i took my m&p 9 to the range to shoot for the first time, i was disappointed with the m&p accuracy, this is not the first time i shot a pistol i shot the M9 before and it's way more accurate than my m&p. I wonder if if there is anything i can do to improve the accuracy such as getting a new barrel from Wilson combat or something. Thanks

Coming from an all metal platform to a polymer platform makes a big difference. There are many ways to improve the accuracy of the M&P but firstly start with your grip and trigger pull. Shooting low and left by any chance?

Yes the bullets hit low and left

Bingo! It's your grip and trigger pull. Use the pad of your index finger and pull straight back, don't snatch and don't press down to anticipate the recoil.

Thanks for helping sir.

Anhdoan a very warm welcome to the forum and hope you enjoy your M&P.

Just to be sure the pistol shoots well shoot it from a rest while setted . If it groups well for you then any problem you still have has to do with your mechanics not the handgun .

Dry firing at home in the safest manner possible is the key to developing a feel for your your trigger and learning g to master it. I don't adhear to to the recommendation that you should be surprised when the gun fires, rather. that you should know the feel of your trigger. The M&P is not so inconsistent that you can't tell when it's going to break. Just follow all the advice about clearing the pistol, checking your chamber again, and leaving all the ammo in another room. For what it's worth, I fired my first M9/92 after a number of years with a Glock, and found it didn't shoot as tight a groups as I expected. I've recently been playing with SIGs again, and find that the standard trigger reset throws me off, nor are my groups as tight as one might expect from a single action trigger. At the same distances, my M&P 9 shoots tighter.

the 1st time i took my 9c to the range (my other experience being only with my .22's), i was frustrated at the shorter distances (5-7yds) i was off so much low/left as often happens. Asked the range person who owns multiple M&P's (both stock and modified) to try it and he was dead on. So between learning more on this forum and practicing (more range than dry fire to be honest) i am much improved. After nearly 1000 rounds in less then a year with my 9c, i'm happy with most shots on target. And the ones that aren't, well i know immediately i did something wrong. Much like golf, you can just tell when that one swing was off before the ball even lands.

I'd add that my wife who basically never fired a gun before, was much better on the 9c her first time recently then i was when I started on it. I wonder if by being a new shooter, she had no real habits or preconceived notions on what to expect, so she was able to "adapt" to the recoil and trigger much easier then one who has spent time with other firearms and calibers.

It takes a little getting used to because the trigger is rather slim width-wise. Several hundred rounds later and I shoot all of my M&Ps consistently well.

From Saturday's range visit- 9mm Pro 5" 15 yards:

Thanks everyone for helping me out, truly appreciate it.

And welcome to the forum from Missouri.

I second what Ranger said. The first time my wife shot my 9c, she did much better than I had been doing. Having shot a lot of different pistols, mostly single action revolvers has probably given me some bad habits that I have to work my way out of with the M&Ps.
Shoot a lot more and work hard on your mechanics and I'm sure you'll fall in love with your 9c.
And welcome to our Forum from Mass.

Granted this was only at 7yds, the gun was brand new out of the box (M&P 9pro), 17 rounds off hand...



After adjusting my grip and trigger pull, I was able to bring the group up and right a bit, but still not quite at POA. I finally just gave in abd drifted the rear sight to compensate. Finally I installed a Apex Comp AEK and the thing is an effortless tack-driver for me. I am by no means an expert marksman but I can put holes where they need to go, yet at 25yds I can still manage 1 ragged hole. Next is a RAM from Apex to add a more positive reset... My only gripe left with the gun.

Sometimes using more or less finger on the trigger is needed.

Shooting to the left can be a sign of too little finger on the trigger.


For me it depends on the pistol, the size and shape.

Most say use the pad of your finger, and it usually works, but I have found that some pistols need me to get closer to the first joint of my finger to keep the sights still when shooting. (dry fire practice confirms it) Smaller/thinner pistols are usually the ones I need to do this for. Using just the very tip of your finger is often too little except on very light target triggers.

The back strap you use on the pistol can affect this as well.

When I used the large backstrap, my usual finger position worked well, but I didn't like the way it felt in my hand as much, and I didn't like the reduced beavertail, which affected the felt recoil. Switching to a smaller backstrap required me to use more finger.

My 9c is crazy accurate. That said I spend a lot of time dry firing. Mostly I dry fire my p95 as it has a da/sa trigger that doesn't need reset. Two weeks after I bought it I was shooting ragged holes.

Spend some time dry firing and you can get over the hard ending to the stock m&p trigger.

The reason you should use the pad of your finger is because it allows your finger to move independently from your hand. The closer you get to the joint the more your hand will turn to the left (If you're right handed). Just try a single handed grip without a gun in your hand. Your hand won't twist if you only use the pad. Try using the joint and your hand is forced to twist left. Seems like the M&P is more susceptible to this due to the shape of the grip.

I don't use the joint, but I do use the part of the finger pad closer to the joint.

If you look at your finger, and divide the first portion from tip to joint into thirds, the middle third is the area I use most of the time, the center of the pad of your finger... On small gripped pistols, I use the last third, closest to the joint. I have less twisting that way, because I am not forcing my finger to bow outward like it would if I used the center of the pad...

As I said, its dependent on the pistol's size. Larger pistols or ones with longer trigger reach, like my Sig 226 and CZ 75, I use the center pad. My CZ in full DA mode needs me to use closer to my tip, due to the long reach...

I feel your pain. My S&W M&P9 was perfect out of the box EXCEPT for a faulty ejector. Great groupings except continuing to get hit with casings got annoying. Then I sent it for repair. They replaced the ejector. Now I have it back and it's shooting way low and way left. I should have just been happy getting smacked with the casings. I'm reasonably certain it's not me since I was shooting just fine with it three weeks ago. Absolutely disgusted. I bought it for the range since my Colt 1911 45 gets pricey, but it's spot on every shot.