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knkali
08-30-2013, 09:48 PM
I recently purchased a S&W MP 9 mm with BladeTech Holster, TruGlo sights and Aimpro M3 Red Dot sight.

First the S&W MP 9 mm:
http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc402/kahrp40/1377912393238.jpg (http://s1210.photobucket.com/user/kahrp40/media/1377912393238.jpg.html)
The S&W has had a solid reputation and I think that this is well deserved. The gun feels great in the hand. The finish is very good, it points well and I like the deep tang. The ergonomics for slide release, mag release are perfectly placed IMHO, and if needed, the gun has a few easily changeable back straps for a more custom fit. Furthermore, there are no external safeties to fumble with under high stress scenarios. My wife has an older model and the biggest downside was the trigger. The reset was undetectable and very long. Many guys were changing out the trig with an Apex kit to solve this. I was told that S&W listened to their customers and redesigned the trig on the newer models. I am here to say that is TRUE. The new trig is far better than the old one. I verified this with my wife's 9mm and I am very happy with this trigger. The reset is detectable, and reasonable in length. The trigger slack is easily reeled up and the trigger does not have a big load up until it breaks. The break is clean and crisp. The trigger does feel a little gritty but I think a few hundred more rounds through it and some lube and it will improve. I know my wife's old one did. I am told that trig kit is not doable with the newer models since the factory made some changes so this is no longer an option. I am not sure if that is true though. The negatives of this gun is the weight. It is a little heavy than the Glock. I don't know why, but I will make that trade for a domestically fabricated and owned company gun with 17+1 firepower. The other negative is that it is a little harder to clean. It is easy to field strip but the nooks and crannies are much more available to get gunky compared to our Kahrs. As advertised, this gun is ready out of the box. 200 rnds right out of the box without an initial cleaning and lube--all without a hiccup.

I did replace the sights before I even took possession with the TruGlos. They are tritium/ fiber optics and IMHO worth every penny. They are bright during the day and very bright at night as well. In fact, I think the night sight of the TruGlo is better than Mepro. My .45 came with Mepro and have switched them out for these TruGlos. The FO pieces are well protected in their casing so I feel they will hold up well under hard use.
http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc402/kahrp40/1377913458982.jpg (http://s1210.photobucket.com/user/kahrp40/media/1377913458982.jpg.html)

I went with the BladeTech 9/40 holster. I am a PJ Holster fan but needed something quick for today's class. I am glad I bought this holster. It is made in the USA and has an FBI cant. It fits well and had a slight wrap around to it which allows it to snug up to the body well. It is lightweight and if you look at the pics, you will see a bulge at the 12:00 position next to the tang( could not rotate pic sorry). That bulge makes it ready for a Crimson Trace laser grip if you should choose which I thought was a nice thing they thought of. The bulge looks higher up on the slide in the pic than in real life. I would have liked a high-rise holster for more conceal ability and will consider this in the future. I think PJ could make the holster more minimal but the wrap on the Bladetech is something I think would be hard for PJ to duplicate. I tried to show the wrap with a pic but the shadows made it hard to see so I did not include it.
http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc402/kahrp40/1377912223492.jpg (http://s1210.photobucket.com/user/kahrp40/media/1377912223492.jpg.html)
http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc402/kahrp40/1377912322908.jpg (http://s1210.photobucket.com/user/kahrp40/media/1377912322908.jpg.html)

Lastly, I bought an Aimpoint M3 Red Dot sight for my Remmy 870. My wife will be taking this with her to Alaska and she felt that a Red Dot would be better for her than the ghost rig set up. I got a great deal on it so I bought one. Aimpoint is $$ but I had a problem with their sight on my AR and their customer service was so good I will always support them. I wish that they were an American company but when they shipped me a new sight over night without receiving the defective one first, I thought that is what I paid for. Great CS. NO hassle, no send it back and let us fix it. I like the Micro series better. I think it is less cumbersome than the M3 but both the Micro and M series are battle proven and I am not as worried about a high end optic falling apart under the recoil of a shotty shooting slugs. Aimpoint's claim of 50,000 hours with the sight on is a bit over rated in my opinion. I tested that with my Micro H1 on my AR and got about 2.5 weeks at 75% power. The M3 literature makes the claim that at level 7 it will last 50K hours. I bet it doesn't.
http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc402/kahrp40/1377912484083.jpg (http://s1210.photobucket.com/user/kahrp40/media/1377912484083.jpg.html)

Hope this stuff is helpful. Thanks for listening.

warbird1
08-30-2013, 09:53 PM
They are indeed fine weapons. I have a 45c.

otium
08-30-2013, 11:28 PM
Have a fairly recently made mp9c and I like it, too.

My most significant complaint with them is the complete lack of extra magazines after the purchase. I also found it's trigger was very gritty right from the get go.

