Through the years I have had a couple Shields, all 9mms. When I recently got offered a stupid amount of money for my 9mm Shield (first gen), I decided to go with a new .40. Then I lucked out, and my buddy who owns the local gun shop got two Shield .40s in the wholesaler's lottery. One now has my name on it.

My question is this: What are the 40's quirks compared tp the 9s?

I'm a retired LEO, and it will probably be my EDC piece like my 9mm Shield was.

Thanks in advance

My .40 Shield likes 180 grain better than lighter stuff.

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Always bet on stupidity.

The .40 Shield handles like a fullsize 40 and not a subcompact. I think the 9mm Shoeld is pretty much the same way though. There have been a few .40 kabooms. That doesn’t scare me. I would just make it a point to watch for bullet setback with any rounds I load that didn’t just come out of a new box ammo.

My first Shield was a 40, got it LNIB for $300. From 3-7 yards it would cluster 13 rounds in a single hole. Mine prefers 165 gr. ammo just a touch better than 180 gr. Never an issue. Added a 9mm Shield a few weeks later and it has been my EDC ever since. When the 45 Shield came out, I bought one of those too! You should enjoy your new Shield 40 :-)

The Hornady Critical Defense 165 grain is impressive with over 500 ft lbs ME from a 3" barrel. I use Critical defense in my USGI .30 M1 Carbine for Home defense, and used it in a Bersa .380 I had.

I have had .40s before but for most of my LEO career carried 9mms. I still have my Glock 19 I got as a deputy in 1994. Its not that I like the 9 better than 40, I just haven't had the need to switch. After all 16 rounds of the Federal +P+ Illinois State Police in a Glock is sufficient firepower.

The Shield is limited capacity, though, so I would prefer to have the .40 in it rather than the 9mm.

I don’t know what is going on nowadays with Magguts for the shields. A few years ago people talked about magguts for the 40 shield working better than the 9mm equivalent.

My .40 shot 165 grain better than 180, but I had already bought a lot of 180 grain for my fullsize .40.
I carried the PC 40 for the last 4 years, but now I'm carrying a .45 Shield.

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U. S. Army Veteran

Congrats, and best of luck with your choice. Enjoy.

I don't own a Shield 9 or .40, but I've come close to buying a .40 model. The thing is I already own 5 guns chambered in .40, all but one of which are compact and subcompact, and they cover all of my retirement CCW/LEOSA needs quite well.

However, I did spend some time on our range shooting a Shield .40 we had on loan for T&E, and I was very pleasantly surprised by it. I was only using the 180gr duty ammo, though, and didn't have any lighter bullet weights to try that afternoon.

Bottom line, while I'd listened to some other instructors say how they preferred the Shield 9, due to felt recoil effect, I rather liked the Shield 40. It made me wish it had been available when I'd ordered my 2010 M&P 40C. I found it accurate and controllable. Downright handy.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

I wish I had a M&P 40C! Not on our list and I am retired and can't get off-list firearms....

I've got the PC ported shield in .40 as my EDC. I'm not convinced the porting does much but it's a good firearm regardless. I'm also a fan of tritium sights, which it came with.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

I've been wanting one for awhile myself, mainly to convert to 357 Sig. It just keeps getting bumped down my list by other wants.

Congrats on your Shield 40. I have Shields in .40 and 9mm and like them both. Now I want a .45 so I can have Shields in all three calibers.

I have the 40 Shield 2.0 and I'm really impressed at how accurate it is for how short the barrel is. Never have had any problems with it. Love shooting it at the range with 155 grain reloads. I would not recommend it to anyone who is recoil shy when shooting the 180 grain factory loads. Not bad recoil just a bit snappy for those who worry about recoil. I wouldn't consider it as a starter gun for someone just getting into shooting. Now my M&P9 2.0 5" is a really SWEET gun to shoot. Newbies love learning to shoot with it. :-)

Groo here
Carried a Shield 9 [First gen ] since they came out.
Won an auction and got a 40.
Went to Remsport and got the barrels for 9mm and 357 sig [!!!]
BIL got the 9.....
Ps the forty kicks some [but I shoot a compact 1911 pro 45acp]
and the 357sig shoots fast and flat..................... 9mm
is cheaper for range.

