Smith & Wesson found itself behind the eight-ball and playing catch-up in the semi-automatic market for the next 15-20 years.
After several models failed to grab significant market share, S&W developed the M&P 9mm, a tribute to the old Smith & Wesson Military & Police .38 Special revolver.
The M&P has all the standard features of a modern 9mm including a picatinny rail, double stack magazines and a double-action trigger, but what makes the M&P stand out are the innovations S&W has incorporated into this weapon.
For starters, all M&Ps come with 3 interchangeable backstraps for individual preferences. Also, the magazine release is reversible, allowing the slide stop to work from either side. Another feature is the trigger safety, which operates on a hinged assembly that directly interacts with the trigger rather than an independent lever as seen on Glocks and other 9mm guns.
And unlike many other 9mm firearms, the new Smith & Wesson M&P can be broken down and cleaned without having to pull the trigger, an important safety feature. Smith & Wesson have also incorporated a see-through “loaded chamber indicator” into the design of the M&P 9mm.
This allows the shooter to eyeball the chamber and make a visual determination over whether it’s live or not. This is a vast improvement over the mechanical indicators found on many weapons which force the shooter to depend on the inner workings of the gun to figure out if there is a chamber in the round.
During range testing, firearms trainer and author Duane Daiker reported in his article “Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm: Refinement of the Wonder Nine” at USConcealedCarry.com, that the M&P 9mm handled better than expected:
“Both the full-size and the compact are remarkably easy to shoot. The grip angle is quite natural, the grip size is comfortable for a wide range of hands, and the trigger is very easy to manipulate.” (Read more at USConcealedCarry.com)
The M&P 9mm is no slouch in the accuracy department either. The gun had no problems consistently producing tight groupings on pie plates at 35 yards as well as target silhouettes at 100yards; more than enough accuracy for just about any self-defense scenario.
The Smith & Wesson is an exceptionally made “no frills” firearm. Of course there are many accessories available for the gun, but out-of-the-box, it makes an excellent self-defense or concealed carry handgun. It’s still establishing a track record, but this gun could be on its way to challenging Glock for 9mm supremacy.