Got my 9mm barrel yesterday and spent a short time at the range today testing it out, in my Shield 40. As several others have posted, the gun performed perfect with the 9mm barrel in the 40 slide. I also purchased a 9mm magazine, which I used for the test. I also tried using my 40 magazine to see if it would also feed the 9mm cartridges. It also worked perfectly. I fired 20 to 25 rounds using the 40 mag, with not a problem.

The strange thing was POI between the two barrels. The 40 hit 3 inches high and 3 inches left. The 9mm was perfect for elevation, but was 2 to 3 inches right. This was taking my time firing, using the stock open sights at a 15 yard target. Both groupings were consistent and within a 3 inch circle.

I would think once the word spreads, S&W will be selling a lot more Shield 40's, with the option to convert them to 9mm, with a simple barrel swap.

I also believe that someone will be trying to convert the Shield 9mm into a 40. This should be easy, with a 40 barrel. All they would have to do would be to grind off .010 inch from each side of the tang/tab, on the barrel, at the sight hole. This is a very small amount of material to remove. I point out this tang/tab in the video. Then all they would need is the 40 mags and they should be good to go. Sorry but the 40 cartridge does not fit into the 9mm mags.



The following video shows the shooting results.

Bob


Shield 40 With 9MM Barrel At The Range - YouTube



Shield 40 With 9MM Barrel At The Range - YouTube