M&P 9c FTF Problem

[Robhampton04]

First, I would like to say that I am an experienced gun owner. My current personal CCW is an XD9, a Glock 17 before that. I have been shooting for 20 years. I bought my fiance a M&P 9c last week and took her to the range so she could become familiar with her new CCW (Plus I wanted to try this bad boy out for myself!). I have to say we were both not impressed. Out of the first 12 rounds fired, she had 4 FTFs. I figured she was limp wristing so I tried it out. I had 2 FTFs out of 12. I thought maybe it was the ammo. I loaded my XD and it had no problems. But every gun is different so I changed ammo manufacturers to from Winchester FMJ to Federal FMJ (I believe both were 115grain). The FTF problems continued. The rounds would slide half way in the chamber and stop. The slide would be about a 1/4" open. I would have to forcefully rack the slide to make the round enter. Again, I have heard nothing but great things about the M&Ps and was truly excited to own one. To answer some questions I know I'm going to be asked:

-Yes, I properly cleaned and oiled the gun according to the gun manual prior to shooting for the first time. (Life is the price so I keep my guns extremely clean at all times)

-Yes, the gun was new when I bought it.

-No, I was not assisting the slide closed in any way. Pull back and release, then let the gun do the rest of the work when shooting the rounds. I by no means babied this thing.

-I inspected the inner parts + mags for defects and found no problems

-FTFs happened with both magazines that were included in the case

-I/she put approximately 300 rounds through it hoping that the gun just needed a break in period to resolve the issue (unlikely since M&Ps are known for their reliability right out of the box)

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Im not ready to give up on this gun yet.

 

[NCW Ray]

Sounds like a phone call to the mothership is in order.

 

[Saudade]

Sounds like you did everything you could. Time to return it home.

I have a 9C with somewhere around 500 rounds. It's not even hinted at a malfunction. I've run the stock mags, FS mags (some with, some without xgrips and even a pair of Promags. Also a variety of ammo brands and weights, but all FMJs

Keep us posted.

 

[Prasko]

Possibly a burr in the chamber? Send it to S&W and they can ream/polish it.

 

[Robhampton04]

I thought maybe a burr as well but I didnt see anything out of the ordinary. I will say that the frequency of FTFs went down the more we shot it but one is still too many. We are going to take it to the range one more time to see what happens. If there is still an issue I guess its going to take the trip...

 

[RalphMP9FS]

You wrote an excellent description of the problem. I would run another 200 rounds through it before calling in. My M&P 9FS had a couple of FTF's during the first ~375 rounds and ran perfectly after that using the same ammo. However, you are experiencing many more FTF's than I did in the first 300 rounds. FTF issues seem to be a common initial problem with the M&P series.

 

[OS-Wiz]

RSA issue? I have a full size and Shield, no issues with either. Might consider sending it to S&W.

 

[AGoyette]

I had zero issues with my 9c. I have heard that some barrels on M&P's come out tight. Maybe that is the issue with yours? When I first got my 9c, one of the things I did besides clean it was to polish the feed ramp. I took a snake bore. put Filtz's on the snake bore and ran it back and forth across the feed ramp (with the slide locked back, feed the bore through the grip, once the brass tip exits the top of the slide, then take the end and feed it through the barrel. Then floss by sliding your gun back and forth on the snake bore.)
Like others have said, not a common issue. I love my 9c. I have other M&P's and the 9c is my favorite handgun. Good luck.

 

[Linejudgemick]

My M&Ps are the most reliable pistols in my collection. I agree with others that think a trip back to S&W might be in order. Given your detailed account of what you tried, I'd conclude something is out of spec.