My M&P malfunction, continued...

[lovemachine]

A while back, I posted about the FTE malfunction on my M&P9c. https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/161651-m_and_p_malfunction.html

I tried different brands of ammo, tried different ways of cleaning the extractor. No luck. And the FTE's were starting to occur more frequent. I considered buying the Apex extractor, but I didn't feel comfortable breaking down the gun that far apart myself. Never done it before, and I really didn't want to spend the money to do it.

So, I called S&W. They emailed me a FedEx shipping label before I even hung up the phone. They said it would take 3 weeks to fix it. Crap, but I sent them my gun.

A week and a half later, FedEx delivered the gun back to me. A note from S&W explaining to me they replaced the Extractor and spring. And it's been test fired.

I brought it to my range at my dad's, and fired 100 rounds thru it. No FTE's.
So, I plan on putting a few hundred rounds thru it this weekend. And, if all goes well, I'll be carrying it once again. I'm pretty sure it's fixed, but I want to make sure.

 

[DustyDawg48]

I hope it's fixed. I really like the M&P autos but I own 2 and have had issues with both. They are the only gun that I've shot that will give my Glocks an honest run for their money in just about every category. Let us know how the 2nd field test goes!

 

[shooter521]

S&W has always given us very good customer service on the occasions we've had to use it.

to them!

 

[mjrducky]

A while back, I posted about the FTE malfunction on my M&P9c. https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/161651-m_and_p_malfunction.html

I tried different brands of ammo, tried different ways of cleaning the extractor. No luck. And the FTE's were starting to occur more frequent. I considered buying the Apex extractor, but I didn't feel comfortable breaking down the gun that far apart myself. Never done it before, and I really didn't want to spend the money to do it.

I guess you were meant to keep your Glock.

+1 for S&W customer service and for getting it fixed. Even more for not trying it yourself when you didn't feel comfortable doing it, as it's easy to make things worse sometimes.

 

[lovemachine]

I guess you were meant to keep your Glock.

+1 for S&W customer service and for getting it fixed. Even more for not trying it yourself when you didn't feel comfortable doing it, as it's easy to make things worse sometimes.

HA! You know you wanna shoot my M&P

I DID keep the better Glock though, my G19.

 

[Phil502]

I had some trouble with mine when I first got it. They changed the guide rod plug. Never failed again yet. I might get some trigger work done on it though, it's not until I got a 1911 that I realized how great a trigger could be.

 

[jgreiner]

I hope it's fixed. I really like the M&P autos but I own 2 and have had issues with both. They are the only gun that I've shot that will give my Glocks an honest run for their money in just about every category. Let us know how the 2nd field test goes!

Really? I have 2400 rounds down the pipe of my MP Pro 9mm.......and only had FTE issues with a bad magazine. Once I took the magazine apart and cleaned it, all the feed issues stopped. The other 3 mags were all feeding well even during the FTE issue.

 

[HICKMAN]

glad to hear they got you fixed up. I think the extractor thing is pretty common and know Apex sells a "failure resistant extractor". If you plan to make this a carry gun, it would probably be worth the $44 to get one.

 

[DustyDawg48]

Really? I have 2400 rounds down the pipe of my MP Pro 9mm.......and only had FTE issues with a bad magazine. Once I took the magazine apart and cleaned it, all the feed issues stopped. The other 3 mags were all feeding well even during the FTE issue.

It has been a bit of an adventure. First, I really like the M&P autos; I actually prefer the M&P9's fit over the Glock 17/19 and the M&P45 gives my beloved Glock 21 a challenge for Favorite Gun

But, my M&P9 Pro 4.25" about a week after I bought it developed a slight bit of rust on the top of the slide. I sent it to Smith and they replaced the slide. I bought a knock-off of a Raven Phantom and after a while the finish on one side of the slide was completely worn off and there was rust forming on the slide; it was actually streaked with rust. It went back to Smith again and the new slide looks different but when I holster it I can see lines where it rubs the top of the slide. Function wise the gun has been flawless. I took a 2-day Combat Focus Shooting class and pumped 1100 rounds through it and did nothing but lube it at the beginning of each day. It ran like a top. I'm holding out looking for a new holster that doesn't make quite as much contact with the slide like my current holster does.

My other issue came with my M&P45. I traded for it and it was an older model of M&P, MRP serial number, and the thing would not feed an entire 10-round magazine without at least 5 or 6 failure to feeds. My father-in-law and I kept bouncing ideas back and forth and finally determined that the extractor was so sharp on one end that it was actually digging into the brass of the cartridge and then binding the gun up. I took some 400 grit sandpaper and massaged the extractor and the side of the slide and the front of the striker channel and the thing feeds like a champ. Now my problem is that at 10 yards it's about 12" low. I can chalk a few of those up to me switching from one style gun to another and the whole POA/POI stuff but a few other shooters were having the same issue of it being incredibly low. I'm probably going to replace the front sight with a much shorter one and see if that doesn't help matters.

I don't want this to seem like an M&P bashing post because it isn't. I really like the M&P line of autos and I will probably add more to the collection, these have just been my experiences with my 2 and I realize that everybody could/can have any issue with any gun. I'll be shooting my M&P9 Pro this Saturday at my monthly IDPA match

 

[Bob45]

Love my 9c, Havent had any problems yet. Id like to find out what problems are coomon, and see which APEX parts minimize these failures. It would be worth the money for the peace of mind in a carry gun

 

[jgreiner]

It has been a bit of an adventure. First, I really like the M&P autos; I actually prefer the M&P9's fit over the Glock 17/19 and the M&P45 gives my beloved Glock 21 a challenge for Favorite Gun

But, my M&P9 Pro 4.25" about a week after I bought it developed a slight bit of rust on the top of the slide. I sent it to Smith and they replaced the slide. I bought a knock-off of a Raven Phantom and after a while the finish on one side of the slide was completely worn off and there was rust forming on the slide; it was actually streaked with rust. It went back to Smith again and the new slide looks different but when I holster it I can see lines where it rubs the top of the slide. Function wise the gun has been flawless. I took a 2-day Combat Focus Shooting class and pumped 1100 rounds through it and did nothing but lube it at the beginning of each day. It ran like a top. I'm holding out looking for a new holster that doesn't make quite as much contact with the slide like my current holster does.

