M&P Barrel Upgrade Questions

[Danko]

Hey guys, I have two questions regarding upgrading my barrel. I'm a 65 year old male who's been shooting for two years. I shoot an M&P 9mm 2.0 with a 4.25" barrel. I practice with IDPA shooters about once a month. My shooting is improving, but I'm wondering if a barrel upgrade would in any way help an inexperience shooter shoot more accurately? I see there are two types of barrels available, semi-fitted and match grade. Does a semi-fitted barrel require a gunsmith to tweak it for proper fit? Is a match grade barrel one that I can simply drop in and the gun will operate properly? Is it worth it for a rookie to upgrade his barrel?

If I decide to shoot in IDPA matches, is an upgraded barrel permissible in the stock pistol category? How about an Apex trigger?

I see I exceeded my stated two questions.

Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!

[JAD]

Hi Danko,

normally gains from a barrel upgrade are hard to perceive. The M&P9 has a history of having some accuracy issues so it’s not out of the question that a new barrel might help. A first thing would be to fire 10 round groups at 25y and see where things stand right now; and either have another shooter shoot the same test for comparison, or try a different gun and see if you do much better. Can you see the front sight clearly? That’s not a given for persons of a certain age.

[WobblyPossum]

What can you currently do at 25y on something like an NRA B8 bullseye? Have you asked a more experienced shooter that’s capable of shooting good groups at 25y to try your gun and ammo to see if you even need a new barrel?

[Jim Watson]

Right. Also the 2.0 is supposed to be improved over the original.

My first series with stock barrel - + Burwell trigger and sights - does not hold me back at IDPA.

[David S.]

Rookie? Probably not worth it.

A shot timer, a few targets and a copy of Steve Anderson’s “Refinement and Repetition” would be a better use of that $150, IMO.

[sickeness]

Tbh, it's very dependant on the gun. Some M&P are capable of 2 inch groups at 25. Some are not, if it is not then an APEX semi fit will fix you right up. There's no need for the gunsmith fit barrel unless your gun is wildly out of spec.

[SoCalDep]

The gunsmith-fit Apex barrel is a massive improvement. I have them on two of my M&Ps and have three on order for all of my others. I won’t own another M&P without one. I’ve shot them side by side with a lot of factory guns and there’s simply no debate.

If you can’t shoot then the Apex won’t fix you. It will make the gun shoot immensely better. I just scrolled through my pictures and I have a 25yd group with an Apex barrel 4.25” gun with a Holosun 407CO that’s 1.25” off a 55 gal plastic barrel on uneven ground. I know guys getting sub 1” groups. The guns are still 100% reliable.

Pretty much our entire staff (around 30 guys if you include all the sub-groups of our training unit) has gone to the gunsmith-fit Apex on M&Ps. Our SEB (SWAT) uses them. It’s lights-out batter than the semi-fit barrels.

I agree that if you have to choose between $150 for a barrel and $150 for training, practice ammo and a quality guide like the referenced book... then you should probably go with the latter. If you can afford both that’s better, because it’s the single best upgrade for an M&P.

[Erick Gelhaus]

The gunsmith-fit Apex barrel is a massive improvement. I have them on two of my M&Ps and have three on order for all of my others. I won’t own another M&P without one. I’ve shot them side by side with a lot of factory guns and there’s simply no debate.

If you can’t shoot then the Apex won’t fix you. It will make the gun shoot immensely better. I just scrolled through my pictures and I have a 25yd group with an Apex barrel 4.25” gun with a Holosun 407CO that’s 1.25” off a 55 gal plastic barrel on uneven ground. I know guys getting sub 1” groups. The guns are still 100% reliable.

Pretty much our entire staff (around 30 guys if you include all the sub-groups of our training unit) has gone to the gunsmith-fit Apex on M&Ps. Our SEB (SWAT) uses them. It’s lights-out batter than the semi-fit barrels.

I agree that if you have to choose between $150 for a barrel and $150 for training, practice ammo and a quality guide like the referenced book... then you should probably go with the latter. If you can afford both that’s better, because it’s the single best upgrade for an M&P.

^^^ What he is saying. Had S&W not fixed the 1.0 accuracy issues with the 2.0s, I'd have gone to them even earlier than I did. It was not until one of the SEB (SWAT) deputies mentioned as a student and could compare the differences between the stock & Apex barrels that I could see the benefit of going to them. My three duty or carry M&Ps all have Apex barrels in them (one gunsmith fit and two semi-drop in that have been fitted).

As mentioned, the caveat is that you have to shoot decently enough to benefit from them.

[CraigS]

How accurate does your gun need to be? The 2 idpa matches I shoot each month I would bet that 95% of the targets are within 30 feet. Since you already know some idpa shooters, go shoot a match w/ them. I started 5-6 years ago and it is so much fun it is unbelievable. Since I can't afford any of the better shooting/fighting training places, idpa is my way to get experience shooting under pressure. A timer may not be the same as an actual threat but it definitely helps. Idpa is also my way to get to shoot from a host of unusual positions.

[JDB]

The more accurate you are, the bigger the benefit of a high accuracy barrel.

The more you WANT to develop accuracy, the bigger the benefit of getting an APEX barrel.

Have a shooter than can do 4" or better groups try it out your gun, then asses.

I went through like 5 first Gen M&P9s, including an aftermarket (not APEX) barrel. They varied from mediocre (rarely shot 4" groups), to horrific (12" plus). Average was probably 6" groups at 25 yds.

I'm an accuracy nut...those guns held me back, a lot. I didn't think I could shoot better than 4" groups with any gun.

Then moved to a HK P30, and sub 3", off hand 5 shots at 25 yds is routine. That gun is just better, and it's helped me develop into a more accurate shooter.

None of which made much difference in IDPA, most of the time. But in USPSA, there were occasionally 6" poppers at over 25 yds...that was a big struggle with the M&P9.

I hope the new M&P9 2.0s are consistently 4" or less guns, but don't know. But with other options like Gen 5 Glocks, and HKs, and now Apex barrels, a gun that only shoots 4" is not appealing. Over 4" inches...life is too short for that.