M&P .45

[neorebel]

I checked the manufacturer date on my M&P .45 it was made around 11/08. The trigger on mine is nice. Did they possibly change the trigger?

 

[judgecrater]

Both very nice.

I shoot both my Glock21 and M&P45 a lot, side by side. The Smith certainly wins the pretty contest. The Glock wins the simplicity contest for ease of full disassembly. I find the reliability about the same.
I shoot them both about the same; the Glock just a little more accurate but that is a comparison of 2 guns out of thousands and the difference is very small.
Both triggers improved with what I consider minor changes.
Initially the Smith had an 8lb gritty trigger. The addition of an APEX sear and a little polishing made it perfect. The Glock benefitted a new 3.5lb connector and it is just fine now. I really like them both and they shoot very much the same for me. Both now have nice pulls at about 4 ¼ lbs. I don't understand the comments that one is wonderful and the other terrible but that's why we are given a choice.

 

[George9]

neroebel, Just red this in you post!! you said (I did have an ejector on a Glock break when I was teaching my class what to do if the ejector broke. Of course you have a worthless gun at that point. Throw it and hope the bad guy fetches it.)
So I just hat to tell you.. A few months ago I lost a ejector while target shooting on a old Beretta Mod. 17 .22cal pistol and you know the darn thing still runs just fine.. Made so when you break the main part off the ejector there is enough of ejectors base mount left to keep it functional.. 500 rounds later and a new ejector still sitting in the draw.. No intent on installing it on this target gun... Great old build! Oh got a M&P .45 on order.. Not liking the M&P 22 Walther build for S&W after looking it over.... George

 

[neorebel]

Yep the whole thing snapped right off no more ejection!!

It has never happened since though!

neroebel, Just red this in you post!! you said (I did have an ejector on a Glock break when I was teaching my class what to do if the ejector broke. Of course you have a worthless gun at that point. Throw it and hope the bad guy fetches it.)
So I just hat to tell you.. A few months ago I lost a ejector while target shooting on a old Beretta Mod. 17 .22cal pistol and you know the darn thing still runs just fine.. Made so when you break the main part off the ejector there is enough of ejectors base mount left to keep it functional.. 500 rounds later and a new ejector still sitting in the draw.. No intent on installing it on this target gun... Great old build! Oh got a M&P .45 on order.. Not liking the M&P 22 Walther build for S&W after looking it over.... George

 

[kal45]

Thanks for the post neorebel. I have a full size M&P 45 on order and anxiously await arrival. This will be my first dance with a S&W automatic. I hope I like it as much as you do yours.

 

[neorebel]

Make sure when you get it that you take it apart and oil everything that rubs....

I really oil the barrel, slide cut outs on the sides of the slide, (one drop of oil then stand it up and let the oil run down the slide.) guide rails on the lower body that the slide rides on and the dot of oil on the disconnector.

Oh and on the rear bar where the trigger bar releases the firing pin. Some have said it's a gritty feeling when new. (It's horizontal to the bar near the rear of the magazine well.)
I never experienced this myself.

I do this with all new guns. It always works for me and you learn how to break it down as well.

Have fun.

Thanks for the post neorebel. I have a full size M&P 45 on order and anxiously await arrival. This will be my first dance with a S&W automatic. I hope I like it as much as you do yours.

 

[neorebel]

Please don't get me wrong...I don't hate Glocks...My gripes are the polygonal rifling and the square slide.....the .45 cal slide is huge compared to the M&P .45. Two of my brothers have the .45 cal Glock and love them.....I has been the topic of some lively discussions...lol

I shoot both my Glock21 and M&P45 a lot, side by side. The Smith certainly wins the pretty contest. The Glock wins the simplicity contest for ease of full disassembly. I find the reliability about the same.
I shoot them both about the same; the Glock just a little more accurate but that is a comparison of 2 guns out of thousands and the difference is very small.
Both triggers improved with what I consider minor changes.
Initially the Smith had an 8lb gritty trigger. The addition of an APEX sear and a little polishing made it perfect. The Glock benefitted a new 3.5lb connector and it is just fine now. I really like them both and they shoot very much the same for me. Both now have nice pulls at about 4 ¼ lbs. I don't understand the comments that one is wonderful and the other terrible but that's why we are given a choice.

