Hi y'all, new to the forum and I hope I don't waste too much of anybody's time reading this. I'm a little confused with all the variations of the M&P 9 Shield. I purchased mine NIB in early summer of this year when everybody said that most gun back orders would take 1 to 3 months. I walked in to the store after arriving 1/2 hour early waiting in line 6 feet apart, no prob, talked to nice people. After recommendations from three family members who all owned the 9 Shield I received a friendly greeting and asked if they had that gun. He told me of the B/O situation but said that he could show me some guns that were waiting the 10 days to be picked up. He came back with what I was looking for and said the purchaser didn't pass his background check and the gun was available. I purchased it without looking at anything else.

Now for my original topic. My gun is not an EZ or a 2.0 and looks like the main difference is that mine has a tactile loaded chamber indicator. All of the pictures that I see have l loaded indicator hole. Not a big deal, I've also seen the same without a thumb safety.

Thanks for the awesome forum!

db

Shield.jpg

Congratulations! This looks like the GEN 1 Shield I bought in 2017. It's accurate and reliable. I'm very happy with my Shield.

What you have is a California-compliant M&P9 Shield 1.0.

It's the standard 1st Generation M&P9 Shield which was fitted with a Loaded Chamber Indicator so that it could be sold in the state of California where said feature is required by law to meet the qualifications of their ridiculous "Approved List" of firearms.

By the way, just so you know, the so-called "2.0" models really aren't that much of an upgrade, the biggest differences are a more aggressive grip texture and some minor semi-serrations on the front of the slide for the latest tacticool fad that is press-checking your firearm by gripping the front of the slide as if that's somehow advantageous over gripping the rear serrations. (Basically, it's the modern equivalent of the hooked/checkered trigger gaurd, a trendy feature with a purely theoretical advantage.) So it's honestly a minor upgrade that could have been more appropriately named "1.5" rather than "2.0" but that wouldn't look as attractive from a marketing standpoint. (Much like how S&W could have more appropriately named the gun "M&P9 Slim" rather than "Shield" but I digress...)

Enjoy your M&P9 Shield, it's one of the finest slimline single stack semiautomatic pistols on the market.

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Congrats! Nice 9mm Shield Gen1.
Enjoy !

Congrats on your Shield. They are a fine pistol. Just be aware that they can multiply. I currently own three.

The TLCI isn't something that you'll see on many Shields but it doesn't surprise me. S&W has dozens and dozens of variations if you scroll down thru all the M&P models.

I'm not so sure the TLCI is just a California thing. It might have been a requirement for the government trials when S&W submitted an entry for the new service pistol.
My 5 inch FDE MP9 has it, and it's easy to see or feel (tactile) even if it's dark out.
With my Shields that just have the hole to peek through, it's a bit hard to see if a round is chambered even in good light, you still have to pull the slide back slightly to make sure.

If you are getting your slide milled for a dot the TLCI would be a pain, most places that mill the slides won't do a pistol that has the TLCI in the way.
But I don't mind the one on my FS.
My .45 Shield stays loaded 24/7 so I don't ever wonder if it's got one chambered.

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