The Smith and Wesson Military and Police Service Pistol

Slide and Barrel

The M&P's slide and barrel are machined from stainless steel billet and are then "through hardened" rather than case hardened. Case hardening hardens the surface of the steel while through hardening, as its name indicates, produces both external and internal hardening in the steel. This provides enhanced protection from wear and tear, solvents, salt water environments, body perspiration and any other environmental condition the M&P could be used in. The through hardening process also produces a surface hardness of 68 HRC. To improve durability and reliability, the slide rails of the M&P are thicker than those on many other brands of pistols.

The slide rails are not moulded into the frame, as on most other polymer framed pistols, but are part of the sear housing ( left ) and locking block ( right ).

The front of the slide features a tapered profile designed to assist reholstering of the pistol, especially when the task has to be performed one handed. Deep cut serrations at the rear of the slide allow it to be retracted smoothly, even with wet hands or when wearing gloves. Another good feature is that all edges of the slide, including the Novak sights, have been beveled to prevent abrasion to the shooter's hands when loading and unloading. This is important when having to operate the pistol during stressful situations, as any sharp edges will inevitably lead to cuts and abrasions on your hands.

These two M&P’s tested by C&S can be fired with the magazine removed. You can see that the ambidextrous slide lock lever is flush with the frame to prevent accidental activation.

M&P barrels are broach rifled and have a "cone" muzzle, which is the machined taper on the barrel that matches the machined taper on the inside of the slide. This style of barrel provides consistent positioning for enhanced accuracy but at the same time produces less friction as the slide travels rearward. At the rear top of the barrel is a small half moon cut that allows the shooter to verify visually whether or not there is a cartridge in the chamber.

Breech locking is by means of a variation of the method developed by John Browning. The barrel and slide are locked together by the barrel hood bearing on the front edge of the ejection port. When the pistol is fired, these two parts recoil together for a short distance whereupon an angled lug on the bottom of the barrel bears on the frame mounted locking block and is cammed down. This releases the slide from the barrel, which continues to the rear, extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case. The extractor's generously sized claw ensures a reliable grasp on and extraction off the fired case.

At the end of the slide travel the recoil spring forces the slide forward, stripping the next round out of the magazine and chambering it. As the slide and barrel go into battery, the barrel hood once again moves up into the ejection port, locking the two units together. The recoil spring uses a full length stainless steel guide rod that ensures smooth operation and consistent lockup. The spring and recoil guide rod can easily be removed during disassembly. The recoil spring is of the captive design, and uses a stainless steel guide rod. Plastic guide rods used in many other pistols can on occasion break.

The low recoil leads to a quick recovery time to get the sights back onto the target.

This images catches the M&P in full recoil. One case has just left the ejection port while the next is being fed into the chamber. Note the lack of muzzle climb.

Sights

M&P Pistols come standard with Novak Lo Mount sights, one of the better pistol sighting systems available on the market today. These use the three white dot system to aid in rapid sight alignment and enhanced target acquisition. There is a white dot on the front sight and two white dots on the rear sight. When aligning the sights on the target they give a good square profile sight picture. For those individuals or agencies that need it Trijicon night sights are available as an option. They use tritium inserts which will glow in conditions of low light or darkness in order to give the user a viable sight picture. Both the front and rear sights are dove tailed into the slide, and are easily drifted to adjust for left to right correction.

The sights supplied on the M&P are the Novak three white dot type, but the front sight on this M&P has been replaced with the red fiber optic style.

Polymer Frame

A lot of thought has been put into the design of the frame of M&P to make it more user friendly. The frame of the M&P is a one piece unit moulded from Zytel polymer. Placing an M&P in your hand you immediately notice the ergonomic design. It is very important how a pistol fits the shooter's hand. The frame of the M&P features an extended beavertail that both secures a proper grip in the shooter's hand and dissipates the felt recoil. This lets ensures a proper grip during firing and makes the target reacquisition faster. The grip angle of 18 degrees makes the pistol point naturally. Also the trigger guard is large enough to allow use of gloves.

The Zytel polymer frame on the M&P soaks up a lot of the recoil, making this pistol suitable for females and those with a low upper body strength.

The slide reciprocates on four stainless steel rails. Unlike most polymer framed pistols the rails are not imbedded in the frame during the moulding process. The forward pair of rails are integral to the frame mounted locking block and the rear pair of rails are part of the steel sear housing. Smith and Wesson's engineers designed the rails so that when they are viewed from the top they have an oval shape. This design provides a very small frame bearing surface that, while still providing sufficient support, reduces friction to improve functional reliability.

The ridged steel rails are located on both sides of the frame and run from the front locking block to the rear sear housing block. These rails provide additional strength to the frame which will assist in controlling torque, frame flex and felt recoil. They create a platform that provides consistent alignment of the trigger and sear that is not affected by the expansion and contraction of the frame due to environmental conditions or the flexing generated when firing the pistol. The advantage of the polymer framed M&P over all metal guns is the reduction in weight and grip comfort combined with the durability and precision of an all metal design.

