I'm not sure if Lazermax is making the green yet for the shield, but was wondering if the red is good enough or is the Veridian worth the extra money.

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M&P Shield 9mm

It all comes down to preference. Red vs green laser is purely subjective. I'd personally go with whichever your eye trains on more easily. For me, I prefer no laser at all. I've seen way too many shooters get lazy, focus on simply the laser beam, and lose their shooting technique all together. I've seen it happen so much so that they're missing a 6" target at 7 yards because they've completely lost the fundamentals of shooting.

Lasers have their place and I don't fault anyone for using one, but don't forget to practice aiming and shooting properly in the event your laser fails or batteries die. I'll stick with my TruGlo TFO sights.

Thanks, I have been shooting with open sites for over 35 years, and have no intention of stopping when I get the lazer. I'm also going to add the Truglo TFO as well.

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M&P Shield 9mm

Good to hear. I see a lot of new shooter decide on a laser because they think it simplifies shooting. It certainly has its place, but I see a huge sacrifice in fundamentals for that little laser. It's not good.

Anyways, to more specifically answer your question, I think the red laser is perfectly visible and does the job well. My wife has a red Crimson Trace on her Sig P238 and it's fantastic. The thing I don't like about the LaserMax, and the reason we went with the Crimson Trace, is that you have to manually engage the laser on the LaserMax. That's one more step in a crisis that doesn't need to be there. The Crimson Trace is more expensive, for sure, but was worth the expense. It has a pressure switch that automatically turns the laser on when you grip the gun. It takes extra steps and guess work away from the application of the system. Some people will say, "What if I am in a defensive situation where I don't want my laser to give my position away?" Simple. Don't grip the gun tight enough to activate it. I'd consider the extra money simply for the functionality of the activation system.

Oh, and the TruGlo TFO sights are amazing. I absolutely love mine and have never once found myself wishing I went with a different system. For me, that says a lot since I'm always looking at what's bigger and better.

I had a Lasermax on my Christmas list and am not very happy with it. I've had to re-adjust the zero several times - I think it's finally decided to stay - and once in a while it shuts down at the range then re-starts. Look it up at Amazon and read the reviews.

There seems to be a lot of good reviews and some bad ones. Not sure what I will do. I don't like the way the Crimson trace has the button on the grip.

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M&P Shield 9mm

I have a Viridian R5 green laser on my Shield and am pretty well satisfied with it, however if I didn't already have it, I would consider the ArmaLaser. It is similar to the Crimson Trace but doesn't have the button on the grip, it uses a proximity switch instead. It also has the neat feature of being able to change the batteries without removing the laser from the gun. It also advertises a longer battery life than most lasers out there.
It is red and not green, but in my opinion either is acceptable, especially since you are going to primarily use a laser in either low light or no light conditions, and in those cases both color lasers are very visible.
Like just about everyone says though, don't let the use of a laser prevent you from being proficient with the iron sights.
TR4

Thanks for the information, this is exactly what I'm looking for. Not a lot of reviews but they are good ones. I like the way this is made, having a on/off master switch for when at the range is great. Just ordered one so we will see.

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M&P Shield 9mm

What you will see is that it's difficult to control because when you pull the trigger your POI will rise. It's ok for man sized targets at close range but practicing with regular sights is much more accurate and you should be able to hit man sized targets at close range without engaging the sights anyway. A laser on a rifle or AR is a different matter because they are more steady and do not rise when you engage the trigger.

Viridian green on my Shield 9, love it !

If you remember to use standard trigger control and technique it doesn't matter what you used to aim with you'll hit it whether iron sights or laser.

Is it the fact that it would get in the way of your grip? I worried about that too but was holding someone's LCP that had a CT laser and you didn't even notice. Obviously that's not a Shield so who knows what it would feel like. But if you're shopping at a brick and mortar shop I bet they'd pop a CT on either yours or their Shield and let you see what it feels like. If I were to replace my LaserMax I think I'd be like rbuzz and look at the ArmaLaser.

Randy

So why use a laser?

That wasn't the question and also wasn't what the OP asked either.

My personal opinion is that after reading about stressful situations and your mind's natural tendency to tunnel vision on the threat why not have something that you'll see on top of or part of that threat rather that forcing your brain to go against nature and look at your front sight? Then there's also the fact that you may have to shoot from somewhat under cover and can't get a traditional sight picture. Picture this: you're hiding behind a car door. You're looking through the window with just the top of your head popped up and are reaching around the door with the gun in your hand. How do you line up your iron sights?

I may not have explained it clear enough but I hope you get the idea.

Spray and pray! Haha. I kid.