I just purchased the Shield last week and already put over 400 rounds through it. Not one hiccup. I also put two mags of Federal HST through it after it was good and dirty with no issues at all. I tried to make the gun choke and could not.

In a nutshell, I love this little gun. I shoot it very well and I really like the trigger. I have no experience with the other M&P's so I can't compare. But, my requirements for a small framed gun were that it have a single action trigger feel and this gun delivers. If someone comes up with a way to make it four pounds instead of 6.5, I'll take them up on it but it is still a fine trigger and I am able to shoot good groups at ten yards.

I shot it off the bench at 10 yards to check it's sights and it was dead on. For a short barreled 9mm, I was more than pleased with it's accuracy. I shot 1.5" groups at 10 yards and I am not that good of a shooter.

I am very impressed with how little recoil there is with this gun. It is not much more than a 22 and I have no idea how the guys at S&W did that. I thought it was going to be a choppy little rascal with how thin and small it is. I was very surprised when I shot and felt very little recoil for such a small gun. I was quick to get the gun back on target and after a couple hundred rounds, there was no fatigue or soreness. I wanted to keep shooting.

As far as being a lefty, I had no issues at all operating this gun. I will NOT be using the manual safety. I see no reason to use whether you are a lefty or a righty. An XDm or a Glock would be easier to ND than the Shield.

It's really neat to switch between the 8 round and 7 rounds magazines. The 7 rounder transforms the gun "almost" into a pocket gun. I say almost because it depends on the pockets of your pants. With my baggy cargo pants, the gun is easily drawn out of the pocket. With smaller pockets, I think it would be hard to draw quickly. In all cases though, the gun hides well in the pocket (with the 7 round mag) for me. However, I will wear this gun in a holster as I am not a fan of pocket carry. Nothing wrong with it, just not my style.

The gun is a breeze to clean. Much easier than my XDm. I am anal retentive when it comes to cleaning my guns (a clean gun is a reliable gun) and was very happy to find out how simple it is and cleans up quickly. More time to shoot!!

It's my personal preference to carry nothing less than 9mm. When I want to carry light, this is my new "go-to" gun. Well done S&W.

Nice review from a fellow southpaw. I wondered about the placement of the safety, are you confident that it cannot be inadvertently placed on the safe position? I wonder if the LE version I have heard about will have a safety lever.

The gun sounds impressive. Even though I am not a 9mm fan I am considering it as an improvement over various .380 platforms.

Thanks for the review.

__________________
Tony

the safety is nice and solid with needing good pressure, and it doesn't stick out. It also has a good click to it

Lefty here as well.. Love my shield..No issues..

Agreed! So far I've not found anything major with my Shield that I don't like...

Now if only someone could figure out how to convert it to a right side mag release.

Your question sparked my curiosity so I did a little test. I unloaded the gun (because I'm a safe operator) and kept the safety disengaged. I drug the gun backwards over the edge of a piece of wood. It turns out the slide stop lever and the take down lever protrude almost and eighth of an inch further than the safety lever. So when I slid the gun across the wood, the other levers protected the safety.

However, if I tilted the gun so the two contact points on the piece of wood were the safety and the slide lock lever, the safety would become engaged as I slid the gun backwards.

While in an IWB holster, I would have to brush up against a solid object with considerable force - while moving backwards - to engage the safety.

So, it is possible but I think it is highly unlikely. I'd have to be moving backwards and the gun would have to hit it just right. If I were to bump something while just moving around, I would just check the safety's position with my finger.

I do have one on order and being a lefty i even thought of cutting a small piece of sticky velcro just inside the safety or under it so it will not go up. That way i have one less thing to worry about. Any thoughts?

Also a lefty and no problem pocket carrying or drawing from the pocket. Nice little hot weather carry gun.

__________________
STUBBORN AS A MISSOURI MULE...

Great. Said I wasn't interested in the Shield because I am left handed and now all the other left handed kids have one. May have to reconsider.

I think I want one, I'm thinking the 40 as that is what my other carry M&P's are so I'll stay with the 40.

We can not get the Shield yet in MASS, S&W told me they should be out in MASS around June and we get the Sucky 10 Lb trigger.

