M&P 9mm full size accuracy ?

[CB3]

All gun smiths say they can't do any thing and I keep finding info on how bad m&p accuracy is so I think I better off saleing it and moving on to a different brand of gun

Good plan. Different forum too.

 

[Beentheredonethat!]

I bought a secondhand 2014 model and thought the same thing. I could not repeatedly hit a standard qualification target at 25 yards. I started researching it, and learned 9mm barrels are releasing too early and some earlier models had too slow a twist rate to stabilize most bullets. Smith changed their twist rate since.

However, I bought a semi-drop in Apex barrel and from a rest, drill the center out of targets at 35 yards. Randy Lee at Apex figured out the timing and twist rate issues.

I am not mechanically inclined, I just watched the install videos on how to do it. Very easy and I cannot say enough what the semi-drop in does to the accuracy factor. $189.00 for the barrel and $15.00 dollars for the dye chem and file at Home Depot. Highly recommend it. Swapped a 1911 for my M&P 9mm full size for SWAT and investigations, as it became THAT accurate. I had put a FSS trigger in it before the barrel swap.

 

[Umami13]

That's pretty bad eight inches at ten yards. Man someone shot the you know what outta that gun. I'd say go to Smith and buy a replacement barrel for the gun it won't be as pricey as some of the others and will work fine. Unless you want a better barrel but putting a match grade barrel in a shield is well up to you but certainly not something I would do.. good luck with getting it fixed...

 

[walkin' trails]

At $150, I can't say you still got a bad deal, unless it was hot or had been run over by a tank. I don't know how many rounds an M&P 9mm barrel is good for, but the late Todd Greene had tested one on his website and ran over 50k rounds thru it before it got retired to a cracked frame or something. I've got a 9FS with the supposedly "good" barrel accuracy wise, and am not all that impressed. Most of my shooting for tight groups has been in an indoor range, however,, and for some reason I don't shoot as good indoors. Outdoors, I have gotten probably 12-inch groups out to 50 yards. Hard to say if it's me, the ammo, or the gun, but the "me" is probably a contributing factor.

For 150 bucks, you've got a pistol that is a good start for a custom/enhancement project for competition. Like everyone else, I'd suggest a gunsmith-fitted barrel for the most gains in accuracy as long as everything else is more or less functioning properly.

 

[Doug M.]

I very much doubt that a barrel with only 5-8K rounds through it is shot out. There has been some discussion on other forums of the well known poor accuracy with the 9mm M&Ps, and as I recall, it had something to do with poor barrel fit in some manner. I'm not in a position to search for the strings now, but it was probably on pistol-forum, and I am almost certain the link I followed to it was on LF.

One of the options provided above is a fitted Apex barrel, and that might be a good place to start. I believe that they have a complete shop and pretty broad options, so you might find it worthwhile to research it and work from there.

 

[Saudade]

For $100, you can buy a brand new factory drop-in barrel with the new twist rate.

S&W M&P 9mm Full Size Barrel at G and R Tactical

 

[Frogy1984]

I dont think its the barrel or me I think m&p just have ****y accuracy I decided to buy 2 different used m&p for 300 each one made in 2010 one mad in 2013 and the both have same problem my 2011 one has you can hit **** with them there accuracy is just horrible guy at range to day told me I was doing good at 10 yards and that kind of accuracy to except am sorry but 5inch groups at 10 yards is bad and at 25 yards I was getting 8 to 10 am still new to hand guns but if this normal for hand guns I think all not be using hand guns at all and ccw
As a long time rifle shooter I should be getting way better groups like 2 inch Max's at 25 yards

 

[epj]

You might get 2" groups at 25 yards out of a well fitted 1911. Real well fitted ones will do that or better at 50 yards. A $500+\- service pistol is considered pretty good with 4" groups at 25 yards. Most won't do that well. 8" groups at 10 yards pretty much sucks. Not acceptable by any means.

 

[MichiganScott]

I dont think its the barrel or me I think m&p just have ****y accuracy I decided to buy 2 different used m&p for 300 each one made in 2010 one mad in 2013 and the both have same problem my 2011 one has you can hit **** with them there accuracy is just horrible guy at range to day told me I was doing good at 10 yards and that kind of accuracy to except am sorry but 5inch groups at 10 yards is bad and at 25 yards I was getting 8 to 10 am still new to hand guns but if this normal for hand guns I think all not be using hand guns at all and ccw
As a long time rifle shooter I should be getting way better groups like 2 inch Max's at 25 yards

Three M&P's built at different times over a three year time frame all shooting the same poor groups at both 10 and 25 yards. Why do I get the feeling that that it's not the guns?

