don't let me go to the S&W darkside

T

tahunua001

New member
I can't believe I'm about to say it... I might be buying a S&W. I have fought them for years. I have hated them for as long as I have enjoyed shooting handguns. I have especially hated the M&P line's triggers... and I am very much tempted to buy one.

today I was in my local sporting goods store and was looking at some guns that had been recommended for lower price range guns. while I was there I glanced over at an M&P and noticed that it had a different colored tag than the rest of the guns in the rack, apparently it had been discontinued and was being clearanced off. it's the M&P9 service model with an ambidextrous thumb safety. the trigger on this particular one is not the worst and 17 round capacity is pretty much standard these days... so for $350 I am really considering it.

I really would like some info on this gun however. why is this particular model being discontinued?

are there chronic problems with this model?

why is it $200 less than the rest of the M&P line?
 
I have one. I don't particularly like the trigger, either, but I've gotten used to it.
It's completely reliable with everything I've fed it, accurate as well. Can't tell you why it's been discontinued and marked down, but I think it's a good pistol.
 
I don't think they are discontinuing anything in the line... It may be old stock trying to get it gone.

I see M&Ps for $450 all the time... The price has gone down on them.
 
in my area M&Ps priced lower than$500 are a rarity.
this particular store differentiates between discontinued stock and clearance. this one had the discontinued code on the tag.
 
Does clearance for them mean they bought too many or the distributor had too many so they have them marked down? If so, maybe discontinued just means that that store will no longer be carrying that model, not that S&W has discontinued it.

S&W does discontinue "models" from time to time and does sometimes bring them back. It may be something as simple as they will be packaging it with 2 mags in the future or won't provide that model with the 17-rd mag, only 10.

Anyway, it sounds like a good deal, and a quality gun for the price.
 
I have one in .40S&W, they are good guns. As for the trigger, like most firearms I have shot that people seem to have trigger issues with, I guess I have a gift of remaining blissfully ignorant to those issues and just adjust to that firearms trigger pull and reset.
I am also not a competition shooter, I could understand how those people might be a little trigger sensitive but for just an everyday schlub like myself, I can ventilate the center of a silhouette target at 25yards all day long with the full size M&P or my girlfriends M&P9c.
 
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I really love the M&P line. While I love the trigger on my Pro, all of the stock model triggers are a bit heavy for my liking. The price is right and a trigger spring kit would be a small but wise investment. I'm not a fan of safeties on striker guns and it would be a deal breaker for me.

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I have no real problem with the M&P guns, but I'm an old guy who likes steel guns, like a 5906, or a CZ/CZ clone. I wouldn't be concerned about buying an M&P, discontinued or not, they seem to work fine.
 
If you have such dislike for S&W pistols would you not be smarter to purchase something that you will not always be critical of. I have several of the M & P line and they shoot great, I would not contemplate Taurus or Ruger semi auto of any kind because I know it would never please me no matter how arrractive the price.
I think you should buy what you choose not because those of us who make responses with positives or negatives about the product. Information like "my trigger is good" or the like have no value, you need to fire the pistol and gain your own position.
End of fatherly advice response.
 
FWIW there are ways to remove the thumb safeties from an M&P that has them, and vice versa in most cases.* This requires monkeying with the sear housing block or SHB, but this isn't that hard, and is similar to what's required to install an Apex trigger kit. This is well documented on the M&P forum.

*FOOTNOTE: Early M&Ps have SHBs without some required fittings for the safeties, and early frames lack thumb-safety cutouts. That said, given the original question, the procedure for removing M&P thumb safeties is more pertinent than how to retrofit them. :)
 
I wouldn't. The safeties and trigger are not for me. I've tried to like the M&P, I really have, even the newer triggers, even with APEX (even though I leave defensive guns stock, and any M&P I owned would be fore carry/HD), just not for me.

Really nice guns in the hand though.

Then again, for that price I would be tempted also. Its just hard to pass up a nice deal.
 
I really like the M&P line of pistols. I've never had an issue with the triggers but I hate the thumb safety on the fullsize and compact models. I have a Shield with the thumb safety and I don't mind it at all.
 
Hmmm

If you have such dislike for S&W pistols would you not be smarter to purchase something that you will not always be critical of. I have several of the M & P line and they shoot great, I would not contemplate Taurus or Ruger semi auto of any kind because I know it would never please me no matter how arrractive the price.
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I must be a little odd. I have S&W, Ruger and Taurus as well as 3 other brands and I like them all. The trigger is heavier one some and lighter on others. How is that different from my 3 vehicles? The power steering is harder on some and easier on others. You adjust to what you are using. One is not better than another, just different.
 
