Bought a new Shield 45 a week ago and finally got to the range. Man am I am a happy camper. This thing has one sweet trigger.
My trigger breaks at exactly 4.0 pounds with no creep or anything else, just smooth like butter.

I had concerns about the small size but had no problems keeping all my rounds inside 3 inches at 15 yards. May get better as I become more comfortable with it. It will be my primary CCW.

First of all, great choice! Second, great shooting! Third, how did you get such a nice trigger out of the box LOL.............that's sweet.

I have nothing but praise for my Shield 45 though it took a little work to get my trigger dialed in the way I like it and now it is just perfect. Amazing how well these guns shoot, I shoot it better than my full sized 1911.
Enjoy the gun, if you shoot reloads just be aware that the chamber is sensitive to OAL of loads.
Enjoy............
Karl

Congratulation on your new Shield 45,keep shooting,sound like you really enjoyed shooting it.

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Life is short,live it fully.

My Shield .45 was like Ontargetagain's. My trigger wasn't as I liked out of the box but with a bit of fiddling, lots of dry firing, and a good many rounds down range it smoothed out nicely. The trigger on my .45 is much better than my 9mm Shield. Unlike Ontargetagain, I much prefer to shoot my full sized .45.

The trigger on mine weighed in at 6 pounds, 1/2 ounces for average of 6 pulls on my Lyman gauge. The weight itself is not the issue so much as the smoothness and break qualities. At least on this gun, it's very reminiscent of a nice DA revolver. That, combines with a nice grip and decent sights, makes for a very shootable gun. I like it a lot.

Sort of makes me wonder if the full sized M&P .45s can be as good?

Of all my shields (2 9mm 1 40 1 45) the shield 45 is the most accurate one. I shoot this as well or better than my Full size M&P 45. Its accuracy, Light weight and reliability make it a real comfortable carry gun. As I have said before the low mag count is off set by its amazing accuracy, Its good to know I can put 4 to 6 rounds on target quickly and accuratly

I agree, My shield .45 is the gun I can shoot the best, hands down. Even better than The springfield range officer 1911.

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Happy Shooting!

You think your trigger is nice now, wait until about 5-700 rounds downrange........it get's better with wear..

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Hipcocked45

I am really happy with my Shield 45 too. I have put 400 rounds through it now and it is a great gun to shoot. I do better with the extended mags, but I'm still a newb.

My Shield 45 is likewise a Great Shooter! I have shot over 750 rds. through mine (5 months) with Zero issues. I'm a very old timer but still love to shoot and the Shield 45 is a soft enough shooter for me to enjoy!

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It's The Carbonaro Effect!

It is one sweet pistol. I thought I was going to have a horrible learning curve. But within three weekends and few hundred rounds me and my wife are placing shots where we want. I bought two at the same time, his and hers. We were shooting better out of one at first; which I think was the trigger. Now we don't really notice a difference between the two... Only complaint; 3 shots a dollar lol.

Went to a local gun show last week-end with the express desire to trade for my Shield 9 for a Shield 45. I KNOW, I KNOW but I've carried a 1911 for over 40 years and should have bought the .45 to begin with! Live and learn! Anyway did manage to make an acceptable (to me) trade for a new Shield .45. So having had this in mind to begin with, had all my .45 shooting gear with me and immediately went to the range. Put a little over 100 rds. down-range. Will be going back to the range tomorrow or Sunday for some more "break-in" and some accuracy shooting. No issues, seemed to shoot where I aimed, did not have a good target with me, recoil felt less than my full size 1911. And that grip really is AGRESSIVE! May have to use a few LIGHT passes over it with some emery cloth!
I'm pleased and the Shield will become my EDC!!
Sarge

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SFC, US Army, Retired

When I got my .45 Shield and took it to the range for the first time, I was shocked at how good the trigger was right out of the box. Smooth and crisp, I really don't need it to be any better. Speaking for my pistol, I see no need for any tweaking, and definitely no need for any after market trigger.

Matter of fact, in addition to the trigger, there are only two other things I like about the pistol...the grip texture, and the smooth way the empty mags fall out of the pistol.

I polished my sear and it improved the feel. Curiosity had me get an Apex sear. It is hardened and you can feel it. The sear dropped the trigger pull to about 4.5 lbs. I'm used to 5 and over. I had a few surprise double taps. I got an Apex trigger spring and it brought is back to 5.5 lbs. or so. Now it's nice and crisp.

S&W knocked it out of the park with the 45 SHIELD! Glad I got one and at only $250 after rebate it was a steal.

