# I have a new friend



## SouthernBoy (Jun 27, 2007)

I posted this on another gun website and thought y'all might find it informative. I bought the gun two days ago.

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A new friend followed me home this morning from a local gun store. An M&P 9 M2.0 Compact, without the externally settable safety of course. Looks like a winner and it will see the range later this week.

*Followup*

The gun does have a factory defect, much to my chagrin. The magazine does not drop free with the normal M&P force when the magazine catch is depressed. This is something I always check out when examining a new gun but I obviously didn't do it yesterday. It drops down slightly less than half an inch and they you have to pull it out with your support hand. Not good when running reload drills. I will be going by the gun store tomorrow for something else and I will take this gun along to let them see it. I suspect I will have to return it to Smith & Wesson for the fix. Bummer.

I have spent some time examining it to see if the problem is obvious, which it is not. I have compared it to my M&P 9 Pro Series 4.25" just to see if there was anything that stood out, which there wasn't. All of my other M&P pistols eject their magazines with vigor, much more so that any of my Glocks, so this is most unusual and distressing.

Add to this the fact that I went to a local gun show this morning and there were three M2.0 Compacts on one vendor's table: two 9mm (one with the external safety which I definitely do not want) and one in .40S&W. All three ejected their magazines as one would expect. And to top it off, the prices were significantly less that I paid yesterday (please, no tomatoes or lettuce thrown at me for my ignorance).

Oh well, I trust that all will be fixed and right in the land of Smith and Wesson and I'll have a superb shooter.

*More followup*

The aforementioned problem with the magazines failing to eject is now history. Over the weekend I spent several hours trying to determine the cause of the problem by comparing this new gun to one of my other 9mm M&P's and it became rather obvious that the problem was due to a ridge or seam that runs horizontal in the middle of the grip, apparently the result of the mold junction. That seam was raised a few thousands of an inch on all four sides and was putting pressure on the hip of the magazines. I took the gun back to the gun store where I bought it this morning and they saw the same thing. Using a knife, one of the fellows worked that seam down on two sides. When I got home, I worked on it some more and now I am very happy to report that all is well. The magazines eject with some authority and the gun is now ready to be put through reloading drills.

*Afternoon update*

I did a little more work on the mag well this afternoon and now the magazines eject like any other of my centerfile M&Ps, which is to say with a fair amount of vigor and force.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Don't feel bad - the only S&W semi-auto I own required a good deal of study and tinkering to make it an outstanding subcompact pistol. S&W has probably made a business decision that it is cost effective to save a hundred bucks per gun on QC to remain competitively priced. Actually, it was probably a good business call, because the majority of their customers will like the guns and spend a little time and money turning them into great pistols.

And...we have all bought guns and found them cheaper somewhere else.


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## SouthernBoy (Jun 27, 2007)

Bisley said:


> Don't feel bad - the only S&W semi-auto I own required a good deal of study and tinkering to make it an outstanding subcompact pistol. S&W has probably made a business decision that it is cost effective to save a hundred bucks per gun on QC to remain competitively priced. Actually, it was probably a good business call, because the majority of their customers will like the guns and spend a little time and money turning them into great pistols.
> 
> And...we have all bought guns and found them cheaper somewhere else.


This makes my ninth M&P pistol and I have two M&P rifles. All have been fine, albeit the use of Apex Tactical trigger components made them that much better... except for this new M2.0 Compact. I won't be modifying its trigger as it is already pretty darned good.


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## tjkarch60 (Jul 14, 2017)

I have two full size M&Ps, one in 40 and one in 9mm. The 40 ejected the magazines with vigor and the mag release button was easy to push and moved freely.
The mag release button on my 9mm wasn't nearly as easy to push and kind of mushy. I pulled the release out of the frame and used some rolled up sandpaper, 220grit, and worked on the frame where the release button went. Now the release button is just like my 40 and the magazine released with vigor and the release button moves easily and freely. 
At least with poly frames you don't have to worry about reblueing after some minor gunsmithing.


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## SouthernBoy (Jun 27, 2007)

tjkarch60 said:


> I have two full size M&Ps, one in 40 and one in 9mm. The 40 ejected the magazines with vigor and the mag release button was easy to push and moved freely.
> The mag release button on my 9mm wasn't nearly as easy to push and kind of mushy. I pulled the release out of the frame and used some rolled up sandpaper, 220grit, and worked on the frame where the release button went. Now the release button is just like my 40 and the magazine released with vigor and the release button moves easily and freely.
> At least with poly frames you don't have to worry about reblueing after some minor gunsmithing.


