Happy Birthday Gift to me: S&W M&P9 2.0

[Rangerrich99]

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.

[Spats McGee]

Congratulations and shoot it in good health!

I've always felt like the original M&P (full sized) was too big for me to carry, while the M&P Compact was just a little too big for what you get (12 rounds). I'm actually pretty excited about the 2.0 Compact. Not that I'm looking for a new pistol, but competition is good.

[SA1911]

Hi Rangerrich99,

Happy Birthday!!!

I appreciate birthday presents from others. But the best presents are the ones we give ourselves.

I gave myself a Springfield Armory 1911-A1 loaded.

I hope you enjoy the heck outta your birthday and your birthday present.

[PP99]

Congrats, enjoy it!
http://www.apextactical.com/blog/ind...r-development/

[Rangerrich99]

Hey thanks guys for the B-day wishes. And I don't know if it came across in my OP, but I had a great time shooting my new gun yesterday.

And I've been looking at that Apex trigger, but I have to say that the stock one is good enough that I'll probably keep it at least until next year sometime. Maybe a gift to myself next September.

[ritepath]

Cool-Aid pool doesn't mean what you think it does...when you buy anything other than Glock you have refused to drink the cool-aid.

True cool-aid glockers refuse to admit there are other handgun manufactures much less actually purchase one.


Like you I load 9's to fit all my pistols, never really tested for accuracy I just want them to feed and hit the plates I point them at. Sometimes I've noticed when I unload a mag at 100 yards I'll get a flyer or two out of a magazine. (I like shooting the 100, 75 and 50yd gongs)

Anyway congrats on the M&P, mine have been awesome guns. Though I did ditch my (c because it just didn't fit in anywhere...just wonky sized, I may be interested in the 2.0 compact if it's any thinner than the 9c was.

[Psychedelic Bang]

This M&P 2.0 is an unbelievable gun. Totally want one lol!! Congrats on yours

[O4L]

Congrats on the new 2.0!

I really want a 5" version for the range and a nightstand gun.

I'm not too sure about the changes with the new Compact. I really liked the first version.

Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

[The Kingfish]

Congratulations on a great new pistol and Happy Birthday

[Rangerrich99]

Originally Posted by ritepath

Cool-Aid pool doesn't mean what you think it does...when you buy anything other than Glock you have refused to drink the cool-aid.

True cool-aid glockers refuse to admit there are other handgun manufactures much less actually purchase one.


Like you I load 9's to fit all my pistols, never really tested for accuracy I just want them to feed and hit the plates I point them at. Sometimes I've noticed when I unload a mag at 100 yards I'll get a flyer or two out of a magazine. (I like shooting the 100, 75 and 50yd gongs)

Anyway congrats on the M&P, mine have been awesome guns. Though I did ditch my (c because it just didn't fit in anywhere...just wonky sized, I may be interested in the 2.0 compact if it's any thinner than the 9c was.

I was speaking of the 'new' Kool-Aid,' that seems to be saying that the M&P 2.0 is the new 'Glock Killer.' Which has nothing to do with why i bought the gun; I just liked how it handled, and how it fit my hand. I just used the phrase tongue-in-cheek for laughs.

As an addendum to my OP, I took the pistol to a training class Saturday, and I have a couple notes to add.

The gun performed flawlessly, firing about 300 rounds over 4 hours. The extra aggressive stippling did start to make the pads on my fingers a little sore towards the end, so I might have to come up with a fix for that when I go to FrontSight in NV middle of next month.

And the problem with the gun not going all the way back into battery that I mentioned in the OP has gone away. So either the cleaning and lubrication or getting broken in from firing over 500 rounds did the trick. I'm really happy with this newest gun so far, and hopefully I'll have many years of happy pew-pewing in my future.

[5whiskey]

Happy birthday Rich. Glad you like your new M&P. I've yet to be tempted by the M&P, however I do want to test fire a 2.0. Well, I do and don't... Don't want to get tempted I guess.

[Rangerrich99]

Okay, so I was going to post some pics in my OP, but for some reason I can't edit that post right now. So I'll post some here instead.

My new toy post cleaning/lube:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kpjae2bnnwuviqz/IMG_1678.JPG?dl=0

Pic of backstrap about to be installed and backstrap pin:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2udhuvq2qg..._1679.JPG?dl=0

Pic of backstrap pin turned for installation/uninstall:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rob3kud3vg..._1680.JPG?dl=0

Pic of a bullseye target. Top right bull was from 10 yards, slow fire. Middle left bull was from 12 yards, slow fire. Lower right bull was from 15 yards, again slow fire. For me, with a brand-new gun that's about as good as I've ever shot right out of the box.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/joo5jux30i..._1647.JPG?dl=0

[Rangerrich99]

Originally Posted by 5whiskey

Happy birthday Rich. Glad you like your new M&P. I've yet to be tempted by the M&P, however I do want to test fire a 2.0. Well, I do and don't... Don't want to get tempted I guess.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, Wheels. If you lived near me I'd gladly let you test-drive mine. If you do get a chance to shoot one, I think you'll like it. It's a pretty nice piece. I can already tell it's going to be a regular for me at the range.

[ifithitu]

Congrats ,happy birthday enjoy shooting your new M&P pistol.