Nothing wrong with S&W. Their regular line is a good consumer starting point. Their PC line is a good semi-custom line. There are half a dozen ways to improve a trigger. $350 for a MP9 is a good price. Sell it if you really don't like it after shooting it.
 
Osbornk, Not especially referring to the trigger when i made my statement about Taurus and Ruger semi auto's, Ruger pistols from their first 2x4 looking 9mm to the current American just do not appeal to me and feel unnatural in my hand. Dont get the idea i am bashing Ruger...i have a number of Rugers including American .22 and a Ranch in 300 Blackout, mini 14, a Scout in .223, Single Six, 10-22 etc. and feel they make fine firearms ....except the center fire autos. Taurus i have nothing good to say about their products as those that i have owned were poorly made and failed me when expected to perform. The company may have changed for the better but i shall not be one to purchase another to find out.
I have trusted my life to various S&W pistols while at a PD for 30+ years and still do upon occasion.
 
well I picked it up. I have been shopping for inexpensive handguns and set an arbitrary budget of $400 and this one came under. normally they are priced at $500 to $550 in my area, buying online accomplishes nothing except extra headache when a person pays shipping and handling and FFL transfer fees. in this situation, apparently someone screwed up big time at the LGS. this firearm was a ghost, it was never officially logged into their system, so it was listed as discontinued and given some price "somehow". after figuring out what had happened the manager offered to honor the pricetag, even though it was apparently labled below cost.

I've brought it home and have some initial opinions on it.

1. it is very comfortable, especially with the large backstrap, which was very easy to change out.
2. there isn't an ounce of packing grease in it, which is a little odd for me as most guns I buy are packed full of the stuff, it's possible it was cleaned up as the display model though.
3. the trigger is WAY better than they were 6 or 7 years ago. I rented a couple and freaked hated the triggers, there was no tactile reset, and no discernable break point. that is not the case with this handgun. the trigger, although very gritty (hopefully smoothes out with use), has a crisp break and a easily felt reset point. I still do not like the hinge in the middle of the trigger but hopefully I can get used to that over time.
4. the fit is horrible, my brother in law held it 6 inches from his face and I could see his pupil in the gap between the slide and the frame. it also has a very strange set of contact points when reassembling. when replacing the slide you have to press down to match the slide with the frame guides, then lift up on the slide to clear the ejector, then press back down to oontact the rear frame guides... I've never had another handgun that required that and hopefully that doesn't mean reliability issues later down the road. in addition to that, there is light visible on the upper edges of the rear sight dovetail, hopefully that doesn't mean that the rear sights are liable to fall out during firing.


I do appreciate the recommendations not to get a handgun that I don't like because of the level of scrutiny that I am giving it, but I would say that over time I am just as critical of all of my handguns, whether I like them or not. the best ones are the ones that I bought with a very critical opinion of but over time was changed. depending on how this guy performs I could possibly have a reason to stop ranting about how terrible the M&P line is, or I could have reinforcement for such claims. either way, if I decide to keep it, it will likely end up as a truck gun or a loaner, but if I don't like it, I will easily be able to turn around and sell it for the same I have into it.
 
this particular store differentiates between discontinued stock and clearance. this one had the discontinued code on the tag.
Click to expand...

As in discontinued by S&W or your local store has decided to stop carrying them?
 
I'm fortunate to have quite a few nice guns and a good variety. Among them all, I have much respect and appreciation for my M&P40, M&P40C (two of them), M&P9C, and M&P45C.

If you aren't very happy with your particular M&P trigger, all you need do is drop in an Apex sear. Or at most, also drop in an Apex striker block. No need to buy an expensive kit of parts, springs, and new trigger, etc.

Of my five M&Ps, the only one where I felt I needed to improve the trigger was the 45C. It had an 8+ lb. trigger pull. After dropping in an Apex sear and striker block, that 8+ lbs. came down to a very nice 4.5# and the gun shoots as well as my 1911s. It also came with ambi thumb safety, which I have since removed (very easy to remove and pop in two spacers to fill the tiny slots where the thumb safety levers exited the frame.)

As for the hinged trigger - I love it and don't notice the hinge at all. What I do notice is that it doesn't have that irritating little lever in the middle of the trigger shoe that Glocks have. I've never liked that about my Glocks, but that too is something you become accustomed to.

I think you will come to find that the M&P is a great design, feels great in the hand, is exceptionally reliable and accurate. The M&P really put Smith & Wesson back on the map after a long series of not-so-successful semi-auto pistols. I highly recommend the M&P line of pistols. My M&P40 and M&P45C are two of my very favorite pistols. They shoot so nicely, smoothly, reliably, and accurately. Feel in the hand is just awesome. They make my Glocks seem like less-refined, antiquated pistols in comparison.
 
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