Air Force humor. Gotta love it. I'm new to handguns - still in my ten day "cooling off period." This thread has been helpful to me - after watching all the cool youtube videos of aftermarket choices for the M&P 9 Shield, I've decided to just wait until I'm somewhat proficient before I change anything. Thanks.

To the OP; there is one 'upgrade' for your Shield 9mm that I can definitely recommend... that would be the Shield 45.

With my 9mm Shield the only "upgrades" I could possibly want are a new trigger (after 400 rounds still tugging a brick in sand) and a safety that is easily manipulated by a human. Don't get me wrong, I love the platform, the S&W quality, but I just don't get that the two most important aspects of a CCW handgun are absolutely horrible on the one I have. Until I can find someone to correct these two necessities, I've decided to go back to my 1971 Colt Light Weight Commander!

If you're carrying it; a comfortable holster with good retention.

If you have larger hands; additional 8rd magazines.

I own two and have only bought holsters and extra magazines. Some people complain about the factory trigger; but I shoot it great. Several hundred rounds through each. Totally reliable.

This is a must: Uplula Mag loader.

Extension for the 7 rnd mag? Why not just use the 8 rnd'r? My 7 rnd mag has never been out of the box, but I have five extra of the other.

After 500+ rounds, I found another "must have" was a thicker grip, so I added leather panels, as seen in my avatar.

I have the Pearce 7rd mag extender. Apex duty/carry trigger kit. The Pearce plug that goes into the grip portion of the frame and a custom slide back plate. Beyond that lasers/lights, sights EVEN the mentioned trigger is all personal preference. I'd recommend the Pearce products I mentioned and if your state allows, get magazine extenders. Beyond that you'll just need to shoot the gun. Don't bulk it up with accessories. Get a good, comfortable holsters, lots of ammo and range time. You may or may not want an add on grip like hogue or something too.

Yeah, the mag ejection thing is a consequence of the extension collar being part of the grip when the 8rndr is used. This ain't no Colt Combat Commander, with the flush mag floor. The heel of the hand can't get out of the way.

I train to use the other hand to eject the mag. It doesn't fly out like a Colt either, so I tend to push the button and sort of sweep the mag out, drop it and load the next. Not super fast, but if I've missed the bad guy with the first eight, he might be ducking long enough for me to get him with the next burst...

The 2.0C is better in this regard: The mag floor is more flush, and there is that twist-out tool in the grip that keeps the hand from pressing on the mag end. It ejects pretty naturally, bu i still have to use the off hand thumb. For me, the issue is thick hands but short digits. I just can't quite reach the button without altering the hold. Training is the work-around.

Have you tried the trigger on the 2.0 models? Seems like most of us love it compared to previous.

Also the safety on my Shield 45 seems to be perfect; not sure why you feel it's hard to manipulate unless you're a lefty; in which case yes I would agree, an ambi-swappable safety would have been better.

Hey Youtube has got plenty of training. If not Google it!

Weeelllllll, thread brought back from days gone by....

MUST HAVES.....

MagLula loader

Thats about it, ammo, shoot the livin **** out of it.

I went with BARRACUDA mag extentions on the 8 +2 for 10's

Love em. Also like the Hogue (jr) handgrip.

Ammo, a cleaning kit if you don't already have one and ammo. Oh, did I mention ammo... you'll want to get some ammo. Range ammo, self defense ammo, lots of ammo.

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Life Member B.A.S.S., NAFC

#1 auto-loader
#2 extra mags
#3 grip tape
#4 Apex trigger
#5 night sights

Extra mags are great for range practice. I have 12 mags (a lot?, probably), but I load them all at home, go to the range, fire off 100 rounds, go home, lather, rinse, repeat.