Two standard Shield 9's I bought more than 18 months ago had factory triggers over 8 pounds (Lyman gauge) that were very gritty. They were difficult to shoot accurately and consistently.

I believe in the past year and half S&W has paid more attention to delivering in spec triggers on new guns. I have felt two that were much smoother and felt like they were in the advertised 6-6.5# range.

I replaced both Shield triggers with Apex packages, then "tuned" the triggers with springs to be about 5 lbs. measured. I also wanted other benefits of the Apex parts, including a different beginning of the stroke, shorter stroke and reset, more positive reset. It was not just about the trigger pull weight.

I have not shot a PC Shield, but I understand S&W works on the fire control system to actually deliver what they promise--a smooth 5-5.5# trigger. However, I don't believe it has some of the other benefits of the Apex kits.

Some folks differentiate between a lighter target trigger and a heavier "duty" or concealed carry trigger. Even S&W at times seems to portray their lighter PC triggers for target shooting without mentioning self defense as a use of the PC gun. A lighter, shorter pull trigger, within reason, will disturb sight alignment less. Length of pull vs. weight, such as on a DAO revolver, will often provide additional "safety" with lighter pulls.

Nonetheless, the new Full Size V2 is supposed to have a PC trigger that is lighter than the V1 (Which was spec'd at ~5.5#, but almost never was), with other better qualities.

Having very different trigger pulls on numerous guns one uses may cause confusion and inconsistency. If one has a "range" gun with a shorter, lighter pull, and a similar/same gun with a heavier, longer trigger pull, accuracy between the two guns could be noticeably different. It takes a lot of practice and good memory to switch between very different pulls and shoot well, but it can be done.