Concealed Carry & Home Defense

Gun Test: Smith & Wesson M&P9L Pro Series C.O.R.E.

Font Size:

By American Rifleman staff

Given the success of the striker-fired Smith & Wesson Military & Police (M&P)-series handguns, line extensions were virtually assured. The most innovative variation to emerge, though, did so in 2013 with the introduction of the Competition Optics Ready Equipment (C.O.R.E.), also available in the Pro Series configuration evaluated here. As its name suggests, the C.O.R.E. was created to ease installation and removal of an optic, depending on regulations for the user’s specific organization or competition.
undefined
There are myriad reasons for adding an optical sight to a semi-automatic competition handgun, but certainly faster target acquisition and difficulty aligning (or even seeing) iron sights due to aging eyes top the list. Moreover, sans magnification, small, reflex-style sights permit increased situational awareness, both-eyes-open shooting and easier target engagement in varying lighting conditions. The same attributes would greatly benefit the defensive-minded homeowner.

In its C.O.R.E.-series handguns, S&W devised a fairly simple approach for affixing an optic; simply choose the correct steel optic-mounting plate and install it in the recess immediately forward of the rear sight. The optic is then mounted directly atop the plate. Included with each C.O.R.E. pistol are five bases (and the necessary screws) that accommodate six popular competition sights: Trijicon RMR; Leupold Deltapoint; JPoint; Doctor; C-More STS; and InSight MRDS. There’s also a polymer plate for use when an optic is not desired or permitted. It’s an ingenious system that requires minimal time to install or remove an optic, and the end result is not the least bit obtrusive. Holsters that work with an optic-equipped M&P C.O.R.E. are available from Blade Tech, 5.11, BlackHawk and CB Kydex Products, among others.

The system also enables co-witnessing of the red dot and the elevated iron sights so that, should the optic’s battery fail at an inopportune time, the sights are easily acquired. The sights themselves are dovetailed into place and feature the familiar three white-dot picture; the fixed rear unit is secured with a setscrew and has two dots and a 0.140″-wide notch, while the dovetailed and drift-adjustable post front sight has a single dot. Lastly, the black, Melonite-coated steel slide has aggressive wave-shaped serrations for improved purchase when racking the slide, as well as a cutout that works in unison with one on the barrel to create a window for checking the chamber’s status.

The firearm provided for evaluation was the 9 mm Luger-chambered M&P9L Pro Series C.O.R.E., which featured a 5″ barrel with five-groove, 1:10″-twist rifling, though a 4¼”-barreled version is available. Both barrel length variants are available in .40 S&W as well. Beneath the barrel is the single recoil spring surrounding a guide rod—identical to those in the standard M&P-series pistols.

As with prior M&P models, the Pro Series C.O.R.E. features a polymer frame with steel slide rails and three interchangeable, textured backstraps. Exchanging the backstrap is both quick and easy; simply rotate the frame tool one-quarter turn and withdraw it from the bottom of the grip, remove the insert, install the new one, and then replace the frame tool, which secures it in place. The same tool is also used for field stripping the handgun for maintenance. Lastly, there’s an accessory rail molded into the dust cover for the addition of lasers, lights and other accessories.

undefined

The M&PL Pro Series C.O.R.E. pistols have bilateral fire controls. The magazine-release button is reversible, though it comes factory equipped for right-handed shooters, and a slide stop appears on both sides of the gun. The only non-bilateral control is the takedown lever. As for the polymer trigger, it features an articulating section that must be pressed 1/8″ rearward to permit the main trigger to move and the gun to fire. The lengthy, double-action movement gives the feeling of a two-stage trigger. The pull weight on our test sample averaged 6 lbs. exactly with zero overtravel and had a very short reset. In short, it’s a very good trigger as-is for competition. There is no external safety.

The evaluation M&P9L Pro Series C.O.R.E. shipped with two 17-round magazines, making it well-suited for competition. The .40 S&W versions ship with 15-round magazines. Regardless of capacity, the magazines have steel bodies with both witness holes and numerals for counting rounds remaining, as well as polymer baseplates and followers.

 

undefined

For testing, we headed to the range with an assortment of 9 mm Luger ammunition. We were more than impressed with the gun’s accuracy. In addition, we noted that the M&PL Pro Series C.O.R.E.’s 5″ barrel yielded velocities for the Federal load in excess of the factory-touted number.

With accuracy testing completed, we then fed the M&PL Pro Series C.O.R.E. a hodgepodge of 9 mm Luger loads with varying weights and profiles in random order to determine its reliability. The gun digested everything without a hiccup. Moreover, thanks to the Leupold Deltapoint, during the rapid-fire sessions target acquisition was immediate, and despite firing several hundred rounds, thanks no doubt to the gun’s 26-oz. heft, there was no discomfort; in fact, it was a pleasant day at the range.

By developing the M&P Pro Series C.O.R.E. pistols, S&W brought to market handguns that are optics-ready and competition-quality, right out of the box. They’d also serve as defensive handguns, and, with a suggested retail price of $769, we consider them to be a good value, as well.

Thanks to the American Rifleman staff for this post. Take a minute and check out the newly redesigned American Rifleman website – click here to go to AmericanRifleman.org.

Tags : 9mm gun test
NRA American Rifleman

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel