S&W M&P 9mm Accuracy Testing – OEM vs Match barrel
- By tire iron
- 21 October, 2013
- 24 Comments
S&W M&P 9mm accuracy? Does it have it? I get that question a lot. I have owned S&W M&P 9mm (and .40) handguns for a few years now. I have performed informal S&W M&P 9mm accuracy testing numerous times over the years. Some have given decent performance regarding accuracy, and some have given less than stellar performance, depending upon ammo. Additionally I have never owned, nor shot a S&W M&P 9mm full size handgun that was a tack driver. I define a tack driver as being able to shoot 5 shots into a 3″ group or less at 25 yards. None of the S&W M&P 9mm handguns I have owned or shot could achieve that. I could get three shots to print a 3″ group, but never a five shot group. (That is why I use five shot groups – they give a clearer indication of what you can expect it to do.) Don’t misunderstand me though, as I do not think that every fighting handgun needs to be a tack driver. In my opinion a fighting handgun should be able to consistently shoot 4″ to 5″, five shot groups at 25 yards. Every S&W M&P 9mm that I have owned or shot would do that with the right ammo. In other words my opinion regarding the S&W M&P 9mm accuracy issue is that it is a great fighting handgun. However, a track driver it is not. On the other hand, it was designed to be a fighting handgun, not a tack driver.
S&W M&P 9mm Accuracy Problems
Many people mistaken believe that if a gun doesn’t shoot tight groups that the gun is not “accurate”. However, practical accuracy can only be achieved if three completely different objects all work in concert together, in harmony. Those three objects are the firearm, the ammunition and the shooter. And in my opinion there has to be a shooter. And the shooter has to be you. Nobody carries a Ransom Rest (a mechanical device that holds a firearm) around their pocket, so it doesn’t really matter what groups your handgun can shoot when situated in a Ransom Rest. Ransom Rests are great for removing the human element, which is helpful when a manufacturer wants to see just how well a firearm can shoot. That is the “academic accuracy”. What we are interested in is the “practical accuracy”. What can it do in your hands? So – are the S&W M&P 9mm accuracy problems real or imagined? No one likes to hear this, but that vast majority of the time the problem lies in the third element, the shooter. The next biggest culprit would be the second element, the ammunition. And lastly the problem may actually be the firearm, but in my opinion this is only true in extremely rare instances, and I mean, EXTREMELY rare instances.
S&W M&P 9mm Accuracy in my hands
The following accuracy results are when I am shooting my handguns. The results will be different for you shooting your handguns. I chose to shoot 5 different ammo types through my S&W M&P 9mm. Two common “training” rounds ( Wolf steel case 115 grain FMJ and American Eagle 115 grain FMJ). They are common in my area and a lot of folks shoot these rounds for training and practice.
I also chose to test three different self defense loads. These are the three I gravitate towards for CCW ammo. They are the Federal HST 124 +P, the Winchester Ranger 127 +P+ and the Federal HST 147 standard pressure load. They all have performed extremely well on the street. As you will see, different barrels like different loads, so I find which load my particular handgun likes among these three.
Testing protocol is to fire one 5 shot group at 25 yards. Optimally it would be better to shoot ten 10 shot groups per load – however with the scarcity and expense of ammo these days, particularly the premium defense loads, I wimped out and only did one 5 shot group per load.
Can my S&W M&P be turned into a “tack driver”?
I also tested a Match Fitted barrel in my S&W M&P 9mm. Grant (from G&R Tactical) has the exclusive rights to match barrels produced by Storm Lake. These are NOT the common “drop in” barrels that are available, these must be fit to your slide by G&R Tactical. I went this route just to see how much, if any, difference this would make in my particular pistol.
The stock OEM barrel is the black one on the top. The match barrel is the stainless steel barrel below it.
Results
It seems like the day I turned 40 that my close range vision went to crap. I can no longer see the front sight of any firearm clearly. The front sight is “fuzzy”. We all know that is not conducive to accuracy, so take that into account when you see the data. In other words, I shot as well as my eyes will let me shoot. Here is a table of the results:
S&W M&P 9 Accuracy table showing the results of test.
