Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm Accuracy Problem

rxanderq

rxanderq

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I'm experiencing an accuracy problem with my new Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm.
I am having trouble hitting a target 5 yards away.
I'm pretty sure it's not my aim, I had not problems handling a .38 revolver earlier.
I've tried adjusting the windage, but it doesn't seem to help as the shots end up all over the place. I dont have consistent groupings.
What else could be the issue?
 
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triggers can vary greatly from a revolver to the m&p. i'd suggest getting someone else to shoot it while you're at the range to see if they can replicate the issues you're having. if they don't have the same troubles, it's more than likely your trigger control or a flinch of some sort... my m&p has been great, accurate right out of the box. some might chime in and say there was some M&ps that were having 'accuracy issues' but even those would be hitting a target at 5 yrds.

edit: could be the sights but they shouldn't be that off from the factory...
 
I will almost guarantee it's you and not the gun. Where are your shots landing? Shooting a pistol as compared to a revolver isn't quite the same thing- a different grip, you've now got a longer, heavier trigger pull (and it's almost assured you're pulling down or to one side when firing), and the sight picture will be different.

With the revolver, your sight picture would be the top of the front sight matching the top of the rear sight groove, and lined up with that groove. The sights on your pistol will have three colored dots (I'm fairly sure, but could be wrong. Every one I've seen is white dots, or tritium dots, or fiber optic). You MUST ignore the shape of your sights and align the three dots! Wrong sight picture as I've described, combined with improper grip and/or trigger control can definitely cause your accuracy problem. I've seen it over and over again. Hope that helps.
 
NorthernCX said:
I will almost guarantee it's you and not the gun. Where are your shots landing? Shooting a pistol as compared to a revolver isn't quite the same thing- a different grip, you've now got a longer, heavier trigger pull (and it's almost assured you're pulling down or to one side when firing), and the sight picture will be different.

With the revolver, your sight picture would be the top of the front sight matching the top of the rear sight groove, and lined up with that groove. The sights on your pistol will have three colored dots (I'm fairly sure, but could be wrong. Every one I've seen is white dots, or tritium dots, or fiber optic). You MUST ignore the shape of your sights and align the three dots! Wrong sight picture as I've described, combined with improper grip and/or trigger control can definitely cause your accuracy problem. I've seen it over and over again. Hope that helps.
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Thanks for the tips, I'm going to head to the range now and try to replicate the problem to further determine what the cause of the issue is.

I'd like to add, while a revolver is not quite the same, I have also fired other 9mm semi automatic pistols and have not experianced the problem I am now with the M&P.
 
Save your targets and post a pic of them... the experts at CGN will diagnose your problem. Get a range buddy to shoot a couple mags and see what they can do with it.
 
Accuracy problems at 5 yards are operator-induced. Can you balance a dime on the front sight and dry fire without it falling off?

While a significant percentage of M&P 9s do have accuracy issues, they are normally only noticeable at distances greater than 15 yards.
 
What area of bc are you in? I've got the same gun, lots of rounds through it - if you're in my area, I'd be happy to meet you at the range to do a side by side.
 
tjhaile said:
While a significant percentage of M&P 9s do have accuracy issues, they are normally only noticeable at distances greater than 15 yards.
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This is exactly what has turned me off of M&P's. I have seen it personally in couple of them. Not sure what is going on with some of them why accuracy is off and it shoots all over the place.
 
Pistolwhiptricks said:
This is exactly what has turned me off of M&P's. I have seen it personally in couple of them. Not sure what is going on with some of them why accuracy is off and it shoots all over the place.
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I wouldn't blame the pistol until further trial/error. Most errors are due to the user. I had a CZ97b that I couldn't shoot straight... other range guys could shoot like the wind with it. It was me, sadly :eek:. Sold it and bought a Sig 220 & 1911 which I can shoot well :)
 
st1264 said:
I wouldn't blame the pistol until further trial/error. Most errors are due to the user. I had a CZ97b that I couldn't shoot straight... other range guys could shoot like the wind with it. It was me, sadly :eek:. Sold it and bought a Sig 220 & 1911 which I can shoot well :)
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Maybe. But a quick google search turned up some info on why the M&P 9mm has accuracy problems. This was taken from another site.

