The V Custom version of the M&P9 was released on 25 December 2014, and as such it’s the newest in TMs pistol line up (at time of posting). The pistol is an all plastic affair, as usual for any TM pistol, but rather than the previously shiny plastic, the finish and colour is much improved, duller finish. It is modelled upon the Smith & Wesson M&P9 VTAC (Viking Tactics).

Unloaded, the pistol is very light weight (400 grams) although once a mag is inserted the weight comes up to 620 grams. For some the lack of weight in the hand might be a turn off, but the trade off is excellent gas effeciency and cold weather performance (coupled with other improvements noted later) that you’re unlikely to see from pistols with metal slides.

The magazine is 26+1 double stack affair, and comes with a tan base plate to match the pistol. You also receive a spare in the box so you can have matching base plates on spare mags if that takes your fancy. The magazines are also a one piece a design, which reduces the opportunities for leaks and is a welcomed change over mags for guns like the 226. Due to their size you can expect at least two mags per fill before you experience signifant performance issues.

One much improved feature over many pistols (including many of TMs own), is that the hop adjustment is accessible without dissembly through the ejection port. To access, you just need to lock the slide back, make your adjustment and send the slide home. This makes fine tuning hassle free and quicker compared to having to pop the slide off each time.

All of the controls are, or can be made to be, ambidextrous (safety and slide lock are, and the mag release can be flipped over). Rather interestingly the slide lock does not engage on the externals of the slide, rather it engages internally which saves the slide being worn out by the metal catch (the catch is still operated by the user in the normal way).

As well as having a physical thumb safety, the M&P9 also incorporates a Glock style trigger safety. The downside of this system is that the trigger does feel slightly spongey and has a fairly long pull although if speed triggers are your thing, you can either mod the mechanism or after market parts are available.