It just keeps getting better and better! Range day session today and 64 rds. @ 8yds. All but Two in the 9&10 ring!

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It's The Carbonaro Effect!

My CCW Qualifications target at 7yds. 50 rounds the barrels must be of pretty good quality!

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I love my 45 Shield!
The trigger is great and I expect it to improve after I hit the 1000 round mark (not there yet).
I don't want to do anything to it except shoot it more!

I opted for the standard 45 Shield with the safety and am very happy that it's not the big 'paddle' safety that's on the full size M&P - this safety won't get flipped on or off by accident!

I did put on the HiViz fiber optic sights like the Performance Center offers, but I didn't want the porting.

I love the grip texture - there's a reason S&W put out the 2.0 Shields!

Great gun!!!

Every time I go to the range with my Shield .45 I leave amazed. It is so awesome to shoot. I don't have that much experience shooting pistols, but I am able to keep it on target really well. I am going to get some more 7rd magazines so I can spend less time reloading while at the range.

Range day 11/16/17

15 yards

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

Nice shooting!

Excellent!!!

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It's The Carbonaro Effect!

Yesterday at the range I checked out a couple of used HK USP 45s, the full sized mp 45 2.0 and the shield 45. The trigger on the shield 45 was IMHO much better than on the full sized mp. The full sized seemed to have way more travel while the shields was very similar to my new 1.0 shield 9mm. I preferred the shield to the USP compact 45. If I had the money I would have walked out with a full sized USP 45 and the shield 45.

Very impressive. I wish I could shoot that well.

Traitor!!!

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Freedom isn't free.

I bought my USP 45 in 1996. I installed the H&K Match Trigger. The trigger in now amazing, much lighter, crisp, short reset. One piece DA/SA trigger.
I Like shooting my 45 Shield more, but 12 rounds is better than 6 or 7.
I wish my USP 45 had a slightly smaller grip.

My Shield 45 has been a pleasant surprise. Purchased primarily for carry, it has been an excellent pistol.

Now that I have a few hundred rounds through mine, it has replaced my Shield 9 as my EDC. I too am thoroughly pleased!

Agreed — the safety on the Shield model is better all around. It's got a really nice snap and audible click, but it's also really flush against the side. Perfect, and I wish they had gone that way with the safety on my mid-size 45 ACP as well.

I don't have a Shield 45, but I do have a 9mm. I find this comment on the thumb safety to be strange. Are you happy with it because it's tiny and not in the way? If that's the case, I think it's misplaced for a self-defense gun.

The last thing you want in a self-defense gun is something that is difficult to manipulate. Unless the thumb safety on the 45 is dramatically larger than the 9mm/40S&W, it's far too small. It's too far back and very easy to miss with your thumb. It's impossible to operate if your a lefty.

I have no idea why people like it. If the reason it's liked is due to it's being small, then the stress of a real gun fight hasn't been considered. Don't you think that should be considered?

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Freedom isn't free.

If I took my wife to the range, I would use the safety. The safety on my 45 Shield is unobtrusive and easy to ignore, but the mechanism works well when you slide the lever. I prefer this over my USP 45's safety which is large and noisy.

I like the safety lever on my usp 40c. The only problem is that I overswipe it a bit (i learned on a 1911) but not a big deal since i carry it decocked anyways. I don't find the shield's safety all that troublesome but I do need to train more with snap caps just to be sure. The way I normally carry my shield (tucked and a bit lower in the belt) makes drawing it a slower affair anyways.

Both pistols having the slide being fully operable with safety engaged is a VERY NICE feature.

I like the thumb safety on my Shield 45 for a number of reasons:

1) it is small and unobtrusive, so I don't worry about it accidentally engaging or disengaging
2) it is not floppy or soft, but has a positive click on or off
3) my thumb falls on it just right, so I find it easy to manipulate

I've had M&P models (full size, mid size, and compact) with the paddle type safety, and not one of them felt positive or strong. IMO, the Shield thumb safety is a great improvement.

Good questions. I think the Shield safety is better because I feel like the paddle safety on my mid-size is easier to accidentally engage, at least for me. It's not bad by any means, just maybe a little too loose; like GKC says, it just doesn't have enough "positive" feedback, it needs more of a click or a snap to it, like my Shield 45. But I think you bring up a good point about the Shield's safety being a problem for lefties, (should be ambi) and I wish they would have allowed the mag release to be swapped on the Shield also. I haven't tried tightening up the paddle safety, that would be a simple fix if it can be done easily; but it doesn't bother me a whole lot really. I just like the snap of the Shield better.