I watched Academy pricing for a long time and never bought one. When the rebates came out I couldn't resist buying one from a online dealer. I really bought it for my daughter, She says it really fits her hand.
My grandson and one of his friends went to the range today with some of their guns and my Shield and a HP 9mm carbine that was NIB. I had him put a red dot on it and get it sighted in, That will also be my daughters.
He ran about 100 rounds through the Shield with no problems. He had a little problem with the HP mag staying locked in when inserted but he said it got OK as he shot it. He got the red dot sighted in and ran about 75 rounds through it with no problem. His friend has a lot of guns including 5 Model 59's.