Smith and Wesson M&P 9 Initial Review

S&W MP 9mm with 17 round magazine

Smith and Wesson Military and Police 9mm and magazine.

I have had this gun for almost a year now, and I have to say I am a Smith fan.
This is a 24 ounce gun unloaded with a 4 3/4 inch barrel, the model that I got is solid black. It has a 17 +1 mag, so in other words the magazine will hold 17 rounds with one in the tube. It is double action only, with a 6 pound trigger and no manual safety. The safety is a trigger safety, not all that different from the Glock in principal. The Glock has a sort of lever that is depressed when your finger is on the trigger, and the Smith's trigger breaks in the middle so that if the bottom half of the trigger is not depressed the gun will not fire.

With the specs out of the way, how do I feel about the gun....I freaking love it. I have put close to 700 rounds through it of all types, from the cheap red box they sell at the range to Hornady anti-socials (critical defense). So far I have not had any malfunctions... it eats anything I put in it like candy! I have however had one issue with it, shortly after I got it the dot in the front site fell out. No, I have not yet tried to contact Smith and Wesson, I have just dealt with it.

The slide is smooth, and the gun is heavy enough that the felt recoil is kept at a minium. At 6 pounds the trigger is not terrible and trigger reset is quite short. The serrations on the rear of the slide are sufficient enough that with wet or gloved hands a power stroke is no problem. The slide release is small and tight to the gun, which makes it difficult to use with gloved hands. The catch for the magazine out of the box is right handed but can be switched. Overall operation is smooth and comfortable.

I do wish that it broke down differently. You have to lock the slide back and pull the sear deactivation lever down. This is a small lever located just under the extractor. It does come with a tool that is located in the butt of the gun to accomplish this. This really makes no difference in the field as you generally dont have to break the gun down on the fly, it is merely personal preference.

I EDC this pistol as my concealed carry weapon, and it is fairly difficult to conceal just due to the size, but I manage with an inside the waist taco style holster. The compact model would surely be better to conceal but in a home defense or SHTF/WROL situation,  this would also be my secondary weapon, carried open with a Blackhawk! SERPA or other kydex holster.

So my initial impression, I would give the gun five stars all the way around with the exception for the front site. I will continue to use it and post another review after I put more rounds down range. Until then I would recommend this pistol to anyone who wants a solid handgun for self defense.



-Mike
 11AUG2012