S&W S&P 9 Performance Center opinions?

C

cobbler

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I am in the market for a quality handgun that will be used primarily for range shooting and home protection. I'm an old fart but new to guns. :) This will be my first purchase and most likely my last though I imagine like most things I get into that could change with the excitement of a new hobby.

I have read a bit about how many who have purchased M&P's end up modifying them with Apex parts etc. I was thinking by going the Performance Center route I could avoid that process so let me qualify that by saying cost is not a factor for me.

Does anyone have experience with the new M&P Performance Center 9's? Also I am wavering between the 4.25" and 5". I intend to put a red dot on it so I am thinking the advantage of the 5" sighting wise would be moot. Would the muzzle rise be noticeably different between the two?

I am interested in hearing your opinions, concerns, and/or recommendations...
 
I own a ported model, and if you are red dotting it and its not a carry gun then YES GET THE 5", why not? It will be more gun in your hand to help with recoil, it will be more barrel to stabilize the shot, ect ect ect...

I have to say you can not go wrong with the Performance center m&P, I have held a few and bought {just recently}, you wont be dissapointed, their pc guns are top notch, a few of my pc revolvers are better than custom modded jobs from some big name builders, I have a 357 vcomp, 357 686 competition, and a 45 625, all 3 were under $1500 each and perform like units costing much much more... The m&p is no different, do not hesitate to pull the trigger on that buy...
 
riflemen said:
I own a ported model, and if you are red dotting it and its not a carry gun then YES GET THE 5", why not? It will be more gun in your hand to help with recoil, it will be more barrel to stabilize the shot, ect ect ect...

I have to say you can not go wrong with the Performance center m&P, I have held a few and bought {just recently}, you wont be dissapointed, their pc guns are top notch, a few of my pc revolvers are better than custom modded jobs from some big name builders, I have a 357 vcomp, 357 686 competition, and a 45 625, all 3 were under $1500 each and perform like units costing much much more... The m&p is no different, do not hesitate to pull the trigger on that buy...
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I have to disagree a bit. Performance Center revolvers and 1911s are one thing. The Performance Center M&P I have was barely better than a stock M&P in terms of trigger. I still went the route of putting APEX parts in it and those are leaps and bounds anything S&W does.

That being said I would recommend for the OP a S&W CORE because it is already milled for a red dot. You can pick the length you want. I have had both the 4.25" and 5" barrel versions of the M&P. I find the 5" a bit more easy to shoot in terms of the sight radius helps my eyesight.
 
I own a 4.25" M&P Pro Series CORE and like it very much. The Performance Center added an Apex sear I'm told and I find it crisper with a quicker reset than the standard trigger.
I'm completely happy with it as shipped. (I did add a Trijicon RMR to it).
 
WOW, I am sorry to hear that you M&P wasnt much better than a factory model, I compared my ported to a factory gun and it is night and day, we checked the trigger pull on the factory gun 9.4, 8.8, 9.1, 9.3 ect I check my pc ported core model and 4.2, 4.2, 4.2, 4.2 lol... thats not a small difference that would go unnoticeable?!?!?!?!?

As I understand it, its a completely different sear with their pc trigger job, the porting is the next difference, while it is louder, the gun is so controllable, its on target so fast for followups, 4 out of the 4 people I let shoot mine bought one of their own, I have never had that happen in all my years of hanging around the range, not once...

I guess we will all have different experiences, I know a friend of mine was amazed at how much change he got out of his beretta 92 custom work {the beretta treatment} and I thought it was a step backwards... Thats why we need to test them out before we buy, like I always say "pull the trigger before you pull the trigger"...


Also if this is going to be your only range/HD gun, maybe look into 1911's..

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=455761278
or if that is out of price range,, this is very nice also, actually what I use for home defense, I own both the recon and the specialist...
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=455809249

Since you are buying one gun for ever, why not buy something that is never going out of style, if you have to sell it someday or hand it down it will always be a 1911.... The M&P, XD's, Glocks, Ect get replaced by new models and drop significantly in parts support, aftermarket support, and most important {to me} Value...

If you go with a higher grade 1911, you have it forever, you will never go to get a spring, pin, sear, ect and have to search around to find the part you need, you will have the choice of hundreds...

The are really nice range guns, most any smith knows them in and out, they are an all metal easy to care for reliable firearm... Cost is more but you will most likely shoot them better than anything else, trigger pull is better, weight is better, and 45acp is a good all around round, target, defense, soft shooting for good follow ups..

Just something to think about... I own both mp and 1911's and they are both great guns...
 
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riflemen said:
WOW, I am sorry to hear that you M&P wasnt much better than a factory model, I compared my ported to a factory gun and it is night and day, we checked the trigger pull on the factory gun 9.4, 8.8, 9.1, 9.3 ect I check my pc ported core model and 4.2, 4.2, 4.2, 4.2 lol... thats not a small difference that would go unnoticeable?!?!?!?!?

