What was the distance on those targets? No matter what the distance those are good groups and a SD range. Wish I had a place to shoot water jugs.

__________________
USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

Thanks, Both targets were 8-10 yrds & 6 shots slow fire trying to get the best group I could. The black target was 230gr hst's & the other was prefecta 230gr fmj from wally world. Prefecta is cheap brass cased ammo from Italy I think, 15-16 a box but shoots good so far.

A bit of an update on the failure to feed issues I'm having with my Shield 45...

Took the gun out to the range today and had a failure to feed after my first shot. Starting to wonder if maybe the issue isn't with the magazines but maybe with the slide release? Perhaps it's engaging when it shouldn't because each time I have a failure to feed the slide is locked open.

Since the slide is locking open it could be your thumb is pushing up on the Slide Stop Lever during recoil. Try shooting with your left hand and see if it still does it.

I'll try but the same thing happened with a NRA instructor that shot it.

M&Ps of any flavor should not FTF or FTE. Call S&W CS, and let them figure it out. Could be anything from an extractor to a faulty spring. Threy will figure it out.

I found it interesting that the guy in the video mentioned the distance of the trigger to the blackstrap of the .45 Shield being the same as the 9mm Shield which is 2.725". I measured the same location on my M&P 45C, and it is the same 2.725", which means the Shield, 45C, and full size M&Ps must all be the same dementions in that particular location. Other than that I'm sure the Shield is much slimmer in all respects. I'm anxious to hold one in my hand.

Stopped by Gander mountain on my way out of town to work this weekend. They have them in stock for 460.00.

The new grip is very aggressive, and Im not sure I like it. The Talon feels much better to me.

If you are military or retired military, LEO or retired LEO or first responder Quantico Tactical has them for $360 and $10 shipping. I have bought 4 guns from them. Normally ship in a few days if in stock.

__________________
USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

If anyone's LGS has them around $400 and will ship to Maine FFL, let me know. PM or Email me so I can order one, nothing is showing up in my area.

Steve
maineultraclassic "at" maine.rr.com

Yes, why i did the inner tube on mine, feels awesome with it. I use it on all my pistols.

As I have mentioned before the trigger pull on the new 45 Shield is better than the 9 Shield I previously had. I have reworked the sear in my new 45 Shield and also polished the striker and firing pin block in mine. I had the trigger pull weight checked on a scale today and it is now 4 1/2#. I have no desire to go lower. The trigger is smooth as a babies behind and has no discernable over travel. I can't possibly ask for more in a striker fired pistol.

__________________
To be forgiven, I must forgive

There may be a need to for some to upgrade their trigger, but my shield 45 is great out of the box and I find no need to mess with it.

I've been in the mountains for the past couple weeks and my LGS got one in while I was away. I have first option on it and went in to give it a feel this morning.

Shouldn't a done that...

They only got the one and I couldn't pass it up. Felt good, love the new texture and the slightly wider grip. The extended mag really makes for a nice handful of bang. Trigger felt noticeably better than the nines I've worked with. Sights may be the only thing I change on this pistol.

I'm now $419.00 poorer

If I find a local shop that would have it for the low prices people seem to find them for I'd already have one. Unfortunately all of the local shops want MSRP. Gunbroker is high, but they're getting suckers to spend MSRP+ for em'.

For those who own one, can you tell if it uses a 9 or 45 sear? I doubt they made a special sear just for the 45 Shield so it must use one type that already exists.

Anyone have a solid street price for this gun yet? I want to get the version without the safety, I just wanted to get an idea of what everyone on here has been paying for them.


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I've seen the model without the safety in stock at a few different online retailers, normally around the $400 range.

I have put about 230 rounds through my Shield 45 and have had numerous feed issues. At first I thought it was the ammo, I was using Aquila 230 grn FMJ. It is quite dirty.

I cleaned the gun thoroughly and ran some Winchester white box (230FMJ) and some HST through it as well. I had far fewer failures but still one. I think the gun is very sensitive to being dirty. I will list the failures and type of failures below.

Brand Rounds Bullet Type Failure Type
Aquila 120 230 FMJ 4 - FTF, 1 - DNF
HST 50 230 JHP 1- FTB
Whitebox 60 230 FMJ None

FTF = Failure to feed, the rounds nose dived into the front of the magazine
DNF = Did not Fire, the round had a solid primer strike but did not fire
FTB = Failure to go into battery, the round was 3/4 into the chamber

I intend to do more testing with defensive rounds. If the failures continue it will be a "safe queen" and not a carry gun.

