S&W Fueled M&P Pistol: a High Octane Ed Brown Custom

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One of the most popular trends in handguns is dressing up striker-fired pistols to create a new look on a traditional firearm design. But, more often than not, many of these upgrades are cosmetic or parts swap-outs that the owner could accomplish with a stock pistol. However, Ed Brown’s M&P Fueled series handguns do far more than simply improve aesthetics. This is truly the Ed Brown of striker-fired handguns.

There are four Fueled-series striker-fired models available through Ed Brown’s custom shop in Perry, Missouri. The M&P F1, F3 and F4 models all use polymer-frame Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm pistols as their building blocks. The new MP-Metal-F1 tested here utilizes an M&P9 M2.0 Metal pistol by Smith & Wesson as the base gun.

Before I begin listing the MP-Metal-F1 9mm’s various cosmetic and materials upgrades—of which there are many—it’s worth examining the substantive upgrades that are standard with these Ed Brown guns.

Frame and Slide Connection

It starts with the Custom Accuracy Rail. Most dolled-up striker-fired guns use the same front rail block—usually a metal-injection-molded (MIM) component—found on stock factory pistols. There are still methods to improve accuracy like adding better barrels and triggers, but the gun’s performance will be limited by the slop in the slide/barrel lockup and fit.

The Fueled guns replace the MIM factory front rail block with Ed Brown’s Custom Accuracy Rail, each of which is custom-fitted in the gun’s frame. The Ed Brown rail offers machined surfaces that mate up perfectly with the barrel and slide, and each is hand-fitted by the team at Ed Brown. The result is a vastly more consistent slide/barrel orientation. This consistency results in substantially improved accuracy potential. “The secret to the M&P Fueled series pistols’ accuracy is this accuracy rail,” says Ed Brown’s Dave Biggers. “There’s a hand-fitted connection between the frame and slide." Biggers said customers have asked if the accuracy rail is available as an aftermarket part, and the answer is no. The reasoning behind this, he says, is that hand-fitting the rail requires an in-depth understanding of the process. When properly installed and fitted, the rail provides custom-gun accuracy levels, but improper fitting could ruin a firearm. It’s best to leave this step to the pros at Ed Brown.

The accuracy rail is the heart of the Fueled series, and it truly takes striker-fired pistols to the next level. However, it’s just one of the many upgrades that make this M&P a masterpiece.

Masterpiece

While the S&W frame remains largely the same, the slide is completely custom-machined from 17-4 stainless steel. The slides are dehorned and feature custom slide cuts and windows that are designed for optimum performance. A quality nitride finish protects the metal, and the interior metalwork on this pistol is an improvement over the exterior surface treatments and machining of many factory guns. The factory extractor has also been dropped in favor of a custom extractor designed specifically for the Fueled guns. The beefy extractor is machined from premium steel and features crisp edge cuts to take a solid bite on the cartridge case.

The slide is cut to accept Trijicon RMR-footprint optics and a matching sight plate is included. The iron sights co-witness with the red dot. The black steel rear sight is dovetailed into the slide and features serrations to cut glare; the rear sight is paired with an AmeriGlo ProGlo tritium front.

The irons are suitable for accurate shooting and self-defense applications, and when these are paired with the Trijicon RMR—which is an optional upgrade—the shooter has a fail-safe sighting system suitable for any lighting conditions.

Staring Down The Barrel

Fueled pistols have 4.6-inch 416 stainless button-rifled match barrels with a 1:10 twist. They feature Ed Brown’s unique “tread” fluting pattern, a series of angular cuts that run the length of the barrel and offer an aesthetic upgrade when viewed through the slide ports. The barrels have a black nitride finish and feature an 11-degree target crown.

Barrels are threaded 1/2x28 so they are ready to accept aftermarket muzzle devices, and Ed Brown supplies a matching thread protector. Viewed from certain angles, the shape of the protector looks like a gear to me. I don’t know if that was intentional in keeping with the “fueled” theme or not, but it’s a small touch that verifies what most shooters already know: Every component of an Ed Brown gun gets special attention. This attention extends to the frame pins, all of which are turned on Swiss-type machines and come with a black nitride finish.

The metal frame of the original M&P pistol remains, and that’s not a bad thing. Biggers told me that when the team at Ed Brown began this project years ago they wanted to base their custom striker-fired guns on a pistol that has a similar grip angle to the 1911, and that was the Smith & Wesson M&P. As I mentioned, the original Fueled guns released three years ago used S&W polymer frames, but the MP-Metal-F1 borrows the aluminum frame from the M&P M2.0 Metal factory pistol. It features an extended beavertail and comes with textured interchangeable backstraps that allow you to further customize the fit.

Texturing wraps around the frontstrap, and it uses the same aggressive pattern as other M&P pistols. The metal grip frame is finished in Tungsten Gray Cerakote.
While the polymer-frame Fueled pistols have an Apex trigger, the Metal version is outfitted with an Overwatch Precision bladed flat-face trigger with a pull weight of three pounds. That’s light for a striker-fired gun, and it’s an extremely smooth and crisp trigger with minimal take-up that’s certainly worthy of a custom pistol.

