my dealer got 3. all already sold. just picked her up. feels great. I paid $430. higher than i wanted but i figured they will sell out quick and not have more for weeks

the safety has a very positive set to it so i doubt anyone will have trouble flipping it on accidentally



Pics to compare to my current pocket gun, Kahr CM9











holding CM9 with pierce mag baseplates



M&PS with flush mag. My pinky barely stays on. i need another .25"



Ext mag




Sear looks like a standard M&P9. i will confirm tonight when i get to my micrometer




















Mags are 1.5 stack

Nice pics! How does it carry compared to the CM9? Can you fit in in your pocket? Let us know how it shoots compared the CM9 also. thanks

The safety is a joke. its tiny. its hard to turn off. barely sticks out away from the frame of the gun. the slide stop/release sticks out farther. im sure S&W just put in on there to appease the lawyers.

Only issue I have is that I think they should have done the angled pinky extension like the Compacts.

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I wear Khakis to work everyday. im 6.0 250 lbs.

CM9 in pocket holster



M&Ps in same holster. doesnt fit in all the way



pics may not be much of a difference. the both feel fine riding in your pocket, but the extra height of the M&Ps makes it tough to pocket draw. im sure it will be fine in a large cargo pocket but i wont pocket carry it in khakis.

Thank you for taking the time to take the photos and share this!!

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Wachuko

Wonder why Smith is discouraging using this with a pocket holster? Want to replace my LC9 with one.

Thanks! That's what I figured. The CM9 is perfect for pocket draw and carry. The M&P looked just a little to long and tall.

NICE!!!!!!!!!!!

I really need to stop looking at these posts, lol. Thanks for sharing. I want one so bad!

Bandwidth exceeded? NOOOOOOOOO! Oh well, mine is in at the LGS. I guess I can just wait until morning.

quick video of the reset (this is with the apex sear in but its the same with the factor sear)

Shield reset - YouTube

Update! Apex 9mm fs sear drops right in. Trigger breaks around 4.5 lbs now i recon. Bad news is that the safety bar looks impossible to remove without bending it. Check out the pics

Excellent report and update. Thanks!

The Shield's lineage and similarities to the rest of the M&P family are obvious and a major strong point. Mine is on order with a certain web mega-gun dealer.

Looks great. Makes me want one really bad.

Would you comment please on the effort to rack the slide on the Shield vs that of the CM9, please?

I find the Kahr spring to be too much for my arthritic hands.

Thanks for the pics

There are quite a few citizens who look for a safety and will not buy a gun without one.
Besides, as you said in the OP: "the safety has a very positive set to it so i doubt anyone will have trouble flipping it on accidentally".
Sounds like guys like you and me can leave it off and not worry about it?

And thank you for taking the time to do this in depth review. Awesome!

This is the review I've been waiting for. I'm sure the range report will be just as good. After all it is a M&P!

I had no problem, with the safety. I played with it, for a good half hour, just to make sure. I bought it because I wanted a Kahr sized pistol, with a safety.

I stopped by the LGS this morning and they had a Shield in stock. One look and I knew it was noticeably bigger than my CM9. Looked nice, good fit and finish. The trigger was okay from what little I handled it. If I didn't already have an M&P9C, would have thought about picking it up. It would not replace my CM9 for every day carry, but is very comparable to a 3913 size firearm.

Wow the shield is a sweet shooting gun. I ran 100 rounds of mixed ammo thru it today. Will run a couple more 100 over the next two days (i have a range at my house). No problems with reloads, steel cases, or defensive ammo. Points naturally just like other m&ps.

These are with cheap ammo. Standing, slow steady aimed fire. Other bullet holes were flyers cause by me or my dad. Target are 8" at the 7 ring

3 yards



7 yards



15 yards



25 yards

you took it apart....

is the striker block the same as a regular M&P?
what Im getting at is: will it accept the current APEX USB?

I have a PM9 and I think the slide spring is pretty comparable on my Shield. It has a pretty strong spring. The upside is the slide on the Shield is a bit longer and easier to grab on to.

Update.. My wife said the Shield is slightly easier for her to rack, but still pretty stiff.You might have some trouble with it.


Jim

Can the mag release be reversed for a left-handed shooter, such as myself?

Skip

I think I want both the 40C & the 40S

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Do not own one yet but I held one on release day and the shop guy told me NO it was not reversible (his issue with it) as he was a lefty.

If I am wrong I am sure I will be corrected.

Darn! And I was looking forward to picking one up. Looks like S&W is ignoring the 16% of the population that is left-handed. I'll wait a while and see if they do something about this. If not, for the first time I'll have to buy a pistol that's not a S&W.

Skip

@ Cervantes - I might be wrong. Just talked to a friend who has a shield. He thinks the Mag Release IS reversible, just nothing else (slide stop etc). Just wanted to correct my previous statement as I am not 100% now

Guess the shop guy I mentioned above had issues with the safety and slide stop not being on the right side.

