Shield Plus vs Subcompacts

For me the Shield Plus has the right amount of thickness in the grip for MY hand. The others are a little too fat. The HK VP9 SK is the most accurate.

I found a SA Hellcat at my lgs. I think it would deserve a close look .

For compacts the 3.3" XD mod 2 compact in .45 acp fits my hand really well and shoots great for me. With the extended magazine it makes a nice range gun in addition to being nice carry gun with the flush magazine. My personal preference is to give up a couple rounds of 9mm to carry the more potent .45 acp. When I carry a 9mm is it significantly smaller than my XD mod 2 making it easier to conceal and more comfortable to carry.

My advice is to pick the one that fits you best and is most comfortable for you to shoot. With as much as I like my XD mod 2 3.3" .45 acp I don't have much motivation to go out of my way to try a new Shield. That doesn't take anything away from the Shield though.

Carried a Gen 1 Shield for several years. Great pistol, as I’m sure the new ones are.

But…. I’ve got many, many, many Glock mags from over the years. I’ve found in my case the 26 carries as well as the Shield and I’ve got tons of 15 and 17 round mags that are compatible as reloads

The 26 is now my ccw and I can’t see that changing anytime soon

How it sits and fits in your hand is everything. I have a HK P30SK and a Sig P365XL that I really really like... but, the Shield Plus just feels the best in my hand and I actually shoot it the best. That's proof of the puddin' for me

Styx said:

Seems like being longer in the grip would make the Shield Plus less concealable than the G26

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For anything larger than a pocket pistol I prefer a full three finger grip. I can't get three fingers on the Austrian option. I carry outside the waistband at 3:30 and don't have to go to extremes to conceal anything with an overall length of less than 7 inches. Besides, in most states they expect your concealed sidearm to be concealed, not invisible.

I’ve joked since the beginning of the micro 9 craze as folks started saying things like “I wish it was a little bigger” or “held a few more rounds” or “has optics”. Etc. That if we keep on this trajectory that pretty soon we should have a Glock 26.

I have a Performance Center Shield in .40, a Springfield XDS in 45, and an HK VP9SK in 9mm. They all feel good in my hand. The HK seems to be most accurate. It took me a bit of getting used to the paddle mag release of the HK, but now it seems more natural than the others. Guess this wasn't much help, was it? Pick the one that fits you best, they are all solid pistols.

I've found that thickness has been the largest concealment factor once a reasonable grip length is not exceeded. I've had a G26 gen 3 for more than a decade, and until I lost some weight I kind of struggled to make it work IWB. The new class of micro double stacks is thinner, lighter, better ergos, just generally a nice small package for 10+ rounds that doesn't get in the way. Having said that, I recently bought a G19 gen 5, and find it concealable IWB. The thickness was ME not the pistol .

I've kind of come to the conclusion that during jacket weather my G19 will be primary, and during the hot weather P365XL.

"In my quest to reseach and make a decision on which of these new hybrid 9s I want to purchase"

My thinking in the micro double stacks was shield, P365, hellcat, or max-9. I wanted US made and steel sub frame, which left me with S&W and Sig. I went with Sig because the P365XL had the P365 upgrades/problems fixed, 12+1 with a near 4" barrel, and night sights included. Later I picked up a hellcat because it's a solid offering. Still familiarizing as a possible pocket carry when called for.

At some point you make your list of personal requirements and pay your money. I've not had a single out of box problem, they all feel good and shoot good.

I am currently waiting on a 3.1 inch Shield Plus. But, I have the 4" Shield Plus. And damn if that gun isn't awesome.

I generally prefer carry guns this size - I carried a P2000 for 6.5 years, and a Glock 19 for the last 14 months... Until I got this new Performance Center Shield Plus about 1-2 weeks ago. It is now my main carry gun. I like the slightly thinner grip. But, the slide has the width of the original Shield.

I also never cared for fiber optic sights before - but I love the ones S&W uses. They have a metal spiral around the plastic tube to protect the light rod. And, they solve my recent problem of seeing the front sight clearly with my 50 year old eye (at the dark indoor range).

And, I have never shot double taps as well as I can with this gun.

Armored farmer said:

I found a SA Hellcat at my lgs. I think it would deserve a close look .

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Picked one up for my wife, I am very impressed by it.

md7 said:

Carried a Gen 1 Shield for several years. Great pistol, as I’m sure the new ones are.

But…. I’ve got many, many, many Glock mags from over the years. I’ve found in my case the 26 carries as well as the Shield and I’ve got tons of 15 and 17 round mags that are compatible as reloads

The 26 is now my ccw and I can’t see that changing anytime soon

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I want a shield plus. I like the original Shields. But, the mag compatibility of glocks is real.

