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First gun in Georgia

2K views 20 replies 14 participants last post by  talltrini10 
#1 ·
Greetings all! Picked up my first gun ever this weekend - got a great deal on a M&P 9 and I couldn't resist. I've shot a few different guns over the years, but for me, the M&P seemed to be the best combo of accuracy, feel, price, and to be honest, looks (I know that shouldn't matter much, but...)
Had a few questions, if I could:
1) Should I field strip, clean and lube the gun before the first use?
2) Should I clean after every range trip?
3) Is there a particular cleaning kit/product that works best for this gun?
I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions as time passes, but those are the top of mind ones. Thanks in advance for any and all help!
 
#5 ·
Howdy and Welcome, from Texas Aggie Country. :)
 
#8 ·
Welcome to the forum. I am relatively new here myself and just purchased my M&P 9 about 3 weeks ago. There is a lot of information on this site and my experience so far has been that everyone if very helpful.

I will give you my thoughts on your questions but remember I am relatively new at this also.

1. Your owners manual says the gun was "lubed" at the factory and should have a cleaning before using. I did clean mine but really could not tell a difference after the cleaning. Mine did not have any heavy accumulations of oil/grease when I received it.

2. You will get all kinds of answers here. I don't shoot a lot and I will probably clean the gun after every use. I just don't like the idea of the gun sitting dirty for a lengthy time. I have read different opinions on this site from clean after each use to every 1000 or so rounds fired. I guess it depends on how anal you are, but I would think you should set up a schedule and stick with it.

3. Any kit for a 9 mm should work. They come in all sizes and price ranges but a lot of the kits may have items for other calibers you may never use. I know precious little about cleaning products but if you do a search you will find as many opinions as there are products. There are so many brands out there and most of them will likely do a good job if used correctly. Hoppes, Remington, CLP (I think that's right), EWL, Frog Lube, and many other oils/cleaners are available. Hoppes and Remington have been around for years and are stocked in most gun stores and Wal-Mart.

I hope that helps some.
 
#9 ·
Also, look at a product called 'Swab-its'. They make foam tipped bore cleaners. They also have a kit where you get a bunch of different size swabs that help you get into all the tight spots for cleaning. If you are going to use q-tips, steal some 'makeup' q-tips from your lady friend, they are a much tighter wound cotton swab that doesn't leave any lint behind. If you buy some look in the makeup section of the store.

Welcome and good shooting.
 
#10 ·
Welcome from Wisconsin!

Found in the instruction manual - "Before using your firearm for the first time it should be cleaned. Your firearm was treated at the factory with either a preservative or oil to protect it against corrosion during shipping & storage."

I found that my M&P was dry when I pulled it out of the case for the first time but I also realize that appearance doesn't necessarily mean that there's no preservative present.

I used a good grade of alcohol to clean mine initially. It's not necessary to clean any of the polymer surfaces. Then I sparingly used Break Free CLP to lube all metal parts. I use that for cleaning after a session at the range as well. "CLP" stands for "Clean, Lube, Protect". There are many other good products available. You'll need a bore brush & cotton patches which can be cut from an old T shirt or purchased in a pack.

Enjoy your new pistol!
 
#11 ·
Thanks for all the responses, folks!
MSG, you're right, not sure how I missed that in my first read through of the manual, saw it after I posted this.
JoeAN, thanks for the help - found the kits and heading to Wally World tonight.
I'm also thinking of picking up some snap caps to get accustomed to loading, unloading and dry firing - any thoughts on this?
 
#13 ·
If you can find an Uplula loader pick one up. They're about $20+ as I recall. Well worth the expense. Your magazines will be very stiff & even strong-handed guys have found it almost impossible to load that last round or two when they're new. It becomes easier with loading & unloading many times & now I have no problems loading all my mags to full capacity but I still use the Uplula. With range fees charged by the hour every couple of minutes means more rounds downrange. My thumbs are happier, too

Don't worry about dry firing a striker fired pistol. I did several hundred dry fires when I brought the M&P home until I had a chance to get to the range. The trigger smoothed out some after doing that & of course putting many rounds downrange also helps. I figure about 400-500 rounds will give you a "broken in" gun & one you can trust for self defense.
 
#15 ·
I will second getting the UpLula to load your magazines. With my arthritic thumbs I really struggled trying to load the mags. I think they are closer to $35 now. Another brand, I think it's HK, has their loader for about half that amount. It works just fine, not quite as slick as the UpLula, but it does the same thing for abort half the cost.

Sent from my SCH-i705 using Tapatalk
 
#18 · (Edited)
*I run my M&P dry, NEVER had a problem.
*I dont always clean it after a range session, NEVER had a problem.
*RemOil is a decent entry level grade oil, just a drop will do for both sides of the slide grove
*BoreSnake is good for cleaning the barrel
*For when its REALLY dirty, GunScrubber (see link below) is an awesome product! The carbon just floods right out, make sure you do this outside over the grass, etc.. Wear rubber gloves.. shake it off and the rest evaporates pretty quick (think: brake cleaner).
https://www.birchwoodcasey.com/Clea...aintenance/Gun-Scrubber®-Firearm-Cleaner.aspx
*Get a Glock 9/40 reloader, its like $6 and works GREAT on 9 and 40 M&P mags too! (almost like it was made for it!)
http://www.amazon.com/Glock-Magazine-Speed-Loader-357/dp/B004Y27DVY


Have fun, shoot safe and dont be a Tex Grebner.

EB
 
#19 ·
*I run my M&P dry, NEVER had a problem.
*I dont always clean it after a range session, NEVER had a problem.
*RemOil is a decent entry level grade oil, just a drop will do for both sides of the slide grove
*BoreSnake is good for cleaning the barrel
*For when its REALLY dirty, GunScrubber (see link below) is an awesome product! The carbon just floods right out, make sure you do this outside over the grass, etc.. Wear rubber gloves.. shake it off and the rest evaporates pretty quick (think: brake cleaner).
https://www.birchwoodcasey.com/Clea...aintenance/Gun-Scrubber®-Firearm-Cleaner.aspx
*Get a Glock 9/40 reloader, its like $6 and works GREAT on 9 and 40 M&P mags too! (almost like it was made for it!)
Amazon.com : Glock Magazine Speed Loader for 9mm/.40/.357/.380 Auto/.45 GAP Mags : Gun Magazine Loaders : Sports & Outdoors


Have fun, shoot safe and dont be a Tex Grebner.

EB
*Googles Tex Grebner*
Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions, folks! Had one more question - for target practice, is this ammo ok?
Winchester 9mm Luger 115-Grain Full Metal Jacket Bullets, 100ct - Walmart.com
 
#20 ·
That's the classic Winchester white box, their generic ammo, works fine for most people, good practice ammo.

They call it white box or WWB, since its in a fairly plain white box.
 
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