My other issue came with my M&P45. I traded for it and it was an older model of M&P, MRP serial number, and the thing would not feed an entire 10-round magazine without at least 5 or 6 failure to feeds. My father-in-law and I kept bouncing ideas back and forth and finally determined that the extractor was so sharp on one end that it was actually digging into the brass of the cartridge and then binding the gun up. I took some 400 grit sandpaper and massaged the extractor and the side of the slide and the front of the striker channel and the thing feeds like a champ. Now my problem is that at 10 yards it's about 12" low. I can chalk a few of those up to me switching from one style gun to another and the whole POA/POI stuff but a few other shooters were having the same issue of it being incredibly low. I'm probably going to replace the front sight with a much shorter one and see if that doesn't help matters.

I don't want this to seem like an M&P bashing post because it isn't. I really like the M&P line of autos and I will probably add more to the collection, these have just been my experiences with my 2 and I realize that everybody could/can have any issue with any gun. I'll be shooting my M&P9 Pro this Saturday at my monthly IDPA match

Wow. I haven't had any of those issues (like I stated, a dirty mag was my problem). I use a leather holster for carry and have zero wear marks on my MP.

One thing I learned the hard way, is that some cleaning solvents (Hoppes) can dull the brightness of the fiber optic front site, but replacing that was a simple fix (2 minutes with a lighter, nail clippers, and replacement rod).

One thing that does bother me a bit about the MP's...is the extractor. When you field strip em, you have to be careful when reassembling...so that you don't ram the slide into the ejector. I can see that being a problem.

 

[HandK]

Congrats, glad to hear S&W stepped up and fixed it fast!

 

[DustyDawg48]

Wow. I haven't had any of those issues (like I stated, a dirty mag was my problem). I use a leather holster for carry and have zero wear marks on my MP.

One thing I learned the hard way, is that some cleaning solvents (Hoppes) can dull the brightness of the fiber optic front site, but replacing that was a simple fix (2 minutes with a lighter, nail clippers, and replacement rod).

One thing that does bother me a bit about the MP's...is the extractor. When you field strip em, you have to be careful when reassembling...so that you don't ram the slide into the ejector. I can see that being a problem.

It's odd that one gun has been flawless but has finish issues and the one gun that has reliability issues doesn't have the finish issues. I know why the guy traded me his M&P45 was due to the feed problems but it cost me all of 30 minutes of my time and 1 strip of 400 grit paper and I was in business. I think I got the better end of the deal since I do really like that gun; I'll do a bit of doctoring and get that front sight down to where I want it and I think I'll have a 100% shooter in that gun.

In a bit of 'sour grapes' maybe, the holster that I use for my M&P pistols...the Glock Sport/Combat holster. They fit like a glove but it is like it is mad and is causing wear on the Smiths in a fit of jealousy! I'm thinking a good Blade-Tech will take care of that problem no worries at all.

I know what you mean about the ejector; I've rammed mine on both of mine but no issues so far.

 

[HICKMAN]

Congrats, glad to hear S&W stepped up and fixed it fast!

question should be, why haven't they changed the part before the gun is sold?

Shouldn't have to send it in or buy third party, it's a well-documented, known issue.

My dad has an M&P40 as his carry gun and don't want him to have to worry about this.

 

[lovemachine]

question should be, why haven't they changed the part before the gun is sold?

Shouldn't have to send it in or buy third party, it's a well-documented, known issue.

My dad has an M&P40 as his carry gun and don't want him to have to worry about this.

From what I've read, LOTS of guys never have problems with theirs.
So I've no idea.

I will say, last night, when I racked the slide, the round wouldn't chamber. So I had to release the mag, and rack the slide again to eject the round.
It happened twice, so I don't know if it was the way I racked the slide, or if it just needs to be cleaned.

My plan is to clean it, and go shoot it again,

 

[IndyGunner]

I guess you were meant to keep your Glock.

 

[dom1104]

<-- no problems 1000s of rounds.

 

[Kedric]

Yay for them taking care of you, and much quicker than they said it would take. Hopefully it functions as it should for you now.

Dusty is just making things tough for me to decide between the M&P45 and the G21 I have been eyeballing. Curse you! Some day I will have to head someplace with a larger dealer and do a side-by-side of the G21, M&P, FNP-45, and the USP.

 

[lovemachine]

Yay for them taking care of you, and much quicker than they said it would take. Hopefully it functions as it should for you now.

Dusty is just making things tough for me to decide between the M&P45 and the G21 I have been eyeballing. Curse you! Some day I will have to head someplace with a larger dealer and do a side-by-side of the G21, M&P, FNP-45, and the USP.

I can help you with that. I sold my Glock 21 to get my M&P9c. I have shot the M&P45, and the grip on it was MUCH better than the Glock 21, and I LOVED that G21.

I'm a Glock guy, but between those 2, I'd choose the M&P45.

 

[Kedric]

I can help you with that. I sold my Glock 21 to get my M&P9c. I have shot the M&P45, and the grip on it was MUCH better than the Glock 21, and I LOVED that G21.

I'm a Glock guy, but between those 2, I'd choose the M&P45.

Awesome, thanks