[Angrypoonani]

I figured I'd give some comparison to Sarge's shooting for those who don't know what good shooting looks like (cuz Sarge's targets have good groupings):
As you can see he shoots much better better groupings than me and I'd say I shoot about average for a beginner.

18 rounds (17 in mag 1 in chamber) were shot at 20yrds from standing position from my S&W M&P .40 with new Storm Lake .40 to 9mm conversion barrel and Cheapo Monarch Steel 9mm 115gr. ammo. This is the first time I have shot 20yrds and it has brought some interesting issues to light about my shooting stance and pose. The issues are with my support hand and you can see the groupings develop closer and closer to the middle as I adjust. All rounds inside groupings were fired within 5-10 seconds of each other as I took a few seconds to reacquire the target.


I shoot best lefty and my support(right) arm tends to bow at the elbow as I go through rounds, even though I'm trying to hold both arms straight.

The 1st grouping (marked 1st) is when I didn't realize my support arm was bent at the elbow. It's not super noticeable at 7yrds, which is what I usually shoot so I havn't really payed much attention to it. At 20yrds it throws shots way off target as seen in the 1st group.

The 2nd grouping I took time to correct my elbow and pull it straight before I started firing and I paid a lot of mind to my support hand as I was engaging. However, this obviously threw off my vertical aim as I was intent on containing my horizontal axis.

The 3rd grouping was of my last 8 rounds and you can see I was compensating for the 2nd grouping by focusing on my vertical axis, but as you can see my elbow started to bend and the shots strayed further and further from the middle.

Hopefully this will spread some light on Sarge's grouping for those who think it's easy... it's NOT.

[SGT-MILLER]

Don't sell yourself short. Those are very good groupings for 20 yards. A lot of people don't realize how difficult it can be to group those shots close together at that distance with a standard auto pistol.

Good job. Keep it up!

[WDB]

Good adjustment and good grouping, I think you are the first I've heard using a aftermarket barel in a M&P. I'm intrested in what you think of it.

[Angrypoonani]

Originally Posted by WDB

Good adjustment and good grouping, I think you are the first I've heard using a aftermarket barel in a M&P. I'm intrested in what you think of it.

Thanks guys I'm trying!

The 9mm Storm Lake barrel is amazing, all I did after I got it was clean it and lube it and then drop it in. It fit perfectly and no adjustments of the sights were needed. I can't always hit the middle of the target but my brother is a great shooter and he shot a big hole in the middle of the target same as when he uses his XD9 at 7yrds, so that's proof enough for me that the sites are spot on. I have this thing about not spending a lot of money on ammo so I buy the cheapest I find, that may affect accuracy, but not too bad at 7yrds.

The gun has jammed 2 times total: once when shooting blazur brass 180gr. .40 with factory barrel. the casing didn't fully eject and was caught between the slide and top of the barrel.
The second time was shooting 124gr. (i think) 9mm winchester ranger with the aftermarket barrel. The rnd failed to load properly and created a situation in which I had to lock the slide back and tilt the gun to let the unfired round fall out and then press the slide release to chamber another round. I've shot several hundred rounds since then with no other problems.
I've shot about 2500 rounds through the gun total.

[Slawth]

Excellent report. Is it safe to say that you like the pistol? How is it to field strip?

Are you trying the modern isosceles and still having trouble with your off hand elbow?

I think your only problem is that you're left handed

[canebrake]

Great report! This is what the forum is all about!

Kudos Angrypoonani, good job.

** biting tongue preventing tupperware comment **

[Mark F]

Well Done!

[Angrypoonani]

Originally Posted by Slawth

Excellent report. Is it safe to say that you like the pistol? How is it to field strip?

Are you trying the modern isosceles and still having trouble with your off hand elbow?

I think your only problem is that you're left handed

Definitely like the gun, plus the fact that I could get a 9mm barrel for it decreasing the cost of practice is awesome.

The field strip is pretty quick (though not as fast as a glock) and easy: if you have boney little fingers like me you can push the sear deactivating lever inside the upper mag well with your pinky and then drop the takedown lever and "whala!"
One thing I did notice though is that the recoil spring in the M&P.40 is somewhat lighter than that of the XD9. Still working on understanding that...

Yes I was using the modern isosceles, I figured it was the simplest to start out with and work on.

Yea well my mummy tells me that I'm special because I'm left handed!!


Any suggestions on other stuff to work on???

[WDB]

FYI the lock pin that holds the back strap in place is meant to be used to push sear deactivating lever so even my big meat hooks make field strip fairly quick. I checked out Storm lake and it looks like I can get a barrel for about $160, that seems pretty fair, now I have to look into mag cost.

[dnthmn2004]

Nice range report. Those are good groupings from 20 yrds. Its nice to see a fellow M&P owner.

I had no idea there was a 9mm barrel for the M&P 40. I'm going to have to get one of those.