S&W's M&P®9 M2.0™ Compact Optics-Ready Spec Series Pistol Kit

By the time this article is posted, I will be on a road trip from Maine to Texas to visit family. It has been an eventful year, both personal and at Real Guns, and the hope is that seeing something other than home and work will restore life’s equilibrium.

Articles have been open to comments and comments are welcome. Apparently, even being at an age that requires carbon dating, there is still a lot to learn. What I anticipated might become an anonymous social media like fiasco, turned out to be insightful and considered posting by the nice people who actually support the site.

I responded to some of the comments as a note of appreciation and because I enjoy discussing firearms. However, I am going to refrain from doing so going forward, unless a comment is specifically directed to “Editor”. The reality is that the Comments section is a place for readers and their thoughts.

A lot of nifty things in one box…

M&P M2.0 Compact Optics Ready Spec Series Pistol Kit
SKU	13625
Manufacturer	Smith and Wesson
Point of Origin	Springfield, MA
Type	Striker
Caliber	9mm Luger
Magazine Capacity	1 – 15 / 2 – 23
Barrel	4.6″ 1/2″x28 Threads
Rifling	1:10″ RH
Overall Length	8.0″
Overall Height	5.0″ W/O Sights
Overall Width	1.2″
Weight	28.5 Oz.
Sight Radius	6.4″
Trigger Pull – Actual	4 Lbs. 10 Oz.
Rear Sight	Tall 2 Dot
Front Sight	Tall 1 Dot
Barrel Material	Stainless Steel
Slide Material	Stainless Steel
Slide/Frame Finish	Bull Shark Gray Cerakote
Frame Material	Zytel Polymer
Grip	18° with 4 Grip inserts
Manual Safety	No
Magazine Disconnect	No
Optics Ready	Yes
MSRP	$799.00
Kit Supplied with one 15 round and two 23 round magazines, M&P folding knife, M&P Spec Series Challenge Coin, optics mounting plates, and custom fit hard case

Special edition firearms often contain superfluous items that serve no useful purpose and a firearm inscribed with the name of a celebrity or historical figure or event.

Subsequently, special edition firearms are often purchased for collections and spend their days locked in a safe, never to see a round of live ammo.

The M&P®9 M2.0™ Compact Optics-Ready Spec Series Pistol Kit is not that type of special edition. The kit represents a great deal of handgun fire power and contains only useful supporting accessories.

The pistol

The The M&P®9 M2.0™ Compact Optics-Ready Spec Series Pistol  differs from standard M&P9 M2.0 pistols in a number of ways.

While the barrel has an Armornite black finish, the stainless steel slide and polymer frame are finished in matching Bull Shark Gray Cerakote.

To allow for suppressed firing, the barrel protrudes approximately one half inch beyond the slide and is threaded.

Tall co-witness sights provide a clear line of sight even with a red dot sight installed and provide sufficient height to clear most 9mm silencer barrels.

The M&P9 M2.0 sights are dovetail mounted and drift adjustable for windage. The black cover just forward of the rear sight is removed to install an optical sight. The kits is supplied with mount adapters that accommodate all popular optical sights. Both metallic and optical sights may be used with the optical sight in place.

Straddling the slide and barrel tang at the aft end of the ejection port is a small countersunk through hole that permits a preliminary check of loaded chamber condition. The threaded muzzle is supplied with a knurled thread protector in place.

A little better illustration of tall sight height. The trigger is the flat face type with integrated drop safety. The subject gun checked at a light for striker 4 lbs 10 oz and had a clean pull. The pistol is shipped with left side magazine release, however, this is owner reversible.

The M&P is shipped with a medium grip insert in place and a flush fitting 15 round magazine. The 23 round magazines are handy for the range and perhaps special application, however, the 15 round makes for easier concealed carry and general handling.

Kit contents: M&P9 M2.0 pistol in Bull Shark Gray, 4″ blade S&W folding knife with window breaker and seat belt cutter, 4 grip inserts, 1-15 round magazine, 2-23 round magazines, a M&P Spec Series Challenge Coin.

Supplied 15 round flush fitting and 23 round extended magazines. They were both reliable when shooting and one is as easy to change out as the other…. easy.

I am sure there are applications for extended magazines, just as I am sure there is a demand for them. I certainly have no problem with their use. For me, as a practical matter, the 15 round flush fitting mag suits concealed carry and I am not sure I could do with 23 rounds, what I could not do with 15.

From a practice standpoint, I’d guess it should be done with the magazine, weight and balance closest to the way the pistol would be used. 15 rounds of 124 grain 9mm Luger weighs approximately 6.6 ounces. 23 rounds of the same weighs 10.1 ounces, with 3.5 ounces extending from the bottom of the grip. The difference should be accommodated in training.

A couple of silencers were tried with the subject M&P9 M2.0. The first was a SilencerCo Omega 36, utilizing only the rear module to keep extended length to 5.1″. Unfortunately, its 1.57″ diameter hampered sight visibility, metallic more than red dot, but it did a great job cutting dB.

The AAC Illusion 9 is longer than the SilencerCo Omega by 2.4″, but is 0.25″ smaller in diameter and mounts on an adjustable concentric mount that lowers the top of the barrel well below line of sight. It is not as effective in reducing sound pressure as the Omega.

The S&W M&P9 worked without a hitch with the exception of only 1 subsonic round that ejected the empty, but did not lock the slide back on that empty magazine. Did not repeat with further shooting.

And just before the rains came…

The selection of ammunition was both arbitrary and capricious. With 216 factory loads available in bullet weights from 50 grains to 165 grains, weights and were selected based upon popular use… and the amount of shop inventory.

The S&W M&P9 was first shot at 10 yards from a two hand hold using the pistol’s metallic sights. There was no problem keeping 5 shots centered on standard playing cards, 3 1/2″ x 2 1/2″, with clover leaf groups common.

All five shot groups appearing on the table above were shot at 25 yards, from a rest, with red dot sight installed. Rated MV FPS should be taken with a grain of salt. Many manufacturers ignore SAAMI test barrel length and used what they feel will appeal to the market they service.

Actual velocity is a good relative spec. or at least in comparing one brand/type to another. If it is under 1150 it is subsonic whether labeled as such or not.

Overall?

The S&W M&P®9 M2.0™ Compact Optics-Ready Spec Series Pistol makes for a one 9mm Luger solution. Accurate and reliable, it can be carried stripped down with a 15 round magazine, or loaded up with optical sight and extended 23 round magazine.

Things going for this model are its adaptability and versatility; optical sight mounting, variable grip inserts, reversible mag release, lack of sensitivity to ammunition. The slide is also easy to actuate.

The M&P9 M2.0 is easy shooting… comfortable, with moderate recoil and muzzle rise. The flat face trigger is a good one, crisp and with a built in drop safety. The kit makes this already good 9mm Luger pistol into even something more.

See you in Texas.