Hello,

I recently purchased a M&P 9 FS for EDC at my local Gander Mountain. The weapon was made on 12/04/14 and was new when purchased.

Last weekend I took the weapon to the range after cleaning and lubricating it per the instructions manual. I had the following results:

200 rounds of Winchester White Box 115 gr: 2 FTE

150 rounds of Blazer Brass 115 gr: 1 FTE

50 rounds of Speer GDHP 115 gr (my carry ammo): No FTE

3 FTE in 400 rounds of ammunition is unacceptable for a carry weapon IMO.

In addition to the above my slide lock became increasingly difficult to operate as I shot. After 50 rounds or so it required a large amount of force to depress and release the slide.

I got home and thoroughly cleaned the weapon and will test it again this weekend with another 400 rounds of ammunition from PMC and Hornady.

So my questions are is this a common issue with this weapon? Should I contact Smith and send it in to have them test and possibly repair it or just spring for the Apex FRE and install it? Or both?

Thanks.

may i ask, how was the accuracy in your first range visit with it?

Decent 2-3 in groups at 7 yards. A few that strayed a bit but everything in the silouette. This was with taking my time proper breathing etc no double-taps or rapid fire.

Winchester White Box ammo is notoriously weak and that, together with a new gun that should be broken in before you trust it, is probably the problem.

No failures with premium Speer GDHP (more powerful defense ammo) makes me more suspicious that the gun functioned normally and just needs to be broken in with better ammo!

Let us know how your second range trip goes!

Welcome to the forum. Try the slingshot method instead you using the slide lock to release the slide. Most will argue the slide stop is just that, not a slide release. BTW.. you didn't fall for the Gander mountain warranty did you? S&W has a lifetime warranty on their firearms.

First thanks for all the replies guys. After doing some more reading it seems like it may have been due to underpowered ammo rather than a bad extractor.

I will try it with 124 gr ammo instead of 115 gr this weekend as well.

I guess I've been spoiled with break ins in the past. I will give it a few more trips and report my findings. I really do like the weapon. Low felt recoil and great ergonomics.

And no, but they did try and sell me on that warranty :P

I would not have guessed that 115 ammo could be a little 'under powered' in a full size. My only experience is with my 9c but after 1200+ rounds thru it (all 115 fmj) i could probably count ammo issues on just a couple fingers lol. So would have just assumed the fs would run the same. Interesting, i'll be following this one as i am considering adding a fs to my little collection and sure would be nice to keep one practice ammo on the shelf to share

Keep working the slide stop, it will loosen up. All of my M&P's were pretty hard, now I can easily use my thumb to release the slide. Even my Shield 40's slide stop is loosening up.

Thanks, I'll keep at it.

Out of curiosity does the Apex FRE make much of a difference? Is it easy to install or do I need to take it to a smith to get it installed?

Bought a new M&P 9 FS at Christmas and have put 581 rounds through it so far with no issues at all. 115 gr. WWB was the first 100 rounds that went through it with no issues. Except for 25 rounds of 147 gr. Winchester Training ammo, all of the factory rounds have been 115 gr. Have also put close to 200 rounds of 125 gr. LRN reloads with no issues. All my handguns are all stock. 2 - M&P's (FS 9 & 45) and SD9VE and now a new SD40VE. I've had no issues at all with any of mine, they all go bang with each pull of the trigger. They all can do rotation as EDC as they have all proved to be reliable, dependable and accurate.

I used 124gr initially in all my M&Ps (well, all my handguns) before switching to 115s.

Did you shoot the Speer last? Perhaps it "broke in" by then.

On my M&Ps, it's a stop not a release.

The Speer were shot in the middle after the Blazer and before the WWB.

I took the M&P to the range again today and fired off another 200 rounds of Blazer with no FTE or any other problems. Ejections were fine and the brass was ejected where it was supposed to go.

However, after getting the gun home and cleaning it I encountered a great deal of trouble cleaning it. It appears that the striker or firing pin was not syncing up with the receiver somehow. After some gentle prodding it 'clicked' and the slide reattached to the receiver without any further problems but I found that a little troubling.

I always use the take down lever per the instructions and what not. I think I may still send it back to Smith as I am still not confident carrying it as is.

What clicked? The striker block? That's the silver button on the underside of the slide. If the striker blocked clicked just remove the striker/firing pin assembly and inspect it. Very easy to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vJQuxBVplY

It wasn't the round silver button, it was the rectangular piece that sticks down from the slide. Will disassemble and inspect per that video. Thanks for the link.