I have been wanting to get back with a range report for a while, but the truth is she has not allowed me much trigger time to give an evaluation. So I had her sit down and write out one in her perspective.
This range report is from personal experience and does not reflect how everyone may feel about this weapon.
I normally shoots a Taurus PT-638 .380 caliber. This is not a compact .380. It is 24 ounces and carries a double stack magazine. My wrists are small and have the beginnings of arthritis. This has been a great weapon for me as it has the full grip and allows a solid grip on the weapon. The slide on this weapon is very hard for to maneuver.
The new Smith & Wesson M&P .380 Shield EZ is lighter and still has the full grips allowing me to keep a strong hold on the weapon. I like the weight as it does not hurt my wrist. On a single range visit, I shoot between 150 to 200 rounds without any pain or soreness.
The slide has a ridged grip on the back with multiple grooves that helps to slide it back. Even without these, the slide itself is very easy to maneuver. Once a bullet is chambered it has an indicator on the slide that allows you to know there is a round ready to fire. The weapon will not fire until the safety is engaged by holding onto the handle and pushing into the weapon with the pressure necessary.
So far I have only fired the weapon at 7 yards and have found it to be accurate. This is a good thing for concealed carry. We will later try it at further range to check for further accuracy. The sights are the standard white spot sights. We did not have to change it so we have no information on the ability to move it. It was accurate straight out of the box.
It does have a single stack 8 magazine. There is one button on each side of the magazine to hold down for better access to load the weapon. These buttons are slightly on the small side and is rough on the fingers to hold down as you load the magazine. We have a Maglula universal double stack magazine reloader and this works without any problems to reload it.
The only problem so far is that if you limp wrist the weapon and do not push the back safety in fully it does FTF. This can cause one of two issues. Either a stove pipe effect or the unspent cartridge will be fully ejected. Other than this small issue, which I will learn to correct myself on, I feel this is a great weapon for anyone, men or women, to have for a concealed carry.
It is a stark difference between the two weapons. Even though they are both .380, the Smith & Wesson is a narrower and lighter frame. It also has less recoil which does make for a difference in shooting. I am use to recoil from the Taurus and this weapon has virtually none. I tend to try to compensate for perceived recoil that is not actually there.
We will try to give more of an update as we use the weapon more. We tend to go shooting every weekend so I will get a better feel for it and become more accustomed to the weapon. I have put over 5000 rounds through my Taurus and am in complete sync with her. This one may take me a minute or two to get to know better.
