M&P 45 Thoughts?

[TheRoland]

Anyone running a Full Size M&P 45 and like it? I'm thinking about getting one to compete in IDPA CDP class and to make bigger holes than my P229 as a home defense gun.

I'm thinking of getting a pretty light Derr or Larocca trigger for competition, and would like the external safety. Can the safety be added cheaply? Does anyone know if the 'External Safety with no Mag Safety' variant is available in MA? I believe Four Seasons only has the 'No external, with Mag Safety' flavor.

 

[S. Kelly]

I bought a used (very lightly) M&P45 at Four Seasons. I think it's the absolute best bang for the buck in MA right now.
Mine's been extremely reliable and highly accurate. I ran 150 factory rounds with no problems. I had 7 reloads that looked like they were in a mag for a 1911 that had water damage. I got as much of the corrosion off of them that I could. I loaded all of them, mixed in a few old, beat up carry rounds in the mag. All fired and fed, one needed a slight tap to get it in the chamber all the way.
Mine has no mag safety or safety levers. I'd like to get the dark earth model with safety levers if it ever comes out in MA. As well as the compact-that's a great gun to carry and shoot.
I think it's a great gun and S&W seems to be standing behind their product 100%. I don't think you can go wrong. And BTW, I am still a hard core Glock guy, so S&W did a helluva good job convincing me the M&P45 is almost as good as a G21.

 

[KMM696]

I have a mag safety/no external safety M&P 45 since new. It shoots well for me, very accurate with no malfunctions (all factory ammo) at 1k rounds. Am I correct in assuming that you want the external safety model because you're planning on a very light trigger job?

The interchangeable backstrap is a nice feature, and can be done fast enough that if someone at the range with different size hands wants to try it, you should bring the extra backstraps.

There have been 3 occasions where I had a magazine hang up halfway in during a reload - all different mags. All 3 were fixed by pulling the mag out slightly and running it in again. Inspecting the pistol afterwards, I was able, by pushing the mag deliberately sideways while loading, to catch the feed lip on the mag catch. It doesn't get stuck, it just stops moving into the grip.

None of our 4 right hand M&P shooters have reported having this problem. I shoot lefty, but the mag catch is left in the traditional right hand position. I have other pistols that don't have a reversible or ambi mag catch, so I always use my left index finger to release a mag. I haven't explored whether reversing the mag catch to the lefty position would prevent the mag from hanging up.

It occurs to me as I'm writing that I should really talk to S&W about this......

During my normal reload, putting a full mag in will trip the slide release. I don't mind it, every double stack 45 I've owned has done this. I like it, I know it annoys some people.

All 6 of our M&P 45s consistently leave what looks like light gas discoloration on one side of the fired brass. I'm not sure if this is a deliberately loose chamber for reliability, or if it's just our pistols. The 6 serial numbers are all within 50 of each other, so if a chambering reamer was going off, it would have done all of our barrels. Anyone else with the 45 noticed this? I would assume that the higher pressures the 40 runs at would seal the brass up in the chamber no matter what size it was.

I like my M&P45, and I trust it. Maybe not my favorite pistol ever, but a damn good one.

 

[TheRoland]

Am I correct in assuming that you want the external safety model because you're planning on a very light trigger job?

I'm planning on 5-6 pounds which I'm comfortable carrying, but hear that the triggers tend to get lighter after a few thousand rounds, which I'm not comfortable carrying without an external safety. Maybe 1911-inspired paranoia, but there it is.

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[hminsky]

Does the M&P 45 fit into the same size holster as a M&P 9mm? I've got the Crossbreed Supertuck for the M&P 9mm.

 

[gerrycaruso]

I've shot 2 and they shot great. Both belonged to police officers and didn't have Ma triggers. I've also shot M&Ps in 9mm and .40 cal with Ma triggers and they were awful.

 

[KMM696]

I'm planning on 5-6 pounds which I'm comfortable carrying, but hear that the triggers tend to get lighter after a few thousand rounds, which I'm not comfortable carrying without an external safety. Maybe 1911-inspired paranoia, but there it is.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Mine did get lighter and less creepy, through a lot of dry fire as well as shooting. (Non-MA trigger to start) I'd talk to Derr or Larocca about break in & pull weights - I'm betting one of their trigger jobs weight isn't going to drift anywhere near what the factory setup does.

 

[S. Kelly]

Mine has the MA trigger, it's not that bad. It's supposed to be 10 Lbs (+/-). I'm issued a G23 with a NY1 trigger which is supposed to be 8Lbs. (+/-), so to me, there's not too much difference in trigger weight. If you're used to a SA/DA or SA 1911, it's tougher to get used to.

 

[Len-2A Training]

There are a few threads here on that gun.

