M&P trigger - AR15.COM

Posted: 11/30/2009 7:35:46 PM EDT

I am strongly considering liquidating a few things to fund an M&P 9 for my daily carry. My question is how bad is the trigger from the factory? Ive heard nightmarish things, and have owned several glocks. How do they compare? I carry a 19, but the M&P feels great. While Im asking, what can be done to smooth out the trigger? Or, who have you all dealt with to have trigger work done?
Thanks!

Posted: 11/30/2009 8:10:29 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
I am strongly considering liquidating a few things to fund an M&P 9 for my daily carry. My question is how bad is the trigger from the factory? Ive heard nightmarish things, and have owned several glocks. How do they compare? I carry a 19, but the M&P feels great. While Im asking, what can be done to smooth out the trigger? Or, who have you all dealt with to have trigger work done?
Thanks!

M&P triggers are great for the simple fact that the more you shoot it the better the trigger feels. If you shoot an M&P new from the factory the trigger isn't all the great but it is manageable. Now if you shoot and M&P with a few 1,000 rounds through it like mine do then it turns into a great trigger. YMMV of course. I have 3 M&P and this has been my experience with all 3.

Posted: 11/30/2009 8:55:01 PM EDT

[#2]

I don't own one, but I've got several friends that do and I've shot them a fair amount. Of these 3 guns one is fairly new and the other two both have several thousand rounds through them. IMO the trigger on the new gun is about on par with the Sigmas I've shot. The two that are broken in are better, but IMO still fall short of a stock Glock trigger, which in itself ain't nothing to brag about. The take up is still somewhat gritty, the break is still mushy and the reset is still hard to feel. This is all in comparison to a broken in, stock Glock. It's fine for a combat pistol, but try as I might I don't shoot them as accurately or as quickly as a Glock.

I've heard it's a fairly easy job to fix the trigger, but it kind of bugs me that S&W, who I consider to be the company that makes the best stock triggers in the world of hand guns, can't do a better job on the M&P. The triggers on my S&W revolvers and my 3rd gen autos, are a virtual wet dream of what a trigger should be. Short, crisp and smooth as glass. The DA pull on my 4553 TSW puts most quality revolvers to shame. I mean fuck, this is S&W, not Taurus or Kel-Tec, the M&P should come out of the box with at least as good a trigger as a Glock.

Still, it seems like a very nice gun, reliable and durable. If I didn't already own 3 Glocks I'd probably get one, but the Glocks I own fulfill my polymer pistol needs. Plus, Glock makes them in my favorite caliber, 10mm, and S&W doesn't.

Posted: 12/1/2009 5:32:22 AM EDT

[#3]

Own an M & P 9 and a G17. I considered the triggers about equal. The geometry of their designs are a bit different and they have a different feel from each other, but overall I don't think there is anything dramatically different about them. Neither will ever be mistaken for a tuned 1911.

Posted: 12/1/2009 5:50:36 AM EDT

[#4]

Took about 200 rounds, but now my M&P 9 trigger is smooth as glass.

Posted: 12/1/2009 6:07:10 AM EDT

[#5]

I have a 9mm with about 500 rounds through it and only God knows how many dry fires. I also just got a compact still NIB. The full size has gotten as good or better than any Glock. The compact is pretty rough at this point. It seems it is true that they just get better the more you shoot them.

Like someone else said, it is not close to my tuned 1911 and still not as good as my stock XSE. However the broken-in full size is very acceptable at this point.

Posted: 12/1/2009 10:13:36 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
I have a 9mm with about 500 rounds through it and only God knows how many dry fires. I also just got a compact still NIB. The full size has gotten as good or better than any Glock. The compact is pretty rough at this point. It seems it is true that they just get better the more you shoot them.

Like someone else said, it is not close to my tuned 1911 and still not as good as my stock XSE. However the broken-in full size is very acceptable at this point.

I always heard dry firing was a no-no, without snap caps.

Posted: 12/1/2009 12:10:05 PM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
I always heard dry firing was a no-no, without snap caps.

The conventional wisdom is that dry-firing a .22 will damage it because the firing pin can impact the side of the breechface (and that may not be true).
I have not found any center-fire firearms that could not be dry-fired.

