I mistakenly erased a GunTalk show that I thought had a segment on a ported barrel and slide for the Shield. Is this in the works or am I losing what little is left of my mind?

There was talk about a factory modified Shield, but I don't recall it having a ported barrel.
I have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to port the barrel of a 3" barreled Subcompact Self Defense pistol. Hardly any of the SD authorities recommend porting SD pistols. If one were to get into a CQ situation where they'd be literally shooting from the hip, the burning powder (etc) could be a real issue to the owner.

Plus... What ammo would one practice with? Federal (and other brands) have wording printed right one the box, "Do Not Use In Firearms With Ported Barrels".

I'm not saying S&W wouldn't offer up such a thing, but I doubt it.

I'm with Robz. Why on earth would you want a ported subcompact?

AFAIC, my Shield already belches enough smoke and fire using rather standard target rounds.

OK< having said that, I've not heard anything about a ported model. The ported models have all been the Pro COREs.

"The biggest negative thing I see with the porting is that if you have to fire from a retention position, it will blast hot gases and debris up toward your eyes. That's not just a distraction; it could cause permanent vision damage, and at the worst possible time. "- Massad Ayoob

Increased speed for a given accuracy/reduced recoil. Same reasons anyone puts ports or a compensator on any gun. It should be a significant asset if you're forced to fire strong- or weak-hand only.

Range loads don't usually have flash suppressants while good SD loads do.

I have heard this concern many times, but I've never tried it myself or heard from anyone who has.

Neither my range ammo nor my (Federal) SD ammo says that on the box.

I've seen it at Practical Competition stages, where the first target is a at arm's length and the 1st two shots are from the hip. I can probably find pics of scorched shirts on the web, if need be.

See the pic below... Federal Champion. I've also seen it on other brands. I can't make this stuff up.

Attached Images

Federal-ported1.jpg (238.8 KB, 169 views)

Photoshop?

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MSP - Retired

Makes no sense for the job it was designed to do.

Perhaps I am not buying the right ammo, but I never met a 9mm that was so powerful that I needed a port or a "compensator" to help me fire faster than I could physically move my trigger finger and still maintain "combat accuracy."

And, I suppose no one else remembers the Clint Smith test and article where a close in ported weapon set his shirt on fire, if I recall correctly?

Ports and compensators are a gimmick in all but range weapons fired at arms length, and they can and have been unsafe. I value my eyesight too much to take that chance, and I am not interested in any weapon that I have to remember is "not safe to the user if fired from the hip. Hip shooting or unsighted fire, as Uncle Jeff called it, is just too much fun to not be able to do it, especially with a defense gun, which might be called upon to really use from such a position.

Ports = bad idea.

EDIT: Ports give a whole new meaning to that humorous quote from the 1983 movie "A Christmas Story." Mrs. Parker to Ralphie, "No, you'll shoot your eye out."

Learn something new everyday. Did it just tear up the shirts or did it cause injury or eye irritation?

Since it was fired at waste level, the shirt was scorched, 'peppered' with powder burn holes with skin redness and some powder burns on his side.

It's the last time he used his ported pistol for Practical competition.

I was able to "unerase" the television show that discussed upcoming S&W Performance Center M&P models. There will be, in fact, a ported barrel and slide version of the Shield 9mm and .40 caliber offered by S&W. Don't know if it's for the gun competition crowd or not. I am interested to see YouTube videos of the Shields in action.

Interesting that they'd offer that on a Shield. Just 'Performance Center' internals and sights would have sufficed, for most of us.

I'd be interested in hear why they want to port it.
What was the Title and Air Date of the show?

Will get show details this evening and post tomorrow.

Sounds like a very unconventional shooting position.

I'll keep that in mind, but I still want one.

Not hardly. I wouldn't want to shoot Open division with a seven shot 9mm itty bitty. Most competitive shooting sports frown heavily on compensators and relegate them to the red dot compensated long magazine corner of the world.

This toy of a gun being manufactured in a compensated form is proof positive that people are too dumb to understand how loud and impractical it will be for self defense. For a range toy, more power to you, make as much noise as you like, but fire that in a closed in room just once and you'll never be bothered by loud noises again.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

Guns and Gear TV, september 11, 2015.

The first segment of this episode documented the soon to be offered M&P ported models.

Doesn't IDPA have a subcompact classification? That was the purpose of questioning whether or not the ported Shields may be used in competition.