The main downfall of the M&P 9mm is the wildly varying accuracy thanks to some QC issues and design flaws. The M&P 9 barrel uses a tragically slow 1:18.75" twist, which does a poor job stabilizing heavier bullets. To add insult to injury, the M&P also unlocks extremely quickly. This early unlocking tends to negate any conventional wisdom on what bullet weights should shoot well with the M&P, and you'll want to do a bit of experimenting.

This is mentioned on the Smith&Wesson and BrianEnos forums as well as a bunch of other sites. It's a known issue.
 
Pistolwhiptricks said:
Maybe. But a quick google search turned up some info on why the M&P 9mm has accuracy problems. This was taken from another site.

The main downfall of the M&P 9mm is the wildly varying accuracy thanks to some QC issues and design flaws. The M&P 9 barrel uses a tragically slow 1:18.75" twist, which does a poor job stabilizing heavier bullets. To add insult to injury, the M&P also unlocks extremely quickly. This early unlocking tends to negate any conventional wisdom on what bullet weights should shoot well with the M&P, and you'll want to do a bit of experimenting.

This is mentioned on the Smith&Wesson and BrianEnos forums as well as a bunch of other sites. It's a known issue.
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Right this is at 25yards, not 5 yards. Unless your front sight is all the way to the left and your rear sight is all the way to the right and you have a bad flinch. Then you will have horrible accuracy at 5 yards.
 
I don't think the rifling twist has anything to do with it; it's all in the early unlocking. The same 1:18.75" twist has been used for decades by S&W for .38 Special and .357 Magnum barrels. It should have no problem stabilizing 9mm projectiles that are usually shorter than those for .38/.357.
 
tjhaile said:
I don't think the rifling twist has anything to do with it; it's all in the early unlocking. The same 1:18.75" twist has been used for decades by S&W for .38 Special and .357 Magnum barrels. It should have no problem stabilizing 9mm projectiles that are usually shorter than those for .38/.357.
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It is a bit of a combination of both and some other things. I heard that S&W has or is changing the twist rate of the 9mm and also changing the contour of the barrel.
 
I'm back from the range with some results.
One of the guys there was noticed the default grip installed on my M&P was too large and told me to install the smaller one and nice enough to have me test out his M&P with the smaller grip.
The calibre on his M&P was also a .45 instead of 9mm. I noticed my aim did improve as shown in the picture below.
Edit: Might have been a .40 instead, i forgot.

The five cleaner shots are the .45.
HHB1Kl.jpg


Subsequent shots were all fired with the 9mm. Sometimes the shots go to the right, sometimes to the left, but I always hit lower, (unless in the case where I completely miss). Please see the following links

http://imgur.com/H8oxy
http://imgur.com/0NWOL
http://imgur.com/zQgRq
http://imgur.com/c4xIc
http://imgur.com/9hc1G

Relaxing my grip at one point seemed to help, (I dont think I have a picture of that target).
What I don't understand is how come there is such a significant regression in accuracy when I fire the 9mm. Does the grip and caliber make that much of a difference?
 
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It is because the other calibers of the M&P are unaffected somehow. As far as I could tell from my limited research, the accuracy issues only pertain to the 9mm M&P. Just google accuracy issues with m&p 9 and you will see multiple threads on the topic.
 
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Are the targets you have posted still at 5 yards? If so, there is practically no way that something wrong with the gun could cause it to shoot that far off at that distance; you are definitely pulling your shots low.

.45 M&Ps generally have exceptional accuracy, the .40s are generally average, and the 9mms commonly (though not always) have accuracy problems. That said, it is unlikely you would notice any difference at distances of 15 yards or less.
 
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