Smith & Wesson recently announced the addition of 3 new Performance Center guns designed to give concealed carriers an edge in controllability. The new guns feature ported barrels to reduce muzzle rise and help follow-up shots. Built in S&W’s famed Performance Center, the Carry Comp Series is available in the micro-compact Shield, the Compact M&P9, and the full-size M&P9 M2.0 pistol with an aluminum frame. I received a sample of the latter for review.
History of the S&W Performance Center M&P9 M2.0 Metal Carry Comp
Smith & Wesson introduced the M&P9 pistol back in 2005. It gave shooters a chance to own a striker-fired gun completely manufactured in the United States. The pistol proved popular with civilians and law enforcement alike. As a result, S&W was able to stem some of the hemorrhaging sales spurned by the Austrian gun company.
I bought one myself to take training classes where my custom 1911s weren’t a good choice. The gun is a workhorse, and between training and USPSA matches, I have fired several thousand rounds without a blip. The trigger is a little heavy, and the sights could use an upgrade. However, I chose to leave the gun stock.
Smith & Wesson upgraded the M&P9 in 2017 by using a full-length stainless-steel chassis to make the gun more rigid. Likewise, the company upgraded the trigger. The new guns were given the M2.0 designation, and basically corrected all of the criticisms of the original M&P9 pistol.
At some point, law enforcement and the shooting public came to the realization that lighter is not always better. There’s no getting around the laws of physics—lighter guns recoil more. Then, too, there are just some folks turned off by polymer-framed pistols. For these folks, S&W introduced the M&P9 M2.0 Metal Frame in 2022.
There’s just something reassuring about the weight and heft of the M2.0 Metal frame. I found that metal-frame guns weigh about 18% more than their polymer-framed counterparts. This added weight contributes to the gun’s handling characteristics and makes for a soft-shooting pistol.
Introducing the Performance Center M&P M2.0 Metal Carry Comp
Possessing all of the great features of the M2.0 Metal pistol, this new addition features a ported barrel and slide. It is designed to give the shooter more control so that they can drive their sights back on target faster than uncompensated models.
The last .60” of the barrel has had the rifling removed. This gives an expansion area for gases to expand, making the top port more effective. Additionally, S&W ports the top of the slide, scallops the area, and ports the side of the slide.
The strategically designed Power Port™, located at the end of the barrel at the twelve o’clock position, diverts gas upwards. This drives the muzzle down to offset muzzle climb and reduce felt recoil.
The new ClearSight™ Cut is an angular slide modification designed to divert gasses from the chamber away from the optic, allowing the user to maintain an unobstructed view. It also prevents shooting residue and soot from gathering on the optic’s window.
S&W situates the front sight in front of the port so the soot won’t obscure the Tritium night sight. The rear sight is blacked out, serrated, and drift adjustable for windage in its dovetail. It sports a deep “U” notch that makes it fast to use with the circular Tritium dot front sight.
S&W also includes its screw and plate kit that allows users to attach the most popular red dot optics to the Carry Comp pistol. I like the issue sights so well that I decided to do my accuracy testing with them.
The Pistol in Hand
Like other M2.0 pistols, the gun comes with four different palm swell inserts so the shooter can customize the gun’s fit to their hand. The frame’s front strap also has a textured polymer insert.
With its sculpted frame cuts and contours, the gun has the aesthetics of a custom gun and a great deal of appeal. There’s a comfortable thumb shelf for the shooter’s thumb, and the frame cuts give shooters consistent indexing marks.
The stainless-steel slide is coated with a black Armornite® finish, and the Carry Comp’s metal frame is also matte black. The pistol has ambidextrous slide releases, a reversible magazine release, and a light rail machined into the frame’s dust cover.
S&W’s Performance Center smiths tune the Carry Comps’ triggers. My test sample is about as good of a trigger as I have experienced on a striker-fired gun. I feel like the flat-face design gives me more control, and my test sample’s trigger broke consistently at 2.6 pounds.
There is take-up but without any meaningful creep. It allows the shooter to prep the trigger safely before adding the pressure necessary to break the shot. The trigger’s reset is short and firm, making shooting the Carry Comp quickly an easy matter.
I tested the Carry Comp for accuracy at 15 yards, firing all groups from a seated rest. I rested the gun’s dust cover on my Ranson Rest Multi Cal Steady Rest for support. Three 5-shot groups were fired with each ammunition, and the best group is reflected in the accuracy chart (below).