FWIW, just because someone can shoot tiny groups with a rifle does not mean that they aren't a mediocre or worse shot with a pistol.

 

[Ranger17]

I'm thinking my full size MP 9 is a heckuva lot more accurate than i will be. I wont complain about it; at 10 yds (pic from yesterday) most hits are in a decent grouping. The couple a bit low are all on me and I have no trouble admitting it. I sure dont have many years of experience but if running a stock trigger and blazer 115 ammo and standing (never have used a rest) i see nothing wrong with my MP. Can some guns be off, just like some operators? I'm sure. But i would venture a guess that many MP's are nice and solid.

As always just my .02

 

[Doug M.]

The flaws with many of the early 9mm M&Ps are well documented. While it can be the shooter or the ammo, the odds are that there is a real problem with the fitting of the barrel.

 

[A10]

I have a new M&P. Shot the center out of a bullseye target at 50 feet, and I ain't that good of a shot. To the OP, sell your M&P, you will never be happy with it. If you sell it to me for 150, I'll make it shoot. And post pictures of the groups too.

 

[MichiganScott]

The flaws with many of the early 9mm M&Ps are well documented. While it can be the shooter or the ammo, the odds are that there is a real problem with the fitting of the barrel.

Quite true, but they were isolated instances, not the full production. My 2008 model shoots 2" groups off the bench at 25 yards with its preferred ammo and 5" groups with junk.

If the OP got three pistols that shot as poorly as he claims, he should never waste his money on lottery tickets.

 

[Phish]

My offer still stands!

 

[mlk18]

Its a used gun I have tried on multiple times to get S&W to help me with gun but will not because I got the gun second hand this Is why I have took it to ever gun Smith I could find the all told me barrel is shot out so I must get a new barrel I just want to now where to get good barrels. As one must upgrade m&p any how to make it any good I wanted to get a better them stock barrels

That's very interesting. I bought an M&P that was originally a police trade-in that changed hands 2-3 more times before it came to me and S&W had no issues honoring the warranty. I didn't even call them, all I did was register it with them then send an email asking about the trigger. About 4 days later I received a mailing label and a request to send it in. Got it back 3 weeks later with a new trigger, trigger bar, slide lock lever, and new springs.

 

[MyDads38]

3 M&P's of different vintage with the same accuracy problem; barrels shot out with only 5-8K rounds. Not saying it can't happen, or maybe there is a "fit" problem with the barrels. The M&P series isn't a "target" grade pistol, although if you spend enough money they can come quite accurate. That's not something I chase in a service grade pistol.

I have 3 FS M&P's-the 9mm being the only NIB manufactured in 2013. My FS M&P 45 is a 2007 and my M&P 40 is a 2010 Police Trade-In. They will all shoot 2"-3" groups at 10 yards off hand with any ammo I feed them-factory or reloads; lead, plated or jacketed. Off a rest, I could probably get better results. I'm not near as good with my rifles, never been very good with long guns.

You've had several offers to re-coup your money, I'd even take one off your hands and shoot it, before I ever spent a dime for a replacement barrel. Then if it didn't shoot to my standards, I would opt for a new S&W replacement. IMO, a good, clean used pistol should shoot 2"-3" groups (minimum) at 10 yards, but that's just MY experience.....

 

[Frogy1984]

That's very interesting. I bought an M&P that was originally a police trade-in that changed hands 2-3 more times before it came to me and S&W had no issues honoring the warranty. I didn't even call them, all I did was register it with them then send an email asking about the trigger. About 4 days later I received a mailing label and a request to send it in. Got it back 3 weeks later with a new trigger, trigger bar, slide lock lever, and new springs.

How did you register gun with them ??

 

[Racer X]

You might get 2" groups at 25 yards out of a well fitted 1911. Real well fitted ones will do that or better at 50 yards. A $500+\- service pistol is considered pretty good with 4" groups at 25 yards. Most won't do that well. 8" groups at 10 yards pretty much sucks. Not acceptable by any means.

These pistols were designed to put rounds in a torso. 8" at 10 yards isn't OK. That's obvious. But 2" or so at 25 yards, or 5" or so at 50 yards is great. At that point, it is repeat-ability of the rounds loaded.

