I just got an email from Sportsmans Outdoor Superstore about the new(!) M&P Shield EZ in 9mm. I guess I've been a little out of touch recently, and not checking this forum, but didn't know this was on the way.

Found it on the S&W website:
https://www.smith-wesson.com/9ez

This may be the SD gun I've been waiting for to get my wife. Like with the .380, they're saying this one is easy to rack. I'll be interested to know how they changed the design over the previous 9mm Shields to make this possible.

No reviews found yet, but I'm sure we'll see them.

Photo from the SOS website.

Attached Images

9mm-EZ.jpg (61.9 KB, 128 views)

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Southern Comfort
Retired USAF

Interesting

Sweet. I checked the link and found a 1.47m video on the new 9EZ.

Mrgunsngear gushes all over it



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I think the premise of having an easy to rack, grip safety, and super low recoil firearm is a good one. Having participated in demonstrations with Vista Outdoors shooting various calibers into ballistic gel, I saw very little difference in penetration between 380, 9mm, and 40 cal.
As an instructor, the primary reason for poor marksmanship with new shooters is flinching and it is always the recoil that produces that flinch.
I have a lot of respect for Mrgunsngear and his ability to shoot quickly. Watch his video and notice the difference in muzzle flip between the two calibers and multiply that in the hands of a 110lb. female.

The ammo manufacturers have really stepped up to the plate and out of a 3" barrel and the much reduced recoil coupled with the near equal results, I will opt for the 380 all day. It's all about shot placement.

Mrgunsngear has an interesting definition of double action trigger.

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Release the Kraken

I don’t get it smith can produce an Ez 9mm but can’t create the 3.6 barrel in ten rounds that isn’t Massachusetts 10lb trigger compliant.


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I watched a Fb vid with Julie Golub where she did some nice general comparisons between the std Shield and the 2 Ez models. From sizing to operations; for a shorter vid was pretty informative.

With hand issues not going away I have been looking at options to my Pc Shield which i love. I had no interest in dropping down to the Ez 380 but this new Ez 9 does peak my interest. Will be curious to handle one in person.

This is a good option for anyone with limitations in grip or hand strength... or anyone who likes a grip safety (J. Browning knew a thing or two about handguns)... or anyone not totally comfortable with a striker-fired pistol.

The Shield 9 EZ will not be everyone, though -- I remember there were some very negative views expressed on this Forum when the .380 EZ came out. The .380 EZ has proven to be popular though and the M&P9 EZ may as well. The good news is that S&W is not forcing anyone buy it - but if it settles in around $325 retail, I might just have to get one.

Since it has a hidden hammer, it might have been called "hammerless," which would be a misnomer, but was used for the famous Colt 1903/1908 pistols and S&W Centennial revolvers. Since the DAO hammer is at rest until the trigger is pulled, there is no need for a hinged trigger as is found on S&W's striker-fired pistols. [Edit: I am revising this last sentence, which is incorrect. The hammer appears to be SAO - that is, it is cocked by the action of the slide and stays cocked until released by the trigger, rather than cocked by a long trigger pull, so it is not DAO].

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S&W Rover

It's not a DAO trigger. It's a hidden single action. I assume the grip safety replaces the hinged trigger in the minds of the designers and many users.

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Release the Kraken

Don't count on it getting to $325 retail anytime soon. Even buying in Smith and Wesson packages it costs more than that. Its a fair amount more expensive than its .380 counterpart.

Thought I saw PSA has it for $399; though I would doubt in a new model that retails for $479 that we would see it much lower. At least not initially

For those that can handle the recoil but have difficulty with the slide and don't have faith in a 380 round this might be a good choice. With the understanding the Shield popularity I am starting to grow weary of the continual changes of the same line. Let's see there is 1.0, 2.0, 2.0 PC, EZ, and 4". How about adding caliber or other model changes. I would love to see something new in 10mm, .357,and if possible .357 mag semi auto (realizing a small market for these). Other than the (EZ concept and the trigger in the 2.0) I'm not sure all of the changes have drastically improved the ability to point, squeeze, and hit for most shooters.

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Is that a gun No a lifesaver

I am sure some of the reasoning for variations is for marketing purposes as we all know the Shield sells well.
I view it like a car; the Honda Accord does a lot of things well and sells high #’s each year.... but if Honda didnt tweak it now and then it would become stale and sales would drop.

I agree with what you are saying but they also tweak all models. I just feel S&W is over "tweaking" when it comes to this line. How about a new line.

