New guy...new gun...

[TahoeDust]

I picked up my first pistol last week. Snagged a full size M&P 9mm with thumb safety from a friend that is a FFL. It was one of his personal guns and was very lightly used. Looks brand new. I cross shopped and shot; G17, XD, and CZ 75B. The M&P narrowly beat out the CZ, mostly because of ergonomics. I just love the way it fits in my hand and feels very natural to aim.

The person I bought it from sold me a 3rd 17rd mag for $30. I did not realize how nice that was of him until I started looking for a 4th. Sheesh...

Never one to leave anything "stock", I did a little paintfill work on the slide and mags...

 

[timn8er]

Welcome from Oklahoma & that's a nice looking M&P!

 

[MSG Glenn]

Welcome from Wisconsin! I recently picked up a 3 year old M&P 40 from a police officer friend. It was his issued firearm & when he was issued a brand new one he bought it back & sold it to me. It'll fit very well in my EDC until the M&P 40 compact that I ordered gets here & I'll be able to use the FS mags in the compact as well. I felt I couldn't go wrong & the price was right.

 

[gdnagle]

And a warm welcome from “wild and wonderful “ West Virginia at least that’s what they tell us.

 

[Dayvid23]

Welcome from Utah, you have found a great place for information! Bookmark us, and great looking pistol, the paint is a nice personal touch. Congrats on the third mag for a great price! Are you looking at night sights or lasers?

 

[snubbyfan]

Welcome from the panhandle of West Virginia.

 

[TahoeDust]

Welcome from Utah, you have found a great place for information! Bookmark us, and great looking pistol, the paint is a nice personal touch. Congrats on the third mag for a great price! Are you looking at night sights or lasers?

Not yet. I am going to spend some time with the gun before doing anything with the sights. The first thing I am considering doing is the Apex fully machined hard sear to lower the trigger pull and get a little more reset feedback.

 

[Jyezahn]

Welcome from the Mitten!

 

[Rastoff]

Welcome and congrats on the new-to-you gun!

Not yet. I am going to spend some time with the gun before doing anything with the sights.

This is the right thing to do. Take it from me, a died in the wool tinkerer, resist the urge to change anything without testing what you have first.

The first thing I am considering doing is the Apex fully machined hard sear to lower the trigger pull and get a little more reset feedback.

Apex is a fantastic company. Unfortunately, the Hard Sear will not give you any more reset feedback. I know, I tried one.

The Forward Set Sear kit will reduce trigger pre travel and over travel. It will also make the pull weight drop significantly. It will give a better reset, but not a tremendous improvement.

If you really want a good reset, get the Apex Reset Assist Mechanism (RAM). I have not tried one because they don't make one for the .45, but I have heard really good things about the RAM for the .40/9mm guns.

 

[TahoeDust]

Apex is a fantastic company. Unfortunately, the Hard Sear will not give you any more reset feedback. I know, I tried one.

The Forward Set Sear kit will reduce trigger pre travel and over travel. It will also make the pull weight drop significantly. It will give a better reset, but not a tremendous improvement.

If you really want a good reset, get the Apex Reset Assist Mechanism (RAM). I have not tried one because they don't make one for the .45, but I have heard really good things about the RAM for the .40/9mm guns.

Hmmm. I do not think I am ready to jump all the way into the FSS. My money is probably better spent on ammo to get more practice with my new pistol.

I do not think the Apex RAM will work with my thumb safety which I really like.

I will most likely just hold off with any internal modifications for a while.

 

[alde]

Welcome and congrats on the new M&P.

I can't speak to the Apex kits because I have never tried them. I have found that with use I have gotten use to the triggers on my 40c and 45c. They have also improved a bit and are just fine with me the way they are. I think you are doing the right thing by putting some rounds through it before you change anything. You may not need to.

 

[tectrry]

Congrats! I shoot the FS9 a lot (40C as well) and on my FS9 after about 2000 rounds I put the apex poly trigger on it (cause I didn't like the hinged trigger) and then after about 3000 rounds I put in the hard sear. It is perfect for me now - I absolutely love it! The poly trigger is more comfortable to me, and the hard sear lowered my pull to about 5 pounds. Neither one changed the reset feel but that wasn't important to me

 

[bobkatwells]

Congratulations on your choice of the M&P9. I bought my M&P9 about 7 months ago and agree I bought the right pistol. so far I have kept mine stock as it has been working well for me. Enjoy some quality time on the range to gain confidence in your M&P and your marksmanship. There is a lot of good information here.

 

[zeddic]

Welcome and congrats! I too am a new convert. Got a 22/FS and shield a few months ago and have been enjoying it since. The FS is now my competition gun beating out a sig and glock that I was using. Since using the FS, I have seen a drastic improvement in my performance which I attribute to the excellent ergonomics of the FS. I hope you enjoy your new toy as much as I have .

 

[Bkreutz]

Hmmm. I do not think I am ready to jump all the way into the FSS. My money is probably better spent on ammo to get more practice with my new pistol.

I do not think the Apex RAM will work with my thumb safety which I really like.

I will most likely just hold off with any internal modifications for a while.

Figure out what you want out of the pistol by shooting it a lot. I have a 9c that is my EDC and it has appx. 3K rounds through it and is totally stock. The trigger did smooth out over time. I also have a FS9 and a 9LCORE. Since getting the CORE I'm afraid the FS has become the red headed cousin. I shoot the CORE competitively and put the APEX FSS kit in shortly after buying it. It is exactly what I want for competition but not what I would want for EDC. Not saying I wouldn't use the Apex for EDC but if that was the case I would play around with the springs until I got an acceptable carry pull. Personally I wouldn't mess with the Apex trigger without the FSS, it's kinda like putting a supercharger on your car and leaving the stock 1.5" exhaust on it.

 

[Omil]

Welcome from Ca. that looks sweet. White letters are cool.

 

[S&W Oldtimer]

Welcome from Va.

 

[Rastoff]

Hmmm. I do not think I am ready to jump all the way into the FSS. My money is probably better spent on ammo to get more practice with my new pistol.

This is definitely the right way to go.

Just know this, all the Apex stuff is unique. In other words, don't by the Hard Sear and then try to "upgrade" to the FSS. They aren't compatible. So, it's cheaper to go straight to the FSS if you should choose to do that. If the only thing you want is a lighter trigger pull, the Hard Sear is great.

 

[TahoeDust]

Thanks for all the input guys. I plan on getting back to the range tomorrow to put at least another 200rds through her.

I hear people talking about it not being a good practice to store the weapon in its factory foam lined case. I really like keeping it in there but I do not want to subject it to an environment that will cause premature rusting. Are there other reasonably priced cases that would be better to keep it in? I do not have a gun safe and do not have a need for one that would justify the expense right now.

 

[fdw]

Welcome from the Palmetto State (SC) and congrats!