Best M&P for a Lefty Wheel Gunner

[CALREB]

HMike, You made a good choice on the pistol, Ive never gone in for the manual safety versions, but you can always change that if you find out its not for you. As far as ammo, its a handgun, adding ++++ to the ammo doesn't change that and you are asking a lot out of the gun, especially since modern bullet design and your ability to control the recoil, and faster follow up shots has a lot more to do with its effectiveness than a few extra FPS. Find a good subsonic or other defense load , your gun shoots well ,and train with something that shoots similar.
Im a lefty, and as far as ambi mag release, Ive always found it easier/ faster to slightly turn the pistol, especially double stacks, in my hand and run the mag release and the slidestop with my trigger finger.After teaching more than a few people this method, especially small handed people with beretta and S/Ws. The middle finger method is not very good due to the fact your middle finger is not quite as dexterous as index finger, AND the big reason it only allows your ring and little finger to hold onto the gun, easy to drop in a hectic situation.
Just train and use some patience, practice reset and keep the trigger moving. I was a revolver only shooter the first 10 years of my career even as an instructor until the mid 80,s when semiautos took over and had to learn to teach with them or go back to see the woman...(regular patrol) You are asking the right questions , Im in Texas FT Worth area, maybe we will bump into each other some time. Good luck bob

 

[HorizontalMike]

Uplula. Do not buy from ebay or even Amazon. Buy direct, those two sellers have counterfeit (ask me how I know). I use it for my shield and full size. Can't recommend it more.

I had already ordered a MakerShot 9mm Loader, however I have now also ordered a Maglula UPLula off of Midway (listed on the Maglula website).

I am sure this will help, thanks!... My thumbs and fingers are getting really sore loading and cycling my 5-SnapCaps time & time again...

 

[NewToGuns17]

I had already ordered a MakerShot 9mm Loader, however I have now also ordered a Maglula UPLula off of Midway (listed on the Maglula website).

I am sure this will help, thanks!... My thumbs and fingers are getting really sore loading and cycling my 5-SnapCaps time & time again...

Yes. Leave all your mags loaded fully, you'll be able to do it by hand eventually if need be. I use my uplula at the range all the time as well as my girlfriend. Even my grandfather liked it! I got a counterfeit one but they refunded me my money and let me keep it. When it breaks, I'll get a genuine one. I couldn't tell the difference even when I contacted maglula and that helped me figure out it was a fake. You'll enjoy it. You can even use it with 1911. Does double stack and single.

 

[dromeo]

Well, I ended up nixing the L5 DE 357 idea and ordered the M&P 9mm M2.0 w/4.25in barrel & ambidextrous Safety Lever (SKU: 11524)

I noticed that many/most of these pistols do not have a manual safety, much less an "ambi-" one so I guess I will find out if I like having it or not.

Like I mentioned earlier, I desire to eventually get certified as an instructor and range officer, all for good measure.

That said, I just hope all my wheel guns don't get too jealous...

They have that same gun available without the thumb safety. Also, Grabagun has the 5" version of that in FDE color for $399 with thumb safety or $415without it.
M&P 9 M2.0 FDE 17 Round 9mm Smith and Wesson 11537
M&P 2.0 9mm 5 17 Round Flat Dark Earth Smith and Wesson 11989

 

[HorizontalMike]

Yes. Leave all your mags loaded fully, you'll be able to do it by hand eventually if need be. I use my uplula at the range all the time as well as my girlfriend. Even my grandfather liked it! I got a counterfeit one but they refunded me my money and let me keep it. When it breaks, I'll get a genuine one. I couldn't tell the difference even when I contacted maglula and that helped me figure out it was a fake. You'll enjoy it. You can even use it with 1911. Does double stack and single.

OK. I get it as it works.... Obviously, whatever works is better is a BIG plus!... So Thank you! BTW, got a voice message less than a minute ago, that they (S&W) are not interested, other than sending in the ENTIRE gun(back again) for THEM to pass judgement upon. IMO... and I know that I am SURELY over-judgemental, the best/optimal GAP...

Side NOTE: S&W only wants to "correct" those out of S&W SPECS"... Got only "ghost calls"" but obvious that they (S&W) did not want to deal with b/c gaps of 0.009" or less...

SO: So, just why is it so "hard" for S&W to provide such information for those of us that NEED such information?

I feel so undressed and exploited that I DARE NOT even hint at politics... It is so just wrong!...

