It is no secret that I am a big fan of the Smith and Wesson M&P series handguns. I own a number of them myself and plan on getting at least one or two more. I have written an in-depth review of the M&P already – so what do I have to say that I haven’t already said?
Short story – a good friend of mine was lusting after one of my personal M&P fullsize 9mm’s. It already has the excellent APEX sear and trigger block installed, along with Warren Tactical rear sight. He wanted to buy one exactly like mine.
I was perusing the on-line want-ads of the state where my permanent residence is – and would be returning to shortly. I noticed for sale an M&P that looked to me had already been to Ben Simonson of Boresight Solutions and received his stipple treatment. I immediately contacted the seller and told him I would buy it for the asking price. I then called my buddy and told him that if he wanted to buy my M&P – he could have it for $XXX.00. He said “done”.
I got home and went and met with the seller. His name is Peter Chun – and HE is the one that did the stipple job. The work he does is fantastic – a serious work of art. I handed over my M&P fullsize .40 cal and told him to go ahead and do that one too!
Here is a pic of the left side of the M&P I bought from him:
There are six main areas of work that Peter did to this M&P (and will repeat with my other M&P). They are:
- The main frame gripping surface area.
- The magazine release.
- Under the trigger guard
- Relief under trigger guard
- Index witness areas on dust cover area
- Rear of Slide End Cap
Regarding the main gripping surface of the M&P – my only gripe with the stock M&P has been that it is sort of “slick”. I have seen and felt a lot of stipple jobs – but none of them felt or looked right. I settled on custom grip tape that is made for the M&P – which really enhanced the feel – but also ate up my clothes when carrying concealed. When I first felt the stipple job Peter did – I was in love! It is not as aggressive as the “sand paper” grip tape – but it felt REALLY nice. It is “grippy” without being overly aggressive. I know it won’t eat my clothes either! Smith really ought to change their molds to make the gripping area exactly like this one. It really helps my hands “lock” onto the gun without any downside.
Had I ordered the service done over the phone, and having never felt a stipple job like this before – I probably would not have ordered stippling on the bottom of the trigger guard (#3 above). That would have been a SERIOUS mistake.
I was shocked and amazed at what a benefit it is to have that little bit of stippling right there. It REALLY locks the support hand into the gun and actually and measurably helps with follow on shots. My split times from shot to shot is slightly faster, and more accurate. The proof really is in the pudding. I thought it to be purely cosmetic – and in that I was 100% wrong. It serves a serious purpose – and I am glad it is there – and glad I told Peter to make my .40 look exactly like it.
He also radiused the trigger guard where my firing hand middle finger meets it. It is difficult to see where he did this smoothing/radiusing – but it can certainly be felt! I have a callous on the knuckle of my firing hand middle finger – however I think it will go away now – as this radiusing that Peter does makes it feel much better than the stock M&P trigger guard.
I also really like and appreciate the “index witness” points that Peter added to each side of the dust cover. I shoot both thumbs pointing forward – and the tip of my firing finger and thumb of my support hand contact the dust cover in the exact spot on each side – and the stippling Peter did helps my finger/thumb know they are in the “right spot”.
The mag release didn’t escape Peter’s watchful eye either. This does help with mag changes – it gives my thumb a more positive purchase without any slippage that may happen with the OEM version. Also – check out the attention to detail and the uniformity of the stipple job Peter does – truly outstanding work.
The last area Peter did was the Slide End Cap. This is purely cosmetic – but it really does look good and adds the aesthetics of the whole firearm.
Just in case anyone is wondering - I paid the full asking price for the handgun Peter sold me – and I am paying the full asking price for the work he is doing on my M&P .40 – I am receiving zero compensation whatsoever. I am writing this strictly to pass on a good word of a good guy that does outstanding work. Work that truly enhances the ergonomics of a handgun that already possesses great ergo’s to begin with. Peter’s treatment does nothing to take away from these excellent ergo’s but in fact brings them up a notch or two for a price I felt was more than fair.
Now the bad news – Peter does not posses a FFL – so he can only do local work. He lives on the Wasatch front in Utah – so if you are lucky enough to live there – he can certainly hook you up. His e-mail address is: pchawaii28@gmail.com
He only works on one handgun at a time – from start to finish. Wait time right now (April 2010) is about 2 weeks.
As a total sidebar – this is my first M&P with a thumb safety – and I fully intended to remove it post haste – however – it is placed is an excellent spot – very reminiscent of the 1911 series. Having handled this M&P with the thumb safety – I may not remove it. It doesn’t get in the way – and my thumb naturally depresses it when I bring it up to fire.
Any questions?
cheers
tire iron
