S&W M&P 9 & 40 Compact

[Amishman44]

I have a question for anyone who owns a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm or .40 S&W Compact Pistol.

My wife was looking around for a new pistol and picked up a 9mm compact and fell in love with it. I played around with it a bit and, to be honest, it was my first time handling one of these and it actually felt pretty good in my hand. I've asked around and found that the people who have these absolutely love them...they love shooting them...they love carrying them...they think they are great guns. Even the stuff I have read on line is very positive regarding accuracy, reliability, etc.

I've owned several Glocks (23, 26, 32, 33, 36, etc.) and I'm pretty comfortable with their grips. One of the things I like best about Glock is their ability to interchange to accomodate different calibers...such as swapping the .357sig & .40 S&W barrels, being able to buy a conversion barrel to 9mm, their larger mags fit in their smaller guns, etc.


My question is, can I buy the .40 model and then get a 9mm conversion barrel (and mags) and be able to shoot 9mm through a .40 S&W, similar to what can be done with a Glock in .40 caliber? The wife and I would like to prefer to carry/shoot the same caliber, but I would like to have the ability to access the increased stopping power that the .40 offers as well.

If anyone has information on this, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance for your response(s).

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Yes, you CAN step down from .40 to the 9mm with a barrel & mag swap!!

Finding the conversion barrels isn't as easy as Glock, but some of the same aftermarket manufacturers also make the conversion barrels.


-J-

 

[in625shooter]

Here is another perspectective on this. Unless it's strictly a range gun I wouldn't suggest putting a 9mm barrel in a 40, The breech face on a 40 is however much bigger than the 9mm round thus increases chances of a malfunction. So while some have not had issues with Glocks doing this I wouldn't do it on a carry gun. Not to mention if you ever find yourself in a criminal/civil court it might look bad that you "altered" your carry gun. That might or might not be brought up but I wouldn't chance it. Keep it as manufactured. Besides the 40 really isn't much better than a 9mm if you compare similar ammunition side by side. So if you are using this as a carry gun and just like the 40 then I would just get a 40

Good luck

 

[8th SPS USAF]

MP 9/40 C

Brownells has/had Storm Lake Conv bbls. I have one for my FS MP 40

Works great, no problems. Very nice pistols. I also have a MP9c.

 

[Hoosier45]

Make sure you get a conversion barrel. Don't just put a 9mm barrel in a .40 slide.

 

[WestSider]

M&P Compact is an excellent pistol in 9 or 40.

 

[HighStrung]

Daily carrier of a M&P40c and I have loved this gun since I bought it. I havn't prucahsed the conversion for mine yet, but I understand the reasons for doing so. Either way, I think the feel and size of this gun is exactly what I wanted and it's been extremely good at recoil management for a .40 (better than most full sized that I've handled). It's as accurate as I am, and has had zero reliability issues. I've purchased the Apex Tactical duty kit but I've yet to actually install it. It's been almost 4 months but I still enjoy shooting it enough that I just haven't really worried about actually modifying it yet. Actually liked it so much I bought a M&P15moe as well. I think S&W has their stuff together on this line. Good luck to you.

 

[Slapstick]

I just checked the dimensions of a full size M&P 40 and M&P 9. They are both identical in every way from the ejection port to the barrel diameter, length, width height ect. They both use the same recoil spring and frame. It's like putting together a tinker toy. All the parts are interchangeable between the two, sear housing, trigger bar, frame rails, take down lever, etc. Right now I assembled the 40 slide with the 9 mm barrel and put it on the .40 frame and the .40 barrel on the 9 mm slide & frame. The mags are the same dimension and fit either frame.

I only have a M&P 9c so I don't know if it's the same way with the compact models but I do know that they use the same parts in the frame as the full size M&P's. It's one of the reasons I settled on the M&P was most of the parts are interchangeable between models so I only need to keep a spare striker, sear block, trigger bar and a couple different recoil springs on hand, (one full size & one compact) to keep them up and running, well that and the fact they are fine shooting pistol.

 

[Nsw550]

I have the M&P9c and would NEVER sell it. Its 100% reliable since I first got it new. Its really nice with the CrimsonTrace laser grips. you can't even tell they are on there. For such a smaller gun, it has minimal recoil. You can also get the 17 round fs magazines and get the grip extensions.

Yes you can get a .40 to 9mm conversion barrel, as well as a .40 to .357 barrel. All I shoot is 9mm, but i still think its cool that you can have 3 guns in one!

 

[Dog1]

9mm M&P barrel in a .40 S&W-a photo comparison-UPDATE IN OP-Range test - AR15.COM

 

[Slapstick]

9mm M&P barrel in a .40 S&W-a photo comparison-UPDATE IN OP-Range test - AR15.COM

I suspect that is the reason S&W M&P barrels are sometimes hard to find. About half the price of most conversion barrels.