I hear the ported barrel and slide help cut down on recoil?

Do they make the gun louder?

Does any muzzle flash come out of the ports?

Is there any negative to getting the performance center over the standard shield 2.0 9mm?

Thanks!

I had a 1.0 PC Shield, really liked it. I only moved on as i switched to an EZ due to an arthritic thumb made the std Shield harder to manage.
My thoughts on the PC, my 2 cents worth for whatever that is.
I felt a slight decrease in muzzle flip, not enough change in recoil to be noticed.
I did not find it any louder than my other 9’s; wearing the same muffs.
Yes a small flash would come out of the couple ports, i mainly shot at a darker indoor range. The flash did not affect me any more than my non ported 9’s. Some ammo could flash more than others though that could happen in a std barrel. Frankly if it was much darker I may not be shooting anyway.
Speaking of ammo, some brands recommend not for use in ported barrels due to their coating could flake off. I followed the recommendation, others likely do not. The porting does mean you’ll spend a little more time cleaning.

I put a 1000+ trouble free rounds thru it and found it a really nice gun. I chose it over std as i preferred its trigger and sights and am not one to modify factory triggers. I’d add though that if a std model was similarly equipped but without Porting I would now lean that way.

I own a shield PC 9mm 2.0 4” ported with shield RMS.

There’s very little muzzle flip with this gun in general so I don’t know how much help the porting gives but I guess however slight it is, it’s a benefit.
The gun is no louder than any other 9mm I’ve owned or shot.
I’ve never shot the gun in the dark so can’t comment on that but the porting is very small so is there is I doubt it would be much of a flash.

It’s actually a very accurate pistol and very reliable. I’ve put around 2.5k rounds thru it and I’ve not had a single FTF or stovepipe to date.

The only issue is that the grip is too small for my long fingers and after trying hogue sleeves, wraps, gloves etc, I’ve given up and moving on to a new carry so it’s looking for a new owner.

Recoil to me is the same.
I was going to buy the Shield PC and then thought about all the other things I could buy for my standard Shield 2.0 with the extra $125.00-$175.00 I'd be saving by buying the standard version for $324.99 vs $450.00-$550.00.
To me it's more of a tacticool firearm. Looks nice but the trigger on the 2.0 versions are identical.
It's your money so do what you will.

I've had a PC 40 now for almost 5 years. A friend I shoot with bought a PC9 so I got to shoot it quite a bit. Several months ago I bought a 40 to 9 ported conversion barrel so I could shoot 9mm in my Shield.

I notice a slight decrease in muzzle flip with the .40, I can't tell any difference between the ported 9mm barrel I bought and the unported 9mm Shield I bought for my daughter.

The ports are small enough so don't cause problems like extra noise or excess flash coming out of the ports. The flash coming out of the barrel will be much greater. Clean up isn't a big deal either.
But there's no big advantage to the porting with a 9mm.
Unless you want the ports for the cool factor, just get a regular 2.0 and you'll have the upgraded trigger and stippling.

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U. S. Army Veteran

Thanks all. For some reason I thought the Performance Center had an upgraded trigger but sounds like the 2.0 all have the same upgraded trigger from the 1.0.

I think it really depends on who you ask, even among people who shoot a lot. Mrgunsngear doesn't see a lot of recoil reduction. Jerry Miculek swears by it and gets all his carry guns ported.

Mrgunsngear review of ported PC M2.0 Shield: YouTube

Jerry Miculek discussion on porting: YouTube

Jerry mentioning he's having his M&P M2.0 Subcompact ported: YouTube

Sootch00 is also a big fan of the ported PC M&P M2.0 Shield: YouTube

Performance Center M&P9 M2.0 Shield w/Ameriglo sights-


PC M&P9 M2.0 Shield next to an M&P9 M2.0 Subcompact-


Personally, I like the porting on my M&P M2.0 Shield. I could live without it, but I prefer it. Yes, it is louder, but so is my .357 SIG and I'm wearing ear protection (and I always double up anyway). If I am in a gunfight shooting without protection, I'm not going to be worried about the noise (I can tell you this from experience). There is flash, but it won't do anything to your vision above normal flash out the front even at night. Yes, particles do come out and could possibly get in your eyes shooting from retention, but at the range I'm wearing eye protection and even Mrgunsngear will tell you he's put countless rounds in ported guns and never had much of a problem. He's felt it, but he feels it's not much of a concern because it's so rare.

Everyone has to make up their own mind, but in my opinion, I side with Jerry. Smaller guns are harder to shoot, so I want every advantage I can get if I ever have to defend myself. It takes three 9mm rounds on average to stop someone, so I want to send them as quickly and as accurately as possible. That said, there is also more to clean after each range session. I do think it's also very cool looking, but everyone is different, and like I also said, it's not a deal breaker for me even though I like it. I could live without it, but I'm glad I have it.

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IT DOES have an upgraded trigger. The reset is much shorter, the pull is a tad smoother, and it is a tad lighter than it would normally be.

In fact, I have the M2.0 Subcompact without the PC trigger, and it's reset is not nearly as good.

That said, for $40-$50 you can get an Apex sear and make it virtually as good. I plan on getting one for my M2.0 Subcompact.

Weird, I asked Smith & Wesson directly via email what the differences are and they said "Yes the 1.0 and 2.0 Shields mags and most everything else are interchangeable. The PC version comes with upgraded sights and sear. " Nothing about the trigger..