If I get one my 1st thing will be to get it to my Gun Smith and have a trigger job done and to see if the safety can be removed.

I think that S&W fell short on this one, they put a safety on it, so it should have been an Ambi Safety.

__________________
NRA & GOAL LIFE MEMBER

I really see the safety as an optional feature but also can't understand why it is there. Probably due to a lawyer being on the product design team.

I carry a 1911 cocked and locked and I have never had the safety knocked off. I have no concern the safety on the Shield will ever get knocked "on".

It is a non-issue for me.

The Apex Tactical Hard Sear will get you pretty close and reportedly does fit the Shield.

I just spoke to Apex Tactical yesterday and no, they do not have any products for the Shield yet. They are supposed to get one of their own soon and will do some testing.

They said they have yet to decide if they will have any products for the Shield. Most likely they will but she was not able to confirm anything at this time.

They announced the day the Shield came out they'll be releasing a full line of products for the Shield. They don't have a kit for the Shield yet, but the hard sear does work with the Shield, Randy Lee has said so himself HERE. If all you want to do is bring the weight of the trigger down, you don't need a whole kit (which is actually going to include springs to bring the weight back up closer to stock).

I love that little gun. We got one in the shop just last week and we've already stripped it down in the R&D Lab. Infact, I spent all day Monday working on spring calculations and part combinations to make the Shield the perfect little carry gun.

We will have a kit out for the Shield within the next few weeks.

Scott @ Apex

I'm really glad Apex is going to support the Shield but very disappointed with the phone call I had with an Apex representative. She specifically said, "we can neither confirm nor deny any support for the Shield at this time". They seem to have a communications problem within the company that resulted in embarrassing me on this forum. I'll be more careful next time.

Another thing for the folks at Apex, we used that phrase, "neither confirm nor deny", in the military to hide the truth from the public. Not really a phrase you want to use with your customers.

Anyway, happy shooting.

Thanks for the insight. I always ask fellow lefties which gun they carry, and pros/cons of their specific there might be. Because I'm left-handed ambi controls are a requirement for me, and I only have 1 handgun that doesn't have this feature.

Sorry about that. We had told our Customer Service people that we weren't sure what we were going to do and that we can neither confirm nor deny anything at that point.

Scott @ Apex

That is not true Scott. If you follow the link that WARhog provided,

New M&P Shield in 9mm & 40S&W - Page 17 - M4Carbine.net Forums

it is very clear that you are supporting the Shield per Randy Lee's post # 330,

We will have a complete kit like our DCAEK available soon!

I'm upset because my conversation with an Apex rep occurred on the very same day as this post from Randy. In the meantime and based on the information your rep gave me, I've been calling other gunsmiths to see if they would offer support for improving the Shield's trigger. This wasted my time and I guess that is more of my reason for being upset.

Speaking of wasting time, I need to get back to work. Have a great day guys.

I must admit I was a little puzzled when I received the same response from an inquiry I made via e-mail. I was encouraged though when I dug a little deeper into their web site and found a blog entry regarding the Shield. Based upon my previous experience with Apex Tactical, I expect nothing but great things forthcoming for my Shield.

If you read that entire thread and Randy's response he's confirming that the Sear does work in the Shield, but we have not done any testing yet.

Our employees are not necessarily privy to what we post on the gun forums. They're told by us what they can call customers and cannot, Claire and Jon were following my instructions about what to tell people when they ask what parts do and don't work in the Shield.

Prior to test firing the Shield with our products in it, we cannot tell people that they will work safely in the Shield until we've thoroughly tested them under live fire conditions.

Scott @ Apex

I'm a lefty and bought a Shield anyway:

Mag release is non-issue. I tend to use my index finger anyway.

Safety is non-issue because I won't use it (would prefer it wasn't there though).

Slide release is non-issue as I only use one when cleaning the gun anyway.

The only change I would like to see for lefties (and you will NEVER see it on a production gun) is to put the ejection port on the left side.

I just saw a add for a company that is making a left handed 1911.

If my money tree out back would start producing I'd have the money to buy one :-) .

