S&W M&P Pro 9 trigger & barrel questions

[GenHouston]

I have a S&W that is somewhat new I noticed out of the box with good quality 155 gr. fmj it shoots about 3.5 low. Thought it might have just been me so put it on a rest. And got the same results. I also don't care for the trigger that is stock. It seems to be mushy and gritty.

My questions are should I send it back because of the accuracy issues or just put a quality aftermarket barrel in it? If changing the barrel is a good answer what brand have people had the best results with?

Question on the trigger is who to get it from? What has the popular experience been with aftermarket triggers?

I'll take any comments or questions. I will say that I have about 300 rounds fired out of this gun and saw a very small improvement in the gritty feeling in the trigger.


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[GenHouston]

Sorry must have fat fingers the grain weight on the bullets is 115


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[Jcawthon]

I have a S&W that is somewhat new I noticed out of the box with good quality 155 gr. fmj it shoots about 3.5 low. Thought it might have just been me so put it on a rest. And got the same results. I also don't care for the trigger that is stock. It seems to be mushy and gritty.

My questions are should I send it back because of the accuracy issues or just put a quality aftermarket barrel in it? If changing the barrel is a good answer what brand have people had the best results with?

Question on the trigger is who to get it from? What has the popular experience been with aftermarket triggers?

I'll take any comments or questions. I will say that I have about 300 rounds fired out of this gun and saw a very small improvement in the gritty feeling in the trigger.


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If it is shooting 3.5" low then you're sights are just off, probably nothing wrong with the barrel.

Also are you lining up the dots on the sights or lining up the top of the sights. Try both and see if one is correct impacting correctly.

Not much of a trigger guy, so hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

[dennishoddy]

My M&P 5" Pro in .40 shot low. It's not uncommon from what I read on the internet with the fixed Novak sights. I ended up getting what may be the last adjustable Dawson rear sight on the planet that I could find anyway for M&P. Had to change to a taller front sight as well.

 

[GenHouston]

If it is shooting 3.5" low then you're sights are just off, probably nothing wrong with the barrel.

Also are you lining up the dots on the sights or lining up the top of the sights. Try both and see if one is correct impacting correctly.

Not much of a trigger guy, so hopefully someone else will chime in.

Neither method works using the dot I am still off by 3.25". Guess I'll have to get an adjustable rear sight and see if I can get dialed in.


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[GenHouston]

My M&P 5" Pro in .40 shot low. It's not uncommon from what I read on the internet with the fixed Novak sights. I ended up getting what may be the last adjustable Dawson rear sight on the planet that I could find anyway for M&P. Had to change to a taller front sight as well.

This is what I was thinking at first.


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[GenHouston]

So is there any advantage to going to an aftermarket barrel other than treading for can's?


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[Matt1911]

Adjustable rear sight and/or shorter front sight will help to get the poi up.
Nothing wrong with the factory barrels from my experience (both .40 and 9 pro models)
If you're gonna suppress, there are several choices from big names in the suppressor world to choose from.

The best trigger you can get is the Apex 3.5 full kit.

 

[Professor]

1) 3.5" from what distance?
2) Is this the newer 2.0 version M&P?
3) I'm assuming it is a 5" which is the most common "Pro". (There were some 4.25 Pro series built)
4) What class do you plan on competing in?
5) What was the "Quality" 115g ammo that you used?

At 20 yards, 3.5" low you would need to drop the front sight height about .035".

The 5" and 4.25" M&Ps have the same rear sight height. If you have a 5", a front sight from a 4.25" should be very close to .035 lower. Warren Sevigny front sights are .190" for the 5" and .165" for the 4.25". I may still have an extra stock 4.25.

I wouldn't change sights to correct to the ammo, unless that is what you plan on shooting. Different guns will change point of impact with different bullet weights and even different bullets in the same weights of different designs and/or manufacturers. Although it shouldn't be 3.5" at 20 yards, it could be quite a bit.


A barrel is usually changed to increase accuracy, instead of change point of aim. There have been plenty of complaints about the 9mm version not performing.

I did some testing with my gun with and without an Apex barrel. This is a good thread and I posted my results on page 3.

http://forums.brianenos.com/index.php?/topic/231134-accuracy-what-would-you-do/


Here is a target I recently shot with the butt of the gun on a bag testing my primary practice/match load and 3 different self defense ammo for point of aim. It was just a quick and dirty test at 10 yards. The circles measure 2" to the outside of the dark outline. The gun is a 5" M&P 9L with an Apex barrel.

 

[Scott Hearn]

Here's some info on the M&P accuracy problem. They seem to be hit or miss, my 9 Pro is just meh and I have the early iteration of barrels. It's not terrible but you won't see me shooting any bullseye matches with it either. If you spring for a barrel, APEX is the only way I would go and fit it per his instructions to the letter. Others may not give you any better accuracy at all, or they might, it's just a crap shoot. With a properly fitted APEX you'll likely have a good shooting gun.

