M&P 9mm recoil springs and accuracy?

[Big Fred]

I have two M&P's, both full size, a 9mm and a 40. The 9 shoots so-so, the 40 shoots really well. I've read numerous discussions about early unlocking, ect. in the 9. I don't wish to send the gun back to Smith because of trigger work that was done, it has a really sweet trigger and it probably would not return that way. It is a range gun, not used for carry. The 40 is factory stock.

My questions, has anyone that may have accuracy issues with a M&P 9 tried a heavier recoil spring and if so did it help any?

P.S. I have tried various factory and my reloads in the 9 and have found one reload with a 124 jhp that shoots better than all others, but not as good as the 40 with either factory or reloads.

 

[OKFC05]

The recoil springs in the 2 guns are the same part number.
Brownells has the M&P certified ISMI spirngs in various weights. The are flat wound and install on the stock recoil rod by removing the bolt on the end.

I put a slightly reduced recoil spring in one M&P Pro to accomodate light range loads, and it did not affect accuracy, if that means anything.

One suggestion is to check the crown on the barrel, as our OK M&P guru has found that problem on some guns, and improved accuracy with a crown job, and a little custom barrel fitting.

Good luck!

 

[Rastoff]

"...numerous discussions about early unlocking,..."

Interesting. I've never heard of this before. What is it exactly? How does it happen? How do you know it's happening?

 

[Big Fred]

"...numerous discussions about early unlocking,..."

Interesting. I've never heard of this before. What is it exactly? How does it happen? How do you know it's happening?

I've read more about it on other gun forums. There have been posts here in the past about accuracy issues in the M&P 9. Some guys say it doesn't exist, some say it does. I say it does. If I can shoot decent groups with my 40 I should be able to do the same with the 9.

How do you know it's happening? From what I've read, vertical stringing of the shots. The barrel is unlocking early at different rates causing the shots to string vertically, not just shooting a large, wide group. I don't know if it is caused by loose barrel to slide fit, recoil spring issues, or what. I do know that my M&P 9 will string shots up to 6 inches at 15 yards. My 40 will shoot 3" groups all day at 15 yds., and that is with my old eyes. I'm sure better shooters could easily reduce that.

I read on another forum a while back where someone tried a heavier recoil spring and posted better results with it over the stock spring. So I was wondering if anyone here has tried a heavier spring and if it gave positive results.

There is a gunsmith-M&P armorer that is offering oversized, fitted Storm Lake barrels and I have been on the list for one for quite a while and am thinking about the heavier spring in the meantime, if it provides any improvement.

I hope this explains the issues I'm experiencing.

Any insight?

 

[tectrry]

My M&P FS9 does that too

I'm fairly new to the M&P, just got my FS 9 and 22 a few months ago, and my 9 does that same thing. I thought it was maybe that the re-loads I was using were inconsistent, but it did it with factory ammo too. I am really interested to find out what you discover.

 

[Rastoff]

Thanks for the explanation Big Fred. I can certainly see how that would cause POI issues.

When testing the accuracy are you shooting off a rest or standing (off hand)?

 

[Big Fred]

Bobermo, they are hitting high.

Rastoff, I always test with my wrists wresting on a sandbag.

Thanks for the replys.

Anyone else have any insight?

 

[Rastoff]

Thanks Big Fred. Now that we have the sundry details out of the way, it certainly sounds like your gun is shooting high. It could still be you and could be because of differences in trigger pull, but I don't think that's it in your case.

Have you called S&W about this?

If it is a premature unlock, a heavier spring could help, but would just be a band aid. I definitely think a gun smith will be needed if it's the early unlock thing.

 

[Big Fred]

Rastoff, At first I wanted to blame myself, but even though I'm somewhat new to the M&P's, I still have been shooting for 50 years. I do understand the fundamentals. If I shot both the 9 and 40 terrible I would say it's me, but I shoot the 40 well. The 9 doesn't shoot large round groups, the groups are centered but go from the bullseye up. They may be 3 inches wide, but 6 inches vertical. This is at 15 yds. At 25yards it looks like OO buck.

Maybe I just need to bite the bullet, so to speak, and just call Smith. I know if I send it back I will loose the nice trigger job it has. Oh well I did the trigger once, I guess I can do it again.

