M&P 9 trigger

[Jimirl]

Hello all

I have a trigger question about the M&P 9. I bought a new M&P 9 recently and my fault for not doing enough research, but I got one with the mag safety. I know there are a bunch of reasons for it being a great feature, but it is not for me. One reason is it is difficult to practice dry fire and trigger resets. In any case, I was noticing the trigger was a bit gritty. After doing some research it seems that this a hit and miss thing reading the pistols. Most people said to either get the Apex parts or just work the gun and after a while it should smooth out. One thing I did notice was the trigger reset was very subtle.

So since I bought the pistol with the mag release and it was bothering me enough to want to fix it, I figured I would just trade it in for one without one. I did see some posts and videos about removing the mag safety and it did seem easy to do. But if for some reason, you ever had to use the pistol to defend yourself, the courts would not look kindly on the fact that a factory safety was removed by the owner. Especially one that is in no capacity a gunsmith. Anyway, I saw a deal on an M&P 9 pro and figured it was worth the hit. An expensive lesson

The trigger on the pro was supposed to be better than the regular M&P. I know everyone is talking about he trigger on the new shield and how much better it is. They also say that that trigger will probably wind up on the rest of the M&P pistols. But that could take months or longer, so I got my pro now. But what I am finding is the trigger actually feels worse than on the pistol I just traded in. On some advice I was given, I sat and watched a movie or two while dry firing my new pistol to see if it smoothed out the trigger. It feels gritty and a bit mushy. I already know the reset is very subtle and takes practice to find it constantly especially if you add a little speed. But I started to wonder why I had to do this on a pistol that has a Pro Series label on it. I would hate to have to spend another $100 on some apex parts just to make it better.

I am thinking I just got a bad apple or something. But it seems every so often someone has a similar problem with the trigger. Others have zero. I want to like the pistol, as it's my first striker fired. I own some H&K USPs and a few Sigs and I wanted to start shooting striker fired weapons and get away a little from the DA/SA hammers. What also bums me out is I also picked up the M&P 22 to practice on. After the second range visit, I had a FTF and after dropping the mag, a few parts fell out of the gun. I know S&W has great customer support so I have no doubt they will make it right with that pistol. But I think the whole experience so far is making me a little sour. I realize a lot of people like to use M&Ps in the pistol challenges so they must be good overall. I am just not sure where to go from here.

 

[jal910s]

Well, to start, I shoot an M&P 9l in USPSA compitittions, not a pro series. I saved about $100 buying one with the 5" barrel that wasnt a "pro" and then dropping in an apex trigger. second, I dont like the green fiber sight on the pro and knew right away that I wanted a gold bead so that was already an expense I would encounter. Having said that. I own 6 M&P pistols. One, my wife shoots in the USPSA, it is a pro series. Yes, it has a stiff trigger. much heavier and grittier then my apex. but it has smoothed out alot. there is a trigger job you can do yourself from burrells I think. basicly you do alot of polishing on parts but the biggest thing i found is the fireing pin block. That little silver mushroom shaped piece in the slide that stops the fireing pin from releasing without pulling the trigger. the edges are tappered but in the apex kit it is rounded almost like a ball bearring. that is where I felt the most improvement. I took the slide to my gunsmith since removing this part requires removing the rear sight. Had him remove it, took it home and used a 800 grit wheel on my dremmel and rounded the **** out of it, polished it to a mirror finish then took the parts back to the gunsmith for reassembally. this improved the pro trigger alot and reduced the pull by about 1.5 lbs. the gunsmith only charged my $20 dollars to remove and reassemble the parts. well worth it to me.

Finally, good call on not removing the mag safety. on the ones that fire without the magazine, it is clearly marked on the gun. without this warrning, you could set yourself up for a serious law suit.

 

[Jimirl]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I will try those fixes out and see how they work for me. It sounds like they are just what I need to get the most out of my pistol!

 

[Lost Lake]

Removing the mag safety is super easy...

I took mine out and replaced the spring with a cut-off piece from a ball point pen spring. All the spring does is hold the parts over to one side. Besides, if I get in a gunfight I can bring Bic Pens into the lawsuit now and maybe use their high-priced lawyer.

Anyway, yes I think about if the mag safety could be prosecutor fodder, but my excuse is I want to be able to fire the gun when I pull the trigger, and don't want a partially dropped mag stopping me. When you read about all the guys that accidentally drop a mag while firing, well with a mag safety your gun just became a brick. I think the mag safety is a lawyer induced add-on to keep people from shooting themselves while cleaning a gun. My revolvers don't have it, most of my guns don't have it, if some don't need it, then none of mine need it FOR ME.

Your mileage may vary, and that's good for you.

If you are serious about getting rid of the mag safety, you'll be able to find guys that want to install a mag safety and you could swap the parts.

 

[5CCG]

Mag Relase Safety

Mag release safeties have been on S&W for a long time. My 25 year old 659 9mm. The mag safety was a police feature to deny a take-a-way in struggle for the firearm. In a struggle, the o flicker could release the mag rendering the pistol in operative. There are documented cases of officers using this technique.

Today, states like CA and MA have the feature mandated by laws as a safety feature to prevent an "unloaded" discharge.

It's too bad the M&P does not the smooth trigger pull of my old 659. Its crunchy at best, but as a carry pistol I am Leary about mods. The fun suckers have made many ridiculous outcomes, this is just another one to over come.

