S&W's M&P9 M2.0 Competitor Puts the Pedal to the Metal
Today, we are looking at the brand-new Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 Competitor. This gun is hot right now, and there are a bunch of reviews of it out there. I’m going to tell you what I think are the top three features that make this gun unique: its value, the metal frame, and slim grip.
The best thing about this gun is the value you get for your money. As its name implies, you get everything you need for a pistol competition except a holster and ammunition.
The gun itself has been upgraded by the Performance Center of Smith & Wesson to be a competition gun. It has a 5-inch barrel, an optimal length for competition because it gives a good mix of weight, balance, velocity, and sight radius. In addition, the slide has been lightened and sprung to give a light recoil impulse for fast follow-up shots.
The slide lock and magazine release are extended for easy manipulation and can be set up for right or left-handed shooters. On many guns, I must rotate the gun in my hand to activate the slide lock and mag button. But on the Competitor, I can reach everything without shifting the gun. I also like the fact that if the magazine release is to too big for you, which can be a problem with oversized releases, you can remove the extension and have a stock mag button.
The slide serrations are aggressive and allow easy slide manipulations.
Finally, the iron sights are good for a competition gun. It’s a fiber-optic front blade with an all blacked-out rear sight. I think companies are understanding that this setup gives the best sight picture in competition environments. The front blade could be a bit thinner, but it is very useable.
In addition to the gun, you get a boatload of accessories. First, there is a nice carry box with custom molded slots. Then, you get four different palm swells to adjust the grip to your hand.
You also get multiple optics plates and screws for nearly every popular optic on the market. This is quite rare. Finally, it comes with four magazines and a flared magazine well. At the MSRP of $999, this is a great one-stop shop option for the new or seasoned competitor.
Metal Frame
The next most notable feature is the metal frame of the gun. This is an upgrade from the normal polymer frames of the other M&P pistols. I found it interesting that Smith & Wesson went with an aluminum frame.
Typically, when companies go to a metal frame on their competition offerings, they use steel because it adds more weight to the gun. The thought process is that added weight will lessen recoil and increase stability for faster follow-up shots. Carry weight is not as important an issue for a competition gun.
For carry guns, polymer frames are popular because they lighten the gun, so it is easier to wear all day. In a competition setting, lighter guns can be swung around faster on multiple targets.
The choice of an aluminum frame by S&W seems to be a compromise. The aluminum frame adds rigidity, so it should theoretically be more accurate. But the aluminum frame is not much heavier than a polymer frame, so the speed of transitions should not suffer. A good shooter should be able to drive this gun hard and fast.
Finally, I want to highlight the slimness of the grip. In general, I think the M&P series has one of the thinnest grips for a double-stack pistol. It’s almost a little too thin for me to get my support hand to contact the grip. I’ve installed the largest backstrap to work with my support hand.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the grip is very comfortable and it points naturally for me. And I love the fact that it comes with four backstraps so many different hand sizes can use the gun. Just know if you have very big paws, you might want to get one in your hand before you purchase it. If you have smaller hands, consider this competition package.
In life, everything has a compromise. The thin grip allows me to do manipulations without rotating the gun; however, my support hand has less meat to contact.
Also, know the grip texture is very aggressive. I love this on competition guns, because it keeps the gun locked in my hand during long strings of fire. The texture is so aggressive that I would probably not want it against my skin all day if I was to use the gun as a CCW. But it’s a competition-specific gun, so I understand that choice.
I do have a couple of nitpicking notes. First, I think the trigger is good but not great. It’s a huge improvement over the older M&P triggers. However, compared to other competition offerings, it’s not the best. It’s rather heavy for a competition gun at around 5 pounds.
There is some grit and creep in the trigger before you encounter a semi-solid wall. There is a good snap at the break, and there is no over-travel because of the over-travel stop. But the reset is about average in terms of distance, only somewhat audible, and not distinct.
Second, I found it strange that the iron sights do not co-witness with a red dot. The gun comes optics-ready, so it seems S&W did design the gun with red dots in mind. The company knows optics are very popular in competition now. Why not include iron sights that co-witness with dots on its plate system?
Overall, for the price, this is a great turnkey package for a competition gun. This is especially true if you are already in the M&P family and like M&P grips. Finally, though this has nothing to do with performance, it looks like a race gun!