First range trip with new M&P40c disappointing...

[PNWguy]

I have two M&P40c pistols. One purchased back in October and one I got a week ago.

The new one has a safety, which I decided I wanted on a carry gun. The older one has night sights and newer one doesn't, so I simply swapped slide assemblies so the new lower has the older upper with the night sights.

The older pistol was not very accurate; maybe 3" groups at 25yds.

I brought both pistols to the range today along with a few different recipes of reloaded ammo to see what gun liked what ammo.

Both did horribly at 25yds with the three types of loads before I gave up. I think the best group was 4.5" using the older slide assembly on the newer frame and 155gr XTPs with 7.4gr of Ramshot Silhouette.

I forgot to eat lunch and I noticed I was developing hand trembles half-way thorough my session, so I didn't bother continuing.

The good news is that the pistols both functioned fine. I have an Apex sear that is supposed to arrive any day to lower the trigger weight and I will do some polishing on the new pistol's internals to try and remove the grittiness and just awful feel of it.

I will also go back to the drawing board and develop some loads with Speer Gold Dots, as I believe they are a superior self-defense bullet to the XTP. I just can't buy them locally like I can the XTPs and have to order them online.

I was really discouraged, but I will chalk it up to just a bad range day and continue to try and fine tune the pistol since it is an ideal size and capacity for me and feels very good in the hand.

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[Kruel J]

Did you try shooting them with in their original configurations? 1.0's or 2.0's?

 

[Kruel J]

Also, had you ever shot the one purchased in October and if so how did you do with it?

 

[PNWguy]

Did you try shooting them with in their original configurations? 1.0's or 2.0's?

Nope.

Also, had you ever shot the one purchased in October and if so how did you do with it?

Yep. Shot it with a few initial loads and it did "OK" but not great. Did manage to get a 2" group out of it, which is my self-defense benchmark, using a similar load to what I shot today. I also bought an extra barrel from S&W for it which I also tested, and it did worse than the original.

 

[No_Regerts]

If thats 25 yards, thats not bad at all.

 

[Kruel J]

I would suggest trying them in their original configs, along with using some sandbags and a rest if you are able. I am hypoglycemic so I totally relate to getting shaky from not eating. I have to remind myself to grab a bite before I go to the range.

 

[Kruel J]

If thats 25 yards, thats not bad at all.

Yep, I'm sure that's about as good as I'm gonna get at 25 yards.

 

[DB is Here]

25 yards?, not sure what your expecting as these are solid self defense arms (7yards) but precision arms they are not IMO. YMMV

 

[DB is Here]

Yep, I'm sure that's about as good as I'm gonna get at 25 yards.

Bingo

 

[Kruel J]

I missed that the OP said 25 yards, or maybe I would have said something similar.

 

[DB is Here]

I'd be happy with those results out of my G19.

 

[PNWguy]

If thats 25 yards, thats not bad at all.

For me, it's pretty bad...

I try to get my Glock match guns to do 1.5" or better at 25yds. For carry guns, I'm happy with 2" or better.

My XDS 40 will do under 2" all day long with cheap ammo...

 

[Kruel J]

I practice SD at 7-10 yards. I can shoot my Glocks at almost "mag dump" speeds at 10 yards and hit center mass with all 10 or 17 shots. Good enough for me.

 

[PNWguy]

My G19 Gen 5 MOS will do 1" at 20yds...

 

[DB is Here]

25 yards? You'd have time to grab a beer and get your rifle.

 

[PNWguy]

I practice SD at 7-10 yards. I can shoot my Glocks at almost "mag dump" speeds at 10 yards and hit center mass with all 10 or 17 shots. Good enough for me.

My philosophy is if the gun is capable of 2" or better at 25yds, then that helps me be more accurate under pressure.

 

[DB is Here]

My G19 Gen 5 MOS will do 1" at 20yds...

View attachment 571325

At 60 feet thats Solid. Just own that you're a Glock guy...No shame bro.

 

[Kruel J]

My philosophy is if the gun is capable of 2" or better at 25yds, then that helps me be more accurate under pressure.

You're a better shot than I. But I also don't practice with my handguns for tight groups. I see them as just tools for self defense so I practice for speed and hits on center mass.

 

[DB is Here]

My philosophy is if the gun is capable of 2" or better at 25yds, then that helps me be more accurate under pressure.

Just run drills with a a timer to replicate stress. If you're solid there then you're good to go.

 

[slimmer13]

At 25 yds, the front sight fills up a pretty big area on the target making shooting for groups kinda hard. Like trying to Bob Ross with a 3" paint brush.

If the gun is capable of that kind of accuracy, most shooters aren't. If you are that exceptional of a shooter, I'd chalk it up to shooter/gun interface.