Rangerrich99
New member
So my birthday is this month, and since no one was going to do it, I decided to give myself the gift that keeps on giving; that's right I got myself a new gun.
In this case, I jumped into the current Kool-Aid pool, and bought myself a brand-spankin'-new S&W M&P9 2.0, the 4.25-inch version.
I'll post a couple pics a little later.
(pic here)
A few of the highlights: I didn't have any cleaning supplies on hand, so I just put a couple drops of Rem oil on the rails and had at it. I ran 50 rounds of Aguila 115 gr. 9mm through it to start, all flew downrange without a hitch. Then I ran another 50, same brand, 124 gr. this time, again, no issues. POI seemed roughly the same, and it might just be me, but I didn't feel much difference in recoil. Muzzle flip was almost non-existent, certainly less than my Glock 19 g4, but that probably had as much to do with the extra weight as anything else.
About the trigger: I'd test-run the '1.0' a few weeks ago, and agreed with all who felt the trigger was the weak link of the gun. Is it terrible? Well no, and it's better than the stock one that came with my Shield. But this 2.0 trigger is much, much better than the original M&P trigger. Less pull weight, much cleaner break, and noticeably shorter reset. Mikey-likey. Anyway, moving on . . .
(? pic here)
About the slide: One of my procedures when at the range is to visually check for the round in the chamber after sling-shotting the slide. I do this simply by pressing the slide back about a third of an inch, then releasing the slide once I see brass. The M&P did not go fully back into battery after each of these administrative checks. It was consistently about a 1/4 inch out of battery each time. I had to press the back of the slide with my thumb to get the gun back into battery. there wasn't any resistance to my thumb, or any feeling of grit or whatever. It just would hang up right there. All sling-shotted slides went back into battery without issue. As the gun is brand-new, and I hadn't had a chance to clean and lube it as I normally would've before shooting it, I'm assuming for now that this problem will sort itself out once I get it really clean and lubed. I'll make a note here one way or the other once that happens.
To this point, I found that 1 or 2 out of every 5-6 rounds was a flier; usually out to the left and low. I then remembered that I had three other backstraps in the box to try out. Yea, accessories to the rescue. I found the removal and installation of the backstraps the easiest I've experienced so far. This isn't that big a deal though, as I only have had four guns that have interchangeable backstraps. Nonetheless, the process was simple and fast. And required no tools whatsoever.
(pic here)
On a side note, if one mistakenly replaces the backstrap locking pin in the gun incorrectly, it's immediately noticeable, so it's difficult to mis-install the pin, which is a nice touch for fuzzy-minded people like me. My only criticism here is I'd rather the pin was metal; the plastic pin feels like I could easily snap it off.
Anyway, I spent a few minutes trying out the various backstraps and settled on the new 'med-large' edition and went back to shooting.
I then ran another 147 rounds of my reloads through it (I know, weird number, but that's just how it went). No apparent difference either in POI or felt recoil. Also ran those without issue. But now, almost magically (a little drumroll please) the fliers went away! I started shooting like I knew what I was doing. All rounds except the last 10 were shot at distances from 5, 7, 10,12, or 15 yards. The final ten I shot at 20 and 25 yards.
Now, I've always said that I'm a pretty average handgun shooter, especially since I passed 40 years old. My eyes seem to be seeing like I'm 50 or 60 lately. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by my groups. At 20 yds, I shot a 5-shot 2.5 inch group (haven't done that in years), and a 3-inch 25-yard 5-shot group. For me, that's good shooting. And that was with my 9mm reloads, which are not tailored for great accuracy. That recipe was developed just to ensure consistent cycling of any of my 9s. So, yeah, I was pretty happy with that with a brand-new gun right-out-of-the-box.
I was so happy that when I got home I gave my new friend a thorough cleaning and oiling from top to bottom before putting her in the safe for a good night's sleep.
(pic here)
Now, in case anyone's still reading this, a little something about how I compare this gun and my Glock 19 g4. The Glock mags are easier to load. The Glock is noticeably lighter, yet muzzle flip seems about the same. The triggers for the most part are a wash; I like neither hinges nor dinguses. Dingii. Whatever. My real issue is that the trigger is plastic, which is why I'll change it out when I get a chance. I doubt I'll pop for the sear kit though; I think it's probably unnecessary. The 2.0 trigger pull weight/reset are more than good enough.
The shape of the grip on the M&P and the 'med-large' backstrap are the two things that really separate these two guns for me personally. When I pick up and point my Glock eyes closed, I'm really only guessing at where it's pointed. In other words, the Glock doesn't index well for me. So when I bring the Glock up to my eye-line from low-ready, I'm always having to make a bit of an adjustment here or there to get the front sight lined up with the rear sights, and I have to get them pointed at what I want to shoot. I've gotten used to it, but I feel it takes up significant time before I can press the trigger.
The M&P, once I got the correct backstrap on it, indexed about as well as one of my 1911s, which is to say about as perfect as I could ask for. Or, it just fits my hand better. When I brought the 2.0 up to my eye-line, the sights were already lined up (front sight might've been a hair off left or right but essentially centered, virtually no issues with the vertical), making the transition from aiming to pressing the trigger seem a bit more fluid.
Of course, these are all just initial impressions, and those will probably change somewhat as time goes by, but that was a very good first day.
So, if you're still here, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the pics!
