The Smith & Wesson Military & Police product line was introduced in 2005, formally presented at Shot 2006. During its production run, the full size M&P has been chambered for the 9mm Luger, 357 SIG, 40 S&W, and 45 Auto. M&P 2.0 was introduced in 2017 and is currently available in 9mm Luger, 40 S&W and 45 Auto within nine different configuration. Why the 40 S&W? Why not? It has more going for it than the 9mm Luger and it is a little easier to shoot than the 45 Auto. That said, the qualities of the pistol are present regardless the chamber.

Some components of the M&P 2.0 evolution: The 2.0 trigger is greatly improved over the original version; significantly lighter pull, more crisp, less creep and active pull is approximately 1/8″. Reset is short with tactile and audible cues. The M&P 2.0 has more aggressive grip texturing, an understatement as the gripping surfaces feel like 60 grit sandpaper, but in a good way. It definitely adds to control of the firearm even under rapid fire where maintaining grip continuity is critical.

The 18° human engineered M&P grip comes with four grip contour inserts: small, medium, medium large, and large to adapt to palm size and trigger reach. Two magazines are supplied with the M&P 2.0 Pro Series, the magazine release is reversible to suit right or left hand shooters. Visible even on the exterior surfaces above the under accessory rail, the M&P’s embedded stainless steel chassis has been extended in M&P 2.0 to reduce flex and the effects of torque when firing.

Top side, fiber optics light up against a target in red and green. Both front and rear are dovetail mounted and the rear is adjustable for elevation and windage. Adjustable sights are an important feature these days where wide variations in power levels and bullet weights present a sizable shift in point of impact. The small port at the aft end of the barrel serves as a loaded chamber check. The expansive ejection port and claw hammer like extractor leave little chance of an empty not clearing the pistol.

Field stripping is relatively straight forward and requires no tools that are not stowed in the assembly. Easy pistol to clean and maintain. The barrel is ramped, the recoil spring captive. The striker has a drop safety, so a finger on the trigger is required for the striker to be released.

This view became natural relatively quickly. Fiber optic sights are the choice on virtually all of my open sight firearms, both pistol and rifle. They are just too fast, and too bright in contrast over targets to use much of anything else. Red over green, green over red; either shoots about the same. Even outdoors under a dense tree canopy or beneath overcast skies, there is more than enough ambient light to present three bright dots.

The grip is hand filling and does a good job of spreading recoil around. Thanks to the included grip inserts, the same can be said by people with small, medium or large hands. Muzzle blast was not bad at all, thanks to the long barrel. Muzzle flash varied with ammunition and powder types as is the case with all firearms. Muzzle rise was modest with all ammunition.

The pistol was rock solid in a two hand hold. A high grip places the hand closer to bore centerline. The high grip reduced muzzle rise and made double tapping easier. The aggressively textured grip surface contributed significantly to control without removing my fingerprints.

The slide cocking serrations on the Performance Center M&P^®40 M2.0, both front and rear, are non-slip. Racking the slide from a hammer down position requires only modest effort. For those who might not have the gripping strength they one had, the rear of the slide is slightly flared and easy to grab and pull.

Magazines eject with… conviction and insertion in the pistol’s magazine well does not require precise alignment. Fifteen rounds of capacity and two magazines make for a good deal of fire power.

The 40 S&W Cartridge

The 40 Smith & Wesson, a joint project between Winchester and Smith & Wesson, began in 1989. The 40 S&W is the result of a bid for a too powerful 10mm Automatic cartridge to become a FBI standard and a resulting reduced performance 10mm RFQ issued by the FBI.  Winchester and Smith & Wesson concluded that the new performance criteria defined by the FBI could be met with a cartridge shorter than the 10mm Automatic.

The 40 S&W appears to be declared obsolete but, apparently, only on social media. There are currently eighty-nine factory loads, a compilation of twenty brands. That makes the 40 S&W third in pistol ammunition demand/supply, exceeded only by the 9mm Luger and 45 Automatic. 40 S&W ammunition is generally available in bullet weights ranging from 60 grains to 205 grains and loaded to a variety of performance levels.

Three of my favorite factory loads were shot in the assessment of the The S&W Performance Center® M&P®40 M2.0™ 5″ Barrel Pro Series®… or the The S&W Performance Center® M&P®40 M2.0™ 5″ Barrel Pro Series® as I like to call it. Why these three loads? I like them as they have performed well for me at the range, on medium size pests and, of course, even in less than meaningful ballistic gel penetration tests.

Why the lower than spec velocity? In general, this is how this ammo has been shooting for me in 5″ guns, even though the SAAMI velocity standards are set with a 4″ barrel. Could be the winter temperature in the low teens, could be optimistic manufacturers or pessimistic chronograph… although changing chronographs yielded the same results and the ammo shot about the same in early fall and winter conditions. Maybe neutrinos? In any event; close enough.

Accuracy? Hand held, but shot from a rest, I thought it was excellent and a lot of fun for recreational target shooting and with more than enough accuracy for self defense. How did it do at 50 yards? Don’t know and I don’t much care. For me, I see pistols generally as defensive weapons and I don’t anticipate someone accosting me from 25 yards much less 50 yards.

Shooting the S&W Performance Center® M&P®40 M2.0™ 5″ Barrel Pro Series® was not fatiguing. The trigger pull was crisp for a striker and good by any comparison. The pull was over six pounds, but it felt more like four. The S&W shot clean and its finish looked like new when it was finally put up. It is a very nice gun and at a much more than reasonable price.