Ace S&W Pistol instructor Offers Critic a Slice of Humble Pie

The Smith & Wesson M&P in 9mm is shown. The M&P 45 has the same chambering as the M&P 9mm. Some shooters will complain loudly about their handguns’ (perceived lack of) accuracy. Sometimes the problem is the gun and sometimes it’s “driver error”. We often hear guys at the range blame their gun for poor precision, when the real problem is a lack of operator skills. This story, which was posted on Facebook a few years ago, is a good example. Here’s the tale. A man attending an armorer course at Smith & Wesson loudly criticized a S&W M&P45, claiming that it couldn’t shoot. He tells the instructor very loudly, “the M&P45 one of our officers is using is sh*t”. He then trash-talks about the gun, saying he and his colleague couldn’t get it to shoot decent groups with either FMJ or duty ammunition. Gregory Grutter, S&W’s Chief Firearms instructor, overheard these loud complaints and asked to test fire the M&P45 pistol. Grutter placed two of his business cards at 15 yards and then fired one with Winchester Ranger SXT ammo and the other with Winchester White Box. Grutter’s best group, measured using OnTarget, was about half an in. Check it out: After hearing the grumbler’s litany of complaints Grutter walked up to him and asked, “Hey sir, can I shoot this?” “Go for it, I don’t want that POS to be returned!” said Mr. Negative. Kharma time, baby… The M&P performed brilliantly in Grutter’s hand. Grutter’s 5-shot groups at 15 yards, each with the.45 ACP Smith & Wesson. It’s pretty impressive: The complainer was impressed by this. After seeing it, he asked: “Why didn’t you shoot your cards? Ain’t got no targets?” Grutter replied: “Nah… In case you or your officers want to learn how you shoot [this way], you will have the phone numbers to call.”