LA County Sheriff’s Dept. Approves Apex Barrel for Special Enforcement Bureau

[45dotACP]

Is the Apex barrel that good or is the S&W barrel that bad?

I’m glad that this is an option for a select group of LEOs within one agency, but I’m boggled that there is even such a need.

Some early m&ps were mind boggling how bad the accuracy was. You don't need a ton for a service weapon I expect, but the fact that Smith never really even acknowledged it as being a problem is kinda shitty.

That said, I've got an Apex barreled M&P that will put a five shot group into less than 2 inches at 25 yards. It's about the limit of my shooting ability, and it requires high quality ammo, but I've never shot a polymer gun with that type of accuracy before.

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[HCM]

Is the Apex barrel that good or is the S&W barrel that bad?

I’m glad that this is an option for a select group of LEOs within one agency, but I’m boggled that there is even such a need.

The 9mm M&P 1.0s were that bad. Some shot fine, some shot great with 147 grain but devolved into buckshot patterns with anything lighter, some would shoot 8" to 10" at 25 yards with all ammo.

The other odd thing being the 40 and 45 cal versions did not have accuracy issues and the 45s were actually exceptionally accurate.

The 2.0 9mms are better than the 1.0s but not on par with Glocks of similar vintage.

[Kyle Reese]

My legacy M&P 9s were absolute dogs in the accuracy department. They were manufactured in the 2009-2010 timeframe.

While the 2.0s are better guns overall, IME they are outclassed by the Gen 5 Glocks regarding accuracy.

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[GJM]

I definitely want Apex barrels, because who wouldn’t want a striker that shoots an inch at 25 yards. I just got a four inch CORE and mounted a 507C. Figured I would see how it shot.

First four shots at 15 yards, AE 115 ball.



Slight adjustment to the 507, then ten shots of HST 147 from 20 yards (because the wind was blowing me around too much for 25).



Then another ten shots of HST from 20:



Then another ten as before, followed by a bunch of triple taps from ten yards:



I will be getting Apex barrels in competition guns, but this pistol seems to shoot well enough I don’t see it holding me back for carry.

[Hot Sauce]

I have a 3.6" M&P that shoots just fine, and I still will jump on a fitted Apex barrel whenever they come out with it.

Apex is one of the finest companies in the industry, they very often out-engineer the actual weapon's engineers.

One of the only companies you can buy aftermarket parts from and be pretty confident that they'll work as reliably as OEM parts. Only other shop I can think of like that off the top the head is LTT.

[GJM]

Apex is a class act, and long time supporter of quality parts and services for practical and competition guns.

[Erick Gelhaus]

I’m aware of the knock on the 1.0s, though I don’t recall mine being horrible – whether they were ones I bought or were gifted.

The 2.0 9mms don’t seem to have any reports on perceived accuracy issues. My 2.0 4.25” was pretty accurate with the stock barrel.

Here’s my 25 yard & in bulls-eye out of a stock bbl from a Givens’ / Rangemaster class in November:


The 1911s I carried on & off-duty for twenty years all had stock Colt or Kimber bbls in them. When I had the chance to do the LAV build a 1911 from scratch (parts) scratch, I did it with a Kart bbl – not the one from Colt - that had to be fitted. There’s a difference with a fit bbl.

Aside from the one I shanked into the seven ring at 25 yards, I’m quite happy with that group.

Here’s my target, out of a stock bbl, from the Givens’/Rangemaster qual:


From seeing the Apex bbl in the SEB deputy’s gun during the earlier class, had I continued doing my part, I believe the hits would have been measurably tighter. I’ll willingly take that advantage.

[Caballoflaco]

I hope that increased accuracy is going to be something that more companies in the mass produced handgun market continue to seek to improve.

I never liked the old trope of “you can’t shoot better than 3-4 inches at 25 yards anyway so you don’t need a gun more accurate than that”. My though was always how do I know if I can or can’t shoot better than that if the gun isn’t capable of it.

With more people using red dot sights we’re getting to the point where more and more people can actually shoot better than the old standards and with that they will want a pistol that capitalizes on that. I look foward to the day when handguns are expected to group well out to 50 plus yards again in a format that is reliable for duty/self defense use.