My son had never shot a semi-auto and I took him to our shooting range. My M&P 2.0 10mm with 4.625 inch barrel was quad ported by Mag-Na-Port. And I had a Carver Custom HEAVY tungsten full length guide rod to replace the stainless steel one that came with it. He loved shooting it and was accurate too.
I like 10mm and have and have had quite a few 10mm handguns. I must say that the S&W Performance Center is my all time favorite. It shoots great and the trigger is great. If yiou are looking for a 10mm to add to your collection this is one to give serious consideration.
Fantastic review. Very well done. Superb. Although the barrel length is not optimal i carry this 10mm as my bear gun in AK. Best value in 10 mm pistols in my opinion.
Justin, thank you for another outstanding and thoroughly informative review of the S&W M&P Performance Center 10mm. Your in-depth analysis and hands-on demonstration were both insightful and engaging. Given the ongoing discussion among enthusiasts about potentially moving from the .45 ACP to the 10mm, particularly in the 1911 platform represented by models like the Kimber Stainless 6" and the models from RIA, Girsan, and Iver Johnson 6", I am very interested in your expert perspective on the recoil differences among these calibers. How do you find the recoil of the .45 ACP compared to the 10mm, and even the 9mm, in a similar firearm platform? Additionally, if possible, could you quantify these differences in rough percentage terms? Your insights would greatly benefit many of us contemplating these choices. I look forward to more of your excellent content!
Picked up a S&W PC 10mm during the summer rebate of 2024. In simple terms - I love it. My only complaint is the looong pretravel on the trigger. After you finally get to the wall, the rest of the trigger is very nice for a production gun. If you are a 10 mm fan - don't miss this one.
I heard a S&W rep at the SHOT show call the 1854 44 mag a “throw back to our heritage”. I’m a 10mm guy since about 1990. Super excited with the S&W M&P 10… bought two. Both jammed regularly, (failure to feed), The magazine fell out the bottom while shooting in both, and on one the supplied plastic optics plate cracked, the screws sheered, and my RMR flew backwards over my head. I sent them back to S&W twice. Failure to feeds continued after receiving them back each time. Called a third time and was transferred to a girl who sounded quite young. She interrupted me, talked over me, and told me that my request that S&W exchange my pistols wasn’t going to happen since the issues were fixable. And she said that I “should shoot better quality ammo”. I guess higher quality than the Federal, Fiocci, Mag Tech, Sig, and Hornady that I had written them about failing, and that I spent a fortune on testing their guns. I filed a BBB complaint but through mediation had no confidence in S&W’s offer to “service my guns”, (for the third time). I wonder if engineering a defective product and then having an arrogant and entitled sounding young lady dismiss your victims is also a throwback to S&W’s heritage; or perhaps rather, they are turning over in their graves.
S&W's feet must absolutely be held to the fire on these. Your experience with the malfunctions is way too common. I happen to have fixed it with internet's help and some upgrades, however I did give S&W a chance and all they offered me was replacement magazine springs/followers (identical to the weak stock springs with memory issue) and a replacement RSA, which confirmed that they use an M&P45 RSA, 17lb - way underpowered for 10mm. Plus the magazines have a design flaw in the way the channeling ribs are located. The irony is that both fixes are external to the gun itself and S&W could easily address them. Mine is 4.6" and with a 24lb. RSA it is very comfy with "bear loads", no need for porting. And this keeps the frame from being excessively worn out. I got mine new for a very good price, so I decided to make it work, I was aware of the issues before I got it. Glock grip was a bit too chunky for me and most others are too expensive. The S&W guy I was dealing with was friendly and helpful, or at least trying to be helpful. The problem is that the company doesn't care to acknowledge the design flaws, and you can't fix what you don't admit. Shame, because these are handsome, grippy and reasonably priced.
I've also read about people's stock plastic optic plates cracking, so I ordered a metal plate from C&H and used their screws, too. Have just under 600rds through it, about half of them being Underwood, and still as solid as ever. Someone at S&W definitely made a number of lame decisions around this otherwise nice gun. It's like a space shuttle blowing up because someone cheaped out on some small stuff. Sad commentary on our times.
