Poor 1st outing with FS M&P 9

[Gearhead36]

For Christmas, I bought myself a FS M&P 9 with thumb safety. I bought it for a combination of self defense and shooting IDPA. My 1st outing with it was NOT good.

1st mag... 5 rounds. Failed to lock the slide back after the last round. With my 120 daughter (with small hands) shooting, it failed to feed or eject on every round. I changed her grip around a little, and installed the small backstrap. Still had about 50% failures. Shot up a box of 50, and it stayed about the same. Was sick with that performance, so I stopped after one box. Afterwards, someone told me that new guns need to be cleaned. I'd never done that before, and I'd never had problems like this, but OK, I'll clean it and lube it. Last weekend, I took it to the range again, and it shot perfectly for about 100 rounds of mixed ammo (3 different brands). 3 different S&W mags. Me shooting only. My daughter wasn't there.

At this point, I consider the gun to be on probation until it proves itself a little more. I'm optimistic about my last outing with it. I plan on shooting it in IDPA, so I should have plenty of opportunity to wring it out. After 150 rounds, it seems to have smoothed out a bit from new.

 

[Ballistic147]

I clean and lube any new gun before it's first range trip. Most of the time there are no issues but a few have had metal shavings/debris I assume from a machining process still somewhere in the gun. Most of the new S&W's I've had were not well lubed from the factory. I use a dab of grease on the slide rails on all my guns as I feel grease is better than oil on metal to metal parts that slide on each other. Never had an issue using grease. I have buddies that use oil with no issues either so decide which way you want to go.

I would say the failures you experienced when your daughter was shooting are most likely from limp wristing, especially with a new gun that is still tight. Give it a couple hundred more rounds and see how it goes.

 

[Llando88]

Congrats on your new purchase - the FS 9 is a very reliable pistol, and has good ergonomics.

With respect, your post appears to describe expected operation for a new uncleaned / lubricated pistol. The fte also are not unknown if shot by a relatively lighter, less firm grip person.

May I ask what ammo you were shooting?

 

[OKFC05]

I'd never done that before, and I'd never had problems like this, but OK, I'll clean it and lube it.

Last fellow that had your experience with hating his brand new gun at our range had a $1500 Kimber, and he said the same thing.
Manufacturers don't clean new guns after test firing, and if you don't clean them yourself, maybe they work OK, maybe they don't. Military and some foreign guns show up packed with brown heavy oil or grease.

 

[Gearhead36]

I would say the failures you experienced when your daughter was shooting are most likely from limp wristing, especially with a new gun that is still tight. Give it a couple hundred more rounds and see how it goes.

For the 1st mag she shot, in which we experienced 100% failures, I would agree. After that, I changed the backstrap, and help her fix her grip (both position and firmness). So at that point, limp wristing should not have been a problem. We were also shooting my Kel-Tec P11, a weapon that shouldn't be in the same league, reliability-wise, as an M&P, and it functioned flawlessly with her or me shooting it with the same ammo. The P11 is a subcompact, which should be more susceptible to limp-wristing than a full size. If I had offered to give her either of those two guns, she would have picked the Kel-Tec.

Congrats on your new purchase - the FS 9 is a very reliable pistol, and has good ergonomics.

Ergonomics and the thumb safety were the main reasons I went with the M&P.

May I ask what ammo you were shooting?

The failures were with some cheap "Blaster" reloads. However, they functioned flawlessly in my P11.

 

[Gearhead36]

Last fellow that had your experience with hating his brand new gun at our range had a $1500 Kimber, and he said the same thing.
Manufacturers don't clean new guns after test firing, and if you don't clean them yourself, maybe they work OK, maybe they don't. Military and some foreign guns show up packed with brown heavy oil or grease.