BIG QUESTION dating back to at least 1985... Why can I NOT get information of what I request?

 

[WR Moore]

BTW, got a voice message less than a minute ago, that they (S&W) are not interested, other than sending in the ENTIRE gun(back again) for THEM to pass judgement upon. IMO... and I know that I am SURELY over-judgemental, the best/optimal GAP...

Side NOTE: S&W only wants to "correct" those out of S&W SPECS"... Got only "ghost calls"" but obvious that they (S&W) did not want to deal with b/c gaps of 0.009" or less...

SO: So, just why is it so "hard" for S&W to provide such information for those of us that NEED such information?

OK, I don't presume to speak for S&W, but you've obviously never tried to get certain information out of nearly ANY manufacturer of ANY product. That information may be WANTED, it's not NEEDED in their view. There are some exceptions but you pay for that info. Often dearly. And they've been driven to even more secrecy by mud sucking attorneys and anal retentive perfectionists-not descriptive of present company.*

They do provide at least some of that information to the armorers they've certified but that would be factory acceptable, not optimal.

BTW: per Ron Power, the optimal B/C gap is 0.004-0.006 inches, headspace 0.062-0.064 inches.

*Example: maybe 15 years ago I got maximum allowable exhaust gas temperatures and where/how to measure it for 2 turbo diesel engines in vehicles I own that I used for heavy hauling. [2 different engine designs from the same manufacturer, same max temperature but measured in different places. Huh?????] Now, what you get from every engine/vehicle maker is that due to many variables, it would be irresponsible to provide a specific maximum allowable temperature.

Second example: VW used to make their complete service manuals, including how to alter the computer settings, available through a vendor. The vendor also supplied all VW authorized service centers. About 5 years ago, that came to a screeching halt and said info is only available to those authorized service centers and it's straight from Wolfsburg.

 

[Rastoff]

BTW, got a voice message less than a minute ago, that they (S&W) are not interested, other than sending in the ENTIRE gun(back again) for THEM to pass judgement upon.

Hold the phone a minute there. Did I miss something? Did you get the gun and now are having some trouble with it?

 

[HorizontalMike]

Hold the phone a minute there. Did I miss something? Did you get the gun and now are having some trouble with it?

I had recently purchased another 686 No Dash on GB. It had a sticky cylinder release and had not been "M" modified by S&W. So I sent it in to S&W for the "M" and to have them to repair the sticky cylinder release. They had it 2-months. It came back with a cleaner release, though I decided to see if I could improve it even more DIY. I ended up stoning the bolt plunger release channel on the frame, as well as the bolt plunger itself. This has made all the difference in the World to that 686, and am wondering why didn't S&W do that in the first place... They charged me ~$150 to work on it (and the "M" was free)...

Anyways, after having that S&W experience, I would hesitate to send that 686 off to them again, since they basically will claim that my 686's B/C is "within" specs at +0.009in. BTW my LGS will shave the barrel shoulder and set my B/C gap to 0.004in for $295 +tax. I may eventually do that...

But for NOW..., I have a new "plastic fantastic" pistol to play with!

 

[WR Moore]

Since you're in Texas, I suggest getting a quote from Ten Ring Precision. If you're gonna do the B/C gap, set the head space first. That'll probably mean shims for end play too, but that's minor.

 

[Rastoff]

Anyways, after having that S&W experience, I would hesitate to send that 686 off to them again, since they basically will claim that my 686's B/C is "within" specs at +0.009in. BTW my LGS will shave the barrel shoulder and set my B/C gap to 0.004in for $295 +tax. I may eventually do that...

But for NOW..., I have a new "plastic fantastic" pistol to play with!

OK, that clears it up. I was wondering how the .009" measurement was related to an M&P 2.0, but I see that it isn't.

I'm happy that you have the new pistol. I'd love to hear a range report from you.

 

[HorizontalMike]

Since you're in Texas, I suggest getting a quote from Ten Ring Precision. If you're gonna do the B/C gap, set the head space first. That'll probably mean shims for end play too, but that's minor.

The head space on my 686 is less than 0.001in and nice and tight. Couldn't tell if it was S&W that re-set it or was already that tight before I had sent it in to them.

RE your recommendation, I usually choose Nagel's to do business with. There website is thorough and includes a full list of charges for particular tasks/jobs/repairs etc. Thanks for offering an alternative though.