The improved sear is the trigger upgrade. The sear shortens the reset. If you are only thinking of the physical trigger you put your finger on, that is the same as a non-PC Shield as far as I know, but the way the trigger will behave is modified by the better sear they have in place with the Performance Center models, and the Performance Center M&P M2.0's reset is significantly shorter than that the regular M&P M2.0. It is like night and day comparing the two guns I wrote about earlier. Don't get me wrong, the reset on the standard M&P sear should be acceptable to most, but if someone has other firearms that have significantly shorter resets, it might be advantageous to take advantage of a shorter reset when possible to avoid short stroking the trigger when switching among different pistols (or at least to make things a little more consistent for one's style of shooting if reset is important).

What I can't answer is whether an Apex sear is better than a performance center sear (for all I know they're the same thing). I can tell you that my performance center sear is certainly short enough, but it isn't as short as say the reset on my SIG P229 with its SRT installed, or the reset on my Beretta PX4 Storm Compact now that I've added the new LTT OP Trigger Bar (I would say both of those are about 1/10th of an inch, like a PPQ), but the PC Shield's is still short enough that I can't see short stroking it (at least I can't see myself doing that). I would liken the PC reset somewhere between a Glock and a PPQ (slightly shorter than a Glock but slightly longer than a PPQ).

What I also can't tell you is how the takeup and trigger pull has changed because I only have a M&P M2.0 Subcompact and not a non-Performance Center M2.0 Shield to compare my PC Shield M2.0 with. I can tell you, however, that the PC M2.0 Shield has less takeup than the M&P M2.0 Subcompact, but this may also be in part due to the difference in trigger design between regular M&P's and M&P Shields (the latter are literally thicker as shown below, so there appears to be less overtravel). As you can also see in the picture, the polymer overtravel stop built into the frame behind the trigger is also larger on the Shield, so we're never exactly comparing apples to apples when discussing M&P's and M&P Shields. But Apex does claim that their sear does reduce over travel and trigger pull weight in addition to the reset.



Interestingly enough, the parts compatibility is more complex than Smith led on. For example, if you go to Apex's website and look at their fully machine sears for the M&P and M&P M2.0 (both regular and Shield models), "Part# 100-074 is for use in the original M&P series pistols in 9mm, .357SIG, and .40S&W only, and the Shield 2.0 in 9mm and .40S&W." Meanwhile, "Part# 100-063 is for use in the M&P 45, M&P M2.0 models in 9mm and .40S&W, and M&P Shield (9mm/40S&W/45ACP).

In other words, the M&P M1.0 and M&P Shield M2.0 use the same sear but the M&P M2.0 and Shield 1.0 use a different one. Weird, right? (Fully Machined Sear)

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Wow, thanks, I totally didn't notice they said sear. I was reading another email from them they said "barrel and slide" thought I was reading sights and slide.

I guess the only thing I need to figure out is if I go with the Hi Viz sights and have them changed to Truglo TFX Pro or just get the OEM tritium night sights (my other thread)

Mine came with the Hi Viz, and I do not like them because the serrations which help build contrast are too fine and shallow. I also prefer night sights on guns without a dedicated light, but that's up to each individual. Certainly going with the factory night sights is a good option if you don't want to deal with installing them or paying someone else to install them for you. Sometimes M&P sights can be pressed in very tightly. I went with Ameriglo sights because I love the orange contrast, but everyone's eyes are different. I like the Truglo TFX, but I also like to tease out sight radius, especially on small guns. Even a few millimeters can make that front sight appear bigger or smaller when contrasted with your target.

Gotcha, thanks. Have a TLR-6 going on it from my 1.0

A question to those who has the Shield gen 1 or 1.0 and the PC 4" barrel 9mm. Have you tried swapping the 4" slide/barrel to the gen 1 frame to see if its interchangeable? or have you tried the put just the 4" barrel on the gen 1 and function check if it works?

TIA

A quick bump; I just last week bought a M&P9 PC 2.0 w/Crimson Trace red dot and I couldn't be happier with any other pistol I've had the pleasure to palm. 5" SS barrel, nice even slide (my Shield 9 was a long, tight break-in), the first shot (S&B FMJ 115 gr), taken at 20 ft with a semi-shaky new-gun-in-my-hooks stance, hit less than 1" from DC. That red dot's going to spoil me. The trigger is much smoother than most 9mm I've shot (though the Kahr CM9 is pretty close), and the short reset is appreciated. I have yet to take it out with the big ammo box, but that'll be soon. I would say that there's much quite a bit less flip, but I disqualify myself: This is my first full size pistol...

It was pricey for me, and I'll be washing Her Royal Majesty's feet for some time, but this honey is worth the coin!

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Eric

Any pics of that gun you purchased?
My dad want's one with the red dot but he isn't convinced. YET

Trying to find a reputable company that can do a cut for the Shield red dot on my Shield 2.0 3.1"

My wife has the same gun without the optics and agree with everything you said (except last 2 sentences) with around 750rnds fired.

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Is that a gun No a lifesaver

Well I have to break the news to everyone my son bought me a Shield 2.0 9mm Performance Center.

I bought the Shield 2.0 PC this past summer. Finally got around to putting a couple hundred rounds through it (performed very well!) and started daily carrying it in-place of my Shield 1.0 that I daily-carried for a few years. Well every single shirt I have worn in the past week or two since I started carrying it is destroyed. See pics below. I am trying to figure out if its the rear sights and/or the grip causing and what the fix is but I am VERY upset I now have a dozen shirts that are destroyed (I didnt notice sooner until I was doing laundry as I just took shirts off end of day and tossed into hamper).





ps. that is not a stain on the last shirt, was held up to window and there was a bush there...

I like a rubber sleeve on my Shields to fatten the grip, so when I got a 2.0 I didn’t think twice about sleeving it.

No issues with the aggressive grip texture.


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Which sleeve did you get? Thanks

GVN tactical rubber grip $8.59 on Amazon


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