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Is that a gun No a lifesaver

Sportsmans Outdoor Superstore and The Modern Sportsman (no personal affiliation) both have it for $359.99 with free shipping.

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Southern Comfort
Retired USAF

If and when I want a 9EZ, I'll just wait and get one like I did the 380EZ, under $250. Patience is a virtue

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a single-action, concealed HAMMER-fired pistol in 9mm with an easy-operating/working grip safety and a positive ambi safety. It's a good size and a good weight. The Shield 9 EZ's capacity is right there with the 3900 series (but lighter, longer barrel and SINGLE ACTION only trigger).

I'm not even looking at the easy-use features for feeble people: this just strikes me as a smart design. I'll be real curious to see the reviews ... I notice the factory video shows the gun appear to recoil rather a lot and that's with Julie Golob (an expert shooter, for sure) at the controls ... I halfway wonder if it's grievously undersprung or something and would like to see more on that.

Think about it: It's essentially the same footprint as a Glock 19 (shorter barrel than the G19, tho - slightly shorter overall, too), which we all know is just dandy for most folks to carry.

Glock 19
7.36" L
1.18" W
4.99" H
4.01" BBl
6.02" Sight radius

Shield 9 EZ
6.85" L
1.04" W
5.05" H
3.675" BBl
5.875" Sight radius

And, just for kicks, because I'm wearing one right now . . .

Beretta PX4 Compact
6.8" L
1.42" W
5" H
3.27" BBL
5.2" Sight radius



Anyhow, I seriously think this gun with the external safeties might be one of the best guns out there for non-gun people right now. If it works and doesn't recoil too badly (due to my aforementioned underspringing concerns).

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Now go make God proud...

Hey there Erich, a question for you?

While I don't need another 9mm semi, (I have two Ruger SR9cs and a S&W M&P9 M2.0 5" barrel, I'd like to know what you like about the Beretta, I've always wondered about it and the rotating barrel feature. Thanks, Don

First thing I noticed was how S&W beefed up the slide on the 9 EZ. Mass in the slide is one way to mask recoil as the slide moves a bit slower. However, it can lead to more muzzle flip, depending on bore axis, as eventually that moving mass must reverse direction. Sig builds guns with beefy slides and a highish bore axis and they do muzzle flip a bit, but the actual recoil pulse is gentle, at least to me.

Ruger put a lot of mass in the slide of the P95, but the recoil is gentle and it is far easier to rack than a Steyr M9 or a M&P 9.

It will be interesting to see if S&W have managed to strike the right balance. It's an interesting physics conundrum for sure.

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Release the Kraken

Thanks for that note, Steve - I hadn't noticed the beefed-up slide, but I'll pay attention to it. I'm sure curious to see more about these. Thanks again, amigo.

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Now go make God proud...

I completely missed it. I got a Bass Pro Cabela's Shop flyer in the mail yesterday with the EZ on sale. Had I noticed that, I would have known that we would be ignored about our pleas for a M&P 10mm MOS.

I could have told you that without the flyer, amigo.

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Now go make God proud...

Quote:At 72, I have arthritis in both thumbs.
It comes and goes, but sometimes hurts a lot. And pinching strength is gone.
Early last year I bought a Shield 380 EZ.
Insurance for when the arthritis gets worse. Super easy to rack.
I said on this forum "if S&W makes a 9mm EZ, I'll buy it".

So, what do I see this morning? A 9mm EZ.
It seems to be a true 9mm version of the 380 EZ.
Now, of course, I carry an easier to rack Sig P365 instead of a Shield.

But, the time will still come. It always does.
When the "new gun" prices level off, I'll buy one.

Added
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I stopped by the Gun Shop, and guess what they had?
S&W Shield 9 EZ, with and without Manual Safety.

The one I checked was only a tad harder to rack than the 389 EZ, and the trigger was a tad lighter.
So, I took the one with Manual Safety. If nothing else, it will be useful for handling/holstering.

I wonder how long before they come out with a Performance Center model?