My first M&P purchase was my M&P 40 with the 4.25" barrel. Loved it then and still love it now. The only mod it has received was the Apex Tactical USB (Ultimate Safety Block). My second M&P purchase was my M&P 9 Pro Series, also with the 4.25" barrel. It also received the Apex USB.


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## SouthernBoy (Jun 27, 2007)

*Range Report*

I hit the range this morning and put my new M&P9 M2.0 Compact through a few drills. Here are my impressions.

I shoot the gun low but it could be more me than the gun. The groups were tight with some having multiple entries through the same holes (no more than seven yards out). I do most of my shooting at defensive distances which range from nine to fifteen feet, with an average of twelve feet.

Trigger is nice and I will not be modifying it. The reset is much improved over previous models and the break is more crisp with much less over-travel.

What I noticed immediately with the first five rounds was that the gun delivers more of a push in the hand than a snap, which is more common with most 9mm pistols. As a comparison, I took along my gen4 Glock 19. There's a very noticeable drop in felt recoil, too (yes, I know that the 9mm caliber is not a hard recoiling round). In other words, the gun felt like I was shooting a lower powered caliber. With the "push" sensation, there is almost no muzzle rise and the gun returns quickly to point of aim.

Even with the very aggressive texture of the grip, the gun was exceedingly comfortable to shoot. You just find yourself wanting to shoot it more. This is a good thing.

Finally, not one hiccup of any kind whatsoever. I only took one type of ammunition but my impression is that this gun will feed and shoot anything you give it. I'll put other rounds through it later.

In conclusion, this is a definite winner from Smith & Wesson. And they can be had for under $450. For those with even a smidgen of a desire to get one, I'd say run, don't walk, to your favorite gun store or gun show and take one home. I seriously doubt you will regret this decision.


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## TheReaper (Nov 14, 2008)

The M&P .40 in my avatar will drop the mag when empty and chamber a round when the new mag is inserted. I bought it new in 2006, S&W offered 
to fix the problem and I declined their offer.


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## Blackhawkman (Apr 9, 2014)

TheReaper said:


> The M&P .40 in my avatar will drop the mag when empty and chamber a round when the new mag is inserted. I bought it new in 2006, S&W offered
> to fix the problem and I declined their offer.


Hmmm......for shame

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bluewave (Mar 29, 2016)

Good report! I'm returning a new Sig P320 that I discovered had not been upgraded although the dealer said it had. The S & W M & P 2.0 is one I had considered. Will take a closer look tomorrow! Thanks!


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

TheReaper said:


> The M&P .40 in my avatar will drop the mag when empty and chamber a round when the new mag is inserted. I bought it new in 2006, S&W offered
> to fix the problem and I declined their offer.


Several European made handguns over the years had Auto-Forward feature where if you slammed in a new mag fairly hard, the slide would release and chamber a round. The first time it happened was back in the late 1970s on my then new Sig P220. I thought it was a failure in the firearm, but my gunsmith pointed out a white paper from Browning, the importer, that it was called Auto Forwarding. I actually like it a lot. If you slip the mag in normally, the slide stays open. Put some force to it and it chambers a round. Later, I read about other pistols having it, but can't remember which. I don't even know if new P220 Sigs still do it. Mine still does. I'd love if all mine did that, actually. You have to train for it but it's fast.


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## berettatoter (Sep 1, 2011)

Craigh said:


> Several European made handguns over the years had Auto-Forward feature where if you slammed in a new mag fairly hard, the slide would release and chamber a round. The first time it happened was back in the late 1970s on my then new Sig P220. I thought it was a failure in the firearm, but my gunsmith pointed out a white paper from Browning, the importer, that it was called Auto Forwarding. I actually like it a lot. If you slip the mag in normally, the slide stays open. Put some force to it and it chambers a round. Later, I read about other pistols having it, but can't remember which. I don't even know if new P220 Sigs still do it. Mine still does. I'd love if all mine did that, actually. You have to train for it but it's fast.


Hmmm...never heard of that. :smt1099


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

berettatoter said:


> Hmmm...never heard of that. :smt1099


Quite honestly, I don't know how many do it on purpose and how many do it just from banging the mag in hard, jarring the mag release from it's small purchase on the slide. I've read different accounts, but back then, the Browning 45 BDA which was a Sig P220 claimed it as a feature. So, who knows, but if you Google it, there is quite a bit of info on both sides of the issue.


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## berettatoter (Sep 1, 2011)

Craigh said:


> Quite honestly, I don't know how many do it on purpose and how many do it just from banging the mag in hard, jarring the mag release from it's small purchase on the slide. I've read different accounts, but back then, the Browning 45 BDA which was a Sig P220 claimed it as a feature. So, who knows, but if you Google it, there is quite a bit of info on both sides of the issue.


I'm not doubting you, just never heard of it before.


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