The magazine release is conventionally located at the rear of the trigger guard. Its retention spring is hooked into a curved notch. It is easily accessible when the slide is removed. It can be removed by unhooking it and then removing the magazine release button, which can be inserted on the opposite side, which means that the magazine release is ambidextrous to suit left or right hand users. Swapping from side to side takes less than one minute.

The advantage of the polymer framed M&P is the reduction in weight and improvement in grip comfort combined with the durability and precision of an all metal design.

 

The slide reciprocates on four stainless steel rails. Unlike most polymer framed pistols the rails are not imbedded in the frame during the moulding process, but are integral to the locking block and sear housing.

Polymer framed pistols make up over eighty percent of the handguns carried by law enforcement officers in the United States.

With a moulded polymer frame and machined stainless steel slide the M&P is S&W’s third polymer framed pistol. It is an attempt by the company to regain its position in law enforcement handgun sales.

Grip Design

One of the more innovative features of the M&P's frame is in the grip. Instead of the shooter having to adapt their hand to the pistol, the pistol's grip can be adapted to the shooter's hand by installing any one of three different sizes ( small, medium and large ) of palm swells at the rear of the grip frame. To change the palm swell you rotate a catch at the bottom of the grip frame and pull it out allowing the palm swell to be lifted off and replaced. Having averaged sized hands, I tried all three and the pistol fitted me best with the medium size palm swell. With law enforcement and military organisations employing people from different ethnic and gender groups the ability to make the grip of the duty pistol larger or smaller will be welcome.

The M&P pistol comes with three different sizes of grip insert. The pin is used to hold the insert in place.

Smith and Wesson paid a lot of attention to the design of the frame mounted slide lock lever. I have seen many cases of shooters touching the slide lock lever with their thumb when using a two handed grip. I am sure that many pistol shooters have at one time or another, due to a poor grip have engaged their pistol's slide lock by mistake.

They inadvertently push against the slide lock lever, which locks open the slide when they are firing the pistol. The few seconds it takes to rectify the mistake can be the difference between winning and blowing a match. On the range or in a competition such mistakes are aggravating, but in a defensive situation they could have disastrous consequences. The M&P's ambidextrous slide lock levers have a flat profile and are flush with the frame. Those two features combine to greatly lessen the chances of the shooter engaging the slide lock lever unintentionally and require a separate, conscious movement to activate the lever.

Trigger Operation

As the M&P slide goes forward, the striker remains in a partially cocked position. The M&P uses a double action only (DAO) trigger that provides a 6.5 pound trigger pull of 0.30 inches, which completely retracts the striker before tripping the sear. The trigger pull is exactly the same for each shot, providing consistency. Another feature is a trigger over travel stop that eliminates over travel after the trigger releases the firing pin and the pistol fires.

The M&P uses a double action only (DAO) trigger that provides a 6.5 pound trigger stroke of 0.30 inches.

S&W’s team decided to go with a double action only trigger that retracts and releases the firing pin on the M&P. This is a common trigger mechanism now, where about 60 - 70 percent of the cocking is accomplished by chambering a round with the slide, leaving only 30 - 40 percent of the trigger pull for the trigger finger. The firing mechanism is recocked by the reciprocal action of the slide. If you pull the trigger and get a click instead of a bang, carry out the “tap-rack-bang” drill to chamber another round, which will get you firing again.

For those of you who do not know this drill, when a pistol fails to fire you “tap” the base of the magazine firmly to make sure that it is fully inserted and locked in the pistol and then “rack” the slide to cock the pistol’s firing mechanism and chamber another round and then pull the trigger to make the pistol go “bang”. The “tap” and the “rack” are carried out by using the support hand.

This type of trigger pull has resulted from trying to provide the shooter with a good trigger, while taking account from decades of safety issues and liability issues. The M&P is like the Glock, with a passive trigger safety and no decocking lever or manual safety. If you keep your finger away from the trigger, then the pistol will not go bang. Remember, your finger should NOT be on the trigger until your sights are on the target.

While the M&P's long trigger stroke is one of its primary safety features, the pistol contains other safety systems. These consist of trigger, firing pin, and magazine disconnect safeties in addition to an internal lock. Located at the rear of the trigger where it bears on the frame, the trigger safety prevents movement until the pivoting trigger is pulled. The second is an internal, spring loaded plunger that prevents firing pin movement until the rearward movement of the trigger bar deactivates just before it releases the firing pin to fire the pistol. Both also serve to prevent trigger and firing pin movement when the pistol is accidently dropped.

The M&P is also fitted with a magazine disconnect safety. When the magazine is removed, a lever at the rear of the magazine well pivots forward, moving the trigger bar out of alignment with the sear, making it impossible for the pistol to be fired. Reinserting the magazine realigns these two units allowing the pistol to be fired by pulling the trigger.

