Three things of interest for you S&W M&P guys…

[Tangle]

First, the Safariland 560 holster fits the M&P like a glove. I bought the holster for a Glock, and Glock is stamped on the paddle, but it fits a number of pistols. I have a lot of custom holsters and while I like them, I am very impressed with the Safariland 560. It’s reasonably priced, readily available, comfortable, and fast!

I bought mine from Brian Enos. I actually got to talk to him and that was interesting. He is a distributor for Safariland and I felt good about supporting him. If you decide to order one of these from him, be sure to get his book he wrote about shooting; I forget the exact name right now.

Two, I have about 1800 rounds through my M&P 9mm and haven’t been carrying it or shooting it much lately – more about why in a minute. But I decided to take it to my outdoor range and play. We’ve got steel dingers that measure 38” high by 20” wide, but they are tapered over part of the top and bottom so they are narrower at the top and bottom than they are at the mid section. They are located at 75 yards. That size at that range is somewhat like shooting a target at 21 feet that measures 3.5” tall and 1.8" wide. I was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy of the M&P – I wasn’t shooting slowly and I was easily hitting 4 out of 5 and if I slowed down just a bit, I could hit 5 for 5. When I do timed draw and fires on the dingers, I average about 1.75 seconds from buzzer to fire – and I hit the dinger – not every time, but more often than not. If I slow down just a bit, it’s almost 5 for 5.

But that’s not the best part. A newly made friend and son were shooting the new Sig 5.56 rifle and knocked a Dawn detergent bottle over to the dinger I was shooting. This is one of those with the handle, but still smaller than a gallon milk jug. So I think, what the heck, it’s only 225 feet away so I sighted and squeezed. It jumped. Not being wise enough to quit while I was ahead, I fired again and it jumped. Well, hey, there’s a yellow gallon milk jug just in front of the dinger. I fired – it remained. I fired again and it jumped, and again, and again. Then we went down range and I set up the Dawn bottle, the milk jug and a large steel can – probably about a gallon size. I fired five times and got four hits. Needless to say, very, very pleased with the performance of the M&P.

Third, I guess it proves that nothing is perfect. About 6 months ago, I found two JHP SD (self defense) rounds with significant set back in my M&P mag. It was clear what had happened. I had loaded/unloaded these rounds a couple of times and in the process they were slamming into the feed ramp and getting pushed back into the case. I did several tests of full force slide drop chambering using the same round feeding it from a full mag. I measured the length before and after using a good caliper. Two to three chamberings caused significant set back. So I tried the same thing with other brands and while they had some set back, it was no where near as much as the M&P.

So I polished the feed ramp and made some adjustments to the mags and that helped a lot. From that point forward, I started soft chambering to prevent set back and that helped some too. However, after 150 rounds at the range, I notice my SD ammo was hanging on the feed ramp again. And again I measured the top rounds in the mag and they had some set back, but not so serious as before. This really, really bothers me. The M&P is otherwise such a fine gun and as I discovered, quite accurate, but it does tend to beat up JHPs. I am carrying the M&P now, but I’d like to find something to reduce the set back problem.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Bud White]

What ammo is getting setback and areyou sure its just not that brand suffering from weak crimps

I had a setback in winchester 45 JHP on first round loading the other day it was a fresh round only one in the box that did it but ya see what im saying

[Tangle]

The brand is Federal Hydrashok. I could almost accept the problem as a brand problem, but if you lower the slide, the bullet will actually contact the feed ramp and stop, holding the slide open.

I realize just about everybody says drop the slide, but when I drop the slide, I get set back. Plus, I don't experience this problem to this degree with any other gun with the same ammo.

But, I'm more than open to suggestions, so thanks Bud, I'll think I'm gonna buy a new box of Golden Sabres and HydraShoks and try them.

[Bud White]

If its not the brand then its deff a gun problem

[Alien Nation]

Try some 124gr Gold Dot +P HP's. I had a similar problem with a different pistol myself and it stopped once I started using Gold-Dots.

[Janq]

I'd send the gun back to S&W for a review toward the feed ramp angle to be sure it was cut correctly. Include pics along with your measurements of before and after.
As to it's accuracy I've seen same with them in .40 S&W and IMHO that gun is stupid accurate stock out the box especially for the cost of entry.

- Janq is an M&P fan

[eagle5]

Tangle, I've been using Golden Sabers (124gr 9mm) and have had no problems with them in both the fullsize and compact models.

On a side note, I notice we have sorta the same avatar. Would you like me to change mine or are you cool with sharing?

[Tangle]

Jang,
I contacted S&W some time back when I first noticed the prob. They basically said it wasn't a problem and don't chamber the same round more than once.

Plus, I posted this problem on the MP-pistol forum and after they got over the denial stage, several discovered they had the same problem.

But there is the possibility the ramp is cut wrong, but very slight possibility. May be worth the return if S&W will pay for shipping. Otherwise it'd be something like $100 for the round trip.

Eagle5,
I hear ya on the Golden Sabres and I like them. It'd just be nice to have a gun that was not ammo sensitive.

No problem on the avatar; I wouldn't care if it was exactly the same.

[Bud White]

Tangle there isnt a gun made that isnt ammo sensitive they are all one way or the other

Even the supposedly great glock is ammo pick

[Pete]

No problem on the avatar; I wouldn't care if it was exactly the same.

It's the same image but cropped and reversed, the details on the beak are identical.

I get hugely irritated by US flags that are represented the wrong way - blue in top right - so I notice stuff like that.

[Tangle]

Tangle there isnt a gun made that isnt ammo sensitive they are all one way or the other

Even the supposedly great glock is ammo pick

Yeah, I know, but sensitive to simply racking the slide to chamber a round is a bit more sensitive than the normal sensitivities - whatever that means

I guess it means what if the thing chambers a Gold Dot better than any other but is significantly more accurate with HydraShok. I either have to decide on more set back or more accuracy.

[AKsrule]

FYI, every time I unload a semiauto I check the round that was
chambered.

If it is dinged up or the bullet has moved , I either discard that round
or put it in a plastic tub I keep for "range plinking" ammo

Then a new round goes in the gun.

[Sergeant Mac]

Jang,
I contacted S&W some time back when I first noticed the prob. They basically said it wasn't a problem and don't chamber the same round more than once.

Wow. Now, THERE'S some outstanding customer service!

[/sarcasm]

That'd be like taking a new car back to the dealership and telling them that it pulls to the left when you hit the brakes, and them saying, "Well, that's not a problem. Just don't use the brakes."

[Tangle]

Wow. Now, THERE'S some outstanding customer service!

[/sarcasm]

That'd be like taking a new car back to the dealership and telling them that it pulls to the left when you hit the brakes, and them saying, "Well, that's not a problem. Just don't use the brakes."

I know, but according to the SigForum, if you chamber the same round twice in a Sig handgun, Sig will not honor the warranty if the gun is damaged.

[Bud White]

I know, but according to the SigForum, if you chamber the same round twice in a Sig handgun, Sig will not honor the warranty if the gun is damaged.

And tell me just how sig is gonna know?

That some great service there from the supposedly superior sig crowd.. Don't Chamber a round twice or we wont warranty it