My M&P 45 was 11# OOB (non-MA trigger) and 8# after 700 rds. It now sports a Derr trigger job (5#) and is a great shooter. Mine was ordered with the external safety (Can't be added after the fact according to S&W) and no mag safety. Two downsides to this gun:

- Mag safety changes position almost by looking at it. Just put it down on the bench and it might "switch sides" on you. Not kidding . . . there is NO positive detent like the 1911.

- Last 1/2"-1" of the bbl gets all smoked up in no time flat. After 50 rds my front night sight is just about totally black/gray. Other owners report the same thing. Does NOT happen on any other caliber M&P.

Someone asked about holsters. The M&P 45 (upper part of frame and slide, didn't measure the grip as it doesn't go into the holster so who cares ) is the same width as the M&P 9/40 but it has a longer barrel. So it will fit in some M&P 9/40 holsters, not others (depending on design) or it might stick out some.

 

[hminsky]

Someone asked about holsters. The M&P 45 is the same width as the M&P 9/40 but it has a longer barrel. So it will fit in some M&P 9/40 holsters, not others (depending on design) or it might stick out some.

Thanks, the Crossbreed holster lets the barrel stick out the end, so it sounds like it will work with it.

 

[Gammon]

I have a 45 M&P (no safeties) that I have run about 1000 rounds through, all reloads, with no problems. It is extremely accurate and the replaceable back straps made it easy to adapt to my small hands. The MA trigger was horrible; the trigger spring was so strong that the gun would not fire reliably. This was easy to cure with a real world trigger spring ($2.75) and a little polishing of the trigger bar and firing pin safety plunger cleaned up the gritty feeling. Burwell's post on the M&P trigger job was a big help with the polishing, but no help with the trigger spring as it doesn't deal with that part of the gun. I didn't mess with the striker or sear and got about a 6lb trigger.

This gun does pose some problems in competition. It's light weight (28 oz.) means that you will be dealing with a lot of recoil if you shoot major. If you choose to shoot minor, the 45 round causes a problem of its own. It is difficult to load a 45 down to the 125 minor power factor as your velocities are going to drop below 700 fps with a 200gr bullet. Right now it seems that 9mm is the king of the minor caliber rounds. These comments are based strictly on choosing a gun/caliber for competition. I love my M&P 45 and think it is the best double column .45 carry gun I have ever shot.

 

[Sbh87]

One word for the M&P .45: EPIC

 

[JonJ]

Got my free M&P45 FS today. I really like my M&P40 FS but the .45 is sweet! I put about 300 rounds through it today and I can't wait to take it out again. It has a mag disco, normal trigger an Trijicon night sights.
Also came home with 1500 pieces of once fired brass

 

[Len-2A Training]

Jon, did the front sight on yours smoke up after the 300 rds?

 

[JonJ]

Jon, did the front sight on yours smoke up after the 300 rds?

Yup. Not just the front sight but all around the muzzle end back about 1-1.5". Mostly concentrated on the top of the slide. Compacts were the same.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Yup, the night sight becomes a blacked out sight in no time flat.

When I talked with S&W tech supt about it, they told me "first we heard of that problem"! Yeah, right. It's reported on every forum discussing this gun. Weird that it only happens on the 45, some theorize that the ammo needs a 5" bbl to burn so that this doesn't occur. Meanwhile it didn't happen on my H&K USP 45c (3.8" bbl). The M&P 45 FS is a 4.5" bbl and the Compact is 4" bbl.

The engineer in me is very curious why this only seems to happen with the M&P 45 and no other gun!!

 

[Gammon]

Yup. Not just the front sight but all around the muzzle end back about 1-1.5". Mostly concentrated on the top of the slide. Compacts were the same.

Strange, after 1000 rounds I have not experienced any fouling of the front sight or muzzle. Most of the rounds were 200 gr SWC lead over about 5.7 of WW 231.

 

[Gammon]

PS Perhaps this is an ammo problem.

 

[Chrisg67]

Weird that it only happens on the 45

my M&P9 had the same problem. got caked up good

 

[Len-2A Training]

Strange, after 1000 rounds I have not experienced any fouling of the front sight or muzzle. Most of the rounds were 200 gr SWC lead over about 5.7 of WW 231.

PS Perhaps this is an ammo problem.

Your reloads may get around the problem. I hope to find out eventually too! However I never plan on reloading lead rounds again, only jacketed/plated ammo.

Ammo I use is WWB VP and Rem/UMC, both 230gr FMJ from WM and Dick's respectively.

I got into a discussion on this (re only happening on the 45) with Todd Louis Green of www.pistol-training.com back when he was torture testing (~60K rds IIRC) the M&P 9mm FS. It's a commonly known problem that S&W seems to "play dumb" about. Lots of confirming reports on http://mp-pistol.com forum about it.

 

[Gammon]

I fail to see how the pistol can cause this problem. I shoot nothing but lead, with the exception of matches. Hard cast lead will give you excellent performance at lower costs. I fins that hard cast lead bullets are more acurate than plated, and only slightly less accurate than jacketed.