1 & #2 from hstrawn's post.

Otherwise my only course of action in steel challenge is to cover the plate, for me that is not acceptable.

Good luck, Bench the gun and prove it first, there are more than a fair share out there that have the same issue. And it seems to be much more specific to the pro series in 9mm with the 5in barrel.
 
Rastoff said:
Yes, many recommend #3, but they are wrong. Even so, it's not wrong enough to make a huge difference.
Click to expand...

Curious as to why #3 is wrong. I'm new to my M&P 9c and looking for ideas/suggestions/opinions to try out in an attempt to improve its (my) performance. Also found this site from another 'sailor' -- supports the #3 picture but then looking at responses, individuality in technique rules.

pistol-training.com » Blog Archive » Sight Picture

thanx.....hugh
 
hstrawn said:
Had a problem shooting low also. Found this somewhere on the forum not too long ago. Sight picture #3 was recommended for the 9c--working for me now although it takes come getting used to (as does any new firearm).
Click to expand...



Rastoff said:
Yes, many recommend #3, but they are wrong. Even so, it's not wrong enough to make a huge difference.
Click to expand...

Which is the correct one to use with an M&P?

Sent from my Galaxy Note II
 
We’ve been issuing out new guns to many of our guys recently due to life cycle limits. What I found out during this ‘reissuance’ is that due to a change in sight brand, the new guns shot POA/POI when using hold #3…or what was termed the ‘combat hold’.

The thinking is that when in a SD situation, if you look at your sights at all, it’s going to be a flash sight picture…putting that front dot on the BG is the easiest thing to do. For target shooting, it does take some getting used to for finer shots, since the sight tends to cover up those reference points.

I won’t get into my thoughts on this except that it’s doesn’t feel natural to me since I’m used to finding the top edge of my sight but maybe S&W is doing something similar.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
M&P Pro 9mm 5" 1.0 rifling?
Replies
3
Views
460
hardluk1
H
kiki
m&p 1.0 9mm
Replies
0
Views
326
kiki
kiki
Redcoat3340
Help with M&P Pro 9mm
Replies
7
Views
547
hardluk1
H
GaCop
M&P 2.0 9mm
Replies
13
Views
1K
Saudade
Saudade
s&wchad
M&P 9 Pro Series CORE Takedown Question
Replies
5
Views
330
Saudade
Saudade

Latest posts

Back
Top