M&P 9mm accuracy issues?

[Badkarma 1]

Youre comparing a 9mm striker fire pistol to a .45 ACP hammer fired. As far as the internet is concerned, it could be user end error. You should clearly state if you have experience shooting similar groups with similar pistols. Else, the comparison is moot

No, he's compareing a USP to a M&P, that alone tells it all!
Hammer fired vs Striker fired doesn't mean squat! I have an old Gen2 Glock 19 that will hold 2.5 @ 25yds with Federal 147gr. American Eagle all day.
Smith should be able to put out an accurate 9mm M&P, just look at there 1911 9mm. Or the old 3rd Gens, they'd shoot! Plus you don't notice this with the .40 or .45 versions, or at least I haven't been hearing about them.
And just so everybody knows, I had a full size M&P9 once, loved it's feel and looks, but it shot lousy, traded it on a 5906 and haven't looked back since. Dale

 

[M29since14]

Hammer fired vs Striker fired doesn't mean squat! I have an old Gen2 Glock 19 that will hold 2.5 @ 25yds with Federal 147gr. American Eagle all day.

Exactly. The firing mechanism isn't important. A good shooter can handle either, especially from a rest.

I would not be too quick to excuse M&P40s from the same problems. I have never seen one that shot very well. The .45s may be a reasonably safe bet but all the others are problematic, IMHO.

 

[BBS1]

Exactly. The firing mechanism isn't important. A good shooter can handle either, especially from a rest.

I would not be too quick to excuse M&P40s from the same problems. I have never seen one that shot very well. The .45s may be a reasonably safe bet but all the others are problematic, IMHO.

Of course firing mechanism is important. People tend to shoot better with SA triggers than a stock striker trigger (atleast, in my limited experience.)

 

[kodiakpb]

Of course firing mechanism is important. People tend to shoot better with SA triggers than a stock striker trigger (atleast, in my limited experience.)

That would make it a user issue and not a weapon issue.

 

[epj]

Well, let us know what your gun does with some sort of ordinary ammunition. Really, if my gun shot consistent 3-inch groups, or even 3-1/2", I could probably live with it. Wouldn't be pleased, but might decide to live with it. As is, where one group can be in that area and the very next one is 7" or so, it is hard to have any confidence in the gun. I like the M&P overall. It may actually be worth it to me to spend the money on a new barrel - but I shouldn't have to do that. One way or another, the accuracy thing either has to be resolved or the gun will be finding a new home.

Got a chance to go to the range for a brief bit this afternoon. I shot the M&P at 50 feet from a improvised rest. Ammo was my ordinary cast lead reload range fodder. I managed to shoot a couple of 5 shot groups that were definately under 3", probably close to 2.5". Some other groups were larger, and there were some fliers that were not called. The M&P trigger, which I dont find all that bad in shooting plates, etc. isn't very condusive to shooting groups. I think if the gun had a little better trigger the groups would shrink a bit and the fliers would go away. After shooting groups I shot plates for a few minutes. All was well, though the white dot popped out of the front sight. Wonder if S&W will send me a new one?

 

[epj]

Called S&W customer service today. They are sending me a new front sight. No questions asked.

 

[M29since14]

The topic seems to have died away a bit D) but if anyone is still interested and/or trying to sort out the M&P9 accuracy issue for themselves, I have been doing some more testing since my last post in this thread a week or so ago. I have fired probably four or five more different factory loads since then (none of the really expensive stuff, I do not buy it) and maybe twice that many handloads. All in one gun of course. That's all I have to work with.

I did find one handload with AA7 powder that seemed to indicate my gun might consistently be good for 3-4" at 25 yards. (5-shot groups, starting with 5 in the magazine, the slide locked back, and released by operation of the slide stop.)

So, I guess if you are content to shoot one bullet and one powder, my gun may come within the 4-inch standard someone else seemed to come up with. And it might do fine with the high-dollar stuff. (Gold Dots, Golden Sabers, etc.) I wouldn't know. My gun will never get the $1 a pop stuff, so I don't test with it.

Next week I plan to re-test the AA7 load, just to make sure it does what I think it does in my M&P9L, and also to see what it does in a couple of my other 9mm pistols. Hopefully it will confirm the earlier results.

Anyone else still beating this horse... ?

 

[Nakanokalronin]

I'm not really going with beating the horse, but it's not like my FS 9mm has improved since my last post. I recently got an XDM in 9mm that shot half size groups (2-2.5") of the FS M&P with new factory barrel first time out so my FS may not be in my possession much longer. I'm not looking to drop a few more hundred dollars on a barrel to make it as accurate as most stock service pistols. It's too bad since everything else about the FS MP is perfect.

 

[RH45]

When I bought my 5" pro, a few years ago, it would hold 2" at 25 yards with Zero, 125 grain, .356 jhps, or 124 grain XTPs, with Titegroup, or VV320 behind them.
Now, that I have shot it for a full season of USPSA, and IDPA, I think the accuracy has fallen off, but, I haven't benched it to find out for sure.
If I find that it won't hold 2" or better at 25 yards, it will go to Apex for a fitted, Barstow bbl.
Anything over 2" at 25 yards is not acceptable for ME. If I miss a shot, I don't want to be wondering if it is the gun!

 

[M29since14]

Now, that I have shot it for a full season of USPSA, and IDPA, I think the accuracy has fallen off, but, I haven't benched it to find out for sure.