I wasn't hating it. But I WAS very disappointed. This past weekend, I shot it in an IDPA match. Maybe I shouldn't have, given that it hadn't demonstrated to me yet that it was reliable. I decided to give it a go anyway, and I experienced zero failures. I used better quality ammo, but it was still not "premium" ammo. It was Speer, some cheap Federal from Wal-Mart, and few odd rounds I wanted to shoot up. I can't complain about zero failures. If it does that for next, say, 3 or 4 matches, I'll be satisfied.

 

[bobknn]

My S&W's and Glocks arrived clean and ready to fire right out of the box. They probably would have been ok to shoot without cleaning. Even so I cleaned and lubed them before using. My HK VP9 arrived looking like it had been soaked in oil. Even after cleaning it's first range visit was a disaster, ruining my first day experience. . It's second cleaning went way beyond anything I've done before. On it's second range trip it performed as expected. A good cleaning and lube should help avoid disappointment with a new toys' first outing.

 

[triaxle]

I would clean the packing lube of this gun and oil it up and fire only fact ammo to start with unless just blasting to get rid if it . All my M/P 9 are flawless , with Win , Gold DOT, Fed ammo , Wolf , everything I feed it . Those new guns are oiled for storage they might sit for a year or two

 

[rwsmith]

Semi autos need to prove themselves....

At this point, I consider the gun to be on probation until it proves itself a little more. I'm optimistic about my last outing with it. I plan on shooting it in IDPA, so I should have plenty of opportunity to wring it out. After 150 rounds, it seems to have smoothed out a bit from new.

I have two compact guns, a Shield and a Kel tec that have yet to prove themselves. I've had a lot of difficulty with my reloads. I've been out with both about 4 times and haven't gotten the reliability of either up to where I need it. I THINK I've got it figured out but the proof is in the pudding.

I have a full size 9, a 5943 Third Gen, that eats everything. I'll rely on that one in the meantime, along with my revolvers.

 

[rwsmith]

Whether is has preservative on it or not....

Even if it's just 'factory oil', SOMEBODY ELSE PUT ON WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE TO GAVE THEM TO WITHOUT TESTING THE GUN OR CARING WHETHER IT FIRED OR NOT. It just plain needs to be shot the way YOU plan to shoot it and take care of it so it needs to be clean or that first outing is just inconsequential 'trying out'.

 

[Bob O]

My new G17 was nearly dripping in thick oil. Did my usual complete stripping and cleaning, lubed with what I like to use, and will shoot it when the temp gets a bit warmer. Was -5*F here this morning.

 

[epj]

I have two compact guns, a Shield and a Kel tec that have yet to prove themselves. I've had a lot of difficulty with my reloads. I've been out with both about 4 times and haven't gotten the reliability of either up to where I need it. I THINK I've got it figured out but the proof is in the pudding.

I have a full size 9, a 5943 Third Gen, that eats everything. I'll rely on that one in the meantime, along with my revolvers.

My Shield 9 refuses to chamber my 9mm reloads. They run without a bobble in all my other 9mm guns. Seems to feed factory ball ammo ok. I have been too busy to stop and try to figure out what the problem is, but suspect the Shield's chamber is tight or short.

 

[Lead Pipe]

My FS 9 has been flawless and has eaten any and all ammo I run through it. I did not clean it before my first range outing however on my brand new shield I experienced a stove pipe, cleaned it up and never had that issue again. That too eats any rounds I run through it. I think you'll be fine going forward.

 

[turbo38gn]

Never had any problems with any of the M&P's I've purchase... I take a quick look at em, unless I saw something not looking right, I always shoot the 1st box of ammo with out touching, cleaning or otherwise messing with it. I believe if the gun was test fired before leaving the factory, I should be able to minimally shoot a box of ammo out of it. My thought process is that I want to eliminate me messing up a new gun before shooting it, that way I am confident if there is a problem with it........ I didn't cause it. I don't shoot reloads, tula, SD ammo of otherwise junk though it either and then blame the gun...