Suppose it would have worked itself out in X number of rounds due to wear, or I suppose some mag polish might do it, but that voids your lifetime warranty by doing any polishing unless you purchase an extra part to put back in if you need to send it in.

So I opted to put in the apex USB and that cleaned that grittiness right up. The factory installed USB is definitely not the best design since the curve on it is very short, steep and rough.

Have wondered if needing the apex parts might be by design or at least some kind of relationship there. Certainly a quick way to get some significant extra dough out of an owner when S&W could easily manufacture these few parts to make their pistol's trigger great out of the box with very little extra cost.

knkali
08-31-2013, 11:57 AM
Have a fairly recently made mp9c and I like it, too.

My most significant complaint with them is the complete lack of extra magazines after the purchase. I also found it's trigger was very gritty right from the get go.

Suppose it would have worked itself out in X number of rounds due to wear, or I suppose some mag polish might do it, but that voids your lifetime warranty by doing any polishing unless you purchase an extra part to put back in if you need to send it in.

So I opted to put in the apex USB and that cleaned that grittiness right up. The factory installed USB is definitely not the best design since the curve on it is very short, steep and rough.

Have wondered if needing the apex parts might be by design or at least some kind of relationship there. Certainly a quick way to get some significant extra dough out of an owner when S&W could easily manufacture these few parts to make their pistol's trigger great out of the box with very little extra cost.

Yes extra 17 rnd mags are very hard to find. If you do find some, please let me know.

Thanks

xsailer
08-31-2013, 12:39 PM
My trigger was gritty and changed it out with Apex. All good now. I wonder if S&W reimburses those that changed to a "GOOD" trigger feel? (Ha)

btw Make date is early 2013

nuke
08-31-2013, 01:47 PM
I fired an M&P Shield 9 last weekend and I loved it, especially the 17 rd mags except the model I rented had the thumb safety which I kept accidentally flipping on. I'll certainly pick one up without the safety. It felt great and the extra weight is meaningless as it wouldn't be a carry gun for me.

Nice report.

garyb
08-31-2013, 02:14 PM
Gotta agre with you knkali. I've got the new M&P40PRO and the M&P22LR. Great guns. Triggers, grip, etc...all very consistent, although the PRO is longer barrel. Put Dawson front sights on them both. Had to put a shorter front sight on my PRO because it was shooting low out of the box. Used Dawson's calculator to determine the correct sight height based on how low it was shooting and problem corrected. Beautiful guns and they are why I am anxious to get my hands on the new Shield (once they correct that trigger problem they are having).

I also noted that my triggers were a little gritty, but have already started to smooth out. I use the PRO for IDPA (Comp-tac IDPA competition holster and mag pouches), so it gets some use. I picked up 3 extra 10 rd mags for it (for a total of 5). The 22 is a companion gun for training (without worrying about picking up brass), but ammo has been hard to come by, so I take it when I take my nephew squirrel hunting.

M&P is a GREAT gun. Best of luck with yours.

garyb
08-31-2013, 02:18 PM
I fired an M&P Shield 9 last weekend and I loved it, especially the 17 rd mags except the model I rented had the thumb safety which I kept accidentally flipping on. I'll certainly pick one up without the safety. It felt great and the extra weight is meaningless as it wouldn't be a carry gun for me.

Nice report.

I did not know Shields came with 17rd mags or without the safety? You sure.??????

otium
08-31-2013, 05:20 PM
Yes extra 17 rnd mags are very hard to find. If you do find some, please let me know.

Thanks

17'ers are impossible to find legally in Colorado now after the demtard-bloomski gang did their nanny state end run which has gone in to effect from their last sham of a legislative session. So at this point I am not actively looking for them until that law changes.

When I did see them before they were going for well over $100 each and most times even more than that...

If I do run across some 17ers, I'll try to remember to throw up a note so at least someone from a much more free state can get them and put them to good use.

knkali
08-31-2013, 07:23 PM
17'ers are impossible to find legally in Colorado now after the demtard-bloomski gang did their nanny state end run which has gone in to effect from their last sham of a legislative session. So at this point I am not actively looking for them until that law changes.

When I did see them before they were going for well over $100 each and most times even more than that...

If I do run across some 17ers, I'll try to remember to throw up a note so at least someone from a much more free state can get them and put them to good use.
thanks, I need part kits for when the OEM 2 17 rnd mags need rebuilding.

LorenzoB
08-31-2013, 08:50 PM
Thanks for the detailed review! That is great to hear about the trigger. I never bought one because of that. I did consider the Apex, but the total cost was a bit of a turn off with so many other guns out there to buy. Maybe it's time to check them out again.

nuke
08-31-2013, 09:27 PM
I did not know Shields came with 17rd mags or without the safety? You sure.??????

Here's the M&P9 with no safety and 17 + 1. Close enough...: http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_770005_-1_757954_757781_757781_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y