[knut_the_viking]

Picked it up yesterday.

Dealer even had 2 extra mags that I just had to have.



Took it home, read the manual. Boy, there's a lot of red lawyer speak in there...



Close outside inspection. No marks of any kind. Steel appears well made.

Cycling the action. Slide stiff and a little gritty to cycle. Will break in nicely, methinks.



Did my first field disassembly. The weird little thing in the magwell before slide can be taken off is a little strange. No big deal.

Slide came off, again all the steel parts seem very well made.

Ran a couple of patches thru the barrel. Another observation: Need smaller patches...

How to take the recoil spring off the guide rod? Decided against trying.. Dark garage, spring under pressure, did NOT feel like searching for small parts last night...



All parts were wiped down, and a drop of CLP oil placed on all points mentioned in the manual.



Reassembled and started playing with the interchangeable straps.

Man, that 1/4 turn of the frame tool was tight. Almost couldn't do it with my fingers. Finally did it, and started testing the large and medium grips. I found the medium to be preferable at this point. I will revisit this after shooting it a little.



Wiped down the mags, the 2 in the case and the extra 2. Did not disassemble the mags and clean the internals. Packed all mags with rounds, each mag twice. Thumb sore now.



Overall first impression was most favorable. Even the carrying case is darn nice. A step up from the blue one my S&W stainless 1911 came in, for sure. It may even fit both the M&P and the 1911...



Another good thing is that Blade-Tech shipped the holster WAY ahead of the expected 5 weeks, should arrive on my doorstep today...



First match tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates.

 

[Jester]

GR is captured, not designed to be taken apart.

 

[knut_the_viking]

OK, that takes care of my curiosity..

 

[coati858]

Neither I nor the shop guy could get the tool out of "our" M&P9 when we "bought" it. Hopefully I'll have better luck in 8 days when I pick the thing up.

We could turn it a quarter turn in only one direction (instructions say "either way") and it would NOT come out.

 

[knut_the_viking]

Fortunately, I resisted the temptation to use a pair of pliers...

 

[coati858]

Seriously, the tool points up at the corners so it's like spearing your fingertips with two blunt fishooks trying to pull it out.

I take it this is normal when new?

 

[TxPhantom]

Look for the calouses....

The little frame tool is kinda hard to extract at 1st but loosens up (sorta) soon. Unless you need to change out the back strap grips you can use a pen or some kind of rod like devise to push the lever down.

But if you use your fingers often enough maybe you can develope some strange calouses on your fingers. And maybe we can identify MP owners at the mall by their finger calouses. :roll:

Could come in handy!!!

 

[knut_the_viking]

Finger calluses and a air of confidence and superiority about them...



I know I have that today...

Stay tuned for range report.

Just need to get a camera...

 

[buckeye49]

M&P

I try not to bite the fingernail too short on my little finger, then it works great for lowering the yellow (sear-release?) tool inside the chamber that allows removal of the slide. I don't even bother taking off the grip tool to use it anymore.



My grip tool was extremely hard to remove the first time. But, if you want to use the grip tooll tool removoe the slide, the best way to remove the grip tool I've found is:



Turn the tool about 1/4 turn, either direction (clockwise OR counter-clockwise), then, using your middle finger and your index (pointing finger), place one finger on either side of the tool, and pull hard. It will come right off.

 

[Glennrn]

FYI,



When I purchased by M&P, my gun dealer showed me an easier, softer way to remove the tool. You take the magazine and place the bottom lip of the magazine underneath the inner edge of the tool after it has been turned 1/4 turn, then use the magazine as a lever and pry out the tool. It works every time! It does not damage either the magazine or the tool and is a lot easier on your fingers...



Give it a try.

 

[coati858]

Thank you, we'll give that a shot (no pun intended).

 

[Captain Ray]

I, for one.. thought that was a great pun!! 8)



Raymond

 

[Anhinga]

New Use for "Church Key"

FYI,



When I purchased by M&P, my gun dealer showed me an easier, softer way to remove the tool. You take the magazine and place the bottom lip of the magazine underneath the inner edge of the tool after it has been turned 1/4 turn, then use the magazine as a lever and pry out the tool. It works every time! It does not damage either the magazine or the tool and is a lot easier on your fingers...



Give it a try.

I use the bottle opener end of my "Church Key" bottle/can opener to remove the tool. I took it with me to the range as I was deciding which grip to use on my M&P 9. This method does no damage to the pistol or the tool. (Of course I used a hillbilly wrench set (a pair of rusty pliers) to move the tool that first one quarter of a turn

)