S&W Shield

I just realized that as of today I have had my 9mm Shield for 4 years and 1 week. In that time I have put nearly 4000 rounds down the pipe without a single malfunction of any kind. Any ammo I have tried had worked flawlessly and I have tried a fairly large variety. It gets carried from October through about April each year. I opt for pocket carry of a J frame or LCP in the warmer months. One thing that really has impressed me is how well the finish has held up. I have used a leather holster since I got the gun and it still looks as good as new.

M&P Shield by Jonesy814 posted Oct 17, 2016 at 5:18 PM

M&P Shield by Jonesy814 posted Oct 17, 2016 at 5:17 PM

 

what a great post, thank you for standing tall about the Shield 9. You have got a nice looking rig. I carry mine year round along with an airweight 442 for backup.

 

I've had mine a couple of years now. Reliable, a very good size, easy to shoot well, sleek and well balanced, a very good gun.

tipoc

 

The holster I have pictured with my gun in the original post is a DeSantis Mini Scabbard. I found the Talon grips I added to be a big help when shooting. The gun is narrow and tends to want to twist around a bit. The Talon grips really help with that.

 

Nice set up. I also think the Talons are a must for the Shield. They made mine feel like a different gun.

Do you have a pic of the gun and holster from the other side?

 

I have a 9mm Shield no safety, and I am very very happy with it.

S&W hit a giant home run on this one.

Jimmy

 

I carry a .40 and have a duplicate in 9mm for practice that I run 50 rounds/week (at least 2000/year) through shooting steel plates. Love it.
The cost savings in 9mm vs. .40S&W practice ammo pretty quickly paid for the gun.

But if you go as long as I do without taking it apart for cleaning (normally just a wipe down and a few passes with a bore snake after a patch of Hoppe's) crud can build up and interfere with the trigger reset. Not a complaint, as no other subcompact I've ever tried can even go half this number of rounds with my limited cleaning regimen without issues! My beloved 1911s can barely do 1000 rounds in their sub-compact form.

Never had a feed or extraction failure of any kind in well over 6000 rounds.
Great gun!

Here is the one I carry:

 

Had the ability to shoot this pistol before. Great little ccw gun, and will be my next handgun purchase.

Sounds like yours is performing like a champ!

 

My Shield 9mm has also been flawless and I bought it right after they were first released...

One thing to watch for is corrosion on the MIM'd magazine release. Mine began to rust on the hidden inner parts of the mag release. In the picture below, I'm holding the release depressed to show the rust.

After some work she is all good...

Edmo

 

I have the Shield .40 and I love it. It took a few to break in, but flawless after that. The wife has an XDs 9mm and she likes it. These little pistols are great. Thanks for the write up!

 

I had one for a few months and really liked it. It was a great gun. Accurate and fit my hand very well.

However, someone offered to trade me a glock 26 so it got a new home.

 

My Shield was given me by a close friend, i love the pistol and shot Texas hogs caught in traps. My sister borrowed it to see what kind of firearm she was most comfortable with. It is now six months later and she makes excuses why she has not returned it. A trip to Idaho is in my immediate future and the Shield shall return with me.

 

I am recently got a 9mm shield with safety. I love it. I carry it in a small snap on belt holster by Galco. I love this gun. I only have about 300 rounds through it so far, its as accurate as my Glocks, feels better than a Glock 26 in the hand, and is much more carryable. I am very happy.

 

Jonesy814, what kind of magazine floor plate or magazine is that in the your first image?

 

I have to ask, I handled the Shield recently in the store but after it was given to me with the slide racked, I couldn't get the slide release to engage. Why is this so hard? I tried to grab it like a sling shot to no avail. I just couldn't move that slide so I gave up and moved on to a another gun. I'm curious how everyone gets past this aspect of the Shield.

Laura

 

That is a Pierce extension on the stock 7 round magazine in my first picture. It does not increase capacity. It just gives you a bit more to hang on to

 

Jonesy814

Nice update on your Shield. I also have a couple DeSantis Mini Scabbard holsters for my guns and really like how well it keeps the gun close to my body and how comfortable it is to carry.

 

I'm sorry to say, the description above is not entirely clear for me. So I cannot make a good guess about what happened. I dealt with a couple of Shields over the years and never noticed anything unusual about the slide stop/release lever on them. The mechanism works exactly like one on a Glock.

Make sure you're not trying to depress a slide stop (in Glock terms) while an empty magazine is inserted - on any automatic. You can get away with it on most guns [1], but a Shield with new magazines may be too much for a common human without Jerry Miculek's grip strength. It's easier and safer to pull the magazine out, drop the slide, re-insert the magazine.

[1] Especially on PPQ, which has a real oar for a release

 

The Shield has a very stiff recoil spring. The slide lock is fairly stiff too when new. Both get a bit easier to manipulate with time. The question was asked about releasing the slide via the slide release. According the the S&W parts diagram it is a slide lock, not a slide release. Not being able to release the slide using the sling shot method would be related to the users strength. I can do it but my wife can not. She also can't rack the slide. She doesn't use my Shield because of that.

 

I was tempted to buy it, but like all guns at the shop, it's given to you with the slide open. I was simply just trying to close it to handle the gun and feel it out. I'm not a new gun owner by any means and have Berettas, a Sig and Glocks - I really couldn't get over how hard it was to close the chamber. I worried if it was being used at the range, I'd make a (dangerous) ass of myself so I passed for another gun that was much easier. I'm sure the Shield's a fantastic carry choice but I don't have the hand strength required to use it safely.

 

I've got a .40Shield. Same mini scabbard holster.
It's my daily carry gun, when I carry. Otherwise, it's a .380 BodyGuard. Another S&W home run. When pockets too small for B.G., then it's the KelTec P32...

The KelTec actually hits to the sights! Awesome little pocket pistol for what it cost. All shoot decent ammo 100% reliable.
Retired l.e. So I'm always armed.

 

Having held a few like single stack Glock 9x19 I found them larger than my R9. The .45 in this package size is a lot more interesting.

 

I bought the 1st one.

https://www.amazon.com/Fixxxer-Grip-Extension-Shield-9mm/dp/B016WX5M92

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M620CVW/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1477870007&sr=8-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=PG-MPS&dpPl=1&dpID=51GFkLWWKBL&ref=plSrch