Realize I`m on the S&W forum but the EZ is Ug...ly. If one can`t rack the slide be sure and check out the Springfied XD-E. I looked at one for my wife early in `18 and it is easy to rack, as advertized. Didn`t make a move on it and last fall bought a P365. It "is" easy to rack...my wife could rack that slide and fell in love with it and mags hold 10, or 12, or 15. Take your pick. The 365 is a great little pistol but if you need a little more grip check out the XD-E

The Shield 9 EZ (and the .380 EZ) can serve as concealed carry guns but are not the smallest guns out there by any means. I think of them as being an all-round gun for the person who wants something that is easy to use and fills a number of roles. It is in fact a lot like the Colt 1903 (.32 ACP) and Colt 1908 (.380) pistols that were so popular starting over 100 years ago and can still be found, both used and manufactured new as a sort of replica by a sub-contractor for Colt, on the market today. Very similar design for the hammers and the grip safeties, fitting them for the same sort of roles. Colt sold over a million of theirs, and it is easy to understand why. I've been told some people actually still carry them.

By being a little bit bigger than the really small guns (.380 and even 9mm) that are more true pocket guns, the EZ's are easier to handle. This may be particularly beneficial to the person with hand, grip, or even vision issues. (I kinda wish S&W would sell it with easy-to-see Trijcion HD night sights).

The EZ 9 has more weight (23.2 oz) than most small pistols offerings (LCP, Kel-Tec, SCCY, etc.) and that helps tame recoil -- although the Shield 9 seems to have some flip to it, as noted above in the observation about Julie Golob's great video about it. The length of the barrel (3.675") on the 9 helps improve ballistics and lessen muzzle blast compared to smaller pistols, too. And I have a built-in bias that says those very small pistols, whether in .380 or 9, have a tendency to malfunction more often because of the short movement of their actions -- they can be ammo-sensitive, too, according to a lot of reviews. The .380 EZ seems to get pretty good reviews for reliability, so we'll see how the 9 EZ does...

So I'm not sure the EZs should be compared to the truly small .380 and 9mm pocket pistols -- that is really a different critter. The comparison to the Glock 19 at first seems unfavorable to the M&P 9 EZ -- a lot less ammo capacity -- but the value of this gun lies in its overall ease of use. It is probably not a gunslinger's gun, but a lot of people will find it easy and effective enough to use when needed.

Attached Images

Colt Automatic Pistol 1903.jpg (80.8 KB, 49 views)

Held the 9 EZ and dry fired the gun. Nice trigger easy to rack and the mag is easy as well. Didn’t buy it because I don’t want the manual safety and will wait for the non safety. I will however buy one when the non safety comes in.


Also, the size of the gun was perfect. I could get my entire hand on the grip no issues.

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I stopped by the Gun Shop, and guess what they had?
S&W Shield 9 EZ, with and without Manual Safety.

The one I checked was only a tad harder to rack than the 380 EZ, and the trigger was a tad lighter.
So, I took the one with Manual Safety. If nothing else, it will be useful for handling/holstering.

Played with one quite a bit the last few days. It's easier to rack the regular 9mm Shield, but I didn't find it significantly easier to rack than a number of other 9mms like the 938, Glocks etc.

I have no use for either of the EZ pistols... Now that that's out, my wife recently got a 380 EZ. It has helped move her away from rim-fire to center-fire pistols. It truly is easy to chamber, load the magazine and to shoot. Now she asks to go target shooting and laments how quickly she burns thru her ammunition. I'll stick to my M&Ps and other firearms, but for her it's a game changer. She probably won't use it for CC, or home defense (someday?), but it has helped her move to a more capable caliber, so I see them as definitely having a place for those that need the features they supply.

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M&PC FS BG Shield+ 642 686+

I didn't have any use either (other than adding them to my M&P collection). My Wife likes shooting and my EZ 380 was easy for her to operate, so she bought her own (she also CCWs). She had been carrying a 9 Shield but didn't care for its heavy slide racking, FS 9 M&P was easier to rack, but just a little too big for her to comfortably CCW. My LGS got a few EZ 9s in a couple days ago and gave me a call. I got the one with-out the thumb safety and he already set back one with the thumb safety for my Wife when she gets back home (business trip). I'll also feel better with her having a more capable caliber she can handle.

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THIS WE'LL DEFEND ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I'm not a fan of the 380 cartridge, but I have had the chance to shoot 2 mags through the 380 EZ. It is a nice little pistol, is easy to rack and mags are easy to load. I would recommend one, even though it's not on my radar.

I just had a chance this morning to check out the new EZ 9mm at a LGS. Very nice size, feels good in the hand. Slide seems okay as far as ease of racking. The store had several without the manual safety and only 1 with the manual safety. Personally, I opt for the non safety models. The owner seems to think that 380 sales will decline with the new 9mm being available, time will tell. The lady in the shop while I was there told him to hold the safety model for her till tomorrow, so there's a sale to a new shooter already.