Posted: 12/1/2009 12:57:48 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I always heard dry firing was a no-no, without snap caps.

The conventional wisdom is that dry-firing a .22 will damage it because the firing pin can impact the side of the breechface (and that may not be true).
I have not found any center-fire firearms that could not be dry-fired.

Good to know. Bump for more input, I know tons of arfcomers have M&Ps...What say you about the trigger!

Posted: 12/1/2009 1:22:32 PM EDT

[#9]

My M&P 9c is pretty much new and the trigger feels very like a flexible plastic trigger releasing a plastic sear. Hoping for the improvements others have seen.

Posted: 12/1/2009 1:24:51 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Own an M & P 9 and a G17. I considered the triggers about equal. The geometry of their designs are a bit different and they have a different feel from each other, but overall I don't think there is anything dramatically different about them. Neither will ever be mistaken for a tuned 1911.

Except that the M&P isn't trying to haul back the entire weight of the striker spring.

The worst part of the trigger feel comes from the firing pin block, I think.

Posted: 12/1/2009 1:43:55 PM EDT

[#11]

There is a PDF from Dan Burwell floating around somewhere that explains the DIY trigger job. I did it a while back; it was easy and made a world of difference. If you don't want to hack yours up, he'll do it for $65. I've also heard there is a Performance Center sear you can buy that will help things a lot.

http://www.burwellgunsmithing.com

Posted: 12/1/2009 2:20:57 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
I always heard dry firing was a no-no, without snap caps.

The early M&P's had issues with snapping strikers during dryfire. Somewhere along the line S&W started using a revised striker that can handle more dryfire.

I would still encourage the use of AZoom snap-caps especially if you are trying to break the gun in.

Posted: 12/1/2009 2:48:59 PM EDT

[#13]

My M&P 9 trigger was very good from day one when I pulled it out of it's box. Guess I was just lucky.

Don't believe all the "nightmarish things" you read on the interwebs.

If, worse comes to worst with your new M&P 9

improving the trigger is easy, as other posters have detailed.

Buy one with confidence and enjoy. S&W hit a home run with this pistol, IMHO.

Good luck, let us know how this works out for you.

Posted: 12/1/2009 2:54:01 PM EDT

[#14]

tutorial....

http://www.burwellgunsmithing.com/M&Ptriggerjob1.htm

I've done 3 or 4 and they turned out great

Posted: 12/1/2009 3:05:49 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
My M&P 9 trigger was very good from day one when I pulled it out of it's box. Guess I was just lucky.

Don't believe all the "nightmarish things" you read on the interwebs.

If, worse comes to worst with your new M&P 9

improving the trigger is easy, as other posters have detailed.

Buy one with confidence and enjoy. S&W hit a home run with this pistol, IMHO.

Good luck, let us know how this works out for you.

Thanks, I think I will proceed.

Posted: 12/1/2009 3:06:31 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:

tutorial....

http://www.burwellgunsmithing.com/M&Ptriggerjob1.htm

I've done 3 or 4 and they turned out great

Thank you for posting this

Posted: 12/1/2009 7:32:41 PM EDT

[#17]

Ken_Mays and Derek45.. thanks for the info. Had not seen these before.

Posted: 12/1/2009 7:35:32 PM EDT

[#18]

I love the M&P, but I will say the Glock trigger has a very crisp break and reset out of the box versus the M&P. I wouldn't say the M&P is mushy, but it is difficult to feel the reset. There are some really talented gunsmiths out there that specialize in tweaking M&P triggers and I have heard some really good feedback on how good the trigger can feel after some work. Perhaps S&W will continue to improve the trigger on the M&P in the future.

Posted: 12/1/2009 11:07:18 PM EDT

[#19]

i have both a G22 and M&P .40 and i hate the trigger reset on the M&P. other than that they are both crappy, plastic triggers. I have done some work to my Glock trigger though and it is pretty nice now. i'm not a huge fan of the M&P in general. (dry firing is not advised, rusts much more easily than the Glock)

Posted: 12/2/2009 3:50:55 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
I love the M&P, but I will say the Glock trigger has a very crisp break and reset out of the box versus the M&P. I wouldn't say the M&P is mushy, but it is difficult to feel the reset. There are some really talented gunsmiths out there that specialize in tweaking M&P triggers and I have heard some really good feedback on how good the trigger can feel after some work. Perhaps S&W will continue to improve the trigger on the M&P in the future.