As you can see, the match barrel cut group sizes by a substantial amount. It is a bona-fide tack driver with the HST 124 grain +P ammunition, which is what I will carry in the magazine. Both the AE 115 grain and the Winchester Ranger 127 +P+ were not very far behind as well. The biggest improvement was the Wolf ammo. The match barrel cut that group to less than half what it was with the OEM barrel. I was also surprised that the group for the HST 147 grain ammo actually got slightly bigger with the match barrel. I will have to duplicate the test for that ammo type and see what happens. The match grade barrel was worth it to me, although it is not for everyone. The stock barrel is plenty accurate enough the vast majority of S&W M&P users. In fact, sadly enough not many people could shoot a 6″ group with a match barrel. However if getting the smallest groups possible is important to you, and if you can “hold ’em and squeeze ’em”, I suggest you get a hold of Grant and have him install a match grade barrel in your S&W M&P.
Regarding reliability, the Match barrel has proven to me to be every bit as reliable as the OEM barrel.
In other words it has eaten over 1,000 rounds of my crappy reloads. My handguns think Wolf is premium ammo compared to my reloads! Haha. So no worries regarding reliability with this match barrel.
Here is a video of the above test.
If you have any questions, ask them below. If this blog article has helped you, I would appreciate it if you would help me by sharing it, liking it, or even clicking on any advertiser on my blog. It helps me out, and I would appreciate the help.
Stay tuned for the same type of test with the S&W M&P Shield in 9mm!
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[…] grain +P ammo. Thanks Grant for a fantastic barrel at a fair price! Here is a video of the test. A more indepth written account can be found on my blog. cheers tire […]
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Great article, thanks for taking the time to post it! I’m curious as to how the M&P9’s performance w/ OEM barrel compares to other service grade pistols you’ve done similar testing with. I’m that any gun will see an accuracy improvement with a fitted barrel vs. drop in. But how do you think the M&P9’s stock accuracy compares to the stock accuracy of a G17, XDM9, etc?
The newer M&P’s have a different barrel which apparently has fixed the mediocre accuracy of the M&P series. You are correct that any gun will shoot better with a fitted barrel. On average, all OEM handguns of quality make shoot about the same with regards to accuracy. If you get a M&P, get one that is made in 2014 – it will have the new OEM barrel. If I had a brand new M&P I wouldn’t spend the money on a fitted barrel. Hope this answers your question! Thank you for read and posting!!
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I shoot several times a week and shoot all my pistols well all carry sized pistols. The typical target is a nice big hole in the center with maybe a few fliers until I purchased an M&P 9C at a good sale price this week. Test bullet fired was mid year 2014 so it should be current. I did observe the trigger wasn’t too bad with a definite audible reset. The take up was a little mushy but not gritty so it must be the so called new trigger. It was a smoother trigger than a Shield 9 and 40 that we have owned. We took it to the range every day this week and simply did not shoot it up to my expectations. So yesterday we traded it off.
Jim, I have done the same as you many times myself, i.e. sell off firearms that don’t meet my expectations. Hopefully we get good enough deals on the front end so we don’t lose very much money on the back end! Thank you for sharing your experience here, keep us informed on what firearm you settle on.
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I like my M&Ps much more so than many others. I don’t mind the evil hinged trigger and the Apex sear fixes 95% of anything you could really complain about regarding this gun BUT a short while ago I bought a Walther PPQ used.. It outshoots every M&P that I own. I feel comfortable taking a head size shot at 25 yards if it was ever needed. Being LE and a firearms instructor I can tell you that I would not be comfortable trying that with any M&P that I own other than one 45 that just seems to be an anomaly. I now own 3 more PPQs and they all shoot substantially better than my M&Ps. No, I am not selling any of my M&Ps and I might give a aftermarket barrel a try for a hoot but with everything considered including liability issues I’ll be carrying a PPQ when I’m not carrying my Shield for concealment purposes. For the price they are just that much better. One small note: my 9mm Shield is more accurate than my 40 full sizes … go figure.