M&P Pro 9mm differences

[Eric86]

I believe I have narrowed down my choices for my first pistol.
Product: Model M&P9 and Product: Model M&P9

So from the two I only notice a couple of differences. One has a 5in barrel and one has a 4.25in barrel. They both have difference sights and ones overall length is longer. Ill be honest I do not like the reduced glare sights but I want the 5in barrel. This pistol will be for mostly plinking steel and I dont know if I will try to CC it so size isnt much of a factor. I will buy a compact to CC later on if I want to do that later.

Anyone see any differences other than the ones I listed? How much more accuracy will I gain/lose out of the .75in difference. Finally to those that own one of these two, what are your experiences with either?

 

[cundiff5535]

Eric, great choice in first gun. I own 3 of these... so I think I can give you an idea of what to expect.

First of all out of the two, you have listed I would buy the 5" 100 times out of 100. For whatever reason, I am a full size guy and think they are overall just better. (I would just get the standard 4.25 over them both though)

Moving on... only difference in the pistols are the sights, over all size and barrel length.

Here are some issues... the wait time for the 5" direct from most wholesale locations/stores is upwards of 9 months. You maybe able to find one at a store but, the chances are not very good. I know Megasports in Plainfield had one a few months ago but, I am guessing its long gone by now. If you are getting the 5" the forums are probably the best place to look but, you are not going to get a NEW gun (to me thats not a big deal as long as it was taken care of).

If you were to pick the 4.25 I would just buy the regular M&P9 for 450.00 or so and add things to your liking.

Regardless of what you buy 5" Pro, 4.25 Pro, or standard 4.25, I would put an Apex Trigger in the thing as well as all Apex internals. Its literally 10000% better than the standard and 1000% better than the Pro IMHO.

Additionally, I do not like the standard sights on the 4.25 guns. I have changed mine out to Dawson FO Fronts and 10-8 fixed rear on one and Dawson FO front and Hienie fixed rear on the other... they blow the stock sights away. The 5" comes with a decent FO and rear fixed so that could stay but... trust me, the Dawson 10-8/Hienie combo are just sick.

Since the sights and trigger are really the only difference between the standard and pro 4.25 M&P's, for the money, I would get the standard and choose to drop 120.00 on the trigger and 80.00 on sights... you are still cheaper than the Pro and you basically have a pro with better sights, trigger, and internal parts.

As far as installation goes... you can youtube the apex stuff and do it ALL yourself. TRUST ME... its very, very easy as long as you take your time and dont rush. The sights will cost very little for a local smith to install!

Do what you want but my honest advise is above!

Let me know what route you take and if you need help with anything let me know!!

Take care and God Bless
Bc

 

[Bumsi]

I will second the above advice. If money and time are not an issue, trick out a 5" otherwise get the 4.5 for less money and you can trick it out over time.

 

[TopDog]

I dont want to counterdict cundiff5535 but. I own just one Pro and the difference between the trigger of the standard and the Pro was enough that I never did the Apex trigger mods. After a couple of hundred rounds mine is as smooth as could be. The reset is more distinct as well. And just for the record I hate the lousy triggers on the standard M&P's. I could never understand S&W selling a gun with a trigger as bad or maybe worse than the (dreaded and now defunct) Sigma.

Just my opinion but Im not going to buy a pistol that I know I'm going to have to put parts into when I can buy it the way I want it out of the box.

 

[gearhead101]

The trigger on the pro is far better than the standard. Much smoother and an easier break so your not grip twisting once it does break. The barrel on the pro is phenomenal as well

 

[RobbyMaQ]

+1 on the apex trigger. I have the M&P9. Never took a gun apart until today when I put in an apex kit (I did not replace the trigger with their aluminum one though). I even managed to line the rear sight back up. I'm really happy with it.

 

[Eric86]

Well time is not an issue as it will be a while before I can afford it. I am just doing my research now so I dont have to later. I am kinda annoyed that the pro series does not come with a match grade barrel like the XDM does. I probably would go with one of those if I could switch it to left handed.

I dont know how much better +.75in does as far as accuracy but I am pretty bad atm with pistols so every bit helps. Thanks for the info!

 

[DustyDawg48]

I don't necessarily know that the 3/4" will affect accuracy but it will affect velocity. Maybe not by much but that extra bit will help. In competition pistol shooting you have to run your rounds through a chronograph to get the fps (feet per second) of your ammo, they multiply the fps by the weight of the projectile and that gives you your power factor. You have to meet a minimum power factor in order to compete. On occasion shooters with smaller guns have had to run their ammo through a gun with a longer barrel in order to achieve power since the ammo in the gun with the shorter barrel couldn't get up enough speed to make power.

Aside from the slightly longer sight picture (and better/worse looks in your opinion) you'll probably not notice the 3/4" difference in barrel length. The fiber optic front may or may not be what you are looking for but that is for you to decide.

I may be in the minority but I actually like the stock M&P triggers in both the Pro and the standard model. I have an M&P9 Pro 4.25", 2 M&P45 full-size and an M&P9c; I don't know that one is better or worse...I've got around 2,000 rounds through the Pro in about a year's time and close to 1,000 through the M&P45 in 6 months...the 9c is getting there but I just picked it up a few months ago.

If you haven't gotten an opportunity to shoot a few of the different models I'd do it; I don't know that if I had to do it all again I wouldn't have just bought the M&P9 standard model and called it good. The night sites on the 4.25" Pro are some of the best and they work great as standard sites but now that I've had the chance to shoot others I may have opted for the base M&P9 with thumb safety and saved myself $100 to use towards extra mags and ammo.

They are all fantastic guns and I am sold on the M&P platform; you should genuinely be happy with whatever model you end up with.

On a side note, I do believe there is a 5" M&P Pro available here in the classifieds...

 

[gearhead101]

Yes there is one in the for sale section, I'm still selling it (not to high jack your thread)

Deff go to a store and see what you like best. The fiber optic sights on the pro are good for daylight use, if your really only going to use it to plink or competition, their great, if its going to be in your nightstand, not so much. But that's what I have a M&P9c with night sights for.

 

[netsecurity]

I found an M&P full size with Trijicon night sights online for $399. That's my nightstand/competition gun, and I have an M&P9C for a sidearm. Both shoot better than anything I've shot before, with stock triggers, so I'm not changing anything for now. Their triggers get a bad rap because they are not smooth on the uptake, but they are light and have a great clean break.

 

[trinitrotoluene85]

I owned a M&P9c and sold it to get a M&P9 Pro with the 5" barrel. Love my Pro with the 5" barrel. That thing is a nail driver out to 25+ yards. I got mine at the last Indy 1500, and would definitely buy the same gun again. I have no intentions of getting rid of mine.