I didn't see that the new EZ 9mm offered me anything I didn't already have. I have all 3 caliber Shields, and all 3 caliber M&P compacts (gen 1). So, unless I just wanted to spend more money on a new pistol; I could use that money towards more ammo instead. I do feel that the new EZ 9 will attract new shooters, it's the right size and easy to operate. Kudos to S&W for offering the EZ series :-)

I bought a 380 EZ two years ago. If I were 20 years younger, I never would have bought it.

I can still rack the other guns that I like better, but the 380 EZ was insurance for the day my arthritis gets too bad to handle those other guns.

Yesterday, I bought a 9 EZ to replace it. It will let me carry 9mm instead of .380.

I still don'y have any use for it, but that day will come. It always does.

This ^^^^ we are not getting any younger.


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You're cool with single action only, no thumb safety?

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Pickpocket

I would be. It does have a grip safety.

What do you think a Glock is? And just about every other striker fired pistol. They can say they are 'safe action' all they want. We can debate whether it is 100% pre-cocked or just 95% pre-cocked, but calling striker fired pistols DAO is ridiculous.

Is S&W saying that the previous shield is hard to rack? or they are promoting it for the weak hand market like the new glock. Either way it is not for me the grip looks weird and hate safety grips.


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M&P 9, Shield9.

I played with both before I decided and was comfortable with just the grip safety. My Wife how ever, prefers having the thumb safety. I carry in a holster, she carries in a holster at the range or wearing jeans, but prefers her purse for work or center console driving. "We" know how much "junk" women can carry in a purse and she was concerned about the trigger snagging on something. Can't be too safe.

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THIS WE'LL DEFEND ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

In order:

1) I think a Glock is a different design and not the one under discussion.

2) Essentially, with variations.

3) Yes, yes they can.

4) Not really; some strikers are partial tension, some total -- there's nothing to debate.

5) Nobody here said strikers are DAO.

So, back on topic...

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Pickpocket

I have one coming. Being in Wa. State not only do I have to wait for it to be delivered but also after it gets here I have to fill out a background check then there is a waiting period of about 10 days or so even though I have a CC permit. Stupid Democrats keep pushing there outlandish control laws....

NEW S&W M&P9 Shield EZ 9mm Pistol Review by Alien Gear Holsters

YouTube

Hapworth, my comment was meant for my Shield, Compact and Full Size M&P models. As I mentioned in my post above, I'm not in the market to buy one of the new EZ 9mm pistols. If I WERE interested in one, I would choose one without the manual safety. This is my preference, the grip safety, in my opinion, replaces the manual thumb safety. That's just how I perceive it, you can perceive it however you wish. That's why S&W offers it either way, you can choose what YOU individually feel comfortable with. :-)

I'd also feel okay with the concealed SA hammer and the grip safety, thanks to the secure knowledge that five zillion tort lawyers would spring up out of the soil should S&W's engineering department have done that the wrong way. However, I would only want to buy the version with the ambi thumb safeties. I like that they work in the proper direction, I like that they're ambi and I like that they're THERE: I am old enough to remember Mas Ayoob's anecdote about the Illinois State Trooper who lost his on-safe 39-2 in a scuffle with a criminal and was not killed because the BG hadn't trained on the platform and didn't know to off-safe the (backwards operating) critter. I don't carry openly, but one more level of security strikes me as prospectively handy for my purposes.

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I'm not sure just when a Thumb Safety became a "bad" thing. I'm sure they have saved a lot of folks some grief.

My Sig P365 trigger is under 4 pounds. If it had a safety, I would use it any time I handled or holstered it. Sure can't hurt.

My CZ Shadow 2 is under 2 pounds. It's for range use only. But I put the safety on even if I just set it down on the range bench. Two pounds isn't that much of a jar.

The latest issue of Rifleman has all the details on this 9mm. I bought the earlier version-380 because, due to a stroke, I couldn't rack anything else at the time I bought it. I'm really interested in the 9mm but am not able to get to my local gun shop to try it out (rack it) until this virus thing goes away!

Got one for my wife and she runs it well and really likes it. My only “issue” is that the EZ levers on the mag dig into a normal mag carrier and cause problems with the draw. I don’t see any custom carriers specifically made for the 9mm EZ mag yet. I guess having s local shop custom make one with channels for the load levers is the only way for now...