The MP-Metal-F1 sports a custom Ed Brown mag well—the first for the S&W M&P9 M2.0 Metal pistol—with indentations in the side for stripping magazines. Two magazines are included. There’s a 17-round magazine and a 19-round magazine with an extended base plate that’s an Ed Brown creation. The aluminum frame adds about an ounce of heft compared to the polymer Fueled guns—31 and 30 ounces, respectively. The overall length of the gun is 7.5 inches while overall the height is 5.5 inches and the maximum width is 1.3 inches. This is indeed a full-size pistol, but while the MP-Metal-F1 weighs a half-pound more than a similar-size production gun of this type, it’s still about eight ounces lighter than a metal-frame full-size 1911. You can carry this gun concealed if you dress around it, although I doubt many shooters will be wearing one in an appendix holster under a light T-shirt.

The controls on the MP-Metal-F1 mimic those of a Smith & Wesson M&P M2.0 and include an ambidextrous slide stop, a rotating takedown lever and an oval reversible mag release located just aft of the trigger. The slide stops are relatively small but functional, and the takedown design is simple and easy for shooters of any experience level to master. There’s also a three-slot rail on the dust cover to accommodate lights and lasers. Biggers told me the MP-Metal-F1 is a gun that must be shot to appreciate, and I agree.

Accuracy

This is a gun that impresses on and off the bench. From a fixed rest at 25 yards, the gun grouped five shots under 1.5 inches with a couple of loads and offered up a test-best group in the 1.2-inch range. That’s exceptional accuracy and better than I’ve seen from any striker-fired polymer-frame gun.

The most obvious feature leading to this accuracy is the excellent trigger, which feels far closer to what you’ll find in a precision rifle than the comparatively sloppy trigger found in many factory pistols. But what might not be initially obvious to the shooter is the work of the accuracy rail, the driving force behind the MP-Metal-F1’s performance. What you will notice is that, when shaken, this gun is as silent as a tomb. There’s no rattling of parts, a direct byproduct of the hand-fitting that ensures all the parts fit together so nicely.

Not surprisingly, the slide operation is extremely smooth. It’s not as slick as the ball-bearing feel of an Ed Brown 1911 slide, but by striker-fired gun standards, it’s orders of magnitude above factory pistols. The dramatic slide cuts give the gun a unique and stylish aesthetic, but they’re functional as well. The wraparound front texturing makes press checks easy, and if you happen to find yourself shooting with just one hand, there are plenty of flat surfaces to rack the slide—including the rear sight or, if you have a red dot in place, the front surface of the optic. I’m not keen on operating my slide on the optic, but in an emergency it’s a nice option to have.

But Does It Shoot?

Now to the part of the review that you’ve been skimming along to find: off-the-bench testing results. How does the Ed Brown shoot? It’s the pinnacle of striker-fired gun performance. Shoot most other tricked-out striker-fired 9mms and you’ll find things to like—perhaps cool slide cuts or a nice trigger.

But the MP-Metal-F1 doesn’t just offer a few niceties. Rather, it changes the entire shooting dynamic. The gun is perfectly balanced, and the recoil impulse seems to vanish into the ether. Because the Ed Brown shoots so flat and so softly and has such an outstanding trigger, you can push your speed and accuracy limits because the gun is so accommodating.

If it sounds like I’m gushing on the MP-Metal-F1, I am. I test a lot of striker-fired guns. Most are reliable, most are fairly accurate, but many are also uninspiring. For most shooters that’s just fine, but if you consider yourself an enthusiast, this is the gun you want. “I shoot one of the M&P Fueled Metal pistols in competitions,” says Biggers. “I can do things with that gun that I can’t with other pistols.”

Concur?

I agree. There’s a lot to love about this gun, but there are a couple of things I’d change. There’s nothing wrong with the M&P grip texture, but I’d like to see a signature Ed Brown texture to further separate these guns from factory pistols.

Also, the slide stop could occupy a bit more real estate, and that goes for factory Smith & Wesson M&P pistols as well. It’s easier to operate the slide stop on the smooth-operating Ed Brown, and I wouldn’t ask for much—maybe a few hundredths of an inch more purchase.

Yes, $2,300 is certainly a steep price for a striker-fired gun ($2,795 with Trijicon RMR red dot pre-installed), but this is no ordinary striker-fired pistol. Ed Brown has been customizing handguns for more than 50 years, and the attention to detail that the company he founded brings to the table is embedded in the MP-Metal-F1.

One noteworthy aspect of all Ed Brown guns is that each of them has been personally handled by a member of the Brown family, whether during machining or quality control. This family commitment to producing high-performance pistols is part of what you’re paying for. “You can take your car into the garage and switch out the tires and rims, but you can’t change the design of the motor yourself,” Biggers said. Indeed, the Ed Brown MP-Metal-F1 pistol is in a class by itself, and it’s enough to get any handgun fan’s engine revving.

Ed Brown MP Metal F1 Specs

• Type: Striker-Fired Semiauto
• Caliber: 9mm Luger
• Capacity: 17,19
• Barrel: 4.6 in., Black Nitride finish, 1:10 twist Threaded 1/2x28
• OAL/Height/Width: 7.5/5.5/1.3 in.
• Weight: 31 oz.
• Construction: Tungsten Gray Cerakote-finished aluminum frame, black nitride-finished stainless steel slide
• Trigger: Overwatch Precision, 3 lb. pull (as measured)
• Sights: black tactical notch rear, AmeriGlo ProGlo front; slide cut for Trijicon RMR footprint
• Price: $2,795 (as tested), $2,295 (no optic)
• Manufacturer: Ed Brown Products, EdBrown.com

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