M&P 9mm and .40 Mod suggestions

lnp00 said:
Don't you pay thru the nose for shipping and duty when ordering from Brownell's? I ordered once from them and the cost of shipping/duty came to more than the cost of the items I ordered :(
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No, it depends on what you buy and how big the item is. Small parts like these will ship in their standard shipping box and will cost $10.55 if under $100. Over $100, then the shipping cost is a lot more around $22+. That's because Brownell's ships every order with insurance and the max amount on the standard shipping box is $100 as per USPS. These Apex parts are made in the USA so they will only charge you the GST and $9.95 handling fee if it gets flagged by Customs. I've ordered tons of stuff from Brownell's and only got flagged by Customs 3x out of over 50 packages. A lot of time you don't have a choice because you can't buy it in Canada or it cost 2-3x or even more. eg. Try buying S&W M&P Factory spare parts in Canada, nobody sells them.
 
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Thanks again for the info. I see that APEX has a number of kits for the M&P, Duty/Carry Action Enhancement Kit (DCAEK), Competition Action Enhancement Kit (COMPAEK), APEX TACT M&P FORWARD SET SEAR KIT, etc.
I'm a bit confused as to which one would be the best overall. Any thoughts?
 
jackrabbit000 said:
No, it depends on what you buy and how big the item is. Small parts like these will ship in their standard shipping box and will cost $10.55 if under $100. Over $100, then the shipping cost is a lot more around $22+. That's because Brownell's ships every order with insurance and the max amount on the standard shipping box is $100 as per USPS. These Apex parts are made in the USA so they will only charge you the GST and $9.95 handling fee if it gets flagged by Customs. I've ordered tons of stuff from Brownell's and only got flagged by Customs 3x out of over 50 packages. A lot of time you don't have a choice because you can't buy it in Canada or it cost 2-3x or even more. eg. Try buying S&W M&P Factory spare parts in Canada, nobody sells them.
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I contacted them recently, and they said I needed an import license. How did you get yours?
 
I just re-upped into the M&P9 world. I had a model a few years ago and gave up on it.

I'm pretty happy with the trigger on my new pistol. I'd like to find a extended slide stop and lots and lots of ammunition!

That is all.
 
lnp00 said:
I'm looking for ideas to improve the functionality of an M&P 9mm and .40.
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It works pretty well out of the box, but if you're looking to make changes...

The APEX trigger options are nice, for sure. They can fairly easily get too light for the trigger pull, IMO, so plan ahead. There is a zero-cost DIY trigger job you can do that will improve things dramatically. Google "Burwell M&P trigger job pdf". I did all of the suggested mods in that .pdf, and mine came out nice and smooth with a slightly lighter pull than a typical broken-in gen 4 G17 trigger.

Stock sights are okay, but there are many aftermarket options that you might prefer.

And more DIY... I cleaned up and polished most of the running surfaces on mine so it feeds and cycles more smoothly. I also recontoured the frame to better fit my hand (relieved under the trigger guard, and around the mag release), and then stippled the snot out of it. The factory finish on those frames is not very grippy at all. Some people use grip tape (Talon is probably the best available at the moment), but I've never found that to be satisfactory.
 
The Apex FSS (Forward Set Sear Aluminum Trigger) is the best upgrade I can think of. I have a couple of 1911's and this is a great trigger upgrade. It dropped the pull to around 4lbs and no hinge. It still has a nice safety right in the middle like the Savages and it is almost a straight pull. Very short reset. I also stippled my grips. My next upgrade will be some better sights. I ran this all year last season in 3-gun waiting for my STI to come in. Oh ya, got it from CTC Supplies. They were great to deal with and cheaper all said and done that shipping from the US.

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Some guys put a small bevel in the underside of the trigger guard, where the supporting hand 'trigger' finger goes, to make the grip more repeatable, and if you're from the school of folks who always use the 'power stroke' for slide manipulations, you can put some skateboard tape on the top of the slide.
 
alpning, thanks for the info! I checked out the Burwell mods and while I don't mind rolling up my sleeves and gettin' dirty, that's a bit more than I want to take on. I'm thinking that I'll stick with the simpler APEX kits.
Cheers!
 
Nice stippling, Schecter!

I really like the idea of the APEX FSS for a Steel Challenge or Bullseye-type of pistol, but personally not at all for IPSC or 3-Gun. It reduces the pre-travel which is part of the safety system for the M&P. But I have seen that sort of thing for Standard or Open IPSC pistols.

Triggers are a very personal thing. APEX has many options, so make sure you decide exactly what you want your trigger to do before shelling out for the particular parts. I use a DIY-modded factory sear and striker block, APEX polymer trigger, and factory trigger return spring. It's exactly how I like it: Compared to the factory trigger, it's lighter (around 5.5lbs), very smooth, clean break, pretravel is slightly reduced, and overtravel is almost eliminated.
 
enefgee said:
Some guys put a small bevel in the underside of the trigger guard, where the supporting hand 'trigger' finger goes
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I found it really improved the feel of the pistol. And it pretty much eliminates that dang "glock knuckle".

Shows the relieved area under the trigger guard and around the mag release:

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I shoot mine in cold weather, wearing mechanics gloves. I found the mag release button a bit vague to feel. I degreased the surface and put a dab of epoxy glue on the release, and then but the gun release down on a coffee cup. The glue dried in the shape of a point. This sticks out a bit further and is real easy to feel and use.

Did the same thing to a Hi-Point carbine, for the same reasons.
 
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