[choochboost]

Is it just me or have there been a lot of reports about sights being off from the factory? I have never heard of a pistol with more complaints about this than the M&P. Are these reports exaggerated or is this really the case? There was a time when someone would report that they were shooting poorly (low left or otherwise) because the sights were off. The automatic response was, "Learn how to shoot." But with the M&P it seems like this is actually a common thing. The sights on my M&P fullsize are thankfully dead on. I'm awaiting the delivery of my compact and I guess I'll have to inspect them first. So, what say you? Is it the sights or the shooters?

 

[Hubmonkey1]

Glocks had the same problem. Shooting low left. It is a shooter thing. I can pick up a glock and shoot it and it will be low left, have two other people shoot the same gun and it shoots fine for them.



Hub

 

[vallhawke]

I can really attest that the sight of my M&P was really off when it came out of the box. As soon as it got adjusted it became very accurate and so easy to shoot. Although I didn't adjust it, I was able to see how easy it is to do. All you need is 1/16 allen wrech to loosen the top screw, a brass drift punch and a hammer to tap it on the side you wanted it to group. The gun smith that adjusted it said that only 1 out 20 pistols gets its sight right out of the factory. I'm sure that's an exagerration.

But who knows.

 

[G56]

I've seen some photo's of some that weren't centered from the factory, but frankly.....98% of the time when a pistol is shooting low left it's really a problem with technique, not the pistol.

 

[choochboost]

I've seen some photo's of some that weren't centered from the factory, but frankly.....98% of the time when a pistol is shooting low left it's really a problem with technique, not the pistol.

I understand the connection between low left and poor technique/inexperience, but are there really that many M&P's coming from the factory with the sights not centered? Seems like there is a thread on this every day and claims of sights being off seem to be validated by other members instead of recommending they learn to shoot better.

 

[mikenkansas]

For what it's worth, mine seem dead on. As dead on as sights can be for 57 yr. old eyes with contacts and reading glasses :wink:

 

[JohnN]

[quote name='G56']I've seen some photo's of some that weren't centered from the factory, but frankly.....98% of the time when a pistol is shooting low left it's really a problem with technique, not the pistol.

I understand the connection between low left and poor technique/inexperience, but are there really that many M&P's coming from the factory with the sights not centered? Seems like there is a thread on this every day and claims of sights being off seem to be validated by other members instead of recommending they learn to shoot better.[/quote]



Well, since you don't have a problem with your gun what makes you ask the question in the first place? Maybe you need to get another gun so you can obsess over it instead.

 

[MP Dick]

All three of my M&P's were accurate out of the box.

 

[HeavyDuty]

My 40c is dead nuts with 165g.

 

[40SX]

I was shooting my 40 compact yesterday at twenty five yards and at the start some of my shots were a little to the left, but improved as the day went on. I was shooting WWB 165 grain and Speer Gold Dot 165 grain ammo. It wasn't a great day for me, The best I could do was 5 inch groups, but I know it will get better. As I look at the sights on my 40 compact, it does look as if the rear sight is very slightly to the right of center of the slide as it came from Smith & Wesson.



Dennis

 

[choochboost]

Well, since you don't have a problem with your gun what makes you ask the question in the first place? Maybe you need to get another gun so you can obsess over it instead.

Because I've never heard so many reports about one gun coming with sights off before. It's a pet peeve that I have when people blame the sights when they can't shoot straight. Normally I'd climb all over the person and tell them to stop looking for an excuse and learn how to shoot, but now I'm wondering if the sights being off is a legit/likely possibility.

 

[Arizona Smithshooter]

My M&P 9 Fullsize came with the front sight off-center, about 1/8 inch to the right of center, and it shot to the left of POA. My wife's M&P9 Compact came with the front sight centered. Just my 2 cents.....

 

[YukonGlocker]

Both of my M&Ps came with the front sight off center to the right.

 

[bandt32084]

Low left

My MP40 was low left as well, Left was all me getting a feel for the trigger and I fixed the low problem by blacking out the rear dots.

 

[jackal99]

i was low left blacked out the dots and ordered a dawson precision front night sight so i'll let yall know if it helped next time I go shoot. I noticed that the dawson front sight is lower than the factory night sight or at least it claims to be on the sights i've seen it on so hopefully this will fix the prob

 

[raz-0]

I think it is mostly people needing to practice. However, therfe were some actual issues. One was a batch of bad front sights that didn't necessarily stay put because their dimensions weren't right. Bad batches of parts happen to all manufacturers now and then. However, most people who ACTUALLY had bad front sights would have varying mismatches between POA and POI, not one consistant one.





Second are the damn three dot sights with the mismatch in dot sizes front to back. If you line up the top of the front sight with the top of the rear sight, you don't get three equal sized dots lined up. I forget if they line up center to center, or top to top, or bottom to bottom, but only one of thsoe is right.



Odds are it's the shooter though. However you take a relatively small problem over all productioon samples to date, and give it as an excuse to someone who doesn't know their own bad habits, and they latch onto it.



It also probably seemed like a bigger problem because so much attention was given to the M&P so early on, and that was when the problem was.

 

[YukonGlocker]

On my fullsize:

The front sight was off center to the right. But the rear sight was off center to the right also. It hit at point of aim from the factory.



On my compact:

The front sight was off center to the right. But the rear sight was off center to the left. It hit to the left of point of aim from the factory.



Both are right on now. :wink:

 

[mike_]

Is there agreement on the POA for the M&P three dot sights? Line up all three dots and cover the target with the front dot?