M&P Shield 380 EZ

[RMH]

`After reading a few reviews on the new M&P 380 EZ, my wife was very interested in taking a closer look at it. So this past weekend while we were down in Phoenix we stopped in a gun shop that had one in stock. After she handled it, ran the slide and dry fired a couple times, she handed it back to the salesmen and said "I'll take it.



This pistol has most of the features she has been looking for.

First, it had to be a compact. She doesn't like the feel of the micro's.

Second, it had to be a 380. With her early stages of arthritis, a 9mm is too painful after only 2 mags. Her current pistol, a Taurus PT-638, she can shoot 200 to 300 rounds in a range session without any problems.

Third, it had to be a lock breach design not a blow back.

Below is a picture that may give you an idea of the size.


Here is another of me. I would say my hand would be considered small to medium in size.


When Smith & Wesson says "EZ" they mean it. This pistol has the easiest slide to rack then any gun we tried so far. It is much easier than the slide on her Taurus.

One of the more interesting features that the Shield 380 EZ is actually hammer fired, not striker fired. It has an internal hammer.

Below is some pictures of this design. First is a the hammer in the fired position. Second is the hammer in the cocked position.




Below is a picture of the hammer well and firing pin in the slide


The above picture shows two more things. First is the serration and small "wings" on the slide for easy grip. Second is the cap screw that secures the rear sight. To adjust the windage, just loosen the the screw with the supplied allen wrench.

Now for the magazines. The Shield 380 EZ comes with two 8 round single stack magazines with EZ load buttons on the mag follower. If there is a down side, we would have preferred at least 10 round or more.



All things considered, She is very happy with the fit and feel of her new pistol.

Next up will be a range report.

 

[viking499]

Looking forward to your range report. My wife is suffering from the same problem and has her eye on one of these.

 

[bannockburn]

RMH

Sounds promising as my wife also has problems with her hands and wrists (too much typing and computer work). I like the "wings" on the back of the slide to assist in getting a better grip on it to make it easier to rack. Hoping to hear good things from your range report.

Years ago I had a Beretta Model 85 which was probably about the same size as the M&P Shield 380 EZ. I ended up trading it away as I thought at the time it was too big for a .380. Would love to have it back as it had a great DA trigger, was a very ergonomic design, didn't have much felt recoil, and was relatively lightweight.

 

[Jonesy814]

I think S&W has real winner with this gun. Its not for everyone, but it has the features that are really wanted and needed by a lot of gun owners. I would like for my wife to try one as she really struggles with the slide on most of my semi autos. She can run the slide on my LCP but hates to shoot it do to the small grip area and snappy recoil.

 

[Cokeman]

Nice nails

 

[oss117]

I would like to see some of the features, such as the "ears" on the slide or means of pulling down the magazine follower, be carried over to the regular Shields.

 

[Bartojc]

I was just telling the wife the other day this would make a perfect pistol for her. As much as I do not want another caliber in the stable, it may be best suited for her. She is shooting the .22 well and time to move up. She is recoil sensitive and all my 9mm seem too much for her. Looking forward to a review.

-Jeff

 

[WYO]

I am testing one out and like it so far. I have run numerous rounds through chronograph testing and found that premium ammo runs pretty close to factory specifications, a little slower in 90 grain and a little faster in 95, 99 and 100 grains. Some rounds such as the Federal Low Recoil Hydra Shoks and the Hornady Critical Defense are very pleasant to shoot as well as Remington and Winchester ball ammo (which chronographed rather slow). My wife asked if it would kill a black bear, so I shot some standard pressure Buffalo Bore hard cast and learned that it will penetrate 8-1 gallon water jugs, so I think that answer is yes.

Like the OP, I got the model without the thumb safety. It appears that some have experienced issues with the thumb safety model in that the safety sometimes engages inadvertently during strings of fire. I wanted the gun as simple too operate as possible. Both versions have a firing pin block that is de-activated by the grip safety. A holster with a thumb break that goes over the rear of the slide that covers the trigger guard renders the gun very safe to carry.

I think this gun is going to be a big success, but I have not finished wringing it out. I just ordered some reloading dies and 2000 FMJ bullets and intend to put it through its paces.

 

[wally]

Is it locked breach or blowback?

Does it have a DA second strike capability?

If you dry fire it, I bet it is about as hard to rack and most anything afterwards.

Seems smart move to me, making a gun bigger than the Sig P238 but without the "scary" cocked and locked although it is internally which allows splitting the racking force into two parts" recoil spring and hammer spring.

 

[Zendude]

I don’t understand why S&W (or another company) didn’t make this gun 10 years ago. It’s friendly for new shooters and those who don’t like a jumpy compact 9mm for a variety of reasons.

 

[Hasaf]

Is it locked breach or blowback?

Does it have a DA second strike capability?

I checked and it fires from a locked breech. I am not entirely sure of the second.

 

[cc-hangfire]

When I started reading the ad copy and early reviews on the Shield EZ, I realized that S&W had REALLY listened to a group that wasn’t served by the market - the group that my wife falls into. Fairly new shooters, possibly recoil sensitive, lower hand/arm strength, but folks who did want a handgun.