It is a sweet looking 1911.

__________________
NRA & GOAL LIFE MEMBER

I had heard of a company that at one time made left-handed 1911s, but I think I would have a hard time calling it a "production" gun; more of a "custom" gun.

Cabot Guns still makes one. They are only making 100 of them for 2012 so get your order in quick.

« Cabot Gun, an American Gun Company

About the same price as a WC Supergrade, $5250

I am also a lefty and just purchased a Shield on Friday. I have carried 1911's for years and put ambi safties on them. I operated the mag release with my index finger and can get to it easier than most right handed folks can with their thum. I plan to do that with the Shield as well. The safety is a non issue. I will not use it. One should not use the slide lock to release the slide anyway so is not an issue for a lefty either. I have not shot it yet but I think it is a dandy!

Another lefty, and my two others M&P 9mm, have small lever you can switch the magazine button. The other problem here in S Florida nobody has one yet, but hoping things look better with two gun shows coming to down.

I have had left handed issues with the shield 9. When drawing the shield from my in the waist holster the mag release is hit and the mag drops out.

Does anyone here practiced drawing the shield and have you had the same issue?

As of now I'm not carrying it because of this. I am hoping to either shave down the mag release or figure out how to install a stiffer mag release spring to creat more tension.

I have carried several handguns over the years and have never switched to mag release to the other side.

Has anyone had this issue?

I'm a lefty too and have delayed buying a Shield, still packing my old J frame (old habits and all that). Have any of you lefties carried the Shield IWB, appendix? I'm wanted to know if carrying like that, for a leftie, presented any problems.

__________________
Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I am a lefty and have the Shield in both 9mm and .40. I carry IWB at about 8:00 position. I have not had any issues with the magazine releasing on the draw with either of these pistols. I do not use the safety and do not think accidental movement of the lever is likely at all. I find both to be accurate little shooters with very little recoil. They are a bit large for pocket carry for me but I rarely pocket carry anyway. One interesting note: I accidently loaded 9mm rounds into the .40 magazines at the range. The magazine actually fit in the 9 and fed without any problems. Looks like they may be interchangable...

I'm also left handed and, prior to selling my Shield to my son, I carried IWB at the 10 O'clock position. No issues whatsoever.

When the new Shield arrives later this week or early next week I'll be carrying in the same position or in a Desantis ankle holster.

Re: Woodlark's post 24...
There is one left-ejecting pistol...the Walther P5.

__________________
US Army-Retired,EOD,VCDL

The predecessors of the P5, the P38 (and possibly the original HP), P1, and P4 all eject to the left as well, although the P5 with its closed slide is the only production pistol with an ejection port on the left side.

WRT safeties, as a fellow southpaw I deal with the lack of support for ambi safeties by carrying at Condition 2. Worked with my M&P 40, works with my DA guns too.

--GG, SoCenPA

__________________
-gonzo, SoCenPA.

I carry my Shield IWB at 8:00 in an Old Faithful holster and have never had a problem wit hthe mag release button. I had hoped to be able to reverse the mag release, but have found that I like it how it is because I can release it with my middle finger easily. Same as I do with most pistols (excluding my Beretta Neos). I think all of us south paws have learned to use guns made for right handed people, and I'm not going to let that stop me from owning such a good CC gun.

VICEUNIT,
A S&W law enforcement rep told me that the L.E. version of the Shield will have the option of a manual safety (if you want one) and will also come with 3 mags and night sights standard. I am holding out until then.

My dept. has at least two .40 Shields already in service but that is more for T&E for now. I think the only people who will be issued the Shield as a service weapon are undercover folks. Although rumor has it our Chief stopped carrying his Walther PPS and now has a Shield .40. I think they are about the same size...

Nevertheless the Shield .40 is much flatter than the .40C I've been carrying for the last 4 1/2 years. The only bad thing is the magazine capacity on the .40 Shield gives up quite a few rounds over the compact and even more over the full size! There is always a trade off when you go to a smaller gun.

Just out of curiousity, how does one get the Shield into Condition 2?

