Yesterday I got my hands on a M&P Shield Performance Center 9mm. This makes my 3rd shield, I already have a .40, 9mm, and now the PC 9mm. I carry the 9mm all day every day and love it. So when I was roaming local gun stores yesterday I came across the performance center model and was pretty impressed so decided I couldn't live without it.

Shot around 200 rounds out of the PC and also side by side with my older 9mm shield and here's what I found.

It is significantly different in muzzle rise and its ability to get back on target. It shoots so flat (as if the stock version didn't).

Honestly can tell a very small difference in trigger from the stock shield but that could be due to my sausage finger.

The sights... well they are atrocious. S&W really dropped the ball on this one. The tube housings looks cool but that does you no good in shoot ability. They are so dark even in a well lit gun range, it makes me nervous to have to use it a low light situation. Honestly would rather have the white dots from the factory but will be buying new night sights soon. The green tube on the front gets dirty fast which is to be expected from the ports but you can't hardly get it clean after the fact. Just stays dirty up underneath it. Also the sight housings are almost a brown color.

Overall, well worth the extra money. It's just $90 extra and most of us make more of it every day.
Be prepared to hate the sights.
Enjoy the fire coming from the top of the barrel.
Gun is extremely manageable.
Gets back on target in a hurry.
Buy one if you can find one.

I am not a professional gun reviewer by any means so take my findings however you would like, just trying to pass on what was found. I'm a average shooter and a daily carrier. NO tacticool pants and decals all over my truck windows referring to gun companies. I work safely and even unload guns before I take a picture of them. There are times I find brodouches making reviews that are way way to technical. Hope this helps with some decisions.

Note: I will post more pictures below, only allowing me to post one in this message.

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Here's a picture down the slide.

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Here's the nose after holstering a few times after shooting.

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I think you're the first person here to report on one!

Have to agree on the sights, I would lose those in a hurry.

Love the porting!!!

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MSP - Retired

Haven't seen one yet. I look through this site often just never posted, figured now was a good time.

Thanks. I'll likely never see one here in CA.

Perhaps a different FO tube in the sight will do? I can understand they get dirty real fast due to the ports. Would a tritium fare better?

What ammo did you shoot? Have you shot your SD ammo yet? Typically, they are low flash. Perhaps that will help the FO.

Thanks for the post!!

I shot a few rounds of Federal HST. The flash really isn't to bad at all even with the Beck (locally made) ball ammo I was shooting. Not sure about the FO tube, I know the amount of shooting at the range was the main factor. Even brand new out of the box first time the slide released they sucked. Night sites will be the ticket. The stock ones are open down the sides and night sites probably won't have an open tube down the sides.

Did you get a chance to test against a timer or are you just reporting feel?

Thanks for the review.

Sorry but it was by feel. Yet again I'm no professional gun reviewer.

I ordered one and it will be in tomorrow....

I don't see any legit reason for S&W to introduce a new Shield . The original one is near perfect CC firearm which won't be improved upon that much. It's just profit greed because they had a winner with the original
Also if the sights are not all that good that is completely unacceptable while pricing the gun 100 dollars more than orig shield

Thanks for the review.

Shoot from the hip and let us know how you like your new hairdo lol

Any idea if you can buy the trigger, slide and barrel direct from S&W

Nice review and about what I would have expected.Congrats on the pistol,but having fired some ported handguns I personally have no use for one. I would rather have seen a FDE frame with the PC sear. Not a dig against your pistol tho.and I hope you enjoy it.

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Blessed be the Lord,my Rock

Looks good, not sure I'd want a carry gun that's ported.

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John

Maybe I'm missing something and correct me if I'm wrong but
wouldn't the flash coming from the ports affect firing in low light?

Nick

Julie Golob has a recoil comparison video between the ported and unported pistols. She only shot two-handed and not strong or weak hand only. I found it helpful to run the side-by-side slo-mo in 1/4 speed. Visually I see only a small difference between them in muzzle rise. I don't know how that translates to shots on target.

https://youtu.be/rnKa-OXJJsM

Great info and review OP... thanks. Nothing better than a review in language most can understand.... it's comical to read the few naysayers complain here... again, it's the usual, never experienced their views..

I'm hoping to see these available here in Ma..... I live 10 minutes from S&W... it'll be a while before or even if they will be legal here.

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Jack C

I'm thinking there's an issue with the sights that should be replaced under warranty. I've seen the video above by Sootch, and see the difference between your Shield's sights and the one he's reviewing-world of difference! Also, look at the muzzle of his review gun, no noticeable fouling around the front sight or ports. Before I would spend a dime of my own money on a brand new gun, S&W would take a look at it first.

What are you a socialist? This is what selling things is all about

Can I send in my Shield and get it converted for $100?

That will never happen...

What do you think is wrong with Roskoe115's sights? Under indoor lighting, before Sootch went outside, they looked the same.

The full-size PC guns soot up the front sight too.

I don't get it, either. I've had Truglo TFO's and other FO sights, always the same thing ... in a very well lit area, they light up. In an indoor range, you're better off with white dots. I had XS Big Dots put on my (original version) Shield, and the improvement in my range shooting with it was off the charts. Fiber optics on a concealed carry or home defense pistol are a waste of time, IMO ... you're not very likely to need that gun between sun up and sun down.