The Glock's trigger has a much more positive reset...but the M&P's reset can be mastered with just a bit of practice. It's no impediment to shooting fast or accurately. It just takes a bit of effort and, of course, dropping the expectation that the pistol will push your finger for you under recoil.

Posted: 12/2/2009 4:45:49 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
i have both a G22 and M&P .40 and i hate the trigger reset on the M&P. other than that they are both crappy, plastic triggers. I have done some work to my Glock trigger though and it is pretty nice now. i'm not a huge fan of the M&P in general. (dry firing is not advised, rusts much more easily than the Glock)

Glock triggers are horrible, mushy and clunky to say the least but they do have a more positive reset. You can dry fire an M&P, I do and haven't had a problem and haven't had any rust problems either and glocks rust to. Almost all guns will rust if you don't take care of them.

Try Accurate Iron for a trigger job, Mike does some great work with the triggers. He did the trigger and stippling job on mine and I couldn't be happier. Accurate Iron

Posted: 12/2/2009 6:58:33 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I have a 9mm with about 500 rounds through it and only God knows how many dry fires. I also just got a compact still NIB. The full size has gotten as good or better than any Glock. The compact is pretty rough at this point. It seems it is true that they just get better the more you shoot them.

Like someone else said, it is not close to my tuned 1911 and still not as good as my stock XSE. However the broken-in full size is very acceptable at this point.

I always heard dry firing was a no-no, without snap caps.

Actually I do use snap caps for dry firing en masse but the occaisional dry fire does zero damage without a snap cap.

A further thought on the trigger... over the past few nights I have probably dry fired my new compact 2000 times. It's trigger is worse out of the box that my full size. The full size has never had any creep but the compact has some creep and is gritty. Hopefully running a few hundred rounds through it and another 3000 dry fires will get it in shape. Worse case, it will get a trigger job.

Posted: 12/2/2009 8:11:48 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I always heard dry firing was a no-no, without snap caps.

The conventional wisdom is that dry-firing a .22 will damage it because the firing pin can impact the side of the breechface (and that may not be true).
I have not found any center-fire firearms that could not be dry-fired.

There are plenty of centerfires that really should not be dry fired. Most of these are comblock milsurps. Some break open shotgun designs should not be dry fired either. Pretty much all western designed handguns can handle any number of dry fires however.

Posted: 12/2/2009 8:29:14 AM EDT

[#24]

The trigger is not bad & they get better w/use.

I recently sold my M&P40 fullsize to fund the M&P40C that I now carry. I love me some M&P.

Posted: 12/2/2009 10:57:21 AM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:

Quoted:
i have both a G22 and M&P .40 and i hate the trigger reset on the M&P. other than that they are both crappy, plastic triggers. I have done some work to my Glock trigger though and it is pretty nice now. i'm not a huge fan of the M&P in general. (dry firing is not advised, rusts much more easily than the Glock)

Glock triggers are horrible, mushy and clunky to say the least but they do have a more positive reset. You can dry fire an M&P, I do and haven't had a problem and haven't had any rust problems either and glocks rust to. Almost all guns will rust if you don't take care of them.

Try Accurate Iron for a trigger job, Mike does some great work with the triggers. He did the trigger and stippling job on mine and I couldn't be happier. Accurate Iron

never had a spec of rust on my glock after 10+ years of duty carry. our new m&p's get surface rust constantly. we were advised by our training dept. not to dry fire the m&p's anymore due to some firing pins breaking. this was confirmed (i was told) by s&w.

Posted: 12/2/2009 8:15:37 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
i have both a G22 and M&P .40 and i hate the trigger reset on the M&P. other than that they are both crappy, plastic triggers. I have done some work to my Glock trigger though and it is pretty nice now. i'm not a huge fan of the M&P in general. (dry firing is not advised, rusts much more easily than the Glock)

Glock triggers are horrible, mushy and clunky to say the least but they do have a more positive reset. You can dry fire an M&P, I do and haven't had a problem and haven't had any rust problems either and glocks rust to. Almost all guns will rust if you don't take care of them.