As a note, I am considering getting a shield , but being a Lefty, and the way the safety is I wasn't sure what the best carry condition would be... I have rented one at a local store/range. and really like it for a carry piece. For a righty, i could see carrying in a Condition 1 or as close as a striker gun can be. But I am not familar enough to know how to de-cock the striker on the shield. As I understand it, to get a round into the camber, is to essentially cock the striker as well. I know that on other guns such as most Sigs, there is a de-cocking lever, not so here... So with all that confusion spouted about ( :-) ), What preferred way/ (and also a relatively safe way) of carrying, with the gun as close to an action state as possible. in most surprise/defensive situations, I would most certainly prefer not to have to carry an empty chamber and have to rack the slide before the first shot. Time/speed is always an issue :-)

Thanks in advance,

Kevin Orcutt

This being your first post, welcome. That said, I have a Remora and the trim rides right over the release and has depressed the mag button. Alan at Remora is changing the design of his holster for this issue.

__________________
Bob

I am having this same problem. I have used OWB holsters leather and Kydex. It is a very annoying problem. Raven concealment said they could make me a holster that would shield the Mag release for an extra $10.00. I may go this rough as I really like the Shield. I have SX big dot sights on it and it shoot like a dream..

Scott, I heard a lot of positive feedback about your product and have just ordered a competition kit for my M&P9 from you. Do you foresee Apex making any comp. kits for the M&P22?
I'm new to the M&P's, owning the 9mm and the .22 rimfire models. I am also a lefty shooter and have never had any safety or magazine problems for IWB or OWB carry with the 9 mm. I am trying to justify buying a Shield other than just buying another M&P pistol (also waiting for the M&P40 Pro C.O.R.E. to become available again). I know the 9c is thicker and a little heavier than the Shield, but what makes the Shield so much better as a carry gun?

I'm a Leftie.
I've had my sheild 9mm for about a year now.
I've used brownells tutorial to modify the sear block lowering the trigger pull to a crisp 3.2lbs.
i highly recommend at least polishing all of the contacting surfaces.
I used superglue to bypass the trigger safety making a solid trigger.
I added a mag extender to the 8rd mag to give an extra finger hold.
I've never used the saftey and wont.
I've put at least 3k rounds through it and only had faults using Winchester white box (the shells expand in the barrel and get stuck sometimes).

This is a wonderful gun with light recoil, easy enough to operate left handed and i dont regret buying it at all.

for lefties I highly recommend the no safety version. I have one and couldn't be happier. No worrying if the safety is accidentally popped on in a fire fight and it's just as reliable as the regular version.

Heh heh, I'm no lefty, but my 16 year old daughter is and she really loves my Shield 9mm. I demonstrated stance, rack, aim and shoot, and wouldn't ya know it she transposed my right hand actions flawlessly without me even having to say "but you do this opposite".

...I did get the no-safety version, no regrets.

I just purchased the m&p shield 9MM I am a lefty and have not been able to shoot this gun yet. I have shot my brother inlaws. I was very impressed with this little gun. I have been practicing recking and releasing. as far as dropping the mag it is with my middle finger on my left hand. the release is a little tough but Iwill keep practicing. This is all being down without ammo in the gun.

Excellent post. Thanks for sharing your experience with it. I'm also a left-handed shooter, and found that its accuracy is amazing. You feel recoil (impossible not to) but it's the muzzle flip I hate and it does very little of that. I credit S&W's "metal framed polymer" design that makes it a very solid gun. Short barreled pistols have muzzle flash issues since there's not enough time in the barrel for the cartridge propellant to finish burning. But I think they make ammo that solves for that issue.

Reloading drills were a bit of a pickle for me, though. Kept pinching my pinky on the bottom of the grip when slapping magazines in.

Also, I found the stock trigger pull to be acceptable. On a gun this size, I would hate to have a Glock-like or 1911-like 4-4.5lb trigger pull. IMO, that's not a specification fit for an EDC CCW. Just my opinion though. The M&P Shield's stock trigger doesn't beat you up like on an SD (for which I felt compelled to use an Apex trigger mod).

If national reciprocity ever becomes a thing, this will be my daily IWB carry.