Legal notice here: blahblahblahblahblah. Your father was a hamster and your mother smells of elderberries blahblahblah.
In this case, I jumped into the current Kool-Aid pool, and bought myself a brand-spankin'-new S&W M&P9 2.0, the 4.25-inch version.
I'll post a couple pics a little later.
(pic here)
A few of the highlights: I didn't have any cleaning supplies on hand, so I just put a couple drops of Rem oil on the rails and had at it. I ran 50 rounds of Aguila 115 gr. 9mm through it to start, all flew downrange without a hitch. Then I ran another 50, same brand, 124 gr. this time, again, no issues. POI seemed roughly the same, and it might just be me, but I didn't feel much difference in recoil. Muzzle flip was almost non-existent, certainly less than my Glock 19 g4, but that probably had as much to do with the extra weight as anything else.
About the trigger: I'd test-run the '1.0' a few weeks ago, and agreed with all who felt the trigger was the weak link of the gun. Is it terrible? Well no, and it's better than the stock one that came with my Shield. But this 2.0 trigger is much, much better than the original M&P trigger. Less pull weight, much cleaner break, and noticeably shorter reset. Mikey-likey. Anyway, moving on . . .
(? pic here)
About the slide: One of my procedures when at the range is to visually check for the round in the chamber after sling-shotting the slide. I do this simply by pressing the slide back about a third of an inch, then releasing the slide once I see brass. The M&P did not go fully back into battery after each of these administrative checks. It was consistently about a 1/4 inch out of battery each time. I had to press the back of the slide with my thumb to get the gun back into battery. there wasn't any resistance to my thumb, or any feeling of grit or whatever. It just would hang up right there. All sling-shotted slides went back into battery without issue. As the gun is brand-new, and I hadn't had a chance to clean and lube it as I normally would've before shooting it, I'm assuming for now that this problem will sort itself out once I get it really clean and lubed. I'll make a note here one way or the other once that happens.
To this point, I found that 1 or 2 out of every 5-6 rounds was a flier; usually out to the left and low. I then remembered that I had three other backstraps in the box to try out. Yea, accessories to the rescue. I found the removal and installation of the backstraps the easiest I've experienced so far. This isn't that big a deal though, as I only have had four guns that have interchangeable backstraps. Nonetheless, the process was simple and fast. And required no tools whatsoever.
(pic here)
On a side note, if one mistakenly replaces the backstrap locking pin in the gun incorrectly, it's immediately noticeable, so it's difficult to mis-install the pin, which is a nice touch for fuzzy-minded people like me. My only criticism here is I'd rather the pin was metal; the plastic pin feels like I could easily snap it off.
Anyway, I spent a few minutes trying out the various backstraps and settled on the new 'med-large' edition and went back to shooting.
I then ran another 147 rounds of my reloads through it (I know, weird number, but that's just how it went). No apparent difference either in POI or felt recoil. Also ran those without issue. But now, almost magically (a little drumroll please) the fliers went away! I started shooting like I knew what I was doing. All rounds except the last 10 were shot at distances from 5, 7, 10,12, or 15 yards. The final ten I shot at 20 and 25 yards.
Now, I've always said that I'm a pretty average handgun shooter, especially since I passed 40 years old. My eyes seem to be seeing like I'm 50 or 60 lately. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by my groups. At 20 yds, I shot a 5-shot 2.5 inch group (haven't done that in years), and a 3-inch 25-yard 5-shot group. For me, that's good shooting. And that was with my 9mm reloads, which are not tailored for great accuracy. That recipe was developed just to ensure consistent cycling of any of my 9s. So, yeah, I was pretty happy with that with a brand-new gun right-out-of-the-box.
I was so happy that when I got home I gave my new friend a thorough cleaning and oiling from top to bottom before putting her in the safe for a good night's sleep.
(pic here)
Now, in case anyone's still reading this, a little something about how I compare this gun and my Glock 19 g4. The Glock mags are easier to load. The Glock is noticeably lighter, yet muzzle flip seems about the same. The triggers for the most part are a wash; I like neither hinges nor dinguses. Dingii. Whatever. My real issue is that the trigger is plastic, which is why I'll change it out when I get a chance. I doubt I'll pop for the sear kit though; I think it's probably unnecessary. The 2.0 trigger pull weight/reset are more than good enough.
The shape of the grip on the M&P and the 'med-large' backstrap are the two things that really separate these two guns for me personally. When I pick up and point my Glock eyes closed, I'm really only guessing at where it's pointed. In other words, the Glock doesn't index well for me. So when I bring the Glock up to my eye-line from low-ready, I'm always having to make a bit of an adjustment here or there to get the front sight lined up with the rear sights, and I have to get them pointed at what I want to shoot. I've gotten used to it, but I feel it takes up significant time before I can press the trigger.
The M&P, once I got the correct backstrap on it, indexed about as well as one of my 1911s, which is to say about as perfect as I could ask for. Or, it just fits my hand better. When I brought the 2.0 up to my eye-line, the sights were already lined up (front sight might've been a hair off left or right but essentially centered, virtually no issues with the vertical), making the transition from aiming to pressing the trigger seem a bit more fluid.
Of course, these are all just initial impressions, and those will probably change somewhat as time goes by, but that was a very good first day.
So, if you're still here, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the pics!
Legal notice here: blahblahblahblahblah. Your father was a hamster and your mother smells of elderberries blahblahblah.