Send it back to S&W. If you don't it turns into the "malfunctioning gun that sits in the back of the safe."

Agreed.. Contact S&W, they'll provide a ship label. Include as much info as possible relevant to the malfunctions and let them get things sorted.

Just saw a 45 Shield at field & stream in Polaris fashion mall in Columbus Ohio, list price but in stock .

Same here... went Saturday to the local Gander Mountain store. It was in stock at the regular MSRP price.

Had it in my hands comparing it to the regular 9mm Shield. Just a tad wider than the 9mm shield and about 1/2" longer?

Grip is definitely better at keeping the gun in your hand. Sales guy did not like the aggressive grip... I liked it.

But I went in looking to buy a Shield PC... that one was not in stock...

__________________
Stay safe, stay alert
Wachuko

After some additional testing with HST ammo, Gold Dot ammo and Hydrashock ammo with no failures I believe my first problems were related to using very cheap and dirty ammo. I also put another 40 rounds of White Box through it.

After an extensive cleaning, I have put the Shield 45 into the rotation. Now all I need is a good IWB holster!

Shield45

"When we lack the will to see things as they really are,
there is nothing so mystifying as the obvious."
- Irving Kristol

Anyone know for sure that the kydex holsters for the 9/40 Shield will work with the 45 Shield?

I've read online that they will, and with the 45 so new it's going to be hard to find holsters "made" for it. But if the 9/40 ones work fine, it will be much easier to grab one of them.

__________________
S&W Shield 45
S&W 500 Magnum

My Shield 45 will definitely not fit in my Shield 9mm Zorn Skinny Rig, JMCK George or my Clinger Stingray.

You can loosen the retention on some of the Kydex holsters and stuff it in but it doesn't lock up properly as the barrel/slide is longer on the new gun.

I picked up a Desantis Slim-Tuk for the Shield 45 which will do while I wait on a JMCK Wing Claw holster to be made.

Desantis and Comp-Tac are two manufacturers that have several designs available now for the Shield 45. Zorn and JMCK will be building the new holsters come next month.

I saved my Zorn Skinny Rig from my XDS45(sold).
I've been working it tonight with a heat gun to form it to the Shield 45, it's working pretty well. I actually have too much retention right now, gun comes out hard. It uses the trigger guard and the extraction port for retention, and I think it's the extraction port that is too tight right now. Only thing that's not covered is the mag release, but it wasn't on the XDS either.

I like the Clinger Atom I use on my LC9s, so I'm going to email them too and check on when they will release a Shield 45 model.

__________________
S&W Shield 45
S&W 500 Magnum

Could you post which retailers? Quantico Tactical doesn't count since they won't sell to anyone who isn't....
Military: Active, Reserve, NG, Retired, Medically Retired, and Service-connected Disabled Veterans
Law Enforcement: Federal, State, and Local Active or Retired Sworn Officers
Corrections Officers including Parole and Probation Officers
1st Responders: Firefighters, Paramedics, and EMT’s
Licensed Federal, State, City and Private Security Officers
Commercial Pilots and Federal Flight Deck Officers
Court Judges
District and Deputy District Attorneys

ETA: Well I found one. Champion Firearms in Texas $410 plus $20 shipping. ETA2: They only charged me $20 shipping instead of $25. Shipping price depends on where you live, not a flat rate.

Who has 45 shield magazines. Didn't see any listed at some of the usual places.

__________________
Endeavor To Persevere

My local shop got one with the safety in today and they called me up. I checked it out, I really liked it. The trigger feels better than the standard Shield, but it's not as good as the PC version. To me the stippling/grip texture is very nice, locks my hand in really well. I would imagine it wouldn't feel very good when being carried IWB without a holster that doesn't have at least a sweat guard. If carrying IWB I would most definitely wear a undershirt along with any holster and this gun, period because of this.

I was expecting the grip be thicker on the sides but it's only slightly wider than the 9mm/40S&W version. I didn't really like the safety, even though it is passive and doesn't look like it would get to get in the way. I tend to shoot/grip guns with my thumbs pointing up and when doing so if irritated the right side of the knuckle. I know this would clearly be something that I can not do I think I am going to get the one without the safety. Because I wouldn't want the slightest chance of that safety getting inadvertently flipped up and where my thumb lands when I hold and present the gun my thumb rides across the safety and covers it up.

My shop had it for $439 plus tax, it didn't seem like a great deal but not a horrible one either. I hope my observations help... I want to get one but I don't want one with the safety, yuck! Lol


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No one right now.............I've been looking, but there are none to be had. Once the gun orders are filled, the mags will start hitting the shelves.

