New owner of M&P full size. Problems?

[Norboo]

New owner of M&P full size. Problems?
First time gun owner.
Gun is brand new and never been fired with real bullets. I was testing with snap caps but it jams constantly with both magazines. Is this common? Should I be concerned?
I believe I have the Carlson or A-Zoom Snap Caps from Gander Moitain.

 

[dave.figler.9]

Jams how? I have someno snap caps that seem to have machine grooves in them, and are rough going in the chamber. Never a problem with liva ammo. On my 3rd M&Puntil I started messing with pal on40w
40S&W

 

[pbpvusa]

Never tested with snapcaps, I have dropped over 1000 rounds, only had 2 problems and those were the round problem. They cycle through well for me.

 

[scattershot]

The only problem I see is getting enough ammo to feed it. Welcome to the affliction.

 

[Arik]

How does it jam?

 

[Norboo]

How does it jam?

It doesn't eject well and gets stuck in the chamber. I have to stick a pencil in the barrel and tap it hard to get the snap cap out.

 

[Arik]

It's really not easy to simulate an actual shot. Don't baby it yank back hard on the slide and don't be afraid to let it slam shut. The energy from the explosion is way more than you can generate so don't baby it. All that said the only way to tell if there actually is a problem is to actually shoot live ammo.

 

[BlackTalonJHP]

Shoot a few boxes of ammo through it and see how it runs.
I'm not sure if you are riding the slide forward with the snap caps or what is going on, but live fire will tell you if the gun works.

 

[kmanick]

Hmmmm? I use snap caps with my fulls Size M&P .40 with no problems.
is the gun brand new? is es did you give it a good cleaning and lube?
I've found my .40 to be flawless so far , probably about 500 rounds through it. I use A-Zoom caps with all of my guns, no problems yet.
make sure you really rack that slide

 

[MichiganScott]

I suspect that the engineers that designed the gun did not design it with snap caps in mind. Buy some ammunition and shoot it. If it jams, then you have something to worry about.

FWIW, Gander Mtn. likes to sell new shooters accessories that are not needed because they don't know any better. My M&P's have been dry fired thousands of times without incidence.

 

[Bozz10mm]

Hmm. Snap caps should cycle the same as live ammo, but all snap caps are not created equal. Try cycling (keep your finger off the trigger) with live ammo.

 

[walkin' trails]

First thing, field strip it clean it, and lube it per the manual. Next, shoot a couple hundred rounds thru it. If you don't have any experience with handguns, seek out a class tailored to new gun owners and shooters. It the pistol fails to function under the watchful eye of a qualified, experienced instructor, then exercise your warranty options and have S&W make it right. You should be able to find instructors who are associated with local ranges, gun shops, or CCW, or shooting clubs. I would not be overly concerned if a brand new, dry pistol doesn't work well with snap caps or dummies. It's the live rounds that count. Also, when working the slide, are you riding it with your hand or letting the springs do what they're intended tobdonunderbtheirbown power? Riding the slide during dry fire, etc will cause feeding and extraction problems.

 

[Rpg]

Get rid of the snap caps. They offer no benefit.

You have a real gun, not a toy. It's designed to use live ammo.

All that counts is whether your pistol works with live ammo.

Get to the range.

 

[Inusuit]

I use snap caps and dummy rounds as a teaching tool in the NRA basic pistol class. Some eject, some don't. I agree with the advice from others. Don't assume you have a problem until you've shot the gun.

 

[Gearhead36]

First thing, field strip it clean it, and lube it per the manual.

I 1000% agree with this. My FS 9 failed terribly on my 1st outing with it, and I didn't clean it first. After that, I cleaned & lubed it, and it's been flawless since. Here's my account of that.

 

[Deadeye Dick]

How are you feeding the snap caps into the chamber... from the magazine or are you dropping one into the chamber threw the ejection port? If you are dropping them in threw the ejection port the rims are probably not being engaged by the extractor. You should not load any semi-automatic by dropping rounds (live or dummies)into the chamber threw the ejection port If you are feeding them from a magazine you are probably not racking the slide with enough speed or force. Try shooting some live ammo. If the empty shells from live ammo eject without a problem and you are racking the slide with gusto when using your snap caps and they still wont eject you need to find some different snap caps.

As someone mentioned snap caps can be a valuable training tool. They can be used to diagnose flinching problems or to practice slap, rack & bang drills, etc. Have a friend randomly load a few snap caps in with live rounds in a magazine so as you don't know when to expect one. Shoot at your target like you normally would. If your sites jump off of your target when you get to a snap cap you will know if you are flinching or anticipating the shot. Now slap the bottom of your magazine to make sure it is properly seated in the pistol, rack the slide to clear the "dud" round and re-engage the target. This exercise could save your life in a SHTF situation.

 

[Norboo]

Took the gun to the range today and it went well for the most part. 4 bullets didn't fire and didn't eject out of 250 that I fired. I had to re-rack to get them to eject.

I tested the same snap caps on two other guns at the range and had no issues.

Did anyone have any issues with the sights straight from the factory? Seems I'm hitting about 4 inches to the right and about 4 inches down from 7.5 yards.

 

[Magload]

You must be left handed.

 

[Norboo]

Just gave it a nice clean and lube, still having issues with snap cap.

 

[BlackTalonJHP]

You must be left handed.

That's what I'm thinking