Just bought a 9MM Shield today, my first hand gun. Read all of the great reviews and my niece has one and I really liked the size and fiel of it.

I, too, think the slide is tough to pull back (could be just my inexperience as well) and magazines are hard to load. Got all 8 rounds in the extended mag but could not get the last one in the 7-round. A mag loader is next on my shopping list though I have read that letting the gun sit with the slide locked open and the mags with bullets loaded will help ease things. Any truth to that?