 

[Sigsavvy]

From my understanding guns ship with a preservative to prevent rusting but it is not really a lubricant. Shooting right out of the box is not going to be a good indicator of performance (unless you don't lubricate your guns). I know there are folks that think the gun should run out of the box without cleaning and lubricating but you can't judge malfunctions until you do. Plus the manual states that you should clean and lubricate before its first use. Just my $.02.

 

[Gearhead36]

Plus the manual states that you should clean and lubricate before its first use. Just my $.02.

What's this "manual" thing you speak of?

JK

 

[rsrocket1]

My Shield 9 refuses to chamber my 9mm reloads. They run without a bobble in all my other 9mm guns. Seems to feed factory ball ammo ok. I have been too busy to stop and try to figure out what the problem is, but suspect the Shield's chamber is tight or short.

This is off topic but did you take the barrel out of your gun to run a "plunk" test with your reloads? Even if you don't think your reloads are out of spec "because they run fine in all my other guns" doesn't mean they are not out of spec. If you don't think you need to plunk the rounds in the Shield barrel, then go get a cartridge case gauge. Personally I think it's a waste of $20 (you can test it in your barrel for free) but if you have multiple guns and don't know which one has the tightest chamber and don't want to find out, this is the way to go.

Take one of your loaded cartridges that won't chamber, color it completely with a magic marker, try plunking it again or use the case gauge to see where the bullet is rubbing against the chamber (or throat, or rifling). There's your problem. Usually it's a quick fix like closing the flare a little more, seating the bullet deeper or screwing the sizing die down a little more.

To the OP, you never clean and lube a gun when you buy it new?

Many guns are shipped with packing grease on them, not lube. At least a field strip and a quick flush with Hornady One Shot gun cleaner and dry lube is better than shooting it unlubed with packing grease.

Page 33 of the manual (yes, you should read the manual even though nowadays there's more lawyer speak than instructions)

• Before using your firearm for the first time, it should be cleaned.

• Your firearm was treated at the factory with either a preservative or oil to protect it against corrosion during shipping and storage.

• Preservative and oil should be wiped from the bore, chamber and exposed areas using a clean swab or patch before using the firearm.

 

[Sigsavvy]

What's this "manual" thing you speak of?

JK

You know...that book that has 93% red warnings about how dangerous everything you are doing is and then 7% actual instructions.

"Please refer to Page 13 for more information."

"WARNING!!! TURNING PAGES CAN CAUSE WRIST FATIGUE AND PAPERCUTS. DO SO ONLY AT YOUR OWN RISK!!"

 

[fdw]

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad first time out. I've got 5 M&Ps and I think I've had one failure to eject out of thousands of rounds, first day out with my FS 9 back in 2012.

They just keep on running...

edit: personally, I don't clean my guns before first trip out.... guess I've been lucky.

 

[turbo38gn]

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad first time out. I've got 5 M&Ps and I think I've had one failure to eject out of thousands of rounds, first day out with my FS 9 back in 2012.

They just keep on running...

edit: personally, I don't clean my guns before first trip out.... guess I've been lucky.

Yep, I've read far too many complaints about new guns not functioning properly when the owner screwed it up before even shooting it... don't want to be one of them.. I'm not stupid, and I'm not blind. I can see if my new gun needs attention or not before the 1st outing. After that.. I clean and lube.... until ..... it's needs it again.... ... pointing out the manual and what it says is fine, I read enough manuals to know what I need to do.

I have no complaints with any of my Smiths... some weren't perfect, but all have been great. The only gun I can honestly say was a piece of **** was a Sig... bought it new, had nothing but trouble, and back then I cleaned and lubed my few guns new... this one sucked out of the box, trip to the gunsmith assuring me it would be fine.... still sucked.... I almost threw it out into the middle of the S&W shooting range in Springfield and wanted to tell the shooters to have fun... had my M&P40 on my side, I had to use all the restraint I could muster up to not shoot that sucker to pieces... or throw it against the wall.... The emotion is still raw inside of me. Maybe that's why I dislike Sigs so much..