We’ve had a wave of new readers over these last few weeks so I feel compelled to repeat something our regulars know: We are not gear reviewers.
We don’t do T&E guns. We don’t chase new SKU’s from this year’s SHOT Show.
If a gun is in The Armory or comes through one of our ranges, we are liable to discuss it. That is what you are seeing here. A pistol. That doesn’t belong to us. Is personally owned by someone in our orbit.
So with that out of the way, let’s get started.
What we have here is a Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 series of pistol. The caliber is 40S&W. And the color is FDE. It is a full sized service pistol.
The owner of this gun recently acquired it. He has always likes the M&P line and was interested in the 2.0 iteration. Immediately upon getting it, he spent $40 (I think that’s what we said) for some kind of trigger upgrade from APEX. And $3 for a spring…I assume under…the firing pin block. He also polished the face of the FP plunger.
I don’t know what the pull is since I didn’t measure it. But it HAD to be somewhere around 4.5 pounds. And a crisp break. Easily the best trigger I have ever felt on any M&P. Which isn’t saying much since M&P have a reputation for mushy triggers.
But I have to say: $43 for a trigger upgrade with this result is one hell of a deal. There isn’t a trigger snob in the world who would turn his nose up at the final product as it’s installed on this gun.
Another interesting thing: The sights. Now that I think about it, I seem to recall the Viking Tactics (VTAC) M&P’s has the same setup: A combination of tritium vials AND fiber optics. All encased in a protective sight structure.
The result: a set of day and night sights that pop out at you like something out of Hollywood special effects. Really a sight to behold. Pun Intended.
Finally: The factory checkering. In my opinion, most modern factory guns really fall down on the grip texture department. Most modern “combat” handguns sold today are way too slick and smooth for ideal tackiness.
Can you make it work without it? Sure. Most do. And whole some will just poo-poo this argument with something like, “You just need to learn how to hold a gun”. The truth is not everyone’s hands are created equal. Size. Girth. Strength. And personal natural ability to run a trigger at speed.
The end result is many people cross a fine line between gripping a gun to keep it locked on target. And over-gripping the gun to such a point it degrades the shooters ability to independently operate their trigger at speed.
If everything I just described is Greek to you, no worries. The market bares this out. Look at all the companies, products and services that exist mainly to stipple and checker guns? Not just polymer guns. Look at 1911 checkering. Look at G10 grips.
Everybody who operates a pistol on a high level is at least somewhat familiar with this concept if only personally.
Well…when I first picked up the M&P 2.0, I thought the owner must have had it stippled as well. Maybe by Apex? Turns out, the texture is factory. And it’s fantastic. There are only two other factory guns that match or exceed it texture wise: The FN FNS-9 and the Glock RTF frames.
That’s pretty good company.
I didn’t fire the pistol. I didn’t run it. Frankly M&P’s don’t generally do much for me. But on first blush, this 2.0 from Smith & Wesson feels like a winner. When we get a chance to film some video with it, I will be sure to post it here.
Bonus content: UH-60 flew over us while talking. I know some of you like this kind of stuff. So consider it a freebie.
Marky
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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