__________________
S&W Shield 45
S&W 500 Magnum

I would have just bought it. The thumb safety is a non-issue. It's small enough to not get in the way and you can just leave it off.

Even so, I applaud your decision. Don't settle and you'll never second guess yourself.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

I have the 9mm and seen the .45 acp and if I had the money it would have went home with me.

Hi guys, was calling off and on looking for a shield 45 at various shops in my area. One dealer had one in and out, just missed. Rest 4-6 had zero. Happened to call Academy and turns out they had just got two in. I got one. looking forward to range time when I get a minute.

I have owned hundreds of guns and have never had even a single malfunction. Thousands and thousands of rounds. Am I just lucky? 300 through the Shield 45. Boringly reliable

I picked up my No Safety Shield 45 today, cleaned it and tried the Apex 45acp sear in it for giggles. Factory pull was right at 5.5lbs. With the 45 Apex sear it's right at 3lbs. Great for a target gun, but not for a SD pistol.

I'll keep mine stock even if Apex comes out with a new sear, but if anyone bought their Shield 45 as a toy only, the current 45 Apex sear is something to consider.

Yeah, I found mine too light with that sear as well. I'm keeping mine with just the Apex trigger which dropped the factory pull weight down 14 ounces in my pistol. That's just about perfect for me.

That's typical when you use an apex sear with stock springs. For SD you should really think about using the apex springs that come with the kit.

Other than the apex trigger, I stayed with the stock shield 45 sear and springs. It breaks very clean and right at 4 lbs after polishing the sear and striker. I adjusted the loop just a tad and there is minimal over-travel. No need to do anything else..

I only have the Apex sear in my FS45s and the pull on those is somewhere around 4 to 5lbs. The Apex sear only in the Shield 9 I had brought it down to about 4 to 5lbs as well.

The factory sear in the Shield 45 is identical in shape to the factory sear from my FS45s, so I was surprised that it took 2.5lbs off the pull.

This may be the first M&P I don't do any work too. It will be less than 5.5lbs after shooting it for a bit and that to me is a perfect SD trigger pull.

My new Shield .45 fits in the holster for my XDS .45, with a little reshaping around the trigger guard. I could do a better job but fit and retention is good...

Good enough for me at 10 yards. No plans to change the trigger or sights.

I found this to be the case. After handling the gun a lot, the stippling is quite sharp and will irritate your hands too..have lots of callouses but certain spots got me.

In an earlier post I indicated I stretched a bike tube over the grip and it felt much better, albeit still a bit thin.

So for shets and giggles I added a second layer of tube and WALLAH, feels SUPER, fills out the sides a bit and gives a fuller firmer grip.

I have always said my perfect carry piece would be either a G26 with a G43 slide or a 9C with a Shield slide. Capacity, great 9C ergos, plus thinness.

Anyone at Glock or S&W listening??

Yes The Shield 45 is extremely accurate and just runs..put another 150 thru on Tuesday. Its a keeper.

I used 400 grit wet sandpaper to take the edge of the texture on mine. Dress the areas lightly until you have just the bite you want. My pistol now has a superb anti-slip texture that doesn't bother the hand during extended shooting sessions and can be worn against the skin IWB. Doesn't change the appearance of the gun, just the feel.

I thought of doing that but didn't want to do it with a brand new gun....Plus it didn't solve the girth issue for me.

I like the texturing and feel, changing nothing. Carrying IWB at 3:00 doesn't rub , but will search for a holster with larger sweat shield.

Its all a matter of personal taste and preference.

Most of the holster makers I've been in touch with plan to be building sometime this month. Desantis, Comp-Tac. Detroit Concealment have holsters for the new 45 at this time.

I have a Detroit Concealment OWB and a JMCK AIWB on order. The former should be here in a few weeks, the latter probably sometime in September. Currently using a Desantis Slim-Tuk while I wait, a decent inexpensive holster but lacks a full sweat guard which I prefer.

Yes. Owning hundreds of guns and firing thousands and thousands of rounds without a single malfunction of any kind is beyond amazing. You should go buy a lottery ticket.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

Ok guys and gals... who on here owns one of these without the safety? I'm being told by my FFL dealer that they haven't started making them yet. Secondly, if there are some owners around here that has one without a safety, have they tried it along the one with the safety and can tell any difference in the triggers?


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I just picked up my no safety model from my FFL a few days ago. They've been available for a little while now.

They're available in both configurations. No difference in the triggers that I can tell.