The macho guys, hi-speed-lo-drag people, and tactically minded (I’ll admit I tend toward at least one of these) would sneer at this handgun. But every new gun buyer I know - especially women & those with children in the house - like all the features included.

I may have to see if my wife will give up her Walther PK380 (that’s what she settled on) for the Shield EZ.

 

[Tallball]

That is an extremely intelligent choice by S&W. The market share that they are aiming for is a large one, and this handgun suits their needs very well. My guess is that it will be very successful.

 

[RMH]

Is it locked breach or blowback?

Does it have a DA second strike capability?

If you dry fire it, I bet it is about as hard to rack and most anything afterwards.

Seems smart move to me, making a gun bigger than the Sig P238 but without the "scary" cocked and locked although it is internally which allows splitting the racking force into two parts" recoil spring and hammer spring.

To your first question, is is a locked breach

Second, it is single action only. It has no second strike capability.

Third, there is a little more resistance to rack the slide after you dry fire but it is still significantly less than her Taurus PT-638. She can still run the slide after dry fire with a thumb and forefinger grip.

 

[RMH]

Nice nails

Thanks for the comment on her nails. They are her real nails they are not fake. She files them to a point and there are times that my skin takes the brunt of those claws.

 

[zaitcev]

I don’t understand why S&W (or another company) didn’t make this gun 10 years ago.

They were re-selling PK380 10 years ago, which is about the same gun in many respects.

 

[wally]

They were re-selling PK380 10 years ago, which is about the same gun in many respects.

The PK380 is blowback, not locked breech and is thus only the same in approximate size and weight.

 

[zaitcev]

The PK380 is blowback, not locked breech and is thus only the same in approximate size and weight.

PK380 was a locked breech gun when I shot it. Admittedly, I didn't put a pencil down the barrel for the test, it was fairly obvious.

 

[2bfree]

You might want to take a look at this advisory from S&W.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/mp-380-shield-ez-consumer-advisory

 

[walnut1704]

Full sized / compact locked breech .380's are hard to find, there's been very few. The Taurus PT638, PT138, and PT938...all discontinued. No doubt some more that I can't think of at the moment. The configuration is panned by the experts as too big a gun in too small a caliber, but it seems perfect for the non-experts which there are far more of. I hope it sells well enough to stay in production.

 

[beeenbag]

You might want to take a look at this advisory from S&W.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/mp-380-shield-ez-consumer-advisory

So taking note of the bottom portion of that, it is not rated for +p ammo regardless of the safety issue.

 

[wally]

PK380 was a locked breech gun when I shot it. Admittedly, I didn't put a pencil down the barrel for the test, it was fairly obvious.

You are correct, my friend who is a real Walther fanatic had one and hated it, he told me it was blowback, guess he was wrong, I've never shot one.

You don't need a pencil, when you rack the slide if the barrel tilts down as the slide starts to cover the barrel hood its not blowback. Another giveaway is on a blow back the recoil spring is often around the barrel, although there are exceptions with various "gas retarted" designs like the HK P7 or Walther CCP. In the case of the PK380 as soon as I found a photo of its muzzle I knew I was wrong from the recoil spring guide rod under the barrel.

Looks like S&W is betting the PK380 failed because it was a DA/SA trigger design with slide mounted safety and paddle magazine release.

 

[Hasaf]

Looks like S&W is betting the PK380 failed because it was a DA/SA trigger design with slide mounted safety and paddle magazine release.

I suspect that they saw the success of the PK380 and, when they lost the distribution rights, felt a need to have a product in its position. I have a PK380; but I like my Glock 42 better. That doesn't make the PK380 bad. It just turned out to not be what I wanted.

As far as Blowback .380 pistols, it seems that every article on a .380 has a line to the effect of, "unlike the majority of 380 pistols on the market, this one uses a locking breech." It seems that after seeing that line long enough that someone would consider what they are saying. Consider how many popular .380 pistols, available in the US as new guns, are actually blowback: Copies of the PPK family, Davis (are they still in business?), and high point. Now consider the number of non blowback 380 pistols: Kel-Tek, Ruger, S&W (2 models), Walther, Colt, Springfield, Kimber, Glock, Sig, I am pretty sure I could keep going. Point being, if it is a .380, and it isn't the cheapest thing you can find, is new, and isn't a PPK, then it probably isn't blowback.

 

[zaitcev]

Point being, if it is a .380, and it isn't the cheapest thing you can find, is new, and isn't a PPK, then it probably isn't blowback.

Still, Wally is right to be cautious, because there are "chameleons" on the market: RIA Baby Rock and Witness Pavona: they look like they should be normal locked breech pistols, but are not (in their .380 versions). Also, Llama converted their line with very little nomenclature change. Has to check specifically every time.

 

[gc70]

Looks like S&W is betting the PK380 failed because it was a DA/SA trigger design with slide mounted safety and paddle magazine release.

The 11-lb. DA trigger is potentially the PK380's biggest impediment. People who have difficulty racking slides are not likely to want heavy DA trigger pulls.

Interestingly, Walther's webpage telegraphs the gun's intended audience with a photo of an older, white-headed woman shooting a PK380.