I'm a bit late on this thread, but better late than never!
First of all, I'm not much of a fan of S&W semiautos, with the exception of the P-series, and even then, those are simply Walther clones.
I especially hated the Sigma series!
The M&P 9mm, though? I actually liked it.
The grip was comfortable for me, having what I thought was a nice ergonomic feel.
The trigger was OK. The break was about the same weight as a Glock 17. It's a bit of a smoother pull than my beloved Glock, though.
Overall weight was a bit more than my Glock 17.
Accuracy? Good enough. I really saw no difference when shooting it from a benchrest compared to my Glock. Patterns at 25 yards were approximately the same. The sights were better than the cheap polymer ones that Glock uses.
I was shooting my own handloads, that typically spit out a FMJ 124 grain bullet at 1220 fps from my Glock. These came out of the M&P at 1195 fps. That kind of reduction in velocity was to be expected, and in all honesty, with today's bullet designs, I wouldn't be worried at all.
Reliability wasn't a question, since it functioned with my lighter subsonic 124 grain handloads, as well as my above mentioned NATO-spec ammo. It also fed Winchester Ranger 127 grain +P+ JHP, as well as a custom 147 grain (lightly loaded) subsonic Hornady XTP load that I made.
Overall? I actually liked the gun. S&W has finally accomplished what they had set out to do over a dozen years ago, and that was to produce a quality product that was similar to the Glock, even to the point of hardening the exterior with the new Melonite coating (gives an external hardness just a wee bit less than Glock's Tennifer).
No, it's not going to replace my beloved Glock 17, but I may very well end up buying one in the future.