Thanks. I can live with the slide stop, safety, etc not being reversible. Being LH and not planning on pocket carry, I can leave the safety off. Slide stop also is not an issue.

Skip

Great photos and reviews.

I have a PM9 and an M&P9C, both of which I'm very happy with. I am however anxiously waiting for the opportunity to hold a Shield and compare it to the others. I sincerely hope I'm not disappointed.

Nice job, great pics. Appreciate the effort and the info. And it does seem better looking than the Kahr.

Ill answer several questions here:

Sear assembly is different. Sears is the same tho

I do not believe the mag release is made to be reversible. But mAbye it can be tinkered with to make it work

The M&P9 Shield owner's manual makes no mention of a reversible magazine release whereas the regular M&P owner's manual has it clearly called out with instructions on how to change it. Based on this I'd say it is not reversible.

Thanks. That helps a lot.

Like the gun but they made it strickly a right handed pistol. Why did they put that safety on there, not needed at all. If a left handed person uses this gun and that safety goes up for some reason, he is screwed. If they didn't put that safety on that gun I would have considered buying one, with that on there forget it. Murphy's law tells me that it will go up, and a lefty cannot put the thing back down. Stupid move Smith&Wesson. Not needed at all.

Ignoring the 16% (that's 1/6) of the shooting population cannot be a good thing. I was looking forward to the Shield, but now - going to have to go in another direction for deep carry. Also, it seems the mag release is RH only also!

skip

Does anyone know if the thumb safety is easily removable.

I doubt it, think I read someone's review saying it didn't look like it. The bottom line, if you don't want it, don't use it. It's not going to set itself, just ignore it. I like the option, I have it on my BG380 and on my *** LC9, sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't and neither one has ever set itself..

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Jack C

Am I the only lefty who has never had a problem operating "right-handed guns"?

Skip, Coco,
So what M&P do you guys own now?


I'll be willing to bet most lefties are more like you....

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Jack C

I am a lefty and been shooting right handed guns all my life. I don't have an issue with mag button, I use my index finger. I don't have an issue with slide stop, I just work the slide instead, but a safety that can't be reached by a left handed person is an issue for me. Some one mentioned above just don't use it and I wouldn't, but for some reason it was unintentionally hit and moved up or for some unknown reason you needed the gun quickly,I think it's bad news. I would buy the gun if that safety was gone and not put there in the fistplace. None of their other guns have this why did they put it on this gun and they ommitted the ambi slide stop. All their other guns have these features and only a few models have this safety, I really don't get it. For those who use it sometimes and sometimes they don't. My advice would be either use it always or don't use it at all. I wouldn't be mixing my draw and firing gross motor skills, they should stay the same always. Just my 2 cents guys.

Ok,... so what M&P's do you own now...?

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Jack C

As a lefty, I 100% agree with this statement. It's the same way I feel.

I have an M&P 40c with safety. My left thumb manipulates the right-side safety. I use my left index finger to work the left-side mag release. I can use either thumb or finger to work the slide release on either side.

That low-profile, right hand only safety is one of the things throwing me off. I'm one of those that actually wants a thumb safety, and it must be ambi in order for me to use it. There is too much competition out there in the market for me to re-train myself (ALL my handguns have ambi safeties), I'll just spend my money elsewhere on a CCW platform that does have an ambi safety. I was saving up for either a Solo or a PM-9 and was really looking forward to this when news started to leak. It's too bad they missed my boat, because my M&P is one of my favorite guns!

I had an ATEi sear installed 4/13/12 trigger weight at 4.1 lb. Full serrations are being done. Here is a vid of the trigger after the work was done. The safety is a non issue for me as it is nicely recessed. Even so, it disengages very easy, and is tight to engage it.

S&W M&P9 SHIELD - YouTube

I don't own an M&P I own an S&W SD9. Why you have to know that is beyond me, but I do like S&W guns. I also like Glocks and other brands of guns. I bought the SD9 over the M&P because I liked it. The SD is a right handed gun with no ambi controls and the only difference is the safety it doesn't have one and there really is no need for it. One less thing to worry about. I much prefer striker firing guns with no safety's.

Thanks, that's what I thought..

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Jack C

I own M&P fs 9 and 9c

Skip

That's awsome Skip, I just spoke with a couple of friends, not to mention evry single review I've read all over the Net has been positive for the Shield. I can't wait for them to be legal in Mass... I can add at least one to the stable. You may want to at least give a good close look at one before shutting the door, especially if you like your existing M&P's.

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Jack C

I've already trained my muscle memory on my other 2 M&Ps and retraining for one pistol, then having to remember which I was carrying is not a good thing. Having two sets of handling drills should not be required.

Skip

Turbo, I am a bit confused on what owning a M&P over an sd has to do with a right handed safety and controls. My question to you is, are you left handed? If you are then maybe you have found a better way of dealiing with this issue. If your not left handed I can't see how you could even know what it's like to live in a right handed world.