My stock sights are regulated very well for 147s. They are spot on at 7 yards and on again at 50 yards. I hold at 6:00 o'clock on steel and have no issues that aren't me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKz9QarKa80

 

[GenHouston]

Rick I am not sure if it is a 2.0, I know the SKU is 178010 and from what i have read would mean that it was made on January 8, 2017. Distance is at 25 yards and just for information and testing I ran some 147 gr XTP Hornady custom and it is still shooting at about 3 inches low same distance rested. It is the 5" version of the M&P Pro. and I was thinking of using it as a 3 gun pistol. The 115 gr was Speer Lawman. the groups are about 1.7" 5 shoots each but the point of aim is my complaint more than accuracy.

 

[dennishoddy]

Here's some info on the M&P accuracy problem. They seem to be hit or miss, my 9 Pro is just meh and I have the early iteration of barrels. It's not terrible but you won't see me shooting any bullseye matches with it either. If you spring for a barrel, APEX is the only way I would go and fit it per his instructions to the letter. Others may not give you any better accuracy at all, or they might, it's just a crap shoot. With a properly fitted APEX you'll likely have a good shooting gun.

My stock sights are regulated very well for 147s. They are spot on at 7 yards and on again at 50 yards. I hold at 6:00 o'clock on steel and have no issues that aren't me.

If I remember right Apex only makes 9mm barrels, none for .40 unless they have recently.

 

[Scott Hearn]

If I remember right Apex only makes 9mm barrels, none for .40 unless they have recently.

That is correct. I think I've seen him post that .40 will happen. He is also working on a 6" complete upper for the M&P. Now that is some sex right there! Just wish he'd hurry the hell up and do a 5" upper.

 

[Professor]

Rick I am not sure if it is a 2.0, I know the SKU is 178010 and from what i have read would mean that it was made on January 8, 2017. Distance is at 25 yards and just for information and testing I ran some 147 gr XTP Hornady custom and it is still shooting at about 3 inches low same distance rested. It is the 5" version of the M&P Pro. and I was thinking of using it as a 3 gun pistol. The 115 gr was Speer Lawman. the groups are about 1.7" 5 shoots each but the point of aim is my complaint more than accuracy.

That is going to be a non- Gen 2.0. The 5" 2.0s are FDE and have a safety. The stippling has changed is the most noticeable difference when comparing them.
From what I can tell, it has a pretty nice Novak rear sight that is plain black. Since you are getting the same POI with both of those, I would just change the front sight. Measure the one on it now and install one .025-030 shorter. Look closely at the Novak front sight and you may (or not) want to change the blade width.

Verify 3 gun rules, but I think you can change the trigger "lever" itself (exposed part the finger touches). You can in USPSA Limited but cannot in USPSA Production. Apex offers a curved and straight version as part of the Forward Sear Set Kit. The Curved is also offered in a less expensive polymer version. For a drop-in trigger, I really like these. I have all 3 versions of these on various M&Ps and they work very well. The shorter stroke and reset are great. If you do not want to spend that much or cannot swap the trigger lever, the DAEK Duty action enhancement kit is a very good choice. From there you can return the stock trigger spring to reduce the pull slightly. I'm running this kit in one of my production guns with a competition trigger spring and a stock striker spring. I felt the trigger pull was too light with the comp striker spring. I also have some that have custom trigger jobs from 3 different gunsmiths. The ones I prefer came were done by a smith that is no working on them.

If you are getting 1.7" at 25 yards, I wouldn't change the barrel, I don't think is that much to gain on your particular gun.

When I tested various combinations of M&P 9s on a Ransom Rest with stock barrels, I saw 4-7" groups @ 25 yards. The groups tightened up to just over 2" with an Apex barrel, One gun equipped with a dropin Stormlake barrel was 3" while another with a different Stormlake barrel was 5".

 

[Professor]

If I remember right Apex only makes 9mm barrels, none for .40 unless they have recently.

I haven't seen many complaints on the .40 or .45 barrels and I see many praise the accuracy of the .45s. The groups on my .40 and .45 samples are very good although I have mixed results with the .40s fitted with conversion barrels. I'd like to try one of the newly offered Apex 40-9 conversion barrels to compare. But, it is time and money I don't really NEED to spend to only satisfy my curiosity.

 

[GenHouston]

Thanks Rick and all that have given input on this subject it has given me some ideas how to proceed. Rick you are correct as to to rear sight I like the black rear with a fiber front makes target accusation faster for me.


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[Professor]

Thanks Rick and all that have given input on this subject it has given me some ideas how to proceed. Rick you are correct as to to rear sight I like the black rear with a fiber front makes target accusation faster for me.

Here is a link to Dawson's front fiber optic sights. https://dawsonprecision.com/dawson-precision-s-w-m-p-and-m-p-core-fiber-optic-front-sights/
This might come in handy to calculate what the change in front sight height will do. https://dawsonprecision.com/sight-calculator/

 

[J.R. Auwen]

I have a m&p 9l and had a lot of problems with it shooting low I fitted an apex barrel and a Dawson .160 tall front sight and it is like a new gun! Poa/poi are right on at 10yds and 50yrds

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