Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0: A 3 Minute Review – It’s always interesting when a manufacturer comes out with an upgraded weapon of the same name, and Smith & Wesson has a few in my collection already. In fact, I already had the original M&P, so I was excited to see what they improved on.
One upgrade was the stainless steel barrel because they actually extended how much of the frame is steel. Not only does it look a little more solid, but it feels great in my hands. It also helps to absorb what little recoil there is when shooting.
As with every gun, I put 100 rounds through the Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 and had no jams or misfires. Something I’ve always respected from Smith & Wesson is that they have a lifetime policy for service and the 2.0 comes with a limited lifetime warranty, but I’ve never had a problem with their weapons.
My widest grouping at the range was 3” at 25 yards, which isn’t bad, and it just got smaller with closer targets. I was pretty happy with the results, especially because the grip on the 2.0 is an area where I definitely felt the improvement.
The upgraded M&P has a textured grip for better control when I was practicing double-taps and it never felt like it was slipping. In fact, I don’t even think it shifted when I was firing. If you like to customize, it comes with 4 grip inserts to adjust the grip size for smaller or bigger hands.
I should note that the better grip has a few pins that make cleaning the 2.0 a little tougher, but the disassembling just took practice. What didn’t take practice was the reload, which was flawless with an ambidextrous magazine release.
The M&P 2.0 comes with 2 17-round magazines, so it can carry a total of 18 9mm rounds in the single-stack clip. That meant I only had to reload them a few times at the range, which was nice. I also loved that it used any M&P magazines, so I was also able to use the ones from the original pistol.
As far as the shooting, it felt really smooth with the double-action trigger. There were about 5 pounds of trigger tension and it had a solid reset after each shot. Between the improved trigger system and the textured grip, it didn’t jump much so 2- and 3-round bursts were easy.
The 2.0 has an ambidextrous safety as well, so it would work great for a lefty shooter. Of course, weighing only a pound and a half, I’m pretty sure anyone could hit their target at the range without much difficulty.
For $600 new, or less on sale, you should absolutely consider upgrading or adding it to your collection. You’d pay twice as much for guns like it, so it’s well worth the price! The overall size was a little bigger than most of my concealed carry pistols, but I’d trust the Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 in any self-defense or target situation.
Richard Douglas writes on firearms, defense, and security issues. He is the founder and editor of Scopes Field, and a columnist at the National Interest, 1945, Daily Caller, and other publications.
