Shooting 5/3/08 -- Wife wasn't TOO crazy trading for her M&P 9c

[JoeWilliams]

Hit the range for our more or less weekly trip today, with a bit of anticipation/apprehension. Last night Cathy traded off her beloved XD9 Tactical and a couple other guns for a Smith & Wesson M&P 9c. She liked the way the new gun felt, and liked the fact that it was small and light enough to actually carry, which she'd finally had to admit her Springfield really wasn't, short of in a duty belt. Thing is, she absolutely LOVED shooting the XD9 Tactical, loved the way it felt, loved everything about it except for it's bulk, so she was worried that she wouldn't like the M&P when she actually pulled the trigger on it. She spent the night fondling her new baby, and hoping for the best.

She's still recovering from surgery, so couldn't shoot much, and in fact didn't shoot the targets in these pics. I just kind figured two pics of me were all anyone should have to endure, she's much more fun to look at, I think She did get the traditional "first shot," of course, and a couple more mags, but that was all she felt up to today. Still, she is now a happy camper. Hurray!! She feels the gun is a little snappier in recoil (it is), but very pleasant to shoot and easy to control (it is). She says she likes shooting as much as she did her XD9, and is most pleased with her new acquisition. More importantly, she not only enjoys shooting it, but also enjoys carrying it, so IMHO that makes it a better gun.

Since she is actually carrying it, I felt it my duty to make sure we got at least 100 rounds through the gun to make sure it works. I did it for her you see, out of love and a sense of husbandly duty. It's not that I wanted to shoot her new gun. It was for love Anyway, we did put 100 rounds of several different types of ammo through the gun (I'll list them below), with only two malfunctions, neither of which were the fault of the gun. She let our boy shoot it, and he just couldn't hold on to it well enough for it to cycle fully, which resulted in two failures to eject. Other than that, no problems whatsoever. The gun really is fun to shoot. It's easy to hold on target for very fast follow-up shots, and is an easy shooting gun. I like the trigger straight out of the box better than I did the XD's, even after the XD had gotten broke in. It's relatively crisp, weighted well for the type of gun, and has a very short reset. The gun comes with three sizes of backstraps. Cathy says she likes the small ones. Frankly the small one is a little skimpy for my taste, and leaves me feeling like I don't have a good grip on the gun, like my hand is kind of empty. Kind of neat to be able to change your grip to your liking straight out of the box!! Like I said, if it were my gun, it would wear the large backstrap, but since it's Cathy's it'll wear the small ones.

The best group of the day was a 2 incher, which we didn't take a picture of. The target was just too taped up to bother with. It was fired with Hornady's 147 grain XTP/JHP over 4.1 grains of Bullseye, 1.140" OAL. If Lyman's numbers are right, it should be moving out at about 1000 fps. All the other loads went into about 3", and included Remington UMC 115 gr ball, 115 gr Winchester JHPs loaded to about 1150 fps, and a 147 grain cast bullet from Roger's Better Bullets. I was really pleased it liked that last one, since it's a cheapy to reload, and really pleasant to shoot. 147 grain lead round nose flat point over 3 grains of Bullseye, 1.100 OAL. Should be putting out around 900 fps. Like I said, with the exception of the two FTEs when Sean was shooting it, it ate everything we fed it with no exceptions.

Cathy's new pride and joy:


The results of 20 147 gr LRNFPs over 3 grains of Bullseye:


Rapid fire against a skeleton with an assault rifle... never can tell when roving bands of crazed skeletons might come after you!!

After we got the M&P welcomed to the family, we moved on to some other guns. I did some single and double action shooting with my SP101, comparing some loads using Bullseye and W231 and 158 grain cast bullets. Turns out, it likes a load of 5.2 grains of W231. That shoots pretty much to point of aim, should be moving out around 925-950 fps (I've GOT to buy or borrow a chronograph, even a cheapy would be better than guessing at these things), and doesn't thump me too hard, though it does feel a little bit stout. Still, it's a load I can shoot a couple hundred of. Today marks a milestone for my little baby, she made 500 rounds today, in about a month of ownership. Nary a stumble, double action trigger is getting nicer each trip out. I couldn't be more pleased with this gun. It's a real joy. I'll make up a pretty review to post tomorrow, maybe. Most of my shooting today was straight target shooting, no fun stuff from the holster or anything like that. Gotta work on the basics, too! Did break out some "crazy bones" targets at the end of the day for some rapid fire fun shooting.

