Other than my M&P shield I don\u2019t really have many M&P Pistols, but that\u2019s about to change. Throughout the years I\u2019ve continued to see shooters excel with their M&Ps at competition. Of course they all changed out their triggers, barrels and sights, but there had to be something drawing all these guys to the platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I get a lot of requests to review different firearms and lately I just keep hearing about the M&P 2.0 Compact. When I get a lot of requests for one particular gun I start to really take a look at it. Throughout the past couple months I\u2019ve gotton a ton of requests to review Smith and Wesson\u2019s M&P 2.0 Compact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I got a chance to shoot the new full-sized M&P 2.0 and I realized what I was missing. It was a better gun than I realized, so was the S&W M&P9 Compact just as good?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Glock took the market by storm there\u2019s been a lot of cheap imitations with very few improvements. While the M2.0 Compact definitely looks like a Glock, S&W decided to address most of Glock\u2019s Flaws to make the gun more functional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When looking at these two guns side by side you see the obvious resemblance. They are almost exactly the same size and similar in price. So it\u2019s inevitable that we compare the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t get me wrong I really love this gun(especially for the price), but there are a few things S&W really needs to change. I don\u2019t know why, but I really hat the Compact\u2019s magazine well. For some reason I\u2019m constantly snagging my magazines on the sides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most other Semi-Autos use a funnel style magwell with a slight flare around the edges. This allows you to quickly reload without worrying about getting the perfect angle. Maybe I\u2019m just not completely familiar with the platform yet, but blind magazine insertion was a no-go for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes with a little practice I would would definitely speed up my reload time, but with such a simple design change would make a huge difference. Considering I shoot multiple times per day(nice not having a real job) I shouldn\u2019t have a problem inserting a magazine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This really is just a great medium sized gun. It\u2019s the perfect size, not too big, yet not so small that it limits ammo capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve always been surprised that smith and wesson never really dived into their M&P platform. They’ve had the standard full size M&P for a number of years, but never really made a ton of changes. I think it’s been about 12-13 years, and then they have the subcompact size, but they never got into that in-between market that I love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Glock\u2019s Model 19 has really been king of that market forever, so maybe they thought they couldn\u2019t break in. Who really knows, but one things for sure, it was a much needed addition to their lineup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s the perfect size for a full size gun feel and yet you could still carry it everyday. Initially I just wanted to test this gun out so I called up my dad to raid his safe. The funny thing is after getting a feel for it I ended up heading to the store and buying one myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For everyday carry the Compact\u2019s design is much friendlier than the full sized version, but it could be a bit large for those of you with smaller frames. Being a 6ft 230lb guy with gorilla hands makes this the perfect size gun for me. If you like the size of a Glock 19 this is almost identical in size(blatantly obvious S&W copied the dimensions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The actual size and weight will depend on which barrel length you choose, but regardless it\u2019s going to be easy to conceal. Remember it\u2019s still a fairly large gun so don\u2019t plan on wearing a tank top and short shorts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I decided to try their 9mm version with the 4\u201d barrel, but they also have a 40 caliber version. With all my 9mm reloads upstairs I can never bring myself to buy a 40 caliber gun. Personally I went with the safetyless version, but you can also find it with a frame mounted safety if you want that option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stock sights are traditional bright white 3-dot style sights like you see on every other factory M&P. They\u2019re fairly smoothe even though the rear sight has a slight vertical angle. You shouldn\u2019t catch the sights on your pockets or belt, but that\u2019s always a concern with steeply angled sights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I haven\u2019t seen a factory tritium version(like they do with the shield) in stores, but I\u2019m sure they soon will add that option to their lineup. Regardless I would probably go out and buy Trijicon Sights anyway if this was going to be my EDC gun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After trying the Original M&P years ago I kind of gave up on the platform for a while. I just couldn\u2019t get over that horrible trigger. Obviously Smith and Wesson learned from their original mistake and seriously improved the trigger this time around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe I just had low expactations, but the trigger on the M&P 2 compact really blew me away. They set the new stand making one of the best factory triggers on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a very smooth lightweight pull there\u2019s no surprises. There\u2019s very little stack or grit in the movement and it breaks at a hair over 5 pounds on my scale. Personally I\u2019m not a huge fan of the trigger shape(feels a little tight), but I have abnormally large fingers so that\u2019s probably the reason why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this was going to be my everyday carry I would probably swap out the trigger with an aftermarket one, but I shoot a lot of different guns so it will probably stay as is. With consistent training I could definitely get used to this exceptionally smooth trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really love how companies are leaning away from their one size fits all approach to guns. The M&P compact ships with 4 backstraps so you can customize the grip to your hand. Swapping out the standard grip for a larger size really improved the feel in my hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a quick and easy breakdown where i cleaned up and lubed the gun I went out back to my makeshift range. With a few boxes of ammo at hand I tried a wide combination of bullets. A grab bag of Lead cast reloads, hollow points and FMJ ranging from 115 to 147 grains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After sending a few hundred rounds downrange I had no problems to speak of. Magazines always inserted securely, dropped easily and had no feeding issues. Didn\u2019t matter what type of ammo I used or how I held the grip there wasn\u2019t a problem. Limp wristing is definitely not a problem with this gun like it is with some Glocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dissassembly is as easy as you could possibly expect. There\u2019s no weird knobs you have to pinch, twist and slide all at the same time. It\u2019s just a basic dissassembly that you\u2019ll learn in minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do have to pull the trigger to release the slide, so make sure you check the barrel. I know it shouldn\u2019t have to be said, but better safe than sorry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honestly it took me a couple magazines to get used to the shorter barrel and angle of this gun. Felt so much like a Glock 19 that I kept hitting high. After quickly realizing my problem I made the adjustment and was right on target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shooting off-hand all my groups were pretty close to 3\u201d at 25 yards. With a little more practice and purpose built reloads, I\u2019m sure I could bring my groups in a bit. You don\u2019t really care about my accuracy so I spent the rest of the day shooting off my Caldwell Pistol Rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accuracy was really good, with all my groups averaging between 2\u201d-3\u201d off a rest at 25 yards, depending on the ammo. Had a little fun extending my range out to 50 and 100 yards, but obviously shots were slow and the guns not made for long range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some reason it really didn\u2019t like my larger 147 gr rounds. Tried a box of cheap Federal American Eagle 147 Grain ammo and Hornady\u2019s 147 Grain Hollow Points and both had wider 3\u201d groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My 124 Grain Hornady Jacketed Hollow Points and Federal 124 Grain FMJ seemed to bring my groups down closer to 2\u201d. Winchesters 115 Grain white box split the difference at 2.4\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smith & Wesson really did a lot of things right when designing the M&P 2.0 Compact 9mm. It\u2019s got an American made design that can compete side by side with anything in its class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This gun is a great value at about $450 at your local gun store. Honestly I would probably be willing to pay a bit more. I don\u2019t know if Glock and Sig loyalists will be willing to make the switch, but they\u2019d be fools not to give it a try.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Other than my M&P shield I don\u2019t really have many M&P Pistols, but that\u2019s about to change. Throughout the years I\u2019ve continued to see shooters excel with their M&Ps at competition. Of course they all changed out their triggers, barrels and sights, but there had to be something drawing all these guys to the platform. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n