TLDR: It was a short test, but I think I will have a new carry gun as soon as I find spare mags.
First, I have a caveat, as I often do: I'm a middle-aged paper-pusher. I'm not a police officer, I'm not former military, I'm not a competitive shooter. Just a guy who carries a gun. Please take that into account in deciding how much weight to put into my review of the Shield Plus.
Second, I'm not ordinarily one to run out and buy the latest and greatest pistol. I'm generally not interested in being a beta tester and have always been perfectly happy with older, proven designs. With those things said, I've owned a Shield 1.0 since about August of 2017 (I think it was). As of this writing, I've carried that Shield for about 3.5 years and have somewhere around 750-800 rounds through it. It's been an absolutely fantastic carry gun, and 100% reliable. And that's precisely what I mean. That Shield 1.0 has fed, fired, and ejected every single round I've ever put through it. I've often said that my Shield "told my G19 to sit down and shut up... and she did." Anyway, I could never see enough difference between the 1.0 and 2.0 to justify the cost of upgrading, especially when my 1.0 ran so well.
Enter the Shield Plus.... I couldn't justify the upgrade to a 2.0, but then the Shield Plus came out with its 13 round mag. I thought, "Hold up a second. A Shield with an extra 5 rounds? With a pistol and two spare mags, I'd go from 25 rounds to 40? And my current holsters and mag pouches should still fit?" So I bought one and yes, I know that: (a) I paid the New Model Price; and (b) I might be a beta tester this time around. Still, I stopped at my LGS and they had the No Thumb Safety model, which was exactly what I wanted, at a reasonable price. Not dirt cheap, but reasonable. I took it to my gunsmith and had my night sights moved over from my Shield 1.0. (And FYI - it was a clean, perfect-fit swap.)
Ammo supplies being what they are, I knew I would probably not be able to replace what I shot up, at least not any time soon. Also, spare Shield Plus mags are currently made of unobtainium. A few days ago, I loaded up the magazines. The mags are not nearly as hard to load as regular Shield magazines. Yesterday, I field stripped it, blew some compressed air in it to get out any dust or manufacturing debris (of which I saw none), and put a drop of oil here and there.
I finally got out to a buddy's range today. I shot:
100 rounds of 124 grain Fiocchi FMJ - result: 100% fed, fired and ejected
50 rounds of 124 grain Speer Gold Dots - result: 100% fed, fired and ejected
The Shield Plus ran like a top right out of the box. I didn't take my 1.0 to shoot it side by side with the Plus, and maybe I should have. I'm no trigger snob, and I've never been bothered by the Shield trigger. With that said, the Shield Plus does not have a 1911 trigger and never will without aftermarket intervention. However, the trigger was certainly crisp enough for me.
My one and only possible complaint, and it's really a minor one: The new trigger design rubbed by trigger finger a little.
First, I have a caveat, as I often do: I'm a middle-aged paper-pusher. I'm not a police officer, I'm not former military, I'm not a competitive shooter. Just a guy who carries a gun. Please take that into account in deciding how much weight to put into my review of the Shield Plus.
Second, I'm not ordinarily one to run out and buy the latest and greatest pistol. I'm generally not interested in being a beta tester and have always been perfectly happy with older, proven designs. With those things said, I've owned a Shield 1.0 since about August of 2017 (I think it was). As of this writing, I've carried that Shield for about 3.5 years and have somewhere around 750-800 rounds through it. It's been an absolutely fantastic carry gun, and 100% reliable. And that's precisely what I mean. That Shield 1.0 has fed, fired, and ejected every single round I've ever put through it. I've often said that my Shield "told my G19 to sit down and shut up... and she did." Anyway, I could never see enough difference between the 1.0 and 2.0 to justify the cost of upgrading, especially when my 1.0 ran so well.
Enter the Shield Plus.... I couldn't justify the upgrade to a 2.0, but then the Shield Plus came out with its 13 round mag. I thought, "Hold up a second. A Shield with an extra 5 rounds? With a pistol and two spare mags, I'd go from 25 rounds to 40? And my current holsters and mag pouches should still fit?" So I bought one and yes, I know that: (a) I paid the New Model Price; and (b) I might be a beta tester this time around. Still, I stopped at my LGS and they had the No Thumb Safety model, which was exactly what I wanted, at a reasonable price. Not dirt cheap, but reasonable. I took it to my gunsmith and had my night sights moved over from my Shield 1.0. (And FYI - it was a clean, perfect-fit swap.)
Ammo supplies being what they are, I knew I would probably not be able to replace what I shot up, at least not any time soon. Also, spare Shield Plus mags are currently made of unobtainium. A few days ago, I loaded up the magazines. The mags are not nearly as hard to load as regular Shield magazines. Yesterday, I field stripped it, blew some compressed air in it to get out any dust or manufacturing debris (of which I saw none), and put a drop of oil here and there.
I finally got out to a buddy's range today. I shot:
100 rounds of 124 grain Fiocchi FMJ - result: 100% fed, fired and ejected
50 rounds of 124 grain Speer Gold Dots - result: 100% fed, fired and ejected
The Shield Plus ran like a top right out of the box. I didn't take my 1.0 to shoot it side by side with the Plus, and maybe I should have. I'm no trigger snob, and I've never been bothered by the Shield trigger. With that said, the Shield Plus does not have a 1911 trigger and never will without aftermarket intervention. However, the trigger was certainly crisp enough for me.
My one and only possible complaint, and it's really a minor one: The new trigger design rubbed by trigger finger a little.
