Smith & Wesson M&P Compact 2.0 Optics Ready Tabletop Review

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Smith & Wesson… the Burger King of pistols; Kurger Bing for the meme community… I’ve not had one, ever. It’s one of the few common pistols that I’ve not had some variant of since I got started with TacCat. I recently saw the M&P Compact 2.0 Optics Model that came out late in 2020, saw the improved front serrations, and decided “What the hell”. For those that aren’t familiar with the M&P line-up don’t feel bad, I’m not either. This 4″ model, however, is the direct competitor to the Glock G19. While it doesn’t fit some G19 holsters like the CZ P-10c, this Smith & Wesson M&P is almost exactly the same dimensionally as the Glock G19.

At JustPews Tabletop Reviews are introductions to new products with our initial thoughts. These are not full on reviews; please keep that in mind. These posts will also be exclusive to the website only.

Surprisingly I found my Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact Optics Ready model (Dear S&W, make this less of a mouthful. Kthnxbai) for a fantastic price at a shop local to me… unfortunately it was a manual safety model which might explain the price. With the gun you get to place S&W roulette on whether you get a cardboard box, or a hard case; I got the cardboard box with 2 magazines, the cheap plastic optic plates, and some grip sleeves for 17rd magazines.

So far I’m really enjoying the pistol and I kind of regret not giving the 2.0 a fair shake when it first came out because I hated the 1.0.
The manual safety was well executed. It’s not so large that you can’t actuate the slide release but not so small that you’ll miss it on draw. It’s very clicky and it provides good leverage as to be used as a “gas pedal”.

The slide serrations are reminiscent of the fish scale serrations on S&W’s E-Series 1911. They provide a lot of traction and they’re extremely easy to do front manipulations with (which is extremely important if you plan to run an optic).

The frame texturing is like a lava rock you find in front of any bank. It’s a very aggressive, very sandpaper-ish, recessed texturing that slims the grip down marginally compared to the competition.

I’ve only been able to find one point of concern with the pistol in terms of design; the loaded chambered indicator. The loaded chamber indicator is right in front of where the optic sits in the form of a hole in the chamber.

With it’s location I’m concerned that carbon may fly up and dirty up the optic and affect visibility, or that heat from long range sessions could cause issues with the finish on the glass itself.

All around I’m enjoying the /inhales deeply/ Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact Optics Ready /exhales/. It has a grip angle very similar to a 1911 which is comfortable, the safety was executed extremely well, the serrations are fantastic, and while my stomach will probably hate the grip texturing… it too is superb.

For those wondering, the Holosun 507c V2/Green is riding on a C&H Precision Weapons plate (Tabletop incoming of the optic).