New M&P Shield Performance Center 9mm

[shlike]

Just picked up today from my FFL. Purchased from Grab-A-Gun. This is the new Shield Performance Center. I love my regular Shield which I have had a year now and is one of my favorite carry guns. However when I first saw the new Performance Center version I couldn't resist! The main differences are the ported barrel and slide, fiber-optic sights, and an upgraded trigger. I just took these photos after I finished field stripping, cleaning, and lubing. Initial impressions are:

• Fiber-Optic Sights- Will have to report after my first range session with it tomorrow to have an opinion
• Ported Slide- Intended to lighten the slide and reduce muzzle flip. The main thing is it looks killer!
• Upgraded Trigger- I notice a big difference over my regular Shield. This one is much smoother and at least 50% lighter. It's supposed to be about 4lbs.

As you can see by the photos, the Performance Center Shield has a manual thumb safety. My regular Shield does not (nor do my other carry guns, Glocks and Kahrs). I will have to get used to it. S&W does not as yet offer a NTS version of the Performance Center. My sense is that the manual safety will be a good safety feature in that the trigger pull is so light. The gun comes with a 7-round mag and an extended 8-round mag, same as other Shields do.

I will update this thread after I take it to the range tomorrow and run 100 rounds or so through it. My regular Shield has performed flawlessly after 700-800 rounds, and I have every reason to believe this one will as well.

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This photo shows the Performance Center in the foreground and my regular Shield behind it.

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[Water-Man]

Looks good. Will look for your range report.

 

[Shootshellz]

Looks fine, but the fiber optic sights and safety would be a deal killer for me. Guess I will stick to my 3 dot no-safety Shield.

 

[PabloJ]

Yes, I have seen that and thought ported barrel/slide and manual safety were not desirable features on defensive gun. The only reason for that model is perhaps to have range practice piece to practice with while carrying standard production gun. Sort of like using K-framed .38/.357 and having K-framed .22 to practice with.

 

[Telekinesis]

Looks like a cool gun, but I wouldn't buy a gun for carry if it had a ported barrel. I'd be worried about what the gasses would look like when shooting from retention (those ports would be pushing gas pretty close to your body and face...)

Now, I'm not 100% sure it would be a problem, but I'm sure I wouldn't risk several hundred dollars to find out. OP, when you get to the range do some shooting from retention and let us know how it goes.

 

[MIL-DOT]

So how much more do these cost over the regular Shields??

 

[grogetr]

On SW site it says $40 more msrp. Seems like a good deal for the better trigger and sights. Not sure about the barrel, they have a video of one and sure looks like a lot of fire flying out of it. Maybe they used a flashy powder for show.

 

[Candyman87]

Let us know how that ported barrel works in a low light scenario... that seems to be a deal breaker for me. The rest looks great though!

 

[MIL-DOT]

On SW site it says $40 more msrp....

I got curious enough to hunt it down myself. At Grab-a-gun, where the OP says he got it, I'm seeing about a hundred bucks more than the regular Shield.

 

[Busta Prima]

I got curious enough to hunt it down myself. At Grab-a-gun, where the OP says he got it, I'm seeing about a hundred bucks more than the regular Shield.

The problem is the street price of the regular Shield being so much lower than MSRP. It's going to be a lot tougher to find a Performance Center with a huge discount . . . but I'm watching for it! I love my Shield!

 

[Girodin]

I don't know why one would buy a gun like the shield unless it was intended to be a carry gun. I don't know why one would want a ported barrel on a defensive gun. In all fairness I readily admit I have not shot this new ported version, however in general for defensive use the downsides seems to outweigh the upside.

I also would t want the safety. I know it could just be left off. However, there is always the potential that it gets flipped on and one is not in the habit off removing it. It's probably a minor issue but nevertheless I'd just prefer it not to be there.

Sights are somewhat subjective. I have no per se opposition to fibers. That said factory sights are almost never my ideal choice. I personally would go with one of a couple of the after market options available. But again preference in sights is not universal.

Someone mentioned an improved trigger. Having not shot it, I'm curious how it compares to both factory and aftermarket options.

Maybe this gun is meant to be the G34 for the BUG matches they have at some IDPA events.

In sum, give the price of regular shields. I'd simply address the sights and trigger through the aftermarket. That said, it's kind of a unique set of options for that type of a gun and I'm interested to hear your thoughts on it after you have a chance to use it some.

 

[CNobbe]

I bought one out of curiosity, great price paid $429. Brought it home and man did I have a case of buyer's remorse. It's a nice gun, to those that are looking for different, but I decided to find mine a new home and thanks to that supply and demand thing, I came out in the black..lol

 

[UpperAtmosphere]

What did you find unpleasant about it?

 

[340PD]

It looks like a great gun. Personally I use the safety on mine and to all those that do not like it, carry it in the "off position" problem solved.