Try Accurate Iron for a trigger job, Mike does some great work with the triggers. He did the trigger and stippling job on mine and I couldn't be happier. Accurate Iron

never had a spec of rust on my glock after 10+ years of duty carry. our new m&p's get surface rust constantly. we were advised by our training dept. not to dry fire the m&p's anymore due to some firing pins breaking. this was confirmed (i was told) by s&w.

So that stainless steel with a melonite coating just rusts right up on you, huh? cough.. cough.. bullshit.. cough...

Posted: 12/2/2009 8:28:18 PM EDT

[#27]

Melonite, while increasing the surface hardness, incorporates carbon into the surface of the steel and displaces some of the chromium, thus cutting down on the corrosion resistance of the stainless.

Additionally, some flavors of stainless, specifically 416, rust like a son of a bitch.

Posted: 12/2/2009 8:37:57 PM EDT

[#28]

You should spend some time shooting a M&P 9 before you buy one.

I purchased one and did not like the way the grip is thicker at the rear and then tappers towards the front.
Didn't notice it at the store when I held it; it felt great at the store. Once I fired it I noticed that tappered grip.
For my hands the thinest part of the grip caused the pistol to move in my hand while firing unless I held a death grip on it.

The trigger can always get worked on, I did mine but still couldn't get pass that tappered grip so I sold it and lost money on it.

Posted: 12/2/2009 9:46:04 PM EDT

[#29]

This past weekend I checked out some M&P's and was impressed, very impressed. Light years better than the 5 Glocks I've been issued.

Posted: 12/2/2009 9:56:49 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
So that stainless steel with a melonite coating just rusts right up on you, huh? cough.. cough.. bullshit.. cough...

So does mine. I'm told it's a warranty issue, but I don't care that much.

Posted: 12/3/2009 12:04:13 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:

Quoted:
i have both a G22 and M&P .40 and i hate the trigger reset on the M&P. other than that they are both crappy, plastic triggers. I have done some work to my Glock trigger though and it is pretty nice now. i'm not a huge fan of the M&P in general. (dry firing is not advised, rusts much more easily than the Glock)

Glock triggers are horrible, mushy and clunky to say the least but they do have a more positive reset. You can dry fire an M&P, I do and haven't had a problem and haven't had any rust problems either and glocks rust to. Almost all guns will rust if you don't take care of them.

Try Accurate Iron for a trigger job, Mike does some great work with the triggers. He did the trigger and stippling job on mine and I couldn't be happier. Accurate Iron

never had a spec of rust on my glock after 10+ years of duty carry. our new m&p's get surface rust constantly. we were advised by our training dept. not to dry fire the m&p's anymore due to some firing pins breaking. this was confirmed (i was told) by s&w.

So that stainless steel with a melonite coating just rusts right up on you, huh? cough.. cough.. bullshit.. cough...

yea ok...carry yours in all types of weather in a holster and see what happens. get a clue!

Posted: 12/3/2009 12:05:30 AM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:
This past weekend I checked out some M&P's and was impressed, very impressed. Light years better than the 5 Glocks I've been issued.

light years? come on.

Posted: 12/3/2009 12:06:29 AM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:

Quoted:
So that stainless steel with a melonite coating just rusts right up on you, huh? cough.. cough.. bullshit.. cough...

So does mine. I'm told it's a warranty issue, but I don't care that much.

yea it is, they are getting ready to send a bunch in i guess. we were asked where exactly ours are rusting.

Posted: 12/3/2009 10:31:54 AM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

Quoted:
This past weekend I checked out some M&P's and was impressed, very impressed. Light years better than the 5 Glocks I've been issued.

light years? come on.

Okay. okay....how about so much better that I'd buy M&P way before any of the Glocks with the crappiest trigger known to man. That sound better?

Posted: 12/3/2009 12:09:57 PM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:

Quoted:
This past weekend I checked out some M&P's and was impressed, very impressed. Light years better than the 5 Glocks I've been issued.

light years? come on.

Okay. okay....how about so much better that I'd buy M&P way before any of the Glocks with the crappiest trigger known to man. That sound better?

sounds better, but i have to disagree. although the m&p may have a "smoother" trigger, it still sucks and i hate it. i'm sure 10+ years of shooting a Glock has something to do with that biased though. i just can't get used to the trigger reset and that is a great feature when qualifying.