Six different loads were fired through the Carry Comp: two range loads and four defense rounds. All groups were fired with the gun’s iron sights, and the groups printed to the gun’s point of aim.
Feeding the Beast
One of my favorite 9mm carry loads is the Doubletap 77-grain Solid Copper Hollow Point. From the Carry Comp’s 4.22” barrel, the round produces 1538 feet per second in velocity and generates over 400 foot-poundsof energy. I’ve witnessed it penetrate over 14” in ballistic gel from a sub-compact pistol while expanding to .72” and retaining all of its weight.
This Doubletap round consistently produces the best accuracy of rounds tested and shoots to the point of aim. Here’s the best part: It does all of that without +P pressures. With this load, I was able to cluster five rounds into a group that measured just .92”.
Black Hill’s 115-grain JHP has always been proven to be an extremely accurate round in my evaluations. It proved so again with the S&W Carry Comp. At 15 yards, I managed to put 5 shots into a group just under an inch! But the other ammunitions weren’t far behind it. In fact, the aggregate group size for the six different loads was just 1.11”.
Federal’s 124-grain Training/Match rounds with their Total Synthetic Jackets generate velocity and energy similar to defense rounds. That makes it the perfect training ammunition without the cost of more expensive hollow points. I’ve shot these rounds in every caliber that Federal produces and they provide excellent accuracy and consistent velocities.
An Effective Compensator
In general, comps are most effective with lighter bullets going at higher velocities. So, I loaded the Carry Comp’s 17-round mags with Doubletap’s 77-grain Solid Copper hollow points for my field exercises on steel plates.
My doubletaps and controlled pairs were very fast. Likewise, my splits—or time between shots—were some of the very best I have ever fired. It seemed almost effortless to drive the front sight back onto target during rapid fire.
I also fired heavier bullets during the field portion of my testing. The lighter bullets produced the least amount of felt recoil and muzzle rise. But I also found that heavier bullets from 115-grains to 147-grains did, indeed, shoot softer.
If I had to quantify the effectiveness of the Carry Comp’s Power Port, I’d say that it cuts muzzle rise and felt recoil by about 20%. My guesstimate is completely unscientific, I know, and based only on my 50 years of shooting experience.
Final Thoughts
There’s a lot to like about the new Carry Comp pistol. It’s accurate, soft-shooting, reliable, and also possesses great ergonomics. It has all of the features needed for defense use, including a Tritium night sight, a crisp trigger with a firm reset, and a ported barrel. It is also optics-ready.
Smith & Wesson’s new Performance Center M&P9 M2.0 Metal Carry Comp pistol comes with two 17-round magazines, an optics mounting system, and a Performance Center cleaning kit. Priced at $999, this Carry Comp pistol represents tremendous value and should serve its user well.
For more information, please visit Smith-Wesson.com.
S&W Performance Center M&P9 M2.0 Metal Carry Comp Specs
| Action | Semi-Auto, Striker-Fired |
| Caliber/Capacity | 9mm, 17 + 1 |
| Overall Length | 7.4” |
| Overall Height | 5.5” |
| Weight | 28.1 Ounces (with Empty Mag in Place) |
| Width | 1.4” |
| Barrel | 4.22”, 1:10”, Stainless Steel, Armornite® Finish, Power Port™ |
| Frame | 7075-T6 Aluminum |
| Slide | Stainless-Steel with Grey Armornite® Finish |
| Grip | 18ᵒ Grip Angle, 4 Palmswell Grip Inserts |
| Trigger | Flat-Faced Trigger, Custom Tuned by the Performance Center® |
| Sights | Optics ready, Front Sight Night Sight, Serrated, Blacked Out Rear Sight, Drift Adjustable |
| Accessories | Two 17-Round Magazines, Cable Lock, Performance Center Cleaning Kit |
| MSRP | $999 |
Performance
| Ammo | Velocity | Energy | Group |
| Black Hills 115-grain JHP | 1179 | 355 | 0.95” |
| Doubletap 77-grain Solid Copper Hollowpoint | 1538 | 404 | 0.92” |
| Doubletap 124-grain FMJ RN Match | 1045 | 300 | 1.26” |
| Federal 124-grain Syntech Training/Match | 1179 | 382 | 1.24” |
| Hornady Critical Defense 115-grain FTX | 1117 | 318 | 1.15” |
| Nosler 147-grain JHP Assured Stopping Power (ASP) | 852 | 237 | 1.12” |
| Average | 1.11” |
