I'm still new. Bought the M&P 9mm in May and the Shield in Nov. (my first guns) At range today my accuracy at 30 feet was much better with the Full Size M&P. At 10 feet almost the same. Is this normal for the Shield or is it just my inexperience with the new gun? The Shield in a ported Performance Center model. Interested in your experience with these guns.

The guns aren't all that different in mechanical accuracy. What you are seeing is that the larger pistol is easier for you to shoot well.


We went through the same thing with revolvers. The new shooter with his 4 inch K frame would say that the j frame stubbies were inaccurate, but then an experienced shooter would show them that its not the gun that is inaccurate.


Stay with it and work on your grip and trigger control.

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Science plus Art

I have a 9mm standard Shield, and an M&P .40 Compact. At 10 yards and in, there isn't much difference in accuracy between the two. At 15 yards, the 40c starts to pull ahead, with 50-60% of my shots regularly hitting within 2" of the bullseye. With the Shield, I occasionally hit 50% at that range, but not nearly as consistently as I do with my 40c. Nevertheless, I regard the Shield as amazingly accurate for a short-barreled 9mm. Shooting at 20 yards, the difference in accuracy between the two grows even larger. Finally, even though I've shot nearly 5000 rounds through my Shield, I've never even tried it at 25 yards because I believe it would only result in holes scattered randomly around the target, and who wants to see that?

Since you are comparing your Shield to a full-size M&P, the differences you observe in accuracy should grow even larger as you extend your shooting distances. The Shield is designed for close-in self defense, and it's a fine weapon for that. Just don't expect it to be a long-ranged target pistol.

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What, me worry?

If you were to put each gun in a vice (Ransom Rest) and fire it at 30' feet with no human interference, the guns might have about the same size group. Mechanically, they both can shoot bullets pretty straight for 30'.

However, the interaction of these two different sized guns with the shooter means the smaller gun will be harder to shoot accurately for many people. The smaller grip, shorter sight radius, shorter barrel producing more blast and muzzle flip, different trigger pull configuration, lighter weight, and other factors make smaller guns more difficult to shoot. That is, until you learn how to shoot it well despite these differences.

Have someone help you with proper grip (slightly different for each of your guns), sight alignment and trigger control. Practice with each gun shooting from a rest so you can eliminate some human shake and concentrate on the above three fundamentals. When you are not satisfied with your pistol accuracy, shoot at a closer distance so you don't get discouraged, concentrating on the three fundamentals. Go back to unsupported two handed shooting at 15'; then 21'; then 30' again.

AND, dry fire at home. A lot. Save ammo and range time. Your trip to the range should confirm that which you have practiced and learned at home works. When dry firing, your sights should not move off the target when you operate the trigger. Minor wiggles produce larger than expected accuracy errors downrange. Be precise.

Good luck.

Thank you for the great comments. I really appreciate your input and ideas.

i too have a full size MP and a PC Shield, both in 9mm. And yes i can notice a (slight) difference in accuracy at say 10 yds. I contribute that to a mix of barrel and sight length (over an inch longer on the full size), to the different triggers in both, to overall balance.

I can be accurate in both, and at shorter distances see any difference pretty much go away. But for me, i'm not surprised to see a small variation.

Same story here. I've got the Shield 9mm and the 40FS. At 10 yards or less both are basically equal but the farther you go beyond that the full size is definitely a little more accurate. My 44Mag Super Redhawk with a 9.5" barrel is far more accurate at distance than either the Shield or FS proving once again that size really does matter.

In my experience the longer the sight radius [barrel] the more accurate the weapon is at distance. The balance is between what you can carry and how accurate can it be at what distance. Yes,my 9mm Shield hits a very small bull consistently at 10ft out to 10yds. After that the spread gets bigger. Good luck.

I was more accurate with the full size at first. But after extensively and almost exclusively shooting the shield I became more accurate with it. I think it was just trigger control. The trigger on my FS pro is much lighter than the shield. I've gotten used the the switch between the two and shoot both about the same now up to about 20 Yds or so. if I need to shoot at longer ranges, I'll take the full size every time

Thank you for those comments and suggestions. This forum has been a great source of info for new gun owners like me.

My experience with the two sizes you mention is that technique differs slightly because of grip, sight radius and balance.

That said, in MY hands, accuracy at distances up to 15 yards is negligible. Beyond that distance, the full size with the longer sight radius is consistently the most accurate.

Actually what your experiencing is pretty standard. The larger frames are generally easier to keep on target and the act of pulling the trigger doesn't move the larger frame pistol as much. With practice and trigger control the Shield will get more and more accurate. There are a number of U-Tube videos that can help you with TC. They helped me a lot. Good luck.

I agree!
I find your comments and recommendations to be true in my case also.

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It's The Carbonaro Effect!

UPDATE: My shield is now as about the same as the Full Size M&P. After shooting only for a year, going to the range at least twice a week has been a big help. Now I am very comfortable with both firearms.

Purchased my new M&P Shield 9mm and M&P9 FS the same day and my first trip to the range wasn't too bad. I'm a lefty so I seem to be Pushing/No follow through and Too little trigger finger. With the FS more than the Shield. Both 7 yards with some rapid fire flyers. LOL
1st Shield 2nd FS

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With practice and more practice (including lots of dry-firing) most of us learn the lesson: "It's not the gun." We have met the enemy and it is us!

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Loving retirement!