If you really want that accuracy, you need a TARGET pistol. Don't expect a service firearm to be a target pistol. Service pistols are for gunfights, which are usually at less than 25 feet. Using a rest is cheating BTW. If you can't hand hold and fire accurately, you need to practice a WHOLE lot more.

You need to decide what you want/need it for, then decide what hardware will work for that. Pistol, car, kitchen knife, you still need to know its use FIRST before you get your proper tool.

 

[Flash_80]

I have to agree with that. Certain guns have certain intended functions and anyone's polymer service pistol is not intended to be a match gun. Some will have better accuracy than others, but look at their intended market segment.

 

[bigdaddycaddy]

Original barrel might've been swapped.... M&P is plenty accurate and the new 2.0 is even better. Use common sense and buy a new barrel..

 

[Whitwabit]

Do you know what the sight picture is suppose to look like ?? how are you holding the pistol ?? have you had any training ?? have others shot the pistols in question ..

Something sounds fishy when you buy a gun that cheap that the person you bought it from saying he had problems with accuracy but yet shoot 6000 to 8000 rounds through it ..

and if the gun does have that many rounds through it .. it needs more service then just a new barrel .. all the springs should be replaced and a complete tear down and cleaning needs to be done ..

Have a feeling all of the story is not being told .. probably by the person that you bought from ..

here's a story where a S&W MP pistol was shot over 50000 rounds !!

pistol-training.com >> Blog Archive >> M&P Monday: Week 25

 

[Frogy1984]

So whay is normal accuracy from m&p because I been tools 4 to 5 inches at 25 yards is what I should be getting

 

[Phish]

My MP 2.0 gets 2" inch groups @25 yards all day long but when I do slow down I can do little bit better so it all depends on the shooters skill level or the lack of skills.....simple as that.

 

[Whitwabit]

M&P Compact S&W 40 .. nothing wrong with M&P's accuracy if you do your part ..

http://sigtalk.com/customprofilepics/profilepic31175_4.gif

 

[sschrick]

I very much doubt that a barrel with only 5-8K rounds through it is shot out. There has been some discussion on other forums of the well known poor accuracy with the 9mm M&Ps, and as I recall, it had something to do with poor barrel fit in some manner. I'm not in a position to search for the strings now, but it was probably on pistol-forum, and I am almost certain the link I followed to it was on LF.

One of the options provided above is a fitted Apex barrel, and that might be a good place to start. I believe that they have a complete shop and pretty broad options, so you might find it worthwhile to research it and work from there.

This was my thought exactly. If the barrel is shot after this many rounds, WOW, how many times must the springs and other parts have been replaced. I would imagine the barrel should get a much higher round count.

Can't address the accuracy issues.

 

[Frogy1984]

OK I thin all polymer style guns have horrible accuracy issues after trying many out and I can shoot revolvers and hammer guns fine as lone as I cock hammer other wise they just to in accurate
I was shooting off the self guns I rented and all polymer guns where get 4to6inch groups at 25 yards I told this normal in defence hand guns and am like that horrible iin my opinion for defense

 

[skeeljc]

M&P Accuracy

I just installed an Apex Gunsmith Fit barrel in my full size M&P M2.0 (4.25" barrel). Fitting the barrel to the slide requires hand fitting and is pretty easy. Fitting the barrel support pad to the frame requires a mill. You just keep taking .001" off the pad until you get the lockup you want. I had to remove .008" on mine.

Apex barrel is accurate. Mine will do 5 shot 1" groups at 25 yards from a rest.

 

[TacticalReload]

Search here and you will find a number of lengthy threads about the accuracy issues with full-sized 9mm models along with what an Apex barrel can do (and what the possible problems might be). Besides that, who thinks that 6-8k rounds will "shoot out" a barrel to the point where it puts up 8" groups at 10 yards?

A word of advice to the OP... you're going to take a lot of abuse here on this forum if you smack talk a S&W product. The same thing would happen on most manufacturer-specific forums. (Just try talking about problems you have with an HK on their forum! Yeesh.)

I experienced accuracy issues with various M&P9's. One was putting up about 16" groups at 20 yards from a rest. It went back to S&W, I got the run around, and it was returned as "within spec". I tried other OEM barrels in it along with all types and weights of ammo, and no improvement was seen. I put an Apex barrel into it and it was instantly grouping under 2". S&W said there wasn't a problem.

My suggestion... sell it and move on or buy an Apex barrel. Even after I got the Apex barrel, I was so irritated that I sold off all my M&Ps and moved to a different platform for competition and defensive use. Good luck.