The S&W M&P 10mm M2.0 4" and 4.6" pistols definitely came from the factory undersprung, both in terms of their weak RSA springs and soft magazine springs. The magazine design flaws themselves, I believe, are two-fold: 1) The aforementioned tube side channels are nothing at all like the channels on the excellent M&P 9mm and .40 S&W, nor even the M&P .45 ACP magazines. Thus, when loading them, one must be certain to smack the back of the magazine to be sure the cartridges are all flush to the rear. This should be checked periodically. 2) The magazine feed lips are both very short in fore & aft length, and steep. Thus the top cartridge is held at a rather steep angle, while not being very well held in place, and not well guided into the barrel chamber when the slide comes forward. I'm still scratching my head over why S&W cheaped out on the 10mm Auto 15-round magazine design. But it seems to me a magazine re-design should be in order. That being said, utilizing an after-market 24-pound RSA and 11-coil longer stronger magazine springs, I've enjoyed 100% flawless functionality, no malfunctions of any kind whatsoever, through 2,080 10mm Auto rounds fired since late May 2022. Over 700 of these rounds have been full-power loads from Underwood Ammo and Buffalo Bore. 360 of these rounds were 200 Gr ~ 220 Gr. I also thoroughly clean and properly lubricate my guns ever time they're used - Basic Responsible Gun Ownership 101. Good things! 👍
@@jpg_sig10 good point, I forgot to mention the clownishly short feed lips. Another thing is that the channeling ribs, beginning so "late", as they do, allow wider thicker bullets (200, 220gr) to engage the magazine catch, causing either dropped mags or feeding issues. What I came up with, and tested successfully, is to first load 10 Underwood Extreme Penetrators, which are plenty powerful for dangerous animals, and then topping off with the hardcast 200 or 220 grain, which puts them above the magazine catch windows, so the issue doesn't occur. And I should also say that with the 24lb. RSA the weak range ammo still cycles flawlessly.
@languagesource355 I've found that with the 24# RSA, pathetically weak 10mm Auto 180 Gr FN FMJ range ammo of about 520 FtLbs ME (aka .40 S&W Long) will merely dribble out of my ejection port, being lobbed only about 3 feet. Because of this, clearly, the gun will likely choke (FTF / FTE) with sub-500 FtLbs ME ammo. For sad situations such as this, either switch back to the weak OEM stock 17# RSA, or use a 22# ~ 20# recoil spring. I'm a rather simple man, so I stick with my 24# RSA, and use only real 10mm Auto ammo - nothing short of 600 FtLbs ME. My personal self-defense carry / home defense loads are light for caliber fast high energy expanding rounds (>700 FtLbs ME). My wilderness trail biking / hiking / camping large critter self-defense rounds are 220 Gr FN HCL when I'm up north, and 200 Gr FN HCL when I'm home in southern AZ (right around 700 FtLbs ME). Still, I've never had a malfunction of any kind whatsoever in 2,080 10mm Auto rounds fired since late May 2022, when I upgraded my RSA and magazine springs (this includes never an uncommanded magazine drop). When I go shooting, I always load at least 10 rounds per magazine, and often 15, sometimes 20, as I've recently added Floyd's Custom Shop +4 magazine extensions for 19+1 capacity. I've run a lot of full magazine loads of Underwood 220 Gr and 200 Gr FN HCL, fired them two-handed, strong-hand-only, and weak-hand-only, under slow fire, and rapid fire (for me)... never any malfunctions. My magazine loading technique is good, and my guns are always clean and properly lubricated. Is it possible that S&W's QC between M&P 10mm M2.0 firearms varies enough to allow me a totally reliable firearm and others not? Or might it be a lot of operator error? After 2,080 10mm Auto rounds fired, it isn't mere luck.
