S&W Shield vs. SIG P938

If you can afford the P938 and can find one built in 2013 then that is what I would get. If you find a deal on a early model P938 Sig will fix it for you. You need to handle both but there is no comparison between the Shield and P938. It's like comparing ice cream and crap.

Jim Figaniak said:

Have opportunity to buy S&W Shield in 9mm, and or a SIG P-938, Personally I havent fired either of these pistols,& was wondering if there is a preference among shooters that actually had some range time on them.Pistol will be primarily concealed carry.Appreciate any & all input good/bad/indifferent. I just cant afford both !! Thanks, Jim

Click to expand...

What he said, only switch the guns around.

but there is no comparison between the Shield and P938. It's like comparing ice cream and crap.

Click to expand...

You suggest buying a 938 but the way you wrote the above you seem to be saying the Shield is the ice cream.

I picked up the shield for my main carry piece and love it, so I may be a bit biased. That said, personally I don't like the idea of carrying cocked and locked, so a Glock, or M&P, or Xd, or a double action type pistol will always win out in my carry decisions. Plenty of folks seem to carry 1911s, so it comes down to personal preference I suppose.

I wouldn't call the 938 crap, but I'd highly recommend the Shield for it's greater inherent reliability

Click to expand...

Ah, interesting. The Shield has more appeal to me but I have no knowledge of their comparative levels of quality, other than their price differential which seems to be in inverse proportion.

I carry a 938 daily. My only problem has been with hard primered euroammo.. perfect otherwise and damn nice to shoot for such a small gun. As a 1911 snob I'm probably biased and I do like having the same control surfaces. Have owned M&Ps too and prefer them over Glocks and Springers but the shield felt cheap compared to the double stacks.

Really? The Shield seemed identical in quality to the two other M&Ps I've owned to me.

Bought a 938. Read about a "half-cock" feature and tried the following with it...

Pistol pointed at the berm, inserted a loaded magazine, charged the pistol, put my thumb on the hammer, depressed the trigger and rode the hammer until it stopped at a "half-cock" position and then engaged the safety.

With the safety engaged, I depressed the trigger. The hammer dropped, the pistol did not fire but the primer did get dented. It was enough for me to return it to my LGS. Note that we tried every 938 and 238 under the glass and they all exhibited the hammer drops from "half-cock" with the safety engaged behavior.

Bought a 9mm Shield and am still a happy camper with it. With a couple hundred trouble free rounds down range, it lives in my pocket most every day.

There is not supposed to be a half cock position on the 238 or the 938. Where did you read that? You can place the gun at half cock but it serves no purpose other than your safety is off and your gun won't fire either. There is no official writing about these guns having a working half cocked position. It is cocked and locked not half cocked and locked because they will not lock at half cocked.

The Sigs don't have a half cocked position. Just what zeke said.

For accuracy, size, ergo feel, trigger the P938 all the way.

I just don't like the way the Shield feels in my hand.

One thing to consider if you use +P ammo, for sure you can't use it in the Shield. There are starting to be some unsupported case rupture events with the 9mm Shield. Do a search.

I've not shot either one, but I have held and examined them. The Shield is a compact pistol; it is not a pocket gun. My EDC is a stainless Colt Mustang. The 938 is just a bit bigger (length) than my Mustang. Pretty much fit in my Mustang's pocket holster. It's also lighter than my Mustang. For me, my EDC has to be a gun that I can carry all day, every day. I don't want to have to dress around the gun. My Mustang allows me just that. I think the 938 would be just as versatile. The larger Shield would not work that way for me.

You will notice that I used quotation marks around the words half and cock. I did that because it was the best way that I could describe the position of the hammer when suspended approximately halfway between fully cocked and fully uncocked.

I first read it in a 938 thread on one of the Sig forums in a thread about some of the birthing problems that the 938 seemed to have. After reading it, I proceeded to try it with my 938 as described above.

But the "half cock" is not a "feature" as you wrote. I do understand what you are saying, but it's not some kind of failure on Sig's part.

Admittedly I was being facetious with the word feature. Also, I never mentioned that I thought it was a failure on anyone's part.

My only point was that this "feature" bothered me enough to return it even though every 238 and 938 in the case shared the same "feature".

One thing to consider if you use +P ammo, for sure you can't use it in the Shield. There are starting to be some unsupported case rupture events with the 9mm Shield. Do a search.

Click to expand...

Where do you see S&W stating that +P should not be used in a shield? All I can find is a statement telling owners to use data that conforms to SAAMI standards. +P is a pressure range defined by SAAMI..... +P+, not so much. Did you mean to say +P+ is a no go in Shields? If so I'd agree.

Also, I searched, and I haven't been able to find a rash of shield failures that weren't caused by reloads, or out of spec rounds while using a 9mm barrel in a .40 Shield.

Mostly stuff like this:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/307054-ruptured-cartridge-new-9mm-shield.html

I had a 3 digit serial numbered P938 that took 2 trips to the factory and was replaced with a gun manufactured in February 2013. The replacement has been flawless for about 325 rounds of 115 and 124 grain JHPs. It is a great pocket gun that thinks it is a full sized gun. The sights make it an easy 25 yard gun in spite of its small size.

I don't get all the discussion about the half cock thing. It is not designed to be carried that way, so don't do that and be happy.

Where do you see S&W stating that +P should not be used in a shield?

Click to expand...

I didn't say S&W stated that. I was giving the warning. I was standing behind my buddy when his gun did it with factory (target) ammo! I read of two cases on a local forum. Enough for me to be leery.

Man - both would have been tempting. How much was the P938? $599?? wow. Good price!

Glad you got a gun that works for you.

I prefer the Shields because my gorilla hands cannot manipulate th esafety on the P938 without breaking my grip significantly. I feel I would drop the P938 if I tried to get it into action under stress. It is a shame because they feel great in my hand and I love the sights.

Good price on the Sig. That being said, the Shield wins hands down. The trigger is way better, and about 3 lbs lighter. I also found recoil more manageable on the Shield. I wanted to like the P938, but the one I shot flung brass at my head, and the safety was very awkward to manipulate. I'll pass.