Smith & Wesson M&P Pistol

FRANK BORELLI
Equipment Reviewer
Created:

The gentleman who brought this pistol to the range for test firing was able to shoot several five-shot groups that were four in-one-hole and a called flyer. Rapid fire from the same distance, it was easy to keep all shots inside the eight inches of black...


And speaking of shooting, of course everyone wants to know how well this pistol shoots. That is, after all, what all pistols are made to do. This pistol, like many others of contemporary design and manufacture, is probably better than many of the people who will shoot it. My first five-shot group fired from the 7-yard (21 feet) line is shown here. It's five shots--almost one long hole. The things you need to know: that's an 8-inch black target. The bullet hole you can see just outside at about 1:30/2 o'clock wasn't part of this string. It was previously fired on the cardboard target prior to my pasting up the black Shoot-N-See. This is one sample of how it shot that day. The gentleman who brought this pistol to the range for test firing was able to shoot several five-shot groups that were four in-one-hole and a called flyer. Rapid fire from the same distance, it was easy to keep all shots inside the eight inches of black target. We fired an assortment of full metal jacket ammo and some semi-jacketed hollow points. We experienced no malfunctions.

Although I never really thought I'd say it, I like this Smith & Wesson pistol. Just like all fairly new weapons the appearance of it will take a little time to grow on you, but "pretty is as pretty does." The gun is comfortable to hold, manipulate and shoot. It shoots well. It's easy to disassemble for field maintenance. It has interchangeable back straps to adjust the grip for hand size and the ease with which it can be made "left handed" lends itself to department-wide distribution.

The pistol is available in 9mm, .40S&W or in .45ACP. In the .45ACP loading, you can have the frame in black or in "earth brown," which looks suspiciously similar to many "desert tan" colors available today. Capacity for the .40S&W is 15 rounds per magazine (unless you live in California). In the .45ACP you can stuff ten rounds into a mag. At this point I'm kind of eager to get my hands on an M&P in .45ACP to see how comfortable that ten rounds of .45ACP can be in the hand.

BE SAFE!!!