I can get a decent grip on this M&P 9mm..

[mrwintr]

I have tried all 3 grip inserts, and I think the small one feels the best, but I really can't seem to get a good, consistent grip on this gun. I think they should have given a little relief area for your middle finger up under the back of the trigger guard....it seems like I can't get my hand to stay high in the back (up tight to the beavertail) because there is no area for my middle finger to go up higher behind the trigger guard.
Has anyone else noticed that the grip feels just a little awkward?? I had a Glock and that was a bit bulky feeling but even this M&P just doesn't feel good. If I take the insert out of the back of the grip it almost feels best, but then my grip is too far forward. I have a fairly large hand too so I am confused about this trouble of finding a comfortable grip. I am wondering if other people are experiencing the same discomfort but just not saying so...?? I am tempted to sell this thing because I just can't get comfortable with it.

 

[silvercn]

That is the strangest thing I have heard in a long time.
Without sounding too condecending... have you shot other guns?

The M&P is by far the most confortable auto I have even held and shot.

You say you have large hand's...
my big buddies/officers (6'3" and larger) say that the LARGE grip is perfect for them.
The little female friends/officers (5'6" and smaller) say that the small is amazing.

I am your average 6' 200lbs guy... and I have tried all three of them.
I find that the medium fits perfectly in my hand.

**NOTE**
The Holster is very important in your grip placement and securing the weapon.
I find that my SAFARILAND 6377 is PERFECT!
but it is moderate-hard to "conceal" so I use it for my duty holster.
I also have a Blackhawk Serpa level2 CQC holster for the range and country carry.
Neither of those holsters cause an issue with my grip.

However, my favorite and best concealment holster is my Crossbreed Supertuck...
Awesome concealment, but it hampers the grip to leave that little bit of space over my hand and gaps the beavertail.

just my $8.02 cents............. lol (a joke, be it a bad joke,,, still a joke)

 

[S&W Rover]

The OP is speaking mostly of grip shape, but in another aspect of "how the grip feels," I find that putting a patch of skater tape (actually, 3M stair safety tape from Lowe's/Home Depot) on the front strap, thumb rest area, and on the grip insert makes a very good grip even better (I prefer the small grip insert).

The M&P consistently gets good reviews for grip shape, and I tend to agree. But each person's perceptions can differ.

 

[mrwintr]

That is the strangest thing I have heard in a long time.
Without sounding too condecending... have you shot other guns?

The M&P is by far the most confortable auto I have even held and shot.

You say you have large hand's...
my big buddies/officers (6'3" and larger) say that the LARGE grip is perfect for them.
The little female friends/officers (5'6" and smaller) say that the small is amazing.

I am your average 6' 200lbs guy... and I have tried all three of them.
I find that the medium fits perfectly in my hand.

**NOTE**
The Holster is very important in your grip placement and securing the weapon.
I find that my SAFARILAND 6377 is PERFECT!
but it is moderate-hard to "conceal" so I use it for my duty holster.
I also have a Blackhawk Serpa level2 CQC holster for the range and country carry.
Neither of those holsters cause an issue with my grip.

However, my favorite and best concealment holster is my Crossbreed Supertuck...
Awesome concealment, but it hampers the grip to leave that little bit of space over my hand and gaps the beavertail.

just my $8.02 cents............. lol (a joke, be it a bad joke,,, still a joke)

I have had a few different handguns, my first was a Sig P220..... I don't remember that being a problem, the G 17 was a bit bulky but really just needed some of the textured stick-on grips. I put some of those on this M&P also, but it really seems to be the lack of relief area for the middle finger behind the trigger guard that causes the problem for me.
I recently had shot a 1911 and was very surpirsed with how that frame (grip) felt.
I jumped back to using the Medium size inserts in this M&P and it still feels strange. It must be the way I am gripping it, it actually makes my hand hurt.
I probably shouldn't even have posted about this, but I really figured there are other people out there that bought this gun and found the grip was uncomfortable for them also.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I have tried all 3 grip inserts, and I think the small one feels the best, but I really can't seem to get a good, consistent grip on this gun. I think they should have given a little relief area for your middle finger up under the back of the trigger guard....it seems like I can't get my hand to stay high in the back (up tight to the beavertail) because there is no area for my middle finger to go up higher behind the trigger guard.
Has anyone else noticed that the grip feels just a little awkward?? I had a Glock and that was a bit bulky feeling but even this M&P just doesn't feel good. If I take the insert out of the back of the grip it almost feels best, but then my grip is too far forward. I have a fairly large hand too so I am confused about this trouble of finding a comfortable grip. I am wondering if other people are experiencing the same discomfort but just not saying so...?? I am tempted to sell this thing because I just can't get comfortable with it.

I know exactly what you mean. I thought about using a dremel tool and relieving that area a little but I'm too afraid.

Other than that it's great. I just deal with it.

 

[chuck s]

The Glock grip is so different anything will feel funny for a while.

-- Chuck

 

[blastfact]

I put some shark skin stipple on the front strap and up under the trigger guard to help my fingers lock up in there. I can see where the stipple would be hard on some folks skin. But I like it and can keep a very deep hand hold on the pistol with no problem.

 

[ab4ka]

with mine I kept going back and forth between the medium and the large. I liked the feel of the medium, but I ended up settling on the large as I shot better with it. With my compact I found the opposite...the large felt better but the medium shot better. I just made sure I took enough time to determine which shot best.

 

[Gila Jorge]

Height and weight have little to do with grip comfort. I much prefer arched main spring housings on my 1911s and all have such. Most also have magwells for convenience. Hand size and finger length are critical as well as shooting style. A comfortable grip is critical for consistent trigger pull and retention of front sight concentration as should be. Thought Smith had inserts to change grip shape as well as size...? If they don;t they damn sure should. Too nice a gun otherwise. Really offers potential.

