I have a Shield 9, and I love it. But it was not without problems.

To start, ill admit I'm one of those "weak women". My arm strength is nothing, and my hand strength is less than that.

I purchased the Shield to replace a previous sub-compact I had owned, and chose this particular gun because of the name brand. I love S&W and I've shot my husbands M&P 9mm many times no issue.

When I first got it home, I tried to disassemble it so I could clean it. It was a struggle! Pulling the slide back was hard while trying to get the slide release to go up at the same time. Small hands, no strength, and a super stiff gun. It took a while. But I made it through. The magazines were a bitch to load too. It took all my might to get the last two bullets in and that's saying something as they only hold 8 and 7 anyway.

Then my first time to the range, it messed up. I'm not sure of the technical terms. But it messed up. Third shot in, the slide went back too far and the barrel was pointed way too high up. I had the range master come unjam it for me. He took it apart, couldn't see anything wrong with it, so he lived it up and put it back together. He asked if he could shoot it and I said yes. Again, the same thing. He fixed it again, and calmly told me not to shoot it again.

I called S&W. as always their customer service was outstanding. They had me send it in, and I had it back two weeks later. The paperwork shows they replaced the barrel and something else I can't recall at the moment.

So I cleaned it and took it back to the range. It fires like a dream. Accuracy on point. Recoil is a bitch as with all subcompacts.

And even 500+ rounds later it is still stiff as hell. But I practice with it regularly. I no longer struggle to disassemble it or load the magazines.

But I'll also say this. On days that my hands are slick(like sweat) it can still be difficult to unjam the gun. So stressful situations where your hands may be clammy, could cause issues.


Sooooo. All of that to say. If your woman is on the weaker side, this model might not be the best EDC. You may even have some issues right out of the box. But it is a good, reliable gun. It has not jammed or misfired once since it was sent back from S&W. The size is perfect for concealing on an average to small size woman. But you need to make sure she practices with it... it's the only S&W pistol I've ever had such a learning curve on.

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Wife. Mother.