As I understand it, its a completely different sear with their pc trigger job, the porting is the next difference, while it is louder, the gun is so controllable, its on target so fast for followups, 4 out of the 4 people I let shoot mine bought one of their own, I have never had that happen in all my years of hanging around the range, not once...

I guess we will all have different experiences, I know a friend of mine was amazed at how much change he got out of his beretta 92 custom work {the beretta treatment} and I thought it was a step backwards... Thats why we need to test them out before we buy, like I always say "pull the trigger before you pull the trigger"...


Also if this is going to be your only range/HD gun, maybe look into 1911's..

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=455761278
or if that is out of price range,, this is very nice also, actually what I use for home defense, I own both the recon and the specialist...
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=455809249

Since you are buying one gun for ever, why not buy something that is never going out of style, if you have to sell it someday or hand it down it will always be a 1911.... The M&P, XD's, Glocks, Ect get replaced by new models and drop significantly in parts support, aftermarket support, and most important {to me} Value...

If you go with a higher grade 1911, you have it forever, you will never go to get a spring, pin, sear, ect and have to search around to find the part you need, you will have the choice of hundreds...

The are really nice range guns, most any smith knows them in and out, they are an all metal easy to care for reliable firearm... Cost is more but you will most likely shoot them better than anything else, trigger pull is better, weight is better, and 45acp is a good all around round, target, defense, soft shooting for good follow ups..

Just something to think about... I own both mp and 1911's and they are both great guns...
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10 lb. trigger sounds like you had a MA compliant model. I have never seen an M&P that came from the Performance Center with porting. Most of the PC box guns are just the PC trigger. Did you send it in?

Edit: ah I see they released those late this past September.
 
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I think you got a pro model{I believe they were called pros} from the pc, mine is the ported PC model...

The lightest trigger on a factory mp I ever seen was the pro models and they were still over 7.5, the PC guns come with a different setup, it uses aftermarket parts in some cases...

heres some links for you to look at..

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=455253867

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_750001_750051_757896_-1_Y

in the sw link above hit play, video shows you the differences, in the new performance center guns...

When I spoke with SW before buying mine {these are new for 14} he told me I would love the gun more than my 954, which I do, but not because it shoots better, the 954 is one of the only SHOOTERS that can only come close to my p210's and X-5 and 6's, BUT them guns were twice the price, and I don't even shoot them much since I discovered how accurate 38 super in a 6" 1911 is!!!!!


List price is $812 on the ported 5" guns, and I can not think of a better option that you can buy and bolt on a sight, then go to the range and look like a pro shooter... I used mine a few sessions ago in front of some of the yoounger members at one of my clubs and they were all thinking I am some kind of great shooter, lol.. All you could hear was fast repetitive pop, ding, pop, ding, pop, ding, they all came to investigate, little did they know if they had a gun with a red dot they could do the same thing, lol...
 
I've made up my mind. It's the new 2014 M&P 9 Performance Center 5". I have seen them available for just over $700 so with a red dot I can have a reasonably nice gun for my meager needs at under 12 bills. They do look pretty cool too. :)
 
Good choice, I like mine a lot and you are right for the money, I can not think of a better target gun....

When shopping for a sight, look into the burris fast fires...
10735026_1503614933232861_539377543_n.jpg
 
Yah they are, IMO a sight worth as much as the gun? Unless its a 50mm nightforce scope on a $2000 bolt gun, I don't think it makes sense, lol.. Fastfires are available for around $180 vs $500+ for the trijicon, leupold, ect...
 
I've made up my mind. It's the new 2014 M&P 9 Performance Center 5". I have seen them available for just over $700 so with a red dot I can have a reasonably nice gun for my meager needs at under 12 bills. They do look pretty cool too.
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Remember, just be sure to get a CORE model so it is already milled for the red dot.

The lightest trigger on a factory mp I ever seen was the pro models and they were still over 7.5, the PC guns come with a different setup, it uses aftermarket parts in some cases...
Click to expand...

I've owned 6 M&Ps. The latest ones I got were a 5" Pro and a Compact model. The Compact came in at about 6.5 lb. on the trigger and the Pro at 6 lb. on the trigger as measured by a Lyman digital gauge. To me they're not in the same league as they can be with APEX parts.
 
Yes as Fire said the Pro is not the Performance center ported model, different guns... The pc gun is ready out of the box, if you change something its because you want to not because you need to...
 
I kind of like the Trijicon RMR RM07 but holy smokes are they expensive!
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Check out all the options...I have a Leupold Delta Point on my CORE and you cannot adjust elevation when mounted due to a conflict between the mechanism and the rear sight...

I still have 8 M&P's and have owned others, and I really like them, but my VP-9's have left them sitting on the shelf for the most par of late...
 
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