APEX M&P 45 Mid

General Firearms Handguns - Semi Auto
1

I have had 3 S&W M&Ps in the past year and a half. I first purchased a full sized 45 then a full sized 40 and finally a 40c. I tried as hard as physically possible but I just could not get used to the poor trigger of all 3 and horrible accuracy of the full sized 40. I sold off all three of them and replaced them with comparable Golcks except for the 40c. I replaced that with a Kahr Arms MK40. I really wanted to get used to the M&P because I really like the ergonomics of the pistol and the felt recoil was better than the Glocks from my experience. Even as I was selling off the M&Ps, I was ogling at the M&P 45 Mid. Why? Because Glock does not have a mid sized 45. The 36 and the 30 are not what I consider optimal for self defense carry. The 36 has too low a capacity and the 30 has horrible ergonomics.
So I fell into some extra cash and decided to go for the M&P 45 Mid. My plan was to not shoot this gun until I got it to work the way I felt it should. So I purchased the pistol, 3 mags, an APEX Duty/Carry kit and Amreiglo sights. I did not take the pistol out to shoot it until it was finished.

Before any work was done…


The first thing I did was detail strip the lower half. I decided to reduce the trigger guard to bring the hand closer to the bore.


I used a wooden dowel and about 4 different types of sand paper to smooth out the plastic as I sanded it down.

The next step was to flare the mag well out a bit to assist with reloading. This was an after thought but I decided to do it because I used to hang up the mag wile reloading the first M&P 45 I had.

The next step was to stipple the frame. I use a lot of grip tape on my Glocks and I wanted this to be permanent. I figured that if I was going to go all out, I might as well get it rough like I like it.



I then installed the APEX kit to the frame. I watched the Youtube video and it was truly a simple task.

I then tackled the slide. I did not have a sight pusher for the M&P so I used a brass punch to remove the front and rear sights. The installation of the APEX parts into the slide was also a snap.

I had to fit the rear sight a bit by grinding off some metal from the one side. It took about 30 seconds on the grinder. If I ever do this again, I will definitely buy a sight pusher. I ended up denting the rear sight a bit. Barely noticeable but not a perfect job at all. These sights were the best sights I have ever used. The Hackthorne front is awesome to say the least and I chose a pro operator rear with yellow tritium.


Here is a photo of the finished product.

Finally a trip to the range. I had several hundred rounds of 230gr ball reloads. They were quite dirty but recoil and accuracy was awesome. I loaded up 3 ten round magazines and went to town on an IDPA target. I only shot at 7 yards but I wanted to focus on the new sights. I did some long range shooting prior to shooting this target (25 and 50 yards) but I decided to keep this one for proof that this pistol shot great!

In conclusion, I am very happy with this configuration of M&P. I think that my Glock 21 is a bit more accurate but for its size and capacity, it’s a definite winner!

2

Looks awesome man, nice work!

3

Good job :cool:

4

Very nice work. Looking good? How does the trigger feel?

5

I run primarily M&P45s (FS and Compact for CC). All of mine have BTC trigger jobs, and I can honestly say that after the trigger is taken care of. They are the best striker 45s on the market IMO.

6

Congrats brother, I am loving my 9mm, and the mid size 45 is next on my radar.

Have you tried all the different inserts to see how it affected your accuracy? Before buying my 9mm, I was able to borrow a friends full size 9mm and mid size 45 and head t the range. The mid size 45 really surprised me how accurate it was even with the shorter barrel. I was every bit as accurate with it at 7 yards as I use to be with my G21. I am running the hackathorn sights on my M&P 9mm as well, they have been on my last few pistols (Glocks Previously) and it is making my transition to the M&P’s that much easier.

7

That’s a sweet blaster corycop. I would give a testicle for an M&P9 in that configuration.

8

Nice bro.

I recently picked up a full size M&P 45 as a new night stand gun and am currently in the market for a mid size to replace my G23/G27 as my primary off duty gun. The M&P series fits my had a thousand times better than any Glock. I would use them for duty use by am stuck with my department issue G22. I have no issues transitioning between either platform so I am going to replace my two off duty glocks with an M&P mid size.

9

Very nice!

C4

10

Got to hand it to ya. This is pretty inspiring and getting me to think of ways I’d like to improve my M&P…

Did you just affix the sandpaper to the dowel and go to town? Would you mind disclosing the diameter you used?

11

Strange HTC EVO double post…

12

I think I posted in my gen 4 glock thread about how I test grip insert sizes…
I fire a 5 round group at 10 yards and whichever insert is the most accurate, I use that one. In the case of the 45 mid, it was the small insert.

13

The 9mm is going to be my next project…stay tuned! :smiley:

14

The trigger feels like breaking a glass rod! I will put it on a scale soon but it feels like about 4 pounds. Whatever the weight is, it is super consistent. It is, however in desperate need of a RAM.

15

Thanks for the kind words and the Apex kit!

16

I will post pics when I can get to a computer.

17

Gotcha, I didn’t see the glock thread so didn’t read that part. Good looking pistol, nice work.

18

The diameter of the wooden dowels are 3/4 inch. I went to the hardware store and got a 4 foot long piece for like 2 or 3 dollars. I got some sandpaper and wrapped a 5 or 6 inch section and stapled them tightly. I used 60, 100, 150 and 220 grit to get it as smooth as I could.

19

Thanks for all of the kind words guys!

20

Very nice setup, but I think the rear sight is an Ameriglo Pro (not an Operator). The Operator rear sight does not have the white outline around the tritium capsule.