20 rds of 158 gr LSWCs over 5.2 grains W231 from the Ruger SP101:


Double action rapid fire against another skeleton... who knew the damn things had knives, too??!!


Sean didn't mind Cathy not being able to shoot a bit. Meant Momma was available to supervise him shooting the Ruger Bearcat. We'll let him shoot his rifle without over the shoulder supervision, just keeping an eye on him, but no way with a handgun. So, he usually has to wait for one of us to take a turn with him in order for him to shoot it. He spent his day killing bullseyes, paper squirrels, groundhogs, and rabbits, then talked me into letting him shoot one of the "fun" targets. I don't think he did half bad, personally.

Now the darn things are trying to gun down my boy. Fortunately, the boy is prepared for roving bands of armed skeletons, and made short work of them with his .22LR Ruger Bearcat hand cannon!!

[Tony Fly]

What a great family you have! Its great to have some common ground for the family to bond on.

[Keith4001r]

Nice report, nice pics, too. Glad that Mrs. was happy with her decision. I'll have to get with you on reloading.

[BUCKMARK]

Who's the guy with the Ruger in the Mickey Mouse sweat shirt???

I own the M&P9c and the full size M&P.

I shake my head when I look at my targets and then look into the gun itself.

A polymer frame that will flex with minimal pressure. A frame to slide fit that you can see though, with small frame rails. Internal workings made from stamped sheet metal and MIM castings. Barrel lock up that is anything but tight. A plastic trigger shoe with that long "clunky" Glock like pull.

..... yet my M&P9c will flat shoot. In my hands, this M&P will shoot rings around my custom Colt XSE Government that I have over $1000 invested in.

To say that I'm happy with my M&P's would be an understatement.

My M&P Full Size wears a 10-8 Performance rear sight with a fiber optic front. The Compact has a Trijicon front sight with the Novak rear. I am about to install a Crimson Trace laser grip on my compact as it is my every day carry gun. Both guns have had a slight trigger job on them that I did myself. Nothing special....just drop the pull a few pounds, and make the reset much quicker.

I carry the Compact in a Don Hume First Agent belt slide holster. The full size is a comp gun only, and is not carried.

Once I get my Crimson Trace in the next week or so...my next mission is to stock up on hi-cap mags for both guns before some liberal POS decides I can no longer buy them.

The M&P series is the real deal. Hope your M&P9C gives your wife many years of shooting fun...and will be there if God forbid she ever needs to use it to defend herself or her family.

Thanks for the range report.

[JoeWilliams]

Nice report, nice pics, too. Glad that Mrs. was happy with her decision. I'll have to get with you on reloading.

Glad to chat about reloading. Just got back into it after about 20 years away. I'd forgotten how rewarding it is, and how relaxing. Not to mention, we couldn't afford to shoot even a fraction as much as we do now without it!

[JoeWilliams]

What a great family you have! Its great to have some common ground for the family to bond on.

That's one of the wonderful things about shooting, it's a sport the whole family can participate in, and enjoy. We have a ton of fun, and spend lots of quality time cleaning, loading, and heading to the range to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

[JoeWilliams]

Who's the guy with the Ruger in the Mickey Mouse sweat shirt???
snip.

Don't know, but if find out who he is with his paws all over my gun, there's gonna be trouble!!

Cathy is looking forward to putting a few hundred downrange herself, she enjoyed the few she got to shoot, and it was enough to give her confidence in her gun.

[tdyoung58]

good deal, don't think I could part with my XD-9t though . . . . LOL

[SimpleMan]

I enjoyed the range report and Pics.

I started shooting in the early '90s and have had a torrid love affair with the Glock series of handguns and own several models.

I have not had a desire to buy any new handguns for a long time, but the M&P 9c has been tempting me lately.

Your report has pushed me over the edge. I am going to stop and take a look at one tomorrow. It's all your fault.

[JoeWilliams]

I enjoyed the range report and Pics.

I started shooting in the early '90s and have had a torrid love affair with the Glock series of handguns and own several models.

I have not had a desire to buy any new handguns for a long time, but the M&P 9c has been tempting me lately.

Your report has pushed me over the edge. I am going to stop and take a look at one tomorrow. It's all your fault.

Don't blame me, blame her!!! I could actually be talked into one of those without much effort.

It is a real sweetheart to shoot, and carry. I stole it from her earlier today and wore it for a couple hours. Couldn't even tell it was there. Very nice!! That combined with how well and pleasantly shoots really has her impressed. Hides nice, to.