I'll have to think about it for a while.

Thanks.

 

[Rastoff]

I do understand the fundamentals.

I believe that you do. I'm just playing the "sounding board" for you. Just trying to ensure you're not missing any details.

Yes, I think you'll have to call S&W on this one. What is the trigger job you've had done? Is it an Apex install or some custom gun smith work? In either case you can probably swap out the sear for a factory fresh one and preserve your custom sear.

 

[Big Fred]

I did the trigger myself. I did what people refer to as the "Burwell" trigger job. There is a fellow, actually he is local to me, who's last name is Burwell and his speciality is M&P's. He has step by step instructions on a web site that details how to do an M&P trigger. I followed the steps and mine came out really nice. So nice I would never use it as a carry gun. It's just a range gun.

Thanks.

 

[WR Moore]

Just as an experiment, try the 9mm slide assembly on the .40 frame. If there's a noticable difference, the issue may in fact be your trigger work. The locking blocks are identical.

Frankly, the early unlocking stuff is largely BS. There are threads here where this has been beat to death and the M&Ps of both calibers have essentially the same dwell time as many other designs.

The M&Ps are service grade pistols and due to tolerance stack, some may be a wee bit looser fit in the chamber area to the slide. This can affect grouping.

 

[Big Fred]

WR Moore, Thanks for the reply. I don't think it is the trigger work. I did this after a few, well more than a few really, outings with the 9. I did the trigger trying to get it to shoot better. Didn't change a thing in the shooting, but made a nicer trigger pull.

I recently bought the 40 and it came with a much nicer factory trigger than the 9 did. The 40 shoots really well in my opinion for a service handgun.

Now the barrel to slide fit on the 9 is somewhat sloppy compaired to the 40. Field strip the guns and just have the barrel in the slide and held upside down and the 9 barrel will rattle if you shake the slide, the 40 won't. Maybe that is the problem?

As soon as I get a chance I'll take both to the range and change slide assemblys around and see if that does anything.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Big Fred]

ARNWRKR, I bought it new a year ago. I've seen pictures showing both the old and new hoods. Mine is the new style.

 

[kevin.andress]

Brownells offers a kit with 5 springs a 17,19,20,22 and 24. It also comes with 5 stock replacement striker springs. It's only $30, that's a pretty good way to answer your question for sure. Speed shooter specialties also offers individual springs in different weights.

 

[CoolGuy]

S+W Poor Customer Service

I just bought a S&W M+P 9mm shield.
I fired 50 rounds of New Ammo through it
when I took the gun apart to clean it, I found
that the base plate of the recoil spring, which
fits up against the barrell assembly, was Bent
I was shocked to see this from a Smith and Wesson
i emailed Smith and Wesson and then called them

My customer service experience was not good !
After bot hearing back from my email. I called Smith and Wesson.
I was told that I had to send my entire gun back
in to replace a spring. Thats Stupid ! Its like sending
a car back to the factory to replace some spark plugs !

Anyways, I explained that I seen other people have the same
problem online and the representative basically accused me
of lying. I was not happy.

After I got off the phone with Smith and Wesson I received an
email from them stating that it was ok that my recoil spring
plate was bent. That this Just Happens sometimes.

I couldnt believe that Smith and Wesson sent me this
its obvious that they are not customer service friendly

Its ashame.

 

[Cbollo]

Field strip the guns and just have the barrel in the slide and held upside down and the 9 barrel will rattle if you shake the slide, the 40 won't.

Don't know much about this particular issue but I can say that my m&p 9's barrel doesn't so much as shift or move whatsoever when I have the slide stripped off, upside down, and shake it. It sits in there nice and tight, so yeah it sounds a little odd that yours does that.

 

[hardluk1]

Big Fred Do you reload ?? Try some 147gr , 124 and 115gr standard pressure and see if your likes one bullet weight over a another . My wifes prefers heavier bullets with both a compact and a core and I did find It shoots better with heavy bullet and mild loads . I reload practice ammo but 147 factory ammo is better than 115 and 124. If you reload try some 160gr .

 

[Rastoff]

Gentlemen,
CoolGuy is using a two year old thread to complain about S&W customer service. I'm sure Big Fred has resolved his issue by now.

 

[hardluk1]

Aaaa **** , got me again