I guess I'm the only person in the US who doesn't like the new rougher grip stippling on the .45 Shield. Seems everything I read praises the new stippling. I thought the Shield 9MM had a great grip.

In all my years I've never used grip tape on anything; but I now thinking about it. I've also looked for Hogue rubber grips but haven't found any for this pistol.

In any case, does anyone have any ideas or recommendations about solving the too rough stippling?

Talon grips may be the answer your looking for. They have two different surfaces; I prefer the rubberized. The stippling is aggressive yet soft to the touch. You might like those.

Ordered Talon grips for almost all my irons. The 45 Shield is still better than the XDS grips, they are like a cheese grader.

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there are lots of complaints, you're far from the only one, I used some 600 grit sandpaper and knocked down the overly aggressive peaks on my Shield 45

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Sand paper


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Pachmayr makes a grip glove for the 45 Shield.

Wow, quick responses. I thought I looked everywhere on the web for grips, but forgot about Talon. Turns out they do make rubber grips for the 45 Shield. I ordered them.

I hope the Talon's work out. I was afraid I wouldn't find any. The rough stippling was a deal breaker for me. If I couldn't solve it I would have traded it off. I mean I don't have girly hands, but this stippling is too aggressive, IMHO.

I let folks know when I get them installed.

Now my only gripe with S&W is the trigger pull on my Bodyguard 380. Oh well, one thing at a time.

Too bad you missed the Black Friday Talon sale 12 bucks and free shipping

Try AGrip before the Talon grips its much much better

I like the more aggressive stippling on the Shield 45 in my hand. But when carrying iwb all day, it's like getting a skin graph. I couldn't find the exact Pachmayr grip sleeve to fit the gun at "Slander Mountain" so I had to find the closest fit and trim off some excess. It will do until i get the correct one to fit it.

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Bishop

I don't own one and only got to handle one for the first time last week. A couple finally put in an appearance local to me. FWIW, I thought the stippling was a little aggressive for my taste too. But, as others have mentioned here, and some other threads on the .45 Shield, a little sanding goes a long way with this issue.

I don't like it, either. Talon grips are the answer.

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I lightly sanded the nubs a bit to smooth things out. Just a bit. All better even IWB no T-shirt ....

I just picked up one today. I like the grip but it is a but rough for me too. I'm going to try sandpaper like others suggested. But if your going to put on rubber stick-on grips this is the best IMO. Just as good as Talon grips and half the cost at $9.79.

Tractiongrips: fit M&P Shield .45

I also hated the grip surface on the 45 Shield. I bought a Hogue slip-on on rubber sleeve and modified and trimmed the bottom with a Exacto knife to fit the contour. It's not perfect but pretty close, and it feels much better. I also like the palm swell of the rubber sleeve.

Go cut down a few trees with a regular ax. Then use the same ax to cut those trees into firewood. Do this every year. You won't worry about the grips being too aggressive any more.

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Freedom isn't free.

Gun Grips - TUFF1 Universal Gun Grip Covers

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Eccentric old coot

I do about five trees every fall. A sharp axe helps a lot. The problem there is you don't wear gloves you get blisters not calluses and if you wear gloves you get no benefit from it. It takes time to build up calluses and most of us don't work that hard for a sustained period.

That's why you have to do it regularly.

Of course you could just shoot more.

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Freedom isn't free.

I have over 2,700 rounds through my Shield 45, The grip has actually worn down a bit. But I never found it to be a problem even brand new

I too don't like the stock stippling on my 45 shield. It catches on my shirts and makes the shirt ride up on the handle. It's like velcro!. The gun is plenty accurate, and reliable. It does kick alittle more than a 9mm, but not that much.

Shield 45 is great PERIOD! If the aggressive stippling bothers you for carry, just touch a bit with FINE sandpaper on your skin side. I do not find that the Stippling sticks to my shirts as that was one of my main initial concerns.

My 9 MM Shield has Talon Sandpaper Decal and it grabs everything. I do not carry it, if I were to I would SWITCH the grip decal to a TALON RUBBER ONE.

THe Shield 45 is ACCURATE, recoil seems low for a 45 ACP, I just love it and will become EDC after breaking it in with (230 FMJ) then testing with 230 Gr FEDERAL HST AMMO. Nice job S&W.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

+1 on the talon grips, rubber. I was leery of a stick on grip, but after you heat it a little, it feels like it was born there. I already have it on order for my full size which is on it's way. I actually just bought a small sheet of the material and added a thumb rest for the forward thumb on my shield.

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Something really smart

Thanks to this ongoing thread............I just had to go grab both Shields at once. My hands hold tools most of the day, and not just a pen or pecking away on a keyboard.

I do prefer the stock grip on the 45! No way would I sand it down! The 9 almost felt like nothing. No wonder some owners install after market stippling on their 9's to rough it up a bit. I don't want the perception of a "silky" smooth grip!

