Picked up my first M&P 9 fs and sprinted to the range (after cleaning) for a 100 round break in. I loved everything about it except the 10lb Ma compliant trigger which was horrid and of greater concern my groups were all low and left. There was an instructor on the range whom I know and he tried it and had the same results. Any suggestions most welcome. I am getting the apex trigger installed so that solves the smaller issue Thanks.
New M&P 9, Low and left
- Thread starter Steelman
- Start date
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If you search the forum here or even the internet, you will find the number one compliant of new gun owners is the pistol (regardless of brand) shooting low and left for right handed shooters. The cause is contributed to trigger control. As you have pointed out you have a very heavy trigger, which is causing the shot to be thrown. My guess, when you get the new Apex trigger in the gun and get a little time with it, you will move that low left group right up to the middle.
PS-when I first got my Glock, did the same thing; when I got my Shield, did the same thing; when I got my MP 9c, did the same thing; one difference was as I have practiced more and more, it takes me less time to adjust to a trigger on a different gun.
Hope that helps. (If you truly think the gun is off, bench shoot the gun so you can take out the human error.)
PS-when I first got my Glock, did the same thing; when I got my Shield, did the same thing; when I got my MP 9c, did the same thing; one difference was as I have practiced more and more, it takes me less time to adjust to a trigger on a different gun.
Hope that helps. (If you truly think the gun is off, bench shoot the gun so you can take out the human error.)
scooter123
Member
Do a search on ANY handgun firearms forum and you will quickly discover that 99.999% of the time Low and Left is a Shooter Problem, not an issue with the firearm. BTW, the only exception to this is Left handed shooters, in their case they will complain about shooting Low and Right.
The cause is a mix of anticipation of the recoil causing the shooter to Push the gun down and Pulling the gun to the side just as the trigger breaks.
Obviously a heavier trigger will increase the degree of pre-shot movement of the gun for a new shooter. However, with enough practice I would not consider a 10 lbs. trigger to be any burden at all and it does provide the benefit of a trigger that is more resistant to an inadvertent discharge. That can be notably important in a handgun that is used for carry because to say the Courts frown in the "it just went off" defense is an understatement. If you purchased this pistol for either Home Defense os to Carry I would recommend that you leave the trigger factory stock and take the time to learn to master it as is instead of modifying it with a trigger kit.
Suggestions for correction.
First, anticipating the recoil is nothing to be ashamed of. Anyone who shoots a handgun often enough for enough years will have to deal with a flinch such as this at some point. Anytime that I lay off practicing too long I always have to cope with a tendency to Puch the muzzle down prior to the trigger breaking. The fix for me is to apply a bit of Meditation and to concentrate on achieving a "perfect" trigger stroke and totally ignoring the fact that the gun will make a lot of noise and jump in my hand when it fires.
Second, dry firing with Snap Caps can do a lot to correct your pre shot Push Flinch and to correct your tendency to pull the sights out of line as the trigger breaks. Another option that you will find far more convenient is to purchase a Double Action revolver and use that for dry fire and live fire practice. I carry a Sig Sauer pistol that features a 10.5 double action trigger for the first shot and started shooting wheelguns to master that trigger. After getting good with my first revolver I found I'd become a much better shooter with ANY type of trigger and found a real love for revolvers. End result is that most of the time I spend more time shooting revolvers than semi's and I've become a rather good shot with either Rifle or Handgun.
PS; Remember the adage "those who can DO, those who can't TEACH". Seems to me that Instructor you had try your pistol fits this saying to a T.
The cause is a mix of anticipation of the recoil causing the shooter to Push the gun down and Pulling the gun to the side just as the trigger breaks.
Obviously a heavier trigger will increase the degree of pre-shot movement of the gun for a new shooter. However, with enough practice I would not consider a 10 lbs. trigger to be any burden at all and it does provide the benefit of a trigger that is more resistant to an inadvertent discharge. That can be notably important in a handgun that is used for carry because to say the Courts frown in the "it just went off" defense is an understatement. If you purchased this pistol for either Home Defense os to Carry I would recommend that you leave the trigger factory stock and take the time to learn to master it as is instead of modifying it with a trigger kit.
Suggestions for correction.
First, anticipating the recoil is nothing to be ashamed of. Anyone who shoots a handgun often enough for enough years will have to deal with a flinch such as this at some point. Anytime that I lay off practicing too long I always have to cope with a tendency to Puch the muzzle down prior to the trigger breaking. The fix for me is to apply a bit of Meditation and to concentrate on achieving a "perfect" trigger stroke and totally ignoring the fact that the gun will make a lot of noise and jump in my hand when it fires.
Second, dry firing with Snap Caps can do a lot to correct your pre shot Push Flinch and to correct your tendency to pull the sights out of line as the trigger breaks. Another option that you will find far more convenient is to purchase a Double Action revolver and use that for dry fire and live fire practice. I carry a Sig Sauer pistol that features a 10.5 double action trigger for the first shot and started shooting wheelguns to master that trigger. After getting good with my first revolver I found I'd become a much better shooter with ANY type of trigger and found a real love for revolvers. End result is that most of the time I spend more time shooting revolvers than semi's and I've become a rather good shot with either Rifle or Handgun.
PS; Remember the adage "those who can DO, those who can't TEACH". Seems to me that Instructor you had try your pistol fits this saying to a T.
getoff
Member
put it simply, your "snatching" the trigger. take your time and learn proper trigger control. the low left is a simple fix. not saying you don't know what your doing, but this a different and new pistol. a little practice should fix this no problemo... if you can find ammo that is!
Yep. I'm a range officer at a large club. If I had a dollar for everyone that came up to me for help because their new gun was shooting low and left I'd be a rich man.
It's usually caused by yanking the trigger in anticipation of recoil or fear of making a poor shot and the resultant flinch.
Bench rest it or have some one do it for you and I bet it shoots where it's pointed. Actually it already is shooting where you are pointing it albeit low left.
Practice, practice and then some more practice, once you're convinced that the problem lies in the shooter and not the gun, is the solution.
It's usually caused by yanking the trigger in anticipation of recoil or fear of making a poor shot and the resultant flinch.
Bench rest it or have some one do it for you and I bet it shoots where it's pointed. Actually it already is shooting where you are pointing it albeit low left.
Practice, practice and then some more practice, once you're convinced that the problem lies in the shooter and not the gun, is the solution.
Thanks for the input folks. I thought once the trainer had the same problem it eliminated operator error but I respect your opinions and will stick with it and practice. The bench shooting sounds like a good baseline test too. Thanks again
With what limited shooting I've done with my 9c (25 rounds for annual qualification), it also "seems" to shoot to the left, however, I believe that this is a result of my being used to my G21's NY+ trigger, I also believe that once I get some more practice in and some bench shooting, the problem with turn out to be shooter error.
