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?
Shoot a couple hundred rounds through it and then lube all the trigger contact points with a quality lubricant. That is all I did and mine feels much better than I expected.
shooting the shit out of them helps the trigger break a lot, but nothing short of a sear mod helps with the reset. After about 1200 rounds and a good break in period I was happy with my trigger break. I had to modify and polish my sear by myself to shorten the reset. Just used a fine file and an Arkansas stone to alter and smooth the reset surfaces.
Some have had good experiences sending it to S&W for a pro sear and trigger polish, some really like the work being done by Dan Burwell. I believe Burwell is cheaper. I cheaped out and gambled, so far I’m winning.
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.
It seems they arent as bad as ive been told. Might I be so uncouth as to ask what I could expect to pay Mr. Burwell for his trouble?
+1
I have a pro, modified fullsize and standard fullsize and am in no hurry to alter the sear on the standard. I probably will do it one day, just in no hurry.
As far as prices for Dan B’s trigger work, they’re listed on his website.
I own 4 M&Ps, all stock trigger. After dry firing (with Azoom snap caps) and a few hundred rounds, the trigger will improve. Maybe if I was a competitive pistol shooter, I’d get a custom job done. I have 3K to 4K rounds on 3 of them, with 5K, on the M&P9c. They work just fine with stock triggers.
Agreed. I also run a 1911 and after break-in, the difference is not enough to make a difference.
I will be the voice of disent.
The first time I tried a stock 9mm M&P trigger I was shooting plates with a friend. Even though the M&P had higher profile sights vs stock miniscule sights for my friend’s 1911, I found I shot much better with the 1911 due to the better trigger.
When I first shot an M&P45, I was shooting it side by side my 1911 and H&K USP-40. I shot light years better with both guns due to their better triggers.
YMMV.
Just spent some quality time earlier this evening with both a G19 and a M&P9. I’m not an expert, didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn, but the stock M&P trigger is certainly usable and while I’m sure it could be improved it’s definitely not a nightmare.
The only issue I have with the trigger is that after years and years of shooting and carrying a Glock I would short-stroke (for lack of a better term) the trigger and not let it out to full reset. It is something that could be fixed with training more with the platform.
My main reason for sticking with Glock is the ability to be your own armorer with ease as well as a vast array of parts availability.
I want to be able to order the necessary parts to do my own trigger upgrade and not have to spend the money to send it in.
I have a M&P9 that will soon be headed to Ben with Boresight Solutions for his magic, which is legendary with the who’s who of the industry so it may soon replace the Glocks but we will see.
For me the better feel of the M&P doesn’t offer so much of an advantage that it replaces the Glocks superior trigger, so right now, for me at least, Glock “Perfection” will get the job done.
Aside from the reset i think the trigger compares favorably to a Glock.
Stage one of the DIY trigger job listed by Burwell fixed the reset issue to my satisfaction…About 30 minutes of minor work(with the excellent walkthrough provided).
That’s an interesting perspective to hear. I have an M&P9c with a good number of rounds down range, and the trigger is perfect, even though it’s factory. On my new mid-size .45, with only about 100 rounds, the trigger is still “crunchy” and has a long, hard break, at over 7lbs on a Lyman gage. I am hoping the thing will just break in with use. If it doesn’t, I’ll be sending to David Bowie.
On my forthcoming PT M&P9, I guess it’ll have the PC sear, so it should be good to go, just like my existing Pro series 9.
Incredibly gritty from the get go, but that smooths out. The only thing I’ve been able to use to fix the double reset is the TI firing pin stop from Speed Shooters Specialities. Coupled with the pro sear it friggin rocks. I would like a heavier trigger return spring though, I think that would make it more Glock like.
It’s not terrible, but the only pistol I’ve ever encountered that was simply unshootable was the Wilson Combat polymer thing they imported from South Africa. My dad let a salesman talk him into that one, unfortunately.
Compared to a stock Glock trigger, I find the M&P9 and 40 that I own to be lighter, but spongier at and after the break.
Don’t worry about it. You may find yourself short stroking the trigger at first but that will work itself out pretty quickly. Get some dryfire time with it to learn the reset & you’ll be good to go.
I transitioned from a 1911 with a crisp, light trigger & didn’t have any real issues accuracy-wise. It’ll still put rounds where the sights are pointed if you’ll do your part.
Can anyone tell me what the factory trigger on an M&p9 is set to? I dont have a way of measuring mine just yet
I believe the target is 6.5 pounds. Individual specimens may vary.
When most people start talking about trigger jobs on service-grade guns they sound like teenagers who want to bolt spoilers to their Civics. Even if it technically improves mechanical performance, is it really going to help you?
I’m reminded of a student I had years ago when I was teaching basic CCW classes at the NRA Range. Older guy who’d been “shooting all his life” comes in with a tricked out 1911. Can’t hit a blasted thing. Seriously, we used 8.5x11 sheets of paper at 5yd and this guy was struggling. Every time I tried to coach him about his anticipation and trigger manipulation, he’d say the same thing.
“I told them I wanted a four pound trigger. This is five pounds and I just can’t shoot it like this.”
Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some guns with bad triggers. But most folks, when they’re getting a trigger job, seem to focus on lowering the weight or shortening the reset without understanding how that impacts other factors. For example, a very short but weak reset doesn’t really do you much good because your finger is still going to race past the reset point waiting for the trigger to catch up.
I find all the current M&Ps to have an acceptable carry trigger with the exception of the M&P .45 which are hit or miss mostly miss.
The 9s and 40s seem to run 5-7 lbs.
the .45 can do 12 pounds and are a bit hard to shoot.
Most smooth up quite a bit in the first 1000 rounds
Mike