Let us know how it shoots.

 

[Ernest T]

Looking forward to range report and comparison between this and the standard Shield.

 

[ny32182]

I would have bought the safety-less version of the regular gun if it was available at the time, but really, the safety on this gun is not a big deal. It requires a decent amount of force to click in either direction; is pretty much recessed in the frame, and is really small... I just leave it off, and don't really have any worries that it might click on accidentally.

 

[ATLDave]

Interested in hearing about the ported barrel, too.

 

[Jeff H]

I'm very pleased with my Shield 40. I wonder if you can buy that upgraded trigger and maybe the sights separately. I wouldn't mind adding them, but I don't want the safety or ported barrel.

 

[texagun]

Please let us know if the increased muzzle blast from the ported barrel is significantly higher than on the standard model. That's the main reason I don't own any handguns with a ported barrel.

 

[shlike]

Just picked up today from my FFL. Purchased from Grab-A-Gun. This is the new Shield Performance Center. I love my regular Shield which I have had a year now and is one of my favorite carry guns. However when I first saw the new Performance Center version I couldn't resist! The main differences are the ported barrel and slide, fiber-optic sights, and an upgraded trigger. I just took these photos after I finished field stripping, cleaning, and lubing. Initial impressions are:

• Fiber-Optic Sights- Will have to report after my first range session with it tomorrow to have an opinion
• Ported Slide- Intended to lighten the slide and reduce muzzle flip. The main thing is it looks killer!
• Upgraded Trigger- I notice a big difference over my regular Shield. This one is much smoother and at least 50% lighter. It's supposed to be about 4lbs.

As you can see by the photos, the Performance Center Shield has a manual thumb safety. My regular Shield does not (nor do my other carry guns, Glocks and Kahrs). I will have to get used to it. S&W does not as yet offer a NTS version of the Performance Center. My sense is that the manual safety will be a good safety feature in that the trigger pull is so light. The gun comes with a 7-round mag and an extended 8-round mag, same as other Shields do.

I will update this thread after I take it to the range tomorrow and run 100 rounds or so through it. My regular Shield has performed flawlessly after 700-800 rounds, and I have every reason to believe this one will as well.

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This photo shows the Performance Center in the foreground and my regular Shield behind it.

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UPDATE!! RANGE REPORT!!

I am the OP. Just wanted to update my OP with some shooting impressions after my first range session with this gun. First, a number of you have asked about potential increased muzzle flash with the ported barrel/slide. To be honest, I noticed very little difference between this gun and my regular Shield. The muzzle flash appears in a "V" pattern, leaving the front sight unobstructed by flash. The indoor range I go to is a low-light environment, and I have to say that increased muzzle flash is simply not an issue with this gun. The regular Shield doesn't have much muzzle flip to begin with, and this Performance Center version has even less, making follow-up shots even easier. Regarding the upgraded trigger of the Performance Center, this is the single biggest improvement over the regular Shield. The take-up is very smooth, the break is crisp and about 40% lighter than the regular Shield, and the reset is short, has good tactile feel, and is audible. The fiber-optic sights really don't help much in a low-light environment, so this gun may get Trijicon tritium night sights in the future.

I ran about 100 rounds through the gun, a combination of Freedom Munitions 124gr. FMJ range ammo, and Hornady Critical Defense carry/defensive ammo. My general impressions are that the Performance Center Shield is a smoother, more rewarding gun to shoot than the regular Shield, and it looks really cool. However the regular Shield is a very good gun to begin with. I am pleased with this gun. It's a keeper!

 

[FireInCairo]

I have not been too kind to Smith/Wesson after a couple bad experiences with their pistols, but I think this is a fantastic move for them. I hope they make this model readily available.

They obviously crunched the numbers related to how many people were willing to pay extra to get a decent trigger in their pistols, and decided it was money that could go into their own pockets. I suppose they should just give all their pistols a performance trigger from the get go, but at least this is a step in the right direction.

 

[CNobbe]

What did you find unpleasant about it?

I didn't think I'd ever carry it. Already have a couple small 9mms, and just wasn't excited about it at all.

 

[Ernest T]

Thanks for the range report. Sounds like the new performance model is nice, but I'm sticking with my regular shield with the Apex trigger upgrade for now. If I were buying for the first time, I'd probably go for the Performance model, since it sounds like it has an excellent trigger, plus the other benefits.

 

[mnrivrat]

The thing that interests me the most is the updated trigger. I wonder if S&W will build that into the standard shield, or if a standard shield could be sent in for that update ?

Something I will have to check on I guess.

 

[Bama Drifter]

Sweet.
Thanks Shlike for a quality new product post w/ range update. Another reason I come to THR. I've shot the standard .40 Shield and felt it to be quite managable, however the capacity diff and cool factor nudge me more towards this Performance Center model.