This is one of those issues where just looking at the dimensions of a gun on the internet don't tell the whole story. I think that the thickness of a gun across the grip, frame, and slide in terms of tenths of an inch makes a substantially greater difference in concealability than even half an inch or a whole inch in grip or slide length. Additionally, while the subcompact Glocks work for many, I found the combination of very fat grip with insufficient length for a full three-fingered grip to be very uncomfortable.

Early subcompact backup guns were all mouse caliber, small, and lightweight.

The Glock 26 design philosophy reflected just shortening the grip and barrel to make a service-caliber gun more compact, with the nadir of that design philosophy being the short-lived Sig Sauer P224.

Later on we got people saying that these were too short and chunky, so we got single-stack service-caliber guns in shortened dimensions (Colt Officer's-size 1911s being the early forerunners here) like the Kahr K9. Then people said those were heavy, so we got the same in plastic and aluminum frames.

Then we got the S&W Shield, which was arguably the first gun from a modern polymer service pistol family to be redesigned specifically as a subcompact service-caliber pistol with slimness being taken into consideration.

Then we got the Sig P365, which was a legit game-changer by increasing the capacity of those slim guns to the double digits. But these guns retained the shortness of barrel and grip inherited from the Glock 26 and early mousegun generations, and there were a number of people who didn't need those dimensions absolutely minimized because they carried IWB. So we get the Sig P365XL, which is to me the perfect size subcompact for people who don't pocket carry.

Spats McGee said:

I carry one of two Shields, either a Plus in 9mm, or a 4" 2.0 in .45. That's because I haven't gotten any spare mags for the Plus yet. Both fit my hand far better than any Glock I've ever held. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Glocks. But my Shields have always fit my hands better and have been very reliable.

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I know there are lots of good guns out there, including the Sig 365. I've shot one. Besides that one though, and a possible desire to own a Sig in addition to carry goals, I am starting to hone in on S&W as my primary brand for carry use. My 9mm Shield 1.0 has been 100% flawless. I've shot the 2.0's and Plus. It's hard to move away from a gun series that is a brand, model, size, and feel that are reliable and I actually like. Like many, having shot now a fair amount of handguns (maybe 50+), and owned a number, I've experienced first hand the ills of unreliable or junky guns. I currently own one, and just sold another. It's made me really put a premium on time tested, reliable, quality firearms for serious use. It also makes me hesitant to deviate from what I know works, although I don't want to get too atrophied in my choices.

At this point, I'm trying to keep several service caliber firearms that are tested and quality for carry or self defense, and then allow myself more leeway if I want to consider less reliable or quality fun guns or plinkers. With that approach, I think it's okay as long as the purchase is worth what was paid for it.

Autodidactic said:

I want a shield plus. I like the original Shields. But, the mag compatibility of glocks is real.

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If you’re between a Glock or a Shield Plus then you’ve picked a great ccw regardless of which you go with.

That’s how I feel about it.

Spats McGee said:

I hear that. Truth be told, the main reason I sold my Shield 1.0 (which had been 100% reliable) was that a friend of mine needed a good EDC more than I needed for it to sit in my safe.

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Did you upgrade to a plus? My 1.0 has been so reliable that I probably will keep it as a back up or camping type beater even if I upgrade.

md7 said:

If you’re between a Glock or a Shield Plus then you’ve picked a great ccw regardless of which you go with.

That’s how I feel about it.

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Agreed, both reliable. I have a Shield 1.0, and a Glock 19. So, I don't currently have a sub compact Glock. The question is the upgrade one day to a sub compact size with more capacity. The Glock 43 isn't it due to capacity. Glock 26, maybe, but not really what I'm aiming for. I'm leaning towards a Shield Plus or Sig 365. At my LGS finally I saw not one but two Shield 1.0 and 2.0 Shield .45's, used. I was very tempted as I also want one of those.

I carried a Shield for a couple of years and liked it. However, a couple of months ago, I got a Sig 365X with the red dot sight. For an old guy, the Romeo red dot sight is a game changer. And the 365X is 12+1 with good ergonomics. Plus the fact that it will fit in a couple of holsters made for the Shield. I am sold on the Sig.

One other measurement you might add, or maybe two, are the circumference of the grip where the third finger goes and the distance from the back of the back strap to the trigger.

As others have said, add the Hellcat and P365 to your comparisons.

My favorite is the P365. Modular TinkerToy for CCW. I configured mine with the longer barrel and the shorter grip for IWB.