S&W Shield and S&W SD9-VE

[Arizonan]

I bought both these this year in early summer. $369 for the Shield and $299 for the SD. S&W has double winners in these 9mm. I love them. Both shoot like a dream. Accurate more then I will ever be out to 20 yards. Super reliable. No ftf/fte issues. They look great and I ccw both of them. They disappear very easily. Im not really an auto guy. But these two weapons are going no where. They fit just fine in my ccw rotation.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I was dead shocked at the first Shield I held.

We were up to a friend's ranch and I remarked on him not being strapped for the first time in all the years I'd known him. Turns out he's come to carry a Shield in his pocket with a piece or delrin to keep from "printing".

Amazing quality little piece. Compact, smooth, great controls and pretty darn accurate to boot.

Name me a convert these days.

 

[Normandy]

You got a good SD. That's good news. They do not enjoy a great reputation, but maybe S&W has made some improvements.

The Shield-9, in my opinion, is one of the finest bargain-priced pistols on the market. I have two, and love them both. Never a failure, and very accurate. Ergonomic too.

 

[AustinTX]

The SD is fine. The early Sigmas were junk, and that has plagued the line's reputation ever since. The triggers are rough, but the guns are reliable, durable, and sufficiently accurate. Now that the P95 is out of production, you won't do better for $300 or less for a new gun (not counting big sales or rebates for other brands). They're also backed by first-rate customer service.

 

[beamon]

Older SD was called "Sigma", and there were issues with them. S&W, to their credit, has redone the Sigma and dubbed it the "SD VE" available as "SD9 VE" or "SD40 VE" The main difference is a greatly improved trigger on the new ones. Gone is that loooong pull before hitting the wall and a crisp break and shorter reset in the trigger. The reviews are virtually all favorable, now.

Only problem with the Shield is that there appear to be two Shields out there. One can be racked by mortal men and women, whereas the other requires family lineage to Sasquatch! I had the latter and wasn't willling to wait it out until usage made it managable. In that size class I now have a Walther PPS which fits me well and is a keeper. Also have the G26 gen3 whose fat grip prevents me from getting the meat of my trigger finger properly on the 'bang lever' I'll either trade or sell it in favor of another similar size gun.

If I find a Shield at a dealer that I can rack, I'm liable to buy it again since it fit me well. I'm worse than a woman buying a pocketbook!

 

[RustyShackelford]

SD series; Shields....

I've heard many + reviews of the SD9VE 9mm. I like the DA only system & the lifetime warranty but the fit/finish seems a tad lacking.
For the price & what it offers the SD pistols are great for budget home defense or CCW/armed security use.
Trijicon offers HD sights for the SD models too.

The Shields seem top notch. I want a new Shield 9x19mm. They run about $380-400.00 in my metro area. Xmas sales may bring that down too, .
I might add Metalife or maybe a after market Cerakote color like SOCOM Blue or dark grey. Blowndeadline, www.Blowndeadline.net suggests adding the Armor-Clear Cerakote too. That thicker mixture offers more protection & less wear.

Rusty

 

[Tallball]

I have heard great things about the Shields.

I got my LNIB sd40ve the other day for $225. I haven't fired it yet, but will do so in the next few days. The fit and finish are good. The trigger seems so-so.

 

[George Dickel]

I bought a new Shield a couple weeks ago and have found the pistol that feels like it was custom made for my hand. I shot my first defensive pistol course of fire last night and though I'm a bit slow on the draw which hurt my time, my accuracy was great.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

The SD guns have a mediocre trigger but aside from that I've not heard a bad word. Seems like they run great.

 

[Normandy]

Seems that the Sigma was an awful mistake, but S&W made it right with the SD. Seems that (unlike others) S&W is determined to remain in business, and serve their customers' needs.
I've been totally impressed with the S&W M&P lineup. The Shield and the M&P .45ACP full size are my favorites, but if I stumble onto an SD9-VE, I might just have to give that a try also. Can't beat the price, for sure.

 

[Racinfan83]

I have 2 Shields as well, a 9mm for the wife (she LOVES it) and I carry one in .40. Absolutely love them - only thing I'm thinking I might do is put one ofbthe Apex trigger kits in my .40 as the trigger on it is a bit stout for my liking...

 

[AustinTX]

Seems that the Sigma was an awful mistake, but S&W made it right with the SD. Seems that (unlike others) S&W is determined to remain in business, and serve their customers' needs.
I've been totally impressed with the S&W M&P lineup. The Shield and the M&P .45ACP full size are my favorites, but if I stumble onto an SD9-VE, I might just have to give that a try also. Can't beat the price, for sure.

It would be the perfect "truck gun" (or what have you) from a respected manufacturer.

 

[Tallball]

I finally shot the SD in 40. It has a mediocre trigger, but it works just fine.