My baby came in and I started my 10 day Commiefornia jail (DROS 10 day wait). Nice! Has the Hi-Viz sights, which I really like. The trigger pull feels about the same as my Shield 9mm did, though I will say the slide spring is a beast! Much heavier than the 9mm. I'll need to break it in with about 100 rounds like I did my Shield.

I already have the Milt Sparks Summer special IWB holster I got for my 9mm. I picked up three boxes of Hornady Critical Defense 165s FTX. Optimized for 3" barrel and gives about 500+ ft lbs ME from the 3". Picked up some generic FMJ 180s for break in. Also picked up two more 6 round factory mags and two more 7 round factory. Ready to rock and roll.

Do you have to use a different extractor and 9mm recoil spring with the Ramsport 9mm barrel in the 40? I plan on getting one for mine.

No, same extractor and recoil spring.
Here is my Remsport 9mm barrel (ported) that I bought for the PC 40 Shield:

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U. S. Army Veteran

Got lucky again today. Last week, when I started the 10 day CA DROS process at my dealer, I also had 60 rounds of Critical Defense, and 50 rounds of Miwall police ammo reloads put up with it. That was all the 40 S&W he had in the shop. I was lucky then, because the Hornady Critical Defense would have been my first choice anyway.

Because of all the foolishness and panic buying, none of the local gun shops have any 9mm or 40 S&W. None of the wholesalers who will ship to Commiefornia (through a dealer) have any either. I have even checked Sportsman's Warehouse -NO PISTOL ammo of any kind, Walmart - no pistol ammo of any kind, and Bass Pro Shop, no .40 S&W, 9mm or .45. Glad I have well over 1,000 rpounds of 9mm for my Glock 19!

Back on track, I got lucky today because he just got in some 50 round boxes and an ammo can 500 round bulk pack of the Miwall Police 180 grain FMJ reloads. I got the bulk for $200 (about $20/50 or $0.40 a round). Based on the crazy prices I have seen at the few places that have even a little ($1 to $1.25 a round for anything .40 S&W), I thought this wasn't too bad...

I grabbed up the 500 round bulk pack. The price was about a nickel a round higher than pre-panic, but that is how much Miwall raised their prices. I have about 600+ rounds now, so that should last until the stupidness ends in November.

BTW, I pick up my baby Saturday afternoon. I am working a shift as a Range Officer at our local gun club Sunday morning, so I will have a chance to break it in.

The ammo I put aside with the Shield had pre-panic prices: $17 a 20 round box for the Critical Dense, and $16 for the 50 box of Miwall. A few wholesalers are now selling Critical defense for $21 a box WHOLESALE! Another dealer just got in the 500 round packs, and is charging $250 instead of the $200 my dealer charged.

Lesson: Don't add a weapon in a new to you caliber in a buying panic!

M&P40 Compact v1.0 is a wonderful, soft-shooting pistol! I prefer heavy-for caliber bullet weights (generally) and find the 180 gr. ammo very enjoyable with the M&P40C.

I don't have any Shields - yet - but am happy to hear that the .40S&W Shield is a very enjoyable pistol to shoot!

Hoorah! Picked up the Shield .40 today. Love it, as (not surprisingly) it carries as easy as the Shield 9 did. I have a total of three 6 rounders and three 7 rounders, so I am set for mags.

Interestingly enough, I had a Strike Industries +2 floor plate I had for the Shield 9. I used it on the 9's 7 round to be a 9 rounder, for just about 1/4" longer than the factory 8 rounder. I put it on one of the 40's 6 rounders. I loaded 8 rounds, with no problem, even though Strike says it is +1 for 40s. That gives me 9 rounds of .40 Critical Defense, which should be enough for most socoal situations short of combat! I'll take it up in the woods and pop a few mags full to fam-fire it.