 

[plisken]

It took several hundred rounds but Im liking my m&p9c more and Im used to the trigger now.

 

[Rjcthree]

M&P9, first post

I just purchased a full size M&P 9, ext safety, no mag safety. I had done enough research to understand the options and the other manufacturers offerings in the $500 range. I wanted the external safety, call it a preference,since I'm purely a recreation shooter, I have some room.

Anyway, my Dec 13, 2012 first factory round comes with parts different from those posted in the Burrwell mod & other recent posts. The sear is already backcut, and has a different plating. The trigger bar is also of a different design, hitting the sear nose with a rail rather than a folded ramp. I did clean up the trigger bar where it contacts the striker block, but did nothing to the striker block itself, much of the grit (50%?) went away- it had visible shearing marks perpendicular to the contact face (an easy polish).

Going shooting Friday. 200 rounds of WWB, we'll see if I can figure this thing out.

Rick

 

[Eugene 9mm]

I'm resurrecting this old thread because I recently bought an M&P 9 with a crunchy-feeling trigger, just like the OP's description.

Part of the problem is that the lower half of the trigger has a flange that sometimes catches briefly against the back of the trigger area when I pull the trigger back normally. Presumably this is a safety feature, but it feels crappy. I may be able to fix this by filing or cutting away some of the flange, but that's probably a bad idea. More likely it'll eventually wear itself smoother as it's only a plastic trigger piece.

Get past that catching point and there's still a crunchy feel in the pull, like crushing potato chips.

From this and another thread I'm going to follow the advice of firing (or dry-firing) it a few hundred times, or just pulling the trigger a lot, to see if it improves the feel, before I consider investing a further $85 or so on buying a kit to fix a problem that shouldn't be there.

I have to say I'm astonished that S&W, after over 160 years in the business of manufacturing firearms, could manufacture a pistol that has such a commonly recognised complaint (now that I am reading more on the forums), that there are companies producing replacement kits to sort it out.

I guess I should have done more research before buying the pistol, but none of the reviews I read or watched before deciding on the purchase mentioned crunchy trigger problems, and I though I was going with a tried and trusted name.

I very much doubt my next gun will be a S&W after this experience, if I ever buy a S&W again.

 

[Bkreutz]

There are a bunch of threads here about the "crunchy" trigger. There are a number of suggestions on how to accelerate the smoothing out of the trigger (with pictures). Think of it this way, if S&W did all the finishing that you are saying that you expect from them, your pistol would have cost twice as much, that's where the high prices for custom guns come from. Take a look at the prices for a revolver on the S&W site and then compare that to the same price for the same revolver from the S&W performance center, that difference is for the fine adjustments and fitting. I think the reason I'm responding to this post is that I find it interesting that so many people join this forum and within the first few posts they are making the "I may not ever buy a S&W pistol" statement. I just don't understand the why, maybe you're wanting someone to talk you out of it, or........

 

[Eugene 9mm]

I guess I'm just disappointed because the trigger is so clearly awful (when new), whereas on my Glock 17, which was around the same price, it's fine. If Glock can do all the finishing necessary for this price point, why can't Smith & Wesson?

I'll search for those threads; I couldn't find any using the terms M&P 9, crunchy, or crunchy trigger.

Good to know there are solutions that don't add another $85 to the cost of the gun. I really want to like this gun more than I currently do.

 

[randyr5]

I recently got a Shield 9 and the trigger was quite gritty. Having already made improvements to my 9c, I did these things right away:

Polished trigger bar, sear and striker.
Radiused and polished striker block. I don't radius quite as severe as Apex, but I definitely get rid of the "bump".
Smoothed out the channel that the striker block rides in.

Trigger went from so-so to very nice. I will modify the sear angle in the next few days. Again, not quite as much as Apex, but definitely an improvement.

 

[Bkreutz]

I guess I'm just disappointed because the trigger is so clearly awful (when new), whereas on my Glock 17, which was around the same price, it's fine. If Glock can do all the finishing necessary for this price point, why can't Smith & Wesson?

I'll search for those threads; I couldn't find any using the terms M&P 9, crunchy, or crunchy trigger.

Good to know there are solutions that don't add another $85 to the cost of the gun. I really want to like this gun more than I currently do.

I think I see the problem, most posters refer to that trigger as "gritty" instead of "crunchy". Here's a link to one of the many threads and has some good pictures as well as to what needs polishing. (and it won't cost more than a bit of time) http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/333095-apex-gritty.html

 

[MudMarine]

Apex USB is the single most effective part to fixing the gritty M&P trigger. The sear is nice too, but the USB made 90% of the difference.

 

[Danno_man]

Apex USB is the single most effective part to fixing the gritty M&P trigger. The sear is nice too, but the USB made 90% of the difference.

This.

You can also round out the SB, if you have the tools, mechanical ability.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk

 

[walkin' trails]

Lube it properly and go shoot a couple hundred rounds. Mine, which I bought in July had a gritty trigger out of the box. Lubed it, including a drop of synthetic on the action parts that mate against each other, and went to the range. No longer gritty, and now after 1200 rounds seems light and somewhat crisp. Maybe an Apex would be even better, but mine us a duty gun and I can't modify it. Go shoot it.