My experience with compensators and ported barrels is that if they are done correctly, they work well. So, some are better than others. Another trick that I've found effective is to add a light to the pistol. While it may be less feasible for a concealed carry gun, the bigger and heavier the light, the better it helps to mitigate recoil/muzzle flip.
Yes, any non-recipricating mass added to the frame, particularly at the muzzle end, will help reduce muzzle flip, e.g., a weapon light, heavy bull barrel (if possible), heavy tungsten guide rod, etc.
Justin, thanks for the great video. I really liked the compensator muzzle rise comparison. Very interesting! I bet that gun would be great for deer hunting with a red dot on it. Thanks again.
You need to try it at night to see just how much additional flash the performance center has over the standard. Home defense is more than likely at night and the ports may be a detriment. Good video.
I purchased this gun last month to carry when fly fishing in North Idaho. I understand that the 44 magnum is the preferred round in Grizzly country, but I like the lighter, less bulky carry of this firearm. I'm very happy with my choice. Also, with 15 rounds of Underwood "bear" ammo and faster sight acquisition, it should help too.
Nice review might be time to look at the performance center model. Did you try any of the heavy cast 200grain rounds in it from some of the popular 10MM boutique shops Underwwod and others?>
Not a fan of m&p, but I did get this pistol and absolutely love the pistol. Idk about everyone else but I do conceal carry it off an on. Lol. Switch between this one and my Canik elite combat pistol. Lol
@@SamBrownMusic it takes a little planning and style sitting down! Could you imagine appendix carrying that sucker?! Wouldn’t have to go off to get hurt!
Thanks for the video Justin! I thoroughly enjoy your videos. You seem like really cool guy and you give lots of information, which I appreciate. You also relate to the public very easily, which is awesome. Extra like: the toy ducks on a treadmill is super cute!
I was gonna get that but changed my mind. I had a glock 20 in 10, RIA in 10and finally a S&W with 4.0" barrel in 10. I love my S&W and it suites my hands. The recoil is not bad.
On the issue of the M&P safety: I personally like a manual thumb safety if it's well implemented, and the M&P's definitely is. The safety levers are very well designed. They're not too big to get in your way, nor too small so that they're hard to actuate. The safety also has a great crisp detent so that it clicks positively into safe and fire. Lastly, the mechanism is super simple, read: super reliable. No fancy trigger disconnect or anything like that. When it's engaged it just blocks the trigger bar from moving rearward. Lastly: It's very easy to either remove the safety from the gun if you don't want it, or buy the parts and add it if you do. Seriously, we're talking maybe 10 or 15 minutes here if you have any mechanical aptitude at all. (Disclaimer: You should probably pay a gunsmith $50 to install it or remove it. I'm not a lawyer. Don't sue me.) Well done on the safety, Smith & Wesson!
Fantastic review. I have heard of many feeding issues. I have heard that i must do an upgrade to the spring and stay away from certain loads. Have these problems been corrected? I can't afford to make $$$ mistakes. Thank-you
Thank you for this review comparison. I'm thinking I now may want that S&W M&P 10mm Performance Center M2.0 5.6" ported pistol. I love the frame-mounted ambidextrous manual thumb safety (AMTS) on my S&W M&P 10mm M2.0 4.6" pistol - I wouldn't carry the gun without it. I wish a frame-mounted AMTS was an available option on all striker-fired pistols. On my pistol, the AMTS can be removed (or installed, if your M&P M2.0 doesn't have one) in under 10 minutes. The only tools needed are a standard steel 3/32" pin punch, and needle-nosed pliers (to insert / remove the two polymer frame plugs). It's really a very quick and simple job. Good things! 👍
If you’re on the fence, I’d definitely get it. I absolutely love mine. That being said, if you put a red dot on it, I would definitely order a metal one. My only problem with this gun was attaching the sight. No feeding problems yet I’ve got about 3000 rounds thru it. Love the trigger!!
