My M&P Fullsize 9mm Modification Journey
01-14-2015, 06:24 PM
#1
My M&P Fullsize 9mm Modification Journey
I recently had a change of heart as to what gun I want to use for home defense and that led me down this deep rabbit hole. Ive always been a 45 kind of guy and since I like silencers 45 suppresses very well so it served my purposes well. With the progression of bullet technology in my opinion the 9mm is no longer at such a disadvantage and I get a good bit more capacity(18 vs 14) with lighter recoil(the wife might need to use it). Prior to this my home defense pistol was an XDm 5.25 45 which is an awesome firearm in my opinion and has always shot excellent for me. The problem is, in order to put a can on it, it would require a custom barrel to the tune of $350 and with the target sights that come with it night sights aren't an option and really don't want to mill out the back of the slide for an RMR and lose the ability to go back to the target sights. So I started looking for another gun to take over the HD role. Glocks just don't fit my hand well for me which is unfortunate because theres anything and everything out there for aftermarket modifications and theres no denying their reliability. M&Ps have shot well for me(I like big grips) when running the large backstrap, coupled with the parts Apex makes and a few other companies this pistol could double as a comp gun. I passed on getting another XDm just to try something new pretty much, I love FDE and a buddy happened to be selling a VTAC framed M&P(frakengun) with a pro series slide for a good price so that pushed me over the edge. I will be swapping the black backstrap for an FDE one soon.
I quickly added one of the limited run surefire X300U lights with the grip switch.
This is my first surefire pistol light and while its nice I don't know that its really 80 bucks better than the streamlights Ive currently got. The light is more of a yellowish color than the TLR1-HL that's on the XDm. It also has less spill than the TLR but Im not planning on taking 100yd shots with my pistol so it will serve me well. The battery cap has a very cheap plastic feel to it but that was swapped out for the grip switch so it doesn't matter much to me.
First things first was getting a threaded barrel on it so I can run my octane 45hd can on it. I actually had a pistol almost exactly like this a year or so ago that I traded for another gun that had a storm lake barrel in it.
I was not a fan of the stainless finish and come to find out, its not exactly easy to find a black finish threaded barrel. Especially in a 10 twist with metric threads like I wanted. I really wanted metric threads this time around as theyre left handed so the silencer absolutely will not work loose. Not that its a huge problem after a little carbon builds up on the threads but figured if I had to buy a barrel anyway I might as well get exactly what I wanted. Storm Lake has been non-existent for a long time now, and couldn't find a factory barrel. In my searching I came across the new AAC barrels, which were black, metric threaded but unfortunately 16 twist. I figure if it doesn't shoot well I can always send it back and Im not totally convinced that some of the reported accuracy issues with M&P pistols is rooted in the twist rate. So I ordered it and it should be here any day now.
Advanced Armament Co (AAC) Barrel Smith & Wesson M&P9 9mm Luger 4.78
The factory barrel shot pretty well with my mass blasting load of 115gr plated and HP38 powder. Im going to SHOT show and am told that some of the barrel manufacturers sell their barrels at a good price so my intent is to pick up a barrel from each manufacturer who sells one for my pistol. Once I get them in I will accuracy test each to see how they perform. Not that its truly necessary but more for my own information and I like to tinker. Unless the accuracy is much poorer Ill probably keep the AAC barrel due to the thread pattern. My HD load will be factory federal HST 147gr +P ammo and my main plinking load will be my handloaded147gr plated over some HP38 or CFE Pistol depending on what the gun likes.
In an effort to get the whole package down to a smaller size I picked up(well paid for) a Griffin Armament Revolution 9mm can.
Griffin Armament Revolution 9 - For Sale
My octane 45 is an awesome can its pretty dang big on the end of the pistol. While fun for range plinking it really slows down the swing of the pistol and is pretty long. That's also why I chose the regular full size pistol instead of the longer slide variants so between the regular size pistol and the revolution in the K configuration itll be fairly compact for a suppressed handgun. Running the can will not only allow me to keep my hearing sharp should I have to discharge it inside the house but will remove the muzzle flash associated with firing at night. The Griffin can is unique in that it can run as a full size can or you can take out the spacer and a couple of baffles to convert it to a shorter can. In the short configuration it is still well into the hearing safe range and honestly I don't see me shooting it in the full length configuration much, if ever. Ive shot this can on a full auto MP5K in the K configuration and it was very impressive which is what pushed me over the edge to buy it.
