38,736 rounds
2 stoppages, 0 malfunctions, 1 parts breakage
All good things, as they say …
During Week 20, we had the first parts breakage on the test gun. At round 37,427 the trigger spring broke. The gun still fired, but the shooter had to push the trigger forward manually for each shot.
The gun had not been cleaned in more than 7,500 rounds! The breakage occurred almost a thousand rounds into a very high-speed practice session.
Smith recommends the trigger spring be replaced during normal preventative maintenance … a recommendation we obviously ignored for the purpose of this test.
The spring was replaced immediately after the breakage and another 350 rounds were fired through the gun on the same day without problem.
The gun was also brought down to Larry Vicker’s Tactical Pistol I class in South Hill, VA where some of the students took the opportunity during lunch one day to put some rounds through it. The PC/MA trigger combination was very well received, even compared to professionally gunsmithed triggers.
This coming week the gun will travel to Canada for the first international pistol-training.com class in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The round count, if all goes according to plan, will be exactly 39,999 after the class. Then, a week from Tuesday, a very special guest from Smith & Wesson will be firing round #40,000. Check back over the next two weeks to see it all!
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
Previous entries:
- Week One
- Week Two
- Week Three
- Week Four
- Week Five
- Week Six
- Week Six Accuracy Report
- Week Seven
- Week Eight
- Week Nine
- Week Ten
- Week Eleven
- Week Twelve
- Week Thirteen
- Week Fourteen
- Week Fifteen
- Week Sixteen
- Week Seventeen
- Week Eighteen
- Week Nineteen
You know, rumor has it that when the crud in your weapon builds up to the point that you have to use a chisel to clean it out, the smaller parts start wearing out. Maybe this is the time to go radical and clean the pistol, oh say, every 2500 rounds or so whether it needs it or not?
Todd- I sometimes go longer than I think I should for cleaning, spring replacement, etc., but to do it on purpose week after week has to feel kind of weird.
very much looking forward to playing with this pistol. Also would love to hear an AAR on the Vickers class, as I’m hoping to bring him up next year.
Todd, what did Larry have to say about the PC/MA setup you have on the pistol and about the M&P in general?
What is a pc/ma trigger?
RobE — The link in the post will bring you straight to the AAR thread. I was only down there for a few hours.
Mike — To avoid interrupting the class, we did the shooting during lunch so Larry didn’t get a chance to shoot it.
Scott — Look at Week Ten‘s report for details on that combo.
We are watching the test closely. Recently picked up two M&P 9 range guns in LA area for about 200 bucks each. We were told that they were shot out. On the campaign trail so we have not had time to shoot them beyond making sure the function. Hopefully we got a good buy.
Todd,
I’m curious about how you’re going to get a handgun into Canada. What kind of bureaucratic magic/BS does THAT take?
Wayne Dobbs
well if he read all the paperwork fully, less than you’d think. (hope he doesn’t read this before he flies out).
there are basically two things you need to fill out a Non Resident Declaration Form and a Non Resident Authorization To Transport Form (for restricted firearms which are essentially handguns and some “evil” rifles like AR15s). handguns can’t have a barrel shorter than 106mm, and you can only bring 10 round mags (which Customs will often, but not always, check). there is a $65 fee (I think). Guns must be trigger locked in a locked container. The ATT form is supposed to be faxed ahead of time, but the other declaration form can be done in person, although it’s easier to fill out ahead of time and then sign in person at the port of entry. I’ll be holding Todd’s hands tomorrow when he arrives to make sure it all goes smoothly (I hope). He also has to stop at US Customs before he enters Canada and show the US guys that he has the guns, so he can come back with them without any hassle. It’s really not the big of a deal. Though it’s probably going to be weird for him to not be able to carry while up here. I’ll make sure we give him the Nerf Bat that we are legally allowed to use to protect ourselves from bad guys.