@bluuper321 I've been using aluminum alloy adapter plates from C+H Precision for all my S&W M&P M2.0 Optics Ready pistols with mounted red dot sights. Thousands of rounds later they're all still rock solid. I have both the M&P 9 M2.0 3.6" Sub-Compact and the M&P 9 ProSeries CORE M2.0 5" Full-Size pistols. Both came with the (old-style) polymer curved hinged trigger. My 5" ProSeries CORE OEM stock factory trigger was much better out of the box than my 3.6" trigger was.
I had a Springfield armory XM elite 10 mm that thing buck like a bronco. Was not that fun to shoot so I’m going to take my chance with this gun. Hopefully it’s easier to shoot. What do you think?
Has S&W worked the nasty kinks out of the 10mm yet? It was downright crap when it first came out, some users didn't have issues but a whole lot of them did, and certainly wouldn't shoot everything put in it either.
I'm sure the gun S&W sent you was tested and check at a higher level than most guns they sell. I purchased a SW22 VICTORY , it had to be sent back because of jamming. They replaced many parts, how did it get out the door?
You'd be very surprised that manufacturers rarely hand pick guns to send out to media, even when they are a brand new model. Over the years I have become quite convinced that what we get is literally just pulled off the pile. There are exceptions I'm sure - like for the old school magazines that promise cover photo and such - but for little folks like me, you just get regular helpings.
@@JustinOpinionChannel Thanx for the info, I've has a new, S&W performance center SW22, a Savage B22 PRECISION, a Beretta APX and a Henry Varmint Express® lever action rifle, that had to go back for different reason. The SW22 was the worst, it couldn't fire a full magazine without a jam. I buy guns because I like to shoot paper, so my failures only caused inconvenience. I do have a, new, S&W M&P Performance Center 10mmwith a Holosun red dot. My other 10MM pistol is a Glock 40, that I've had for over 5 years. I enjoy shooting both guns but am more accurate with the S&W. Thanks for your post, I enjoy reading themk.
Id like to try one of these I had the original and with stout loads 200 grain going about 1250fps and a 180 real 10mm load it caused my hand to go numb. Never experienced that before not new to 10mm at all. Got an sig X-Ten and don't have the problem. I have couple other M&p and like the platform but something about the way the 10 recoils didn't agree with me. Soon as I can find someone with the PC to let me try it I will I have the 45 version that looks the same and it's a great shooter.
I put the red dot on my Smith & Wesson 10 mm and within the first 50 rounds the red dot went flying it severed the screws. Apparently the plastic is too flimsy for the power of the round.
I've read about many people with this issue, so I ordered a metal plate from C&H. Have 590 rds through it so far, about half of them being Underwood hardcast "bear loads" and extreme penetrators. Solid as ever. Used C&H's included screws, too. Someone at S&W made a number of lame decisions around this otherwise nice gun.
Those M&P cheap plastic throw-away adapter plates are mere token trifles, meant to be upgraded (if not even used at all, especially on a 10mm Auto pistol), much like the OEM stock cheap plastic throw-away sights on Glock pistols. I've got 2,300 10mm Auto rounds through my M&P 10mm M2.0 4.6" pistol using an aluminum alloy adapter plate from C+H Precision... no issues at all... I'm using the stainless steel screws provided by C+H, plus blue LocTite. I never wasted any time or effort at all on the crap OEM stock adapter plates.
Of all the semi-auto pistol brands I've owned and otherwise shot (Beretta, Glock Gen3 & Gen4, H&K, Springfield Armory XDm, SIG Sauer, S&W M&P M2.0, Walther), the cheapest looking and feeling, with the worst fit and finish, and worst ergonomics, were hands down my Glocks.
I've never touched a Gen5 Glock 20, but I've owned a Gen3 Glock 20SF, and I've rented a Gen4 Glock 20. IMHO, the Gen4 was preferable to the Gen3. My S&W M&P 10mm M2.0 4.6" is far and away better and more reliable than my Gen3 G20SF was, and I've found my M&P much easier to shoot well than either my old Gen3 G20SF or the Gen4 G20 that I rented.
