Can anyone share what the routine maintenance should be on a S&W M&P? Other than cleaning regularly, what should be done to keep the platform running?
From the Problems thread, I’ve picked up that the recoil guide rod assembly should be changed every 5,000 rounds.
What about the trigger return spring and striker spring?
Magazine follower and magazine springs at 5,000 rounds per magazine?
Is there anything else that should be replaced proactively, or be kept on hand as a spare?
Thank you.
I oil mine.
oh, and I shoot it.
That is all.
From what I hear Smith has one that’s up around 130,000 rounds, no cleaning just oiling.
About every 5K, change out:
Trigger Return Spring
SEAR Plunger Spring
Mag Springs
Striker Spring
For spares, I would consider:
Slide release
Sear Plunger
Striker Block disc
Striker Assembly
C4
Grant,
How necessary are the every 5000 rounds changes? I’m pretty sure I’m at 5000 +/- 500 rounds. I quit counting at some point.
Would you also please detail what happens if these parts fail?
Currently I give my M&P’s a decent cleaning after each shoot. Leave some oil on the key parts so far haven’t had any problems.
Thanks
Think of it like changing out the oil and filter in your car/truck. Do you have to do it? No. Are you doing yourself any favors? No and since you might have to defend your life with this item, why wouldn’t you do the PM’s?
C4
i doubt that gun ever has anyone’s life depend on it. Just because you can neglect something doesn’t mean you should. just throwin that out there.
I may not clean my gun as often as some do, but I do function check it on a weekly bases.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
If maintenance as described above was truly necessary, we would see “Maintenance Kits” available straight from the factory and every gun shop in the country would carry them (another product to make money on).
I’ve not seen a proliferation of maintenance kits, have you?
What is the best way to determine when a mag spring needs replacement? OAL compared to a new one? I have two HD/carry mags that get shot through about every two months, aside from that there are about 6 or 7 mags that I rotate through training, and a couple that I’m keeping in new condition. For 1 mag to reach 5k rounds would take me some time, and my forgetter is good, so some way to measure would be a great help.
You must not know how gun manufacturers operate or think. First, they don’t want you changing a SINGLE thing in your gun (as you may screw it up and then need warranty service which costs them money). Most people do not shoot enough to break anything so there is no need to offer a PM kit.
When you take an armorer’s course, there is a SPECIFIC section describing maintenance. As a certified armor for several manufacturers, trust me when I say that companies DO recommend doing PM’s. 
C4
Generally you will have feeding issues or the slide won’t lock back on the last round.
You can also measure the spring and compare it to a new one to get an idea how much it has compressed.
C4
Ding, ding, ding. This is why the manufacturers don’t have maintenance kits.
Folks who shoot enough to need maintenance either have it supplied to them via department/division armorers or they do it themselves.
your gun, your life, your choice. :suicide:
“cleaning kits” are certainly popular and readily available.
Barrels could go too…and the plastic grip could break…
I think I’ll just keep buying new gun’s and throw them away after 5000 rounds.
Thanks for contributing absolutely nothing to this discussion. The OP asked a good question and was lucky enough to have it answered by Grant, an armorer that deals a lot with the firearm in question. Good stuff until you felt the need to appear and inject your nonsense. Are you an M&P armorer?
I am an M&P armorer for pistol and rifle as well as several other brands as a part of my occupation.
I agree that routine maintenance of whatever pistol you carry is recommended and advisable. You cant really go wrong with the parts replacement schedule that Grant outlined above.
Yes, in my experience, the M&P pistol will most likely continue to run without all the parts mentioned being replaced at regular intervals. However, with the relatively low cost of the mentioned parts, I personally would err on the side of caution and follow the maintenance schedule for a carry gun.
I also dont clean carry pistol everytime I shoot it either but thats on me. The detailed cleaning of any firearm will allow closer inspection of critical components but in my opinion is not absolutely necessary every time the gun is fired. I usually run a bore snake through the bore after a range session, wipe down the lens of my Surefire and wipe of the breech face. I also function check before chambering a round. I have my own cleaning process that works for me. If you are more comfortable cleaning after every range trip, thats great.
I enjoy pushing my range/training guns to see how long they will run without serious parts breakage. My carry gun is a different matter.
Do you understand what preventative maintenance is?
It sounds like you wait for something to break before replacing any parts. That’s a fundamentally flawed approach to put it nicely; especially for a defensive handgun that may have to be used for more than plinking at the range.
it’s a fine approach for a plinking gun. my 22’s rarely get more than a wipe down and relube.
anything i’d be likely to grab in a life or death situation gets substantially more attention.
I’m sneaking up on 5K through my M&P9 myself. Where’s the best place to get the recommended replacement parts? Grant do you stock them? Any chance you would put together a parts kit?
Brownells has a large supply of M&P parts.
I love the way some of you pick and choose to respond to pieces of what I’ve wrote instead of everything. :rolleyes:
I said I do function check it on a weekly bases. This also includes and inspection of wear parts.
My point in posting is only that one shouldn’t dwell on or obsess over replacing parts of a gun. For the most part, if the gun is running, it will continue to run.
Here’s a little something to think about.
What if you remove a perfectly good part and replace it with a brand new factory part with a flaw in it. :blink:
P.S. Thanks for the warm welcome mkmckinley.
P.P.S. Grant, how are those 2 M&P slides doing that I machined for RMR’s for you a few months back?