 

[TexasRebel]

I ended up using the small grip and I'm 6'3" with big hands. For me it was a matter of getting my hand in closer to the weapon. I tried all sizes and could group better with the small grips. I do think the frame and grip surface could have been a little less "slick". All in all I LOVE my M&P 45.

 

[kris7047th]

M&P9C

because I am small. I IWB with a Raven concealment holster. Draw is very easy and fast. As you can see, even with a larger backstrap, there would be no issue for a good draw for larger hands.

 

[Randall6666]

I am also having a hard time with gripping the M and P pro 9mm. I am having a hard time finding a place for my hold hand's (not the grip hand) thumb. I have big hands and been shooting glocks for years. I bought the pistol because it felt good in my hand. When I shoot it...my thumb seem lost as where to go. Any ideas would be geat!

 

[jgreiner]

I have tried all 3 grip inserts, and I think the small one feels the best, but I really can't seem to get a good, consistent grip on this gun. I think they should have given a little relief area for your middle finger up under the back of the trigger guard....it seems like I can't get my hand to stay high in the back (up tight to the beavertail) because there is no area for my middle finger to go up higher behind the trigger guard.
Has anyone else noticed that the grip feels just a little awkward?? I had a Glock and that was a bit bulky feeling but even this M&P just doesn't feel good. If I take the insert out of the back of the grip it almost feels best, but then my grip is too far forward. I have a fairly large hand too so I am confused about this trouble of finding a comfortable grip. I am wondering if other people are experiencing the same discomfort but just not saying so...?? I am tempted to sell this thing because I just can't get comfortable with it.

I have large hands...and the large grip is by far the best. And the MP feels far better in my hand than any other gun I have shot.

 

[Gran Torino]

I'm just an average Joe with average sized hands. The M&P with the medium grip seems perfect to me....much better than any handgun I've ever held.

 

[patbelly]

I had the same problem with all three grip sizes. Just for fun I put a Hogue Handall Jr. over the small backstrap and now it is perfect.
Before that I was thinking of selling it because I could not get a decent grip.

 

[Fir Fer]

I tried all three and found the med. to work the best, I have to say the M&P platform is great, of all the different guns I've handled, it's the best!

 

[remat457]

....it seems like I can't get my hand to stay high in the back (up tight to the beavertail)

Yep, I have the same issue but it doesn't seem to impact shooting. If it bothers you, or you can't get a consistent grip you might consider going to a 9c, no big beavertail. I actually think I shoot it better.

 

[JarE-3]

I also recently struggled with this issue. I started with the small grip because it was comfortable and I shot well with it. The big problem I was having wasn't the shooting part, it was getting a consistant grip from the draw. I would find myself constantly shifting my grip while presenting to the target. I didn't have this problem with my M9, P99 or 1911.

My solution was to first undercut the trigger guard as far as I was comfortable in doing (probably too far), which didn't solve the problem. Next step was stippling the front strap. Still the same issue. So I took the large grip (it had a piece that looked to lower the beavertail a bit) and recontoured the palmsswells to match the small insert but left all of the material on the back and then stippled it. I'm getting more consistant draws out of it but haven't tested it on the range yet. It definitely feels more 1911-esque this way. If this doesn't eliminate the issue, I'm at a loss. I absolutely love the pistol and shoot it very well.

As I'm in the market for a .45 to go with my M&P 9, I'm not sure what to do next since no other polymer framed guns really ticle my fancy like the M&P.

 

[JarE-3]

OK, after some trigger time, I retract my above statement. I stippled the small grip just to have it with me and that made the difference. My 2 cents, YMMV.

 

[scootle]

I have tried all 3 grip inserts, and I think the small one feels the best, but I really can't seem to get a good, consistent grip on this gun. I think they should have given a little relief area for your middle finger up under the back of the trigger guard....it seems like I can't get my hand to stay high in the back (up tight to the beavertail) because there is no area for my middle finger to go up higher behind the trigger guard.
Has anyone else noticed that the grip feels just a little awkward?? I had a Glock and that was a bit bulky feeling but even this M&P just doesn't feel good. If I take the insert out of the back of the grip it almost feels best, but then my grip is too far forward. I have a fairly large hand too so I am confused about this trouble of finding a comfortable grip. I am wondering if other people are experiencing the same discomfort but just not saying so...?? I am tempted to sell this thing because I just can't get comfortable with it.

What the OP describes is a common area that people will take a file (not a Dremel!) to increase the undercut of the trigger guard.

Depending on the shape of your hand, this can help a LOT with bringing the bore axis more comfortably down into your hand.

After extended shooting, I too find that this area rubbing on the inside my middle finger (strong hand) can get a little irritating, but not nearly as much as the overall "bite" I get in my hands from the square corners of the grip on my (Gen3) Glock 19...

The M&P family by far is one of the most ergonomically friendly grip designs in the business right now, imho.

I am also having a hard time with gripping the M and P pro 9mm. I am having a hard time finding a place for my hold hand's (not the grip hand) thumb. I have big hands and been shooting glocks for years. I bought the pistol because it felt good in my hand. When I shoot it...my thumb seem lost as where to go. Any ideas would be geat!

This really depends on which style of grip you utilize... if you follow what is currently "popular" and run the thumbs-forward grip, you should be able to comfortably place your support hand thumb right on the frame in the area in front of the take-down lever. Many users will put a spot of grip tape, or stipple this area specifically to give them an index point for their support hand thumb. The upside to this as well is that your support hand thumb is well-positioned to thumb the switch on a dedicated weaponlight, if you choose to run one.