Hey everyone, this is Shooting Illustrated bringing you another episode of “I Carry.” In today’s feature, we’re updating a Smith & Wesson M&P9 with a ported barrel and compensator and some related gear. Let’s take a closer look at this setup:
Firearm: Smith & Wesson M&P9 frame with M&P M2.0 aftermarket slide (MSRP: $479, slide/barrel only)
We’re doing things a little differently in today’s kit. Smith & Wesson recently released a new ported slide and barrel for the M&P that includes a single-port compensator and the company’s CORE optics mounting system. We’ve paired this new slide and barrel with an earlier M&P9 frame as a way of updating this M&P to include optics-ready capability. When the M&P series of striker-fired, polymer-frame pistols was introduced in 2005, red-dot sights on pistols were on the uncommon side, and ported barrels were predominantly on magnum-caliber revolvers.
Available from Smith & Wesson as a complete slide, updating your older M&P is as simple as field-stripping the pistol, removing the slide and reassembling the kit with the new slide. Congratulations! Your M&P now has Smith & Wesson’s CORE optics-mounting system as well as a ported barrel and a single-port compensator. In addition to that, night sights adorn this replacement slide, with a green ring surrounding a tritium vial in the front sight matching with a blacked-out, serrated rear sight. Serrations grace the front and rear of the slide, and there are even grasping grooves to make charging the slide easier.
Of course, a big reason for choosing this slide is the addition of the CORE optics-mounting system. Smith & Wesson’s method uses two sets of holes drilled into the slide that correspond to the majority of optics footprints on the market today. Seven different plastic plates match specific footprints to the cut in the slide, which allows both small optics, like the Shield Sights RMSc, and larger optics like the Trijicon RMR to be added to the slide with a minimum of effort. Smith & Wesson even includes screws for a variety of different optic types, and details everything nicely in the owner’s manual to all CORE-equipped pistols as well as online.
If you have one of the older M&P pistols and want to upgrade without buying an entirely new gun, this aftermarket slide is a quick and easy way to accomplish this. While it is more expensive than sending your existing slide out to be milled, it can mount a wide variety of optics and also comes with the ported barrel and compensator. Best of all, it keeps the same outline as the original full-size M&P, so all existing holsters will work with the new slide attached. Oh, and it’s available in black as well as the FDE we have in today’s kit.
Holster: ANR Design Quick Ship IWB (MSRP: $57.99, $82.24 as shown)
To carry the full-size M&P9 pistol, we’ve opted for an ANR Design Quick Ship IWB holster. ANR Design offers a wide variety of holster fits, color variations and belt-attachment methods even in its “Quick Ship” line, meaning that you have a pretty wide variety of options from which to choose and still get your holster in less than two weeks. That’s a super sweet deal for a quality kydex holster. And yes, lefties, ANR Design makes holsters for left-handed shooters.
The Quick Ship IWB is a standard, taco-style holster constructed of a single sheet of kydex folded in half, with two screws under the trigger guard allowing adjustment to the level of retention. The holster we’ve picked for today has the logoed DCC monoblock belt-attachment method and grey color, which add $7.25 and $5, respectively, as well as the concealment claw to help tuck the holster into the body when worn in the appendix position. This choice adds $12 to the total, resulting in a customized holster that ships in 5 to 7 business days, totaling a little more than $80. That’s a rock-solid deal.
Accessory: Trijicon RMR Green Dot (MSRP: $810)
So, remember how we mentioned that the CORE mounting system on the replacement Smith & Wesson slide meant you can add a red-dot sight? We should have amended that, because despite the “Trijicon” logo on the side, this is not a red-dot sight—it’s actually a green dot. Yes, the Trijicon RMR, long the gold-standard for red-dot sights, is now available with a green dot for those who prefer them. Green can often be easier on the eyes, especially in lower-light situations, while red is the fastest to pick up under normal conditions.
Aside from the difference in dot color, this is a standard Trijicon RMR Type 2 sight. It still has the same RMR footprint, same durability, same brightness adjustment buttons on the sides, same everything as its red-dot sibling. Windage and elevation changes, if needed, are made using the same slotted dials, and multiple screw lengths are provided to match a variety of optic-cut depths. It’s intuitive, robust and wears the Trijicon name—in this case, it’s pretty easy being green.
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