Another big reason I went M&P was due to the new trigger Apex put out. Ive shot their FSS kit and its awesome but their new flat face trigger really caught my eye.
https://store.apextactical.com/WebDi...Details/191836
Im going to check out both kits at SHOT and decide which one I want to go with but Im a huge fan of flat faced triggers so I don't see me not liking it.
I will be ordering the 10-8 magwell shortly as I intend to use it for some competition but I don't want some giant funnel like the pure race guns. Its just big enough to make a difference without being giant and in general 10-8 style it looks pretty nice as well. I don't expect to win any matches, just hone my skills with the gun I plan to defend myself with.
M&P Magazine Well - 10-8 Performance Store
To go with the magwell Im going to get three taran tactical mags
TTI M&P Firepower Magazine Kit .40 Flat Dark Earth - $84.99 : Taran Tactical Innovations
I like the idea of having more rounds for defense, I know the likely hood of needing that many rounds is highly unlikely but it cant hurt to have a little more weight in the grip to help balance out the light/can.
Since its got the pro slide on it, it comes with factory night sights which are still plenty bright but Im going to swap them to the new truglo TFXs and put the current sights on the wifes shield
TRUGLO® | Brite•Site™ TFX™
After I get it functioning well and everything works together the way I want I will get the frame stippled and cerakoted in FDE. Should look something like this once its all done.
I may send it off for a little slide work to add some front slide serrations and some side windows to lighten the slide a bit but Im still on the fence about that and want to do a bit more research on that. Should be a fun gun all the way around while looking good and functioning well. This will take a couple of months to get done and the new can probably wont be approved until Mayish so Ive got plenty of time. Ill update as I go along with the mods and give my opinion of each.
I quickly added one of the limited run surefire X300U lights with the grip switch.
This is my first surefire pistol light and while its nice I don't know that its really 80 bucks better than the streamlights Ive currently got. The light is more of a yellowish color than the TLR1-HL that's on the XDm. It also has less spill than the TLR but Im not planning on taking 100yd shots with my pistol so it will serve me well. The battery cap has a very cheap plastic feel to it but that was swapped out for the grip switch so it doesn't matter much to me.
First things first was getting a threaded barrel on it so I can run my octane 45hd can on it. I actually had a pistol almost exactly like this a year or so ago that I traded for another gun that had a storm lake barrel in it.
I was not a fan of the stainless finish and come to find out, its not exactly easy to find a black finish threaded barrel. Especially in a 10 twist with metric threads like I wanted. I really wanted metric threads this time around as theyre left handed so the silencer absolutely will not work loose. Not that its a huge problem after a little carbon builds up on the threads but figured if I had to buy a barrel anyway I might as well get exactly what I wanted. Storm Lake has been non-existent for a long time now, and couldn't find a factory barrel. In my searching I came across the new AAC barrels, which were black, metric threaded but unfortunately 16 twist. I figure if it doesn't shoot well I can always send it back and Im not totally convinced that some of the reported accuracy issues with M&P pistols is rooted in the twist rate. So I ordered it and it should be here any day now.
Advanced Armament Co (AAC) Barrel Smith & Wesson M&P9 9mm Luger 4.78
The factory barrel shot pretty well with my mass blasting load of 115gr plated and HP38 powder. Im going to SHOT show and am told that some of the barrel manufacturers sell their barrels at a good price so my intent is to pick up a barrel from each manufacturer who sells one for my pistol. Once I get them in I will accuracy test each to see how they perform. Not that its truly necessary but more for my own information and I like to tinker. Unless the accuracy is much poorer Ill probably keep the AAC barrel due to the thread pattern. My HD load will be factory federal HST 147gr +P ammo and my main plinking load will be my handloaded147gr plated over some HP38 or CFE Pistol depending on what the gun likes.
In an effort to get the whole package down to a smaller size I picked up(well paid for) a Griffin Armament Revolution 9mm can.
Griffin Armament Revolution 9 - For Sale
My octane 45 is an awesome can its pretty dang big on the end of the pistol. While fun for range plinking it really slows down the swing of the pistol and is pretty long. That's also why I chose the regular full size pistol instead of the longer slide variants so between the regular size pistol and the revolution in the K configuration itll be fairly compact for a suppressed handgun. Running the can will not only allow me to keep my hearing sharp should I have to discharge it inside the house but will remove the muzzle flash associated with firing at night. The Griffin can is unique in that it can run as a full size can or you can take out the spacer and a couple of baffles to convert it to a shorter can. In the short configuration it is still well into the hearing safe range and honestly I don't see me shooting it in the full length configuration much, if ever. Ive shot this can on a full auto MP5K in the K configuration and it was very impressive which is what pushed me over the edge to buy it.