Posted: 12/3/2009 11:18:15 PM EDT

[#36]

I wasn't overly impressed with trigger compared to a Glock with the 3.5lb connector. I'd have to send it to S&W for the Performance Center sear and action job.

Posted: 12/4/2009 7:34:58 AM EDT

[#37]

- I don't care much for the trigger as it stands on my M&P 9c and apparently working on it (at least the basics) will take it to the 5-6 lb range. Given the purpose I'm OK with that. I expect a great trigger on a 1911 or BHP after tuning, but then I have the thumb safety in the middle of the process. I'm happier with a heavier trigger on the M&P.

- I *hate* calling bullshit and the other person is right. However, in spite of stainless steel and melonite, that appears to be the case and Rychencop is correct in that there have been several folks on internet noting rust on M&P's. It is not clear if this is a batch issue, small parts (not melonited) or a general problem and I have not found a definitive answer. If I find a root cause I'll post it in the S&W area of the forum. Of course, people have also seen rust on Glocks as well, but that is a different topic.

Posted: 12/5/2009 10:39:32 AM EDT

[#38]

The M&P Pro 9mm has a very nice factory trigger, at least as good as the Glock 3.5.

Compared to a 1911 all striker-fired pistol triggers feel crappy, so it's somewhat relative.

I prefer the grip on the M&P over the Glock 17 which makes more difference to me than any difference in the trigger pull.

Posted: 12/5/2009 3:50:19 PM EDT

[#39]

I have a G22 with a 3.5lb connector installed and an M&P 40. After lots of dry firing and almost 1K through the M&P other than reset I cant really tell a difference in the triggers myself. And mine hasnt changed much from when it was new. I havent noticed any rust issues either, but I tend to keep my guns a little wetter with CLP than most people. Usually when someone is handling one of my guns I hand them a rag to wipe off their hands

Posted: 12/9/2009 11:48:46 AM EDT

[#40]

I have and M&P45 and had a XD40. The XD had the better out of the box trigger (great reset, and reasonably smooth). The factory
M&P45 trigger was probably the worst trigger I'd ever felt. I mean down right hideous. I LOVED the gun but the trigger was horrible.
I did the Burwell trigger job, and it got alot smoother, but I may have taken too much off of something somewhere (don't really know)
but it would sometimes not reset.

Dammit. I broke down and sent it back in to S&M for the performance center sear and trigger
job.

DAYUM!

It's like a whole new gun now. It's right up there with my Springer 1911..... AWESOME trigger. I highly reccommend getting the
performance center sear/trigger job OR getting the M&P Pro series (it already has it). I freaking love my M&P now.. it's da shit!

YMMV....

-ZA

Posted: 12/10/2009 6:06:31 AM EDT

[#41]

Tag for later so I can do the trigger job myself/send it in. I like my MP .45 full size. It is the most comfortable hand gun I have shot, and am looking at a 9c also. I am curious to see how good the trigger can get though, as I don't have any experience with other than stock triggers on any guns.

Posted: 12/10/2009 7:58:25 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:
My M&P 9c is pretty much new and the trigger feels very like a flexible plastic trigger releasing a plastic sear. Hoping for the improvements others have seen.

Same as my experience. I would own an M&P 45 right now... if it werent for that trigger

Posted: 12/11/2009 4:07:10 AM EDT

[#43]

Speaking as a guy with a trigger job on his main M&P...

I think the trigger thing is overrated. I've got stock M&P's and I shoot them every bit as well as my custom M&P. The reset on my main M&P is considerably shorter thanks to Dan Burwell's attentions to the weapon, but when I pick up my .45 or my 9C the longer reset on them doesn't trip me up. Generally M&P triggers improve somewhat with dryfire and live fire anyway.

If I were buying a brand new M&P 9 off the shelf today I wouldn't bother with a trigger job.

If you get into the habit of chasing trigger characteristics you'll end up spending god-awful amounts of money and regretting it. (Ask me how I know...) If you give the platform a chance, break it in, and work on your trigger control, you won't spend as much money and you'll be a better shooter in the long run.

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