Groo here
The springs are the same for all the extractor works fine with the "conversion " barrel...
Ps I only shoot full power.

I purchased a 1st gen Shield .40 a few years back. My duty pistol is a .40 and since I have a ton of .40 ammo it seemed like a no brainer. Well, I hate shooting the .40 in the Shield. I have talons grips on there and I still feel like it jumps all over the place. It was also just uncomfortable for me shooting the .40 out of that small pistol.

Enter 9mm conversion barrel!!!

The Shield in 9mm is much more to my liking. It shoots great and is way more comfortable. So I recommend the 9mm version. It is my off duty carry gun and I have complete confidence in it. I did end up buying 9mm mags even though I could use my .40 mags with 9mm rounds.

We are going to new 9mm duty pistols soon and when we do then I will be flush with 9mm ammo. I can't wait!!

Granted, it has been about 6 months since I shot the 9mm Shield (I sold), but the .40 seems about the same to me. I really like Hornady Critical Defense 165 FTX and its 500+ ft lbs from a three inch barrel!

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/h...cal-defense#!/

It did better than about 90% of the other loads in the Lucky Gunner tests:

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/sel...ic-tests/#40SW

Update: I ordered the Magguts new design +1 for the Shield 7 round. It has the flat MP40 style leaf spring with a new style plastic follower. It turns the Factory 6 rounder into a 7, or the factory 7 into an 8 rounder. It uses the factory base plates, so there is no increase in length.

I had an interesting situation arise with the Stryke Industries +2 baseplate (Makes a 6 rounder into an 8, though about 3/16" longer than factory 7 rounder). When loading the last round, the follower and spring kinked and locked up on the bottom. Had a heck of a time undoing it. It's in the safe.

The factory 7 rounder in the .40s is not too long for conceal-ability in my IWB holster, so it will be nice if the new Magguts works better than the first ones to give me 9 rounds on board.

If the Magguts Version 2.0 passes muster, all six mags will have them.

I have an M2.0 compact in 40 and it's so soft shooting that it makes me want to try a Shield or possibly a subcompact in 40. I previously shot Glocks and Rugers in 40 and didn't think I wanted a small 40 but this M2.0 compact is making me re-think that.

Update: Got the Magguts V 2.0 for the .40. Uses factory mag base plate. The polymer molded follower is way better than the original bent metal one. Easily loaded 8 rounds in the factory 7 roun der, just by replacing spring and follower. Nice to have 9 Critical Defense on board with the same profile as the factory.

Haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but hand cycled (both slow and fast) with no problems. Nice piece if kit and worth the money.

Update: Used it for my Retired LEO carry Cert. Functioned flawlessly and was as accurate as my 9mm Shield was. Still in love!

Update. Been using the Shield 40 as my EDC weapon for four months, and still love it. I often forget (or don't bother) to take it off when I come home. The Maguts V2.0 works awesome. Eight rounds in the 7 rounder, plus one up the spout for 9 rounds of .40. That is only 3 less than the full size 4006 I just picked up.

Speaking of that, shooting the .40 in the Shield rekindled my fondness for the .40. A retiring CHP Officer sold me his 4006 at a price I could not refuse...

In the late 90s, I actually briefly had a 4006 and a Glock 23, but drifted back to the 9mm when I went into retirement. No particular reason except I was very fond of the Glock 19 I had gotten in 1994 as a duty weapon.

Shield 40's are awesome pistols. I've been carrying M1.0 version for about 6 years now, and love it. I use it for my LEOSA recerts once or twice a year and I have never not passed. It's easy to conceal too, I usually carry it in a OWB holster with a polo or pocket tshirt as a cover garment. If I need to tuck my shirt in I use a tuckable IWB holster. It is also an easy shooter, the recoil is not as bad as some want to lead you to believe.

Oh, and it has never malfunctioned on me!