I've been carrying a M&P Shield 9mm for a few months now, and I have to say that I'm really impressed. It's a damn good looking gun offered at a really great price, it's well-balanced and feels great in my hand, it's tough, it's rugged, it's reliable, it's got usable sights and it's accurate (even at 15 yards or more), and it's compact and light. While I think it's just a bit to big for pocket carry, it does ride nicely in an IWB or OWB rig. Anyway, I've got other guns that I can use for pocket carry if I ever have a need to do so.

I don't much care for the extended eight round magazines, but I've put Peirce pinky extensions on the seven round magazines, and they work great. Stoke those magazines with Federal 124 grain HST (standard pressure) rounds, and I've got a formidable self-defense weapon that didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

I can't say enough good things about this gun. I used to think the S&W's snubbies were the finest fighting pistols on the planet, but I believe that my 9mm Shield is a much better gun than my 642 - mostly because my eyesight isn't what it was 20 years ago and I can reload it a lot quicker.