Ported pistols can be very nice to shoot and look really cool. They do tend to get the front sight dirty. It looks like S&W did a sweet job on the pistol.

Something to consider for CCW use.

In my opinion they are really not the best choice for CCW use. The additional bright flash from the porting behind the front sight can affect the shooters vision in a low light self defense situation more so than without. This could really be an issue for a follow up or follow up shots. Also if the weapon needs to be pulled in closer to the body when being shot for any reason in a self defense situation the fire from the porting can be a problem. (This has been discussed in many a training class that I have been to over the years)

Again ported guns shoot great and look cool but are really not the best choice for a CCW weapon. They are very nice range pistols or even competition pistols.

Just my humble 2 cents.

Shoot Safe All,
Bill G77

I got one just for the range. After 50 rounds the front sight is obscured by soot. I threw a trijicon rmr red dot on it and so far its a real sweet range gun......

You'd think S&W would have noticed the front sight being obscured by the soot during testing. Did not mention this in the Guns and Ammo mag. report! But that might not be surprising!

[QUOTE=mauser9;138835692]You'd think S&W would have noticed the front sight being obscured by the soot during testing. Did not mention this in the Guns and Ammo mag. report! But that might not be surprising![/QUOTE

This issues is not uncommon with ported pistols. I have seen this happen with a lot of ported pistols. I personally owned a ported Springfield 1911 that did it every time it was fired. I have seen friends ported target pistols of varied brands do the same.

Dirty gun powders even make the issue worse.

Shoot Safe All,
Bill G77

Sorry for just now getting back, work has been nuts. Shot some more last weekend and this thing shoots so nicely. I also shot it from the hip and turned sideways to shoot from the hip. No issues what do ever. Even shot very closely and had no issue. The holes are so small it hardly blew anything out. You feel percussion more than anything.

I just got my PC Shield. I had a standard Shield I bought used about a year ago, and found myself carrying the 43 more so I sold it off. The price I paid for the PC was the same as the Shield w/ CT laser which I'm finding seems like a good deal..

I am anxious to put some rounds through it at the indoor range, see what kind of muzzle flash there is. Bought it out of curiosity more than anything. I haven't had a ported pistol for a long time, so I'm anxious to see how it shoots for me.

Very good video comparison. Certainly the price for either Shield is a good deal. But I did notice a couple days ago that S&W raised the MSRP of the Ported version by $24.00. Last week, the price on the S&W website was $495 and yesterday it showed $519. I wonder if that is something that's driven by the huge increase in firearms sales??

Was at a gun show today in Charlotte and came across one. I really didn't like the look of the gun with the porting and the sights really turned me off. They didn't even have a price on it unlike the rest of the guns on the table. And I didn't bother to ask since after looking at it I'm not interested. I'll just stick with my stock Shield.

A few years back I bought a S&W Performance Center Recon 45ACP. I liked it a lot except for how the ports would soot up the front sight covering the white dot after only a few rounds, so I sold it. This Performance Center Shield does look nice though, so I think I may get one and give another try at tolerating the front sight getting obscured.

Thank you for trying that.


I handled one at the local gun shop. The trigger is nicer than stock and the sights seemed okay. I think it would look better with only two slide ports instead of three.

Still like my regular shield

What alleycat said.

I really like the New Performance Center Shield. I haven't had any problems with the front site getting fouled and the flash does not affect me anymore then any other one. I get more flash out of my revolvers around the cylinder than the muzzle of the PC Shield. Great Gun ! P.S. I shoot a lot Day and Night...

Have you shot a standard Shield 9mm? Is there a very noticeable difference recoil/muzzle flip ?

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M&P 9 FS / H&K VP9 / G19 G4

Having shot the standard shield 9 and the shield PC 9 side by side, here is what I experienced. There is a noticeable difference in muzzle flip if you shoot them side by side. Not too sure how noticeable it would be if both models were shot at different times. Muzzle flash in low light conditions is not much of an issue as one would think (a distributed 3 point flash on the PC vs a single but larger front flash on the standard). Either way, a non-issue to me. The fiber optic sights are meh... As expected, easy to pick up in bright conditions, challenging in low light conditions. I did not experience the front sight fouling challenges while shooting WWB or Blazer Brass loads. The trigger was the biggest difference between the models with the PC having a much better trigger out of the box. Both models are extremely accurate for their size. The trigger and slightly reduced muzzle flip were enough for me to go with the PC model ($50 difference between the models). I will replace the sights in the near future.

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M&P Shield PC 9/H&K VP9/SA TRP

Picked up a new PC 9MM shield the other day. Shot both the PC and my old Shield. Did not tell much difference in recoil. However, the trigger reset is shorter and crisper. My wife says that she could tell the difference in recoil.
Measured both trigger pulls today with my Lyman.
PC measured 6 pounds 4 oz
Old Shield measured 6 pounds 8 oz
250 to 300 rounds of blazer brass, Perfecta, and Critical Defense 115 thru the PC without any issues.

Yeah I'm thinking ....standard Shield w/Apex kit + XS Big Dots instead of the PC Shield.

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M&P 9 FS / H&K VP9 / G19 G4