Have to admit, the grip has grabbed on a few of my suit jackets...forcing a slight quick adjustment every time I stand up. Ended up giving up and going back to my Glock 23.


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I'm a little late to the discussion, but my solution was to flatten and smooth the "sharp" points of the stippling with the glazed side of a piece of old tile. It seems to have worked well so far, and regular carrying and shooting of my .45 Shield seems to have smoothed those portions even further.

I just bought these to try them. Took my new shield out and put 50 rounds downrange and it was like rubbing my hand across a belt sander. I'll give this a try and see how it works- for the price, it's a no-brainer. Thanks for the suggestion and the link.

Welcome to the madness hogey.

Hogue has a made-to-fit Beavertail for the Shield 45 for 12 bucks.

........its wonderful

When I first got my PC Shield 45, I have to admit that the grip was a little rougher than I expected, especially the area that contacts the web of your hand.
But after handling it for a while now, and a couple of hundred rounds through it, it seems to have gotten smoother. I'm guessing that like most things, the sharp edges of the stippling wore down with simple everyday use, because I did nothing to change it.
Like anything new, it just needs time to break in.

That's exactly what I did for my Shield .45

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Niiiiice color

Talons on every M&P I own.

This was my advice several months ago. The idea is to do more with your hands and basically just toughen them up. It works, but there is a better plan.

I don't care who you are, the callouses only form where regular use is applied. Shooting is different than any other activity and has movement unique to it. Consequently, the callouses required are unique. While a black smith will have better abrasion resistance, he'll still have new sores when shooting a new gun a lot.

When I posted before I hadn't had the opportunity to hold the Shield 45 yet; now I have. The texture is too rough as far as I'm concerned. It's fine for someone who goes and shoots 50 rounds once or twice a year. However, take that same shooter and put them in a class where they shoot 650 rounds over 4 days and medical attention will be required.

If I had a Shield 45 (or even the new 2.0 models), I would use some 220 grit sand paper to knock down the high points. Done properly, no one would notice that anything had been done.

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Freedom isn't free.

I rubbed the grips with a round chromed handle of a utensil that is about 3/4".
It just knocked down the sharpest points without changing much of anything.
I'll call it "artificial accelerated wear".
I can feel the difference but still have an excellent positive grip

OK, I'll be a contrarian here. I actually like the factory stippling. I have over 2200 rounds through my Shield .45, (including some 200 and 250 round range sessions) and it doesn't bother me at all. I don't feel it while I'm shooting, and it helps my meaty hands get a good hold on the slender grip. Who knows, maybe my hands were prepped for it by playing handball for over 40 years. Yeah, that's the ticket: Go play handball (it's also very aerobic!) for 40 years, and you won't need to spend money on aftermarket grips.

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What, me worry?

I like the grip, but found it catching on my shirt and was exposing the gun sometimes. Plus I love Hogue grips, so put the beaver tail grip on and this gun fits my hand so perfectly I hate to put it down.


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Another vote for the Hogue Bever tail grip, I have them on all my Shields. PITA to put on but with a hair dryer, Windex and a little patience they slip right on.

If I wanted a fat grip, I'd buy a Glock.

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Freedom isn't free.

Here's a link
BLACK Hogue Rubber HandAll Beavertail Grip Sleeve S&W M&P Shield 45 acp 45acp

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Bishop

It definitely doesn't make it fat. Yes a tad thicker, still great for carrying but shaped better for shooting.


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+1 on the Talon Grips (rubber style)
I've got em on 4 of my guns, including a Glock 30 Gen4 that the stippling is so rough, it would draw blood from between my thumb and forefinger after about 3 magazine loads. The Talons made it much more pleasant to shoot...almost like a different gun. Just put em on my shield 9mm a couple of days ago and rattled off over 200 rounds with nary a bit of issue...love em.

Bunch of wimps!....Just kidding around, don't dog me out.
I love the texture on mine!

... it's still better than that damn xds texture.. lol

Thank you! It's a mixture of burnt bronze and armor black cerakote. For me the burnt bronze was too 'pimped out' so the black helped subdue it a bit.

I put some Talon Grips on mine, they work great.

I really like the grip on the 45, but the body side grip was rough on the skin, and the outside grip kept snagging on my cover shirt.
I ended up buying a 4X8 sheet of rubberized grip tape material on eBay for about $4.50 and covering just the sides.
Still have the factory grip surface on the front and rear backstrap, but not as rough on the sides.

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Dude....yer a beast

You're close. Mrs. swsig occasionally calls me a "son of a beast". At least I think that's what she says. My hearing aids are not always tuned to her frequency.

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What, me worry?

I just shot my new .45 Shield for the first time the other day and really liked the grip texture. For me the REAL test is shooting it when my hands get sweaty, which hasn't happen with this pistol yet.

I was so impressed with it, I'm thinking about getting the 9mm Shield, which I would get the Talon grips for, or maybe the Hogue sleeve.

Talon grips, rubberized version.. fit and work great and adds almost ZERO size.

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Loving retirement!