Another big reason I went M&P was due to the new trigger Apex put out. Ive shot their FSS kit and its awesome but their new flat face trigger really caught my eye.
https://store.apextactical.com/WebDi...Details/191836
Im going to check out both kits at SHOT and decide which one I want to go with but Im a huge fan of flat faced triggers so I don't see me not liking it.
I will be ordering the 10-8 magwell shortly as I intend to use it for some competition but I don't want some giant funnel like the pure race guns. Its just big enough to make a difference without being giant and in general 10-8 style it looks pretty nice as well. I don't expect to win any matches, just hone my skills with the gun I plan to defend myself with.
M&P Magazine Well - 10-8 Performance Store
To go with the magwell Im going to get three taran tactical mags
TTI M&P Firepower Magazine Kit .40 Flat Dark Earth - $84.99 : Taran Tactical Innovations
I like the idea of having more rounds for defense, I know the likely hood of needing that many rounds is highly unlikely but it cant hurt to have a little more weight in the grip to help balance out the light/can.
Since its got the pro slide on it, it comes with factory night sights which are still plenty bright but Im going to swap them to the new truglo TFXs and put the current sights on the wifes shield
TRUGLO® | Brite•Site™ TFX™
After I get it functioning well and everything works together the way I want I will get the frame stippled and cerakoted in FDE. Should look something like this once its all done.
I may send it off for a little slide work to add some front slide serrations and some side windows to lighten the slide a bit but Im still on the fence about that and want to do a bit more research on that. Should be a fun gun all the way around while looking good and functioning well. This will take a couple of months to get done and the new can probably wont be approved until Mayish so Ive got plenty of time. Ill update as I go along with the mods and give my opinion of each.
01-14-2015, 06:54 PM
#3
Problem with discharging a firearm in an enclosed area at night is the muzzle blast will ring your ears causing you to lose your hearing temporarily and it also takes away the muzzle flash so you don't lose your night vision.
01-17-2015, 05:18 PM
#7
My barrel came in early so I mocked it up. I like how the piston is going to be quite a bit closer to the slide than my storm lake barrel on my last picture.
Pretty short threads compared to my other threaded barrels
It comes with a thread protector too. Oh and remember when you buy a left hand threaded barrel its righty loosy lol
The hood fit to the slide is nice and tight
It looks nicely made with no excessive machining marks. Cant wait to pick up my metric piston so I can throw the octane on and have some fun. While Im out of town my stippled backstrap, magwell and extended mags should be in. With any luck I should be able to get some range time with it next weekend but unfortunately wont be getting back from SHOT in time to pick up my piston to shoot it suppressed.
Pretty short threads compared to my other threaded barrels
It comes with a thread protector too. Oh and remember when you buy a left hand threaded barrel its righty loosy lol
The hood fit to the slide is nice and tight
It looks nicely made with no excessive machining marks. Cant wait to pick up my metric piston so I can throw the octane on and have some fun. While Im out of town my stippled backstrap, magwell and extended mags should be in. With any luck I should be able to get some range time with it next weekend but unfortunately wont be getting back from SHOT in time to pick up my piston to shoot it suppressed.
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03-13-2015, 11:13 AM
#9
Finally made it by to pick up my metric piston so I was able to put the can on but haven't shot it yet. I was able to mock up the 10-8 magwell with the two taran tactical mags I bought(arredondo shown) and with a little adjusting they drop free.
Ended up picking up a VTAC FDE slide for it and have some night sights coming to go on it. I sent the large FDE backstrap off to get stippled by A2 and the frame is off to a buddy for stippling. The Apex trigger kit is on its way as well. Once the frame gets back from stippling Ill send the magwell and taran extensions off to get cerakoted FDE then I should be done. Since I scored the VTAC slide Ive decided not to get the slide cut on but should still end up being a pretty decent looking pistol with plenty of good mods. With any luck my revolution can ought to be released within the next month or so then this thing will be complete.
Ended up picking up a VTAC FDE slide for it and have some night sights coming to go on it. I sent the large FDE backstrap off to get stippled by A2 and the frame is off to a buddy for stippling. The Apex trigger kit is on its way as well. Once the frame gets back from stippling Ill send the magwell and taran extensions off to get cerakoted FDE then I should be done. Since I scored the VTAC slide Ive decided not to get the slide cut on but should still end up being a pretty decent looking pistol with plenty of good mods. With any luck my revolution can ought to be released within the next month or so then this thing will be complete.
