Let me start by saying that I was a law enforcement officer for 35 plus years. I am retired now but I still qualify with my weapon once a year, to keep my permit up to date. I believe in safety's on handguns. They could save your life. I bought a M & P in the 9 MM C version, with a safety, and I started carrying it. I noticed that the safety is very easy to move on and off, too easy! Often during qualification, the safety would change positions during recoil. I send S & W a letter about the problem and they sent me a new spring, the small block and the safety lever itself. I immediately installed them but the safety was still too easy to move on and off.
I tried purchasing parts from Brownells to make the safety stiffer but they referred me back to Smith. I checked several other gun shops and the M&P's that they had in stock were the same way. I wrote Smith a letter on May 12 explained the problem and the fact that a potentially dangerous situation could occur if the lever ended up in the wrong position during an emergency situation. I suggested making the safety lever much smaller, like the safety on the shield. That is tight and doesn't change position from recoil or wearing it in a holster. I am still waiting to hear from them, in fact today June 13, I wrote them a follow up letter asking if they received my letter from May 12. I believe that this is a defect that should be addressed, and they could be loosing business with large PD's that want a safety on their service weapons, but one that doesn't cause problems. If I wanted a service gun without a safety I could have bought a Glock, but I have always been loyal to Smith & Wesson. I hope that they come up with a solution to this problem.