As on most new S&W handguns, the M&P is fitted with the Internal Safety System. A special key is inserted into a small hole on the left rear of the frame and rotated, activating the magazine disconnect safety and preventing unauthorized firing of the pistol whether or not a magazine is in the pistol. As a further safety feature, the M&P's slide must be locked open and a sear deactivation lever rotated before it can be disassembled.

Magazine

The M&P's magazine is a completely new design intended to further enhance functional reliability. Produced by Mec Gar inItaly, this company manufactures magazines for many other firearm manufacturers. This magazine is distinctive in that the bottom section is a typical double column, high capacity magazine, the upper section narrows so that the top two rounds are fed from what is in effect a single column magazine. This means that when the top round is chambered by the slide it does not hit the feed ramp at an angle but goes straight into the chamber, providing smoother functioning and enhanced reliability, especially with hollow point bullets.

Speed reloads are easily accomplished with the M&P. the sequence starts from when you are firing the pistol.

You break the grip and the magazine release is pressed while the support hand goes for the spare magazine.

As the depleted magazine drops to the ground the full magazine is directed towards the pistol. The pistol is brought down slightly from the aiming position and rotated towards the new magazine.

The index finger guides the next magazine into the frame of the pistol and the magazine is firmly inserted with the palm of the support hand.

The two handed grip is reacquired and the pistol is returned to the aiming position.

Firing is now recommenced.

The M&P comes supplied with two steel magazines, which hold fifteen rounds each in .40 S&W and .357 SIG calibers. The 9mm version will hold seventeen rounds. A version in .45 ACP is also available. The magazines drop free when the magazine release is pressed. The magazine release is easily switched for either right or left hand operation.

Accessory Rail

Picatinny Accessory Rail

Today it has become mandatory to be able to fit lights or laser sights to service or duty pistols. To satisfy this requirement, the M&P has a Picatinny rail on the bottom of the dustcover section of the frame and it accepts all standard tactical lights and laser sights. The ability to attach low light illumination attachments ties in with modern techniques in police work.

The pistol is designed for holster use with the front of the slide being tapered for reholstering and the pistol is free of any parts or controls that stick out. The ambidextrous slide release is there to let the slide go forward and chamber a round, but after seating a magazine, it is easier to give the wavy gripping groves at the rear of the slide a slight tug rearward and then let the slide slap forwards.

Another safety feature of the M&P is found in the dismantling method. It is very similar to the SIG pistol, being a rotating lever on the left side of the frame. First make sure that the magazine is removed and the chamber is empty. Before the slide can be removed a little yellow lever inside the magazine well must be pushed downward. Doing this disconnects the sear. To do this you have to lock open the slide before disassembly, which ensures that the chamber is empty.

Shooting the 9mm M&P was very comfortable. The M&P sits low in the hand, and the recoil is straight back. I fired five shot groups with several different types of ammunition through the M&P from a rested position at twenty five metres. Group sizes were 50mm to 75mm depending upon the type of ammunition used. Standing unsupported at twenty five metres it was easy to keep a magazine of ammunition in the A Zone of an IPSC target. During the course of the C&S test I both watched and fired a total of 1000 rounds of ammunition cycling through three M&P pistols with total reliability. It fed, fired, and ejected perfectly, every time.

Earlier polymer framed pistols by S&W were the Sigma and SW99. The new S&W M&P is different from their first attempts in several ways. They looked at every part of their own polymer pistols, and also those of their competition, and sought to improve each feature. S&W went to great effort to assure that their new M&P pistol is a good fit in the human hand. While sales to individual shooters will always be a big part of the pistol market, it is readily apparent by the name of the new Military and Police pistol that S&W intends to take a larger share of the law enforcement market with this new pistol.

Since its introduction, the new M&P has made significant sales into law enforcement organisations in theUSA, with several major departments adopting it.

Available in 9mm, .357 Sig, .40 S&W and .45 ACP calibres, the M&P is now making inroads into the law enforcement, self defense and sports shooting markets.

The area of the sports shooting sector where the M&P has taken off is in IDPA and IPSC competition shooting, where top competitors are using it to great success. This has lead to the S&W Performance Centre bring out a competition prepared version.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol purchased 1,840 Smith & Wesson M&P pistols chambered in .357 Sig caliber in September 2009. The M&P pistol's reliability, ambidextrous operating controls and three interchangeable palm swell grip sizes were key reasons for the selection of the new duty sidearm. The North Carolina Highway Patrol added that the polymer framed pistol's accuracy and reliability during testing were all primary factors in their decision making process.

The M&P is field stripped for cleaning. From the top are the slide, barrel, recoil spring, frame and magazine.

It has been a good seller amongst firearm enthusiasts as well. One corner of the sports shooting sector where the M&P has taken off is in IDPA and IPSC competition shooting. It has done well there. When top competitors proved the M&P could win matches, thePerformanceCenterat Smith and Wesson listened to the requests of customers and started work on a special competition version of this pistol. The result of this is the new Pro Series M&P. The first five inch barreled 9mm M&P from thePerformanceCenterwas on display at Smith and Wesson's stand at the 2007 SHOT Show inOrlando.

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