 

[Jim NE]

The Sigma was in production for 17 years, I believe. It's said that the first two or three years of production the pistol was problematic. That leaves 14 years or so of production that were not problematic. My SW9ve had a factory assembly problem (they didn't put one of the parts on) and so it had to go back to the factory for a fix. Had I bought into the "Sigma's are awful" narrative and got rid of the gun, I wouldn't have the trouble free firearm that I own today. I bought an SD in .40 because I was impressed enough with the quality and price of the Sigma 9.

If I was buying a used Sigma to day, I'd probably stay with a "ve" edition, and avoid early versions, but they are very good inexpensive guns. As for the SD's here's the Bud's gun shop ad which has consumer reviews at the bottom. I've looked at this gun review over the last couple of years, and it's consistently been rated "5 out of 5" or "4.9 out of 5" stars.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21_39_1807/products_id/83127

which is higher than the Colt Gold Cup rating:

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...6030/Colt+O5070X+Gold+Cup+Series+8+1+45ACP+5"

 

[col_temp]

BTW for those still looking Shields go for about $349 regularly now.

I too have a shield and I now carry it since I am the only one who can rack it consistently. My wife stole the Sig 938 since just about anyone can rack that gun.

 

[JWH321]

"I too have a shield and I now carry it since I am the only one who can rack it consistently."

Amen. After almost a thousand rounds, my Shield is still a bear to rack.

 

[B!ngoFuelUSN]

S&W made a terrible mistake in naming the new VE's in such cryptic and Sigma-associating form. The Sigma has a bad stench in the shooting world, not completely deserved but it is what it is.
They should have invented a name, distinct from 'Sigma' and not having an 'S' in the current alphabet soup name that they chose to ensure that no one associated this gun with a Sigma. I have a Shield and a 9x19 VE on order and am a S&W fan but they're making it hard on themselves.
B

 

[SeanSw]

I have a full size M&P 9mm and SD9ve. They're both quite good. The SD9ve is a better value for the money if you just need a basic pistol. It is a bit slimmer and lighter and the factory non-replaceable grip is actually more ergonomic to my hands than any of the M&P backstraps. It was purchased used and I added an Apex kit plus a few mags for the money saved. The Apex kit wasn't really necessary. A "port and polish" alone would have cleaned it up enough to be noticeable. I was able to cherry pick my M&P for best factory trigger and got a good one out of the box but the SD9ve style trigger (a sort of pre-cocked DA for those that haven't tried it) is not bad, especially when compared to traditional DAO autos or DA/SA guns that are terrible in the DA department.

I have only rented a 9mm shield and run two boxes of ammo through it. I ignored them previously because I didn't like the safety but had to have another look when the non-safety models came out. It was nice but no glaring reason to switch away from my XDs. The Shield had a light and crisp trigger but there was a lot of dead room in the trigger after the break. Function and accuracy was fine for 100 rounds. In dry handling I preferred the Shield but in shooting the XDs works better for me.

 

[krupparms]

I have only looked at the shield, but it seemed like a nice gun. The SD9VE is one of my favorites! I have been shooting for years & this is a very nice firearm. I would use this handgun with no reservation. It is a great gun for the price! I shot a early Sigma & found it to be ok, but the progression to the SD series turned it into a reliable, accurate & affordable handgun!

 

[Shipwreck]

I have had my Shield for over 2.5 years now... About 2500 rounds thru it. I love this gun - it shoots like a much larger gun. I had a Kahr PM9 before that,and the recoil on the Kahr was MUCH more than it is on a Shield. I sold that Kahr the very first week I had the Shield... after the very first range trip.

I have back and hp problems, and I cannot take the weight of a fullsize 92FS on my right hip anymore. So, i use the Shield now. I have smaller hands, so even with the shorter mag, I can get all of my fingers on the grip...

 

[beamon]

"I too have a shield and I now carry it since I am the only one who can rack it consistently."

Amen. After almost a thousand rounds, my Shield is still a bear to rack.

Yea verily. Arthritis and being 3.5 years post left side stroke affecting my right side, I'm not as strong as previously. I flat couldn't rack the Shield! Had to get rid of it, in favor of a Walther PPS and a gen3 G26. I can rack both of them just fine. The fat grip, however, on the G26 prevents my small hands from getting the trigger finger properly on the trigger so it will be soon sold or traded. The PPS is my EDC. I am convinced, though, that there are two Shields out there, one that wives can and do rack and the other like I had!

Do want to handle a SD9 VE and see if it allows my small hand to grip it properly. If so, it would make a good HD weapon at a good price.

 

[krupparms]

The grip on the SD series is very well designed. Along with the slide design I have no problem with pulling the slide back. I have arthritis also & have found this to be a comfortable gun to shoot. I know of 2 shooters with the same issue that bought SD9VEs for the same reason.

 

[SeanSw]

The deep scalloping and contoured slide on the sd9ve makes it very easy to rack. It is a bit easier than my full size m&p in the same caliber. For $300 brand new it's hard to go wrong.