Unless you have fired an unholy number of rounds, that would be the opposite of what I would expect, but stranger things have happened, I'm sure. When you get a chance to test your gun again, I would be interested to learn how it comes out?

I agree with you that wondering whether the pistol or ammunition has let you down is not productive, and also agree that 2-inches, maybe 2.5-inches maximum, inspires a lot more confidence than 3-4 inches.

 

[Paladin201]

My M&P 9mm is as accurate as any gun I've owned, short of a dedicated target piece.

 

[Jamie]

Can't wait to finish paying off the M&P 9 I put on lay a way for the wife to use in IDPA. Like has already been said, I wish I hadn't read this, LOL. Then again I didn't realize my Sigma had such a lousy trigger till the internet 'enlightened' me. I hope the M&P shoots better than the Sigma which shoots pretty well.

 

[BBS1]

That would make it a user issue and not a weapon issue.

Which is exactly my point. You've got 70 year old gentlemen raised off of 1911s and wheel guns and cant hit a target with a glock or m&p. But you'll never hear them admit it.

 

[M29since14]

You've got 70 year old gentlemen raised off of 1911s and wheel guns and cant hit a target with a glock or m&p. But you'll never hear them admit it.

That's interesting. Thanks for pointing that out.

I'm not 70 but maybe I need to find a teenager to check out my M&P. Anything is possible...

 

[Harrison]

I bought a brand new M&P9 fs, and from the git-go with four different factory loads and two accurate hand loads it shot an average of 8" groups, supported at 7yards. Some groups a little better, some worse. I got the pistol back from S&W, last week. The put a new barrel in and "adjusted the trigger" the trigger is about a pound and a half lighter, and with the new barrel the gun shoots better at 25 yards than it previously did at 7. I did notice that on the new barrel I could see the rifling, and it looked deeper. On the old barrel the rifling was so shallow it was hard to tell if it even had any. Anyway, Smith fixed its accuracy problem. It's not a bullseye gun and I don't expect that kind of accuracy out of a 9mm. It does shoot accuratly enough I can shoot an IPSC match in Production and have a decent score.

 

[swbrian]

I bought a brand new M&P9 fs, and from the git-go with four different factory loads and two accurate hand loads it shot an average of 8" groups, supported at 7yards. Some groups a little better, some worse. I got the pistol back from S&W, last week. The put a new barrel in and "adjusted the trigger" the trigger is about a pound and a half lighter, and with the new barrel the gun shoots better at 25 yards than it previously did at 7. I did notice that on the new barrel I could see the rifling, and it looked deeper. On the old barrel the rifling was so shallow it was hard to tell if it even had any. Anyway, Smith fixed its accuracy problem. It's not a bullseye gun and I don't expect that kind of accuracy out of a 9mm. It does shoot accuratly enough I can shoot an IPSC match in Production and have a decent score.

Sounds like this verifies that they HAVE had problems and who knows if it is an issue in the newest guns...

 

[GKC]

Sounds like this verifies that they HAVE had problems and who knows if it is an issue in the newest guns...

I just bought a new FS M&P 9, test fire date Oct 2012, but I haven't fired it yet. I bought mine for home defense, not target shooting or for competition, so if it is reasonably accurate, and feeds and ejects consistently, then it will meet my needs. I'm sure hoping it does that...I've always had very good luck with S&W.

I hope that those of you needing more long distance accuracy get your guns sorted out.

 

[BBS1]

That's interesting. Thanks for pointing that out.

I'm not 70 but maybe I need to find a teenager to check out my M&P. Anything is possible...

No disrespect was meant in my post. Just saying that shooting habits that have been engrained for decades is hard to shake off.

 

[MtnBubba]

Mine is back at S&W for the third time. It's had 3 new barrels now. after the second barrel it improved slightly, after the third it got worse. They aren't really trying to fix it in my opinion. They probably get it back for their generic problem "groups". Pull a new barrel out of stock, shoot 3 shots at 10 yards, box it up and send it back.

The fact that 3 new barrels have had problems would lead me to think the locking block, probably an inexpensive part compared to a barrel, might be contributing. But what do I know, I'm not a S&W gunsmith.

Of course the slide could be involved as well, but common sense tells me that unless it is designed to be sloppy, worn tooling should make the slide tolerances tighter, not looser.

I'll keep trying. I don't plan to let S&W off the hook and I can't sell it with a clear conscience, so I'm committed at this point.

I don't subscribe to the striker vs. hammer, and trigger excuses. I tell my students "that is where the gun was pointed when it went off." Now that's not the case with the M&P 9.

 

[M29since14]

Well, it surprises me that S&W hasn't offered to buy the gun just to be rid of the problem.

I have no idea what causes these pistols to be less than acceptable shooters. 4-inches at 25-yards may be a reasonable expectation, but it still is way "too reasonable" for me. I am looking for 2-inches, give or take a little, so I have about resigned myself to buying an aftermarket barrel. I don't see it happening another way.

It occurred to me to try to build a fixture to hold the barrel to test it out of the gun, just as a matter of curiosity, but I think far better minds than mine are at work on this project. If Bar-sto cannot figure this out, I doubt there is anything I could do to help. They expect to have a product available to the general public around March-April (2013) and they are working with others in the meantime to get initial production out in the field and tested. I am in no hurry so I think I will just put my M&P9L in the drawer for a while and wait to see what happens.

In the meantime, I think I will drag my M&P.45 out of nightstand-retirement and shoot it a bit this winter. Should help to teach my old brain how to handle these "new" designs.