 

[Desert Dog]

I'm serious and I don't agree with you.

I'm honest and I think the M&P sucks.

I would never question the veracity of this statement, but I do think 18DAI is not fairly disclosing his continuing and unwavering bias for metal-framed hammer-fired pistols.

Though I also share a love of 3rd gen S&W pistols, I have not allowed that preference to blind me from the fact that there are other styles of pistols, like the striker-fried plastic guns such as the M&P series, that have much to offer and should not be so quickly dismissed.

The bottle of 409 on my kitchen counter has a better trigger than ANY M&P I've shot. Every M&P trigger I've tried feels like dragging a duffle bag full of gravel down some railroad tracks. No distinct reset either. I've yet to shoot one M&P that could group worth a damn. And no, its not me. I qualify expert twice a year, thanks.

While these are 'amusing' analogies, they are both way over-the-top and far from accurate statements. My 3rd gen Smith are never going to feel as nice as my 1911s, but that does not stand in the way of being able to master either one.

The striker-fired trigger on my M&Ps are far different than either one of those guns, but having used 409 a time or two, I can says with some certainty, there is nothing remotely the same, save the commonality of plastic being used in the construction of both trigger mechanisms. If the material itself is a problem, the trigger can be replaced with an aluminum version offered by Apex.

The gravel/duffle bag comment is such an exageration, that it stretches the credibility of the one who penned it.

Several VERY good shots locally have had the same experiences and hate the M&P too.

Anecdotal references are great, but they are only that.

Want to try a nice striker fired tupperware gun? Buy a PPQ. It has a real trigger, right out of the box. With no aftermarket parts needed. A real tack driver.

I have tried the PPQ and prefer the full size Walther P99 AS to it. They bore axis of the PPQ creates more muzzle flip than many other similar competitors, which is a design short coming that can't be massaged away, as is the case with a trigger that needs a little polishing and travel/reset adjustment.

It should also be fairly pointed out here, that of all the M&P guns I've shot, the only one that has been problematic is the full size 9mm. Not problematic in terms of reliability, but in delivering consistent accuracy. I've done some research and the problem seems to be two fold: First, the slow rate of twist chosen (1:18.75"). Second, dwell time is enough shorter that it has a real affect on accuracy. These problems work together to handicap the accuracy and make the accuracy swing broadly by virtue of the bullet weight used.

An interesting and related read on the M&P from Hilton Yam on his 10-8 blog: http://10- 8performance.blogspot.com/2012/04/glock-vs-m-why-i-shoot-m.html

None of that accuracy problems mentioned above applies to the M&P 45. Out of the box, this is -- by far -- the most accurate M&P I've ever fired. A stock, garden variety 1911 is really no better in the accuracy dept., and you would have to spend some money to make it outgroup the M&P by any worthwhile margin. That is precisely why I found the generalizing (of 18DAI) that the M&Ps can't "group worth a damn" just plain silly.

Is there a problem with the M&P FS9s? Myself and a fair number of others (read more at the m4carbine semi forum) believe so. As the cost of S&W owning up to accuracy problem is to high (at least IMO) for them to open Pandora's box (by risking a recall of all pistols), it is likely the factory will only fix the problem going forward as an enhancement, rather than admit there is a design problem that needs to be addressed.

The singular remarkable accuracy of the M&P FS45s seems to be rooted in the tighter specs required for the military contract they were chasing during design and developemnt of this pistol. Anyone that judges all M&Ps "suck", has likely never spent much time behind the trigger of a FS45.

Glad the M&P works for you.

It does for me and a lot of other shooters.

Personal preferences are fine, but sweeping pronouncements about quality pistols should be free of bias and based on facts. I feel fairly confident that I could take a novice shooter and make them a consistent and proficient marksman faster with a M&P or Glock than would be possible with a TDA 3rd gen Smith. Much as I love those pistols, it does require a level of commitment and dedication to master that most are not willing to invest.

In the end, it is always the Indian, not the arrow that matters most.

 

[18DAI]

"In the end, it is always the Indian, not the arrow that matters most."

On that we can agree. Regards 18DAI