Shield .40 vs Shield 9mm

[LegacyShooters]

I bought the Shield 9mm and have yet to take er to the range but now im starting to wonder if i should go trade her back in for the .40 cal. I already carry a .40 pps and am going to switch it out occasionally with the shield. What do u guys think??? Should I take er back and get the shield 40??? Wanted to get some opinions

 

[Huybert]

Stick with the 9mm. The .40 is having a lot of issues with the magazine falling out. Mine is back at S&W right now cause of that. Along with many other .40 owners

 

[mr2r6]

Yep I dont think the 40 is reliable at this point. I hate to say anything as I do not own a 40 myself (I have the 9) but its safe to say that the 40 have issues taht need to be sorted out before sales continue. Stick with the 9mm its a great gun with little to no recoil, accurate and ammo is CHEAP! Plus the 9mm is 7 rounds with the flush mount mag and the 40 is 6 rounds with the flush mount mag.

 

[xtindie]

I agree - stick with the 9mm at this point. The 40 will be reliable eventually, but there's work to be done in the meantime. (I own a Shield 40)

 

[nickn10]

Got a 40 shield, had another 40 an XD, and all the bullets, brass and reloading dies so I stuck with the 40. Over 300+ rounds through it and no problems. Forums dwell on negatives ( for good reason) but don't put undo emphasis on them. I like my 40 shield and the caliber as well.

 

[BobFr]

I have a .40 Shield, and am having the extended mag drop problem. I expect it to be sorted out by S&W, and expect to buy a 9mm Stormlake barrel in the future to have the best of both worlds.

However, if I had known about the .40 Shield problems, I would have waited for the 9 version instead of buying the .40. Until S&W definitely has a fix for the extended mag drop problem, it's hard to recommend the .40 Shield at this time.

 

[Bengal Bruce]

I actually own the .40 and the 9mm. My LGS received 2 of each about a month ago and called me when they arrived. Good deal too ($800 Out the Door for both).

I love both guns and I have not had a problem with either of them. The recoil is roughly the same, with the .40 being a little harder to manage with follow up shots, too be expected I guess.

The problem with the magazine drops does seem to be embellished simply because people who have problems are more apt to go online and talk about it.

I know 2 other people with the .40 shield and between the 3 of us we have not had 1 single problem with 1500- 2000 rounds put downrange between us.

No real preference between the two, either guns are a great choice. Guess it all comes down to personal preference.

 

[RussC]

The 9mm recoil is manageable for my daughter Target shooting.

I pack using + P Gold Dot 124 grain short barrel which may not be a 40 caliber but from what I have watched on YouTube using ballistic gel the 9mm +P round is not far behind the 40 caliber.

Russ

 

[N4KVE]

My brother has a 40 Shield he purchased a month ago. He has never had a problem with his gun, & he really likes it. However, if you plan to return your 9mm gun, plan to lose about $150 on the deal, as once the gun goes out the door, whether fired, or not, it is now considered used. This is the policy at the 2 stores where I've worked. Good luck. GARY N4KVE

 

[jfrey]

Keep the 9mm. You won't be sorry. They are hard to find right now so be glad you already have one. Waiting lists at every LGS I've talked to.

 

[GeorgeP]

I bought the Shield 9mm and have yet to take er to the range but now im starting to wonder if i should go trade her back in for the .40 cal. I already carry a .40 pps and am going to switch it out occasionally with the shield. What do u guys think??? Should I take er back and get the shield 40??? Wanted to get some opinions

Only you can answer that. But here's a couple of questions to ask yourself. One, do you really want to punish yourself with a 40 in such a little pistol? Can you get back on the second shot as fast and accurate as you want? Do you want to kill a fly with a fly swatter or a ball bat...same same.

 

[MP1SG]

I have the Shield 40 and have never had a mag drop issue. ( over 1,000 rounds). Not sure what your cash flow is like but I would stick with the 40 as to have just one type of ammo. Althought 9mm is cheaper but not by alot. I really enjoy my Shield 40 and has recently became my EDC again

 

[coachpan]

I have the Shield 9 and love the way it shoots and conseals. I also have an M&P 40c . So you could predict I would recommend keeping the 9 to complement the 40 that you already have. Love your support for Romney-Ryan. Time to take OUR country back!

 

[ccpacker]

My Shield .40 is my EDC. It wouldn't be if I had problems.

 

[Steak]

My brother has a 40 Shield he purchased a month ago. He has never had a problem with his gun, & he really likes it. However, if you plan to return your 9mm gun, plan to lose about $150 on the deal, as once the gun goes out the door, whether fired, or not, it is now considered used. This is the policy at the 2 stores where I've worked. Good luck. GARY N4KVE

Yeah they depreciate just like when you drive a car off the lot. That's why I say if he wants the 40 don't "trade it back in." That would be absolutely ridiculous. These shields are still very very hot and are very hard to find. Go to any other gun forum and people are 8,9,10 deep on a wait list.

I say sell it on arms list or something like that. I bet he could get easy $449-500.

 

[nickn10]

Yeah they depreciate just like when you drive a car off the lot. That's why I say if he wants the 40 don't "trade it back in." That would be absolutely ridiculous. These shields are still very very hot and are very hard to find. Go to any other gun forum and people are 8,9,10 deep on a wait list.

I say sell it on arms list or something like that. I bet he could get easy $449-500.

Sold a few on Armslist and Gunbroker, got alot more than LGS offered. This forum has a "for sale" thread you might give some member a shot at it. A gun show is also a place to get a good price on selling your gun.

 

[vigil617]

I'm a Shield 40 owner completely happy with my pistol, and have had zero problems with around 800 rounds downrange. Also have a full size M&P 40 so I can keep my ammo consistent.

If you follow these threads, you're probably also aware that you can change out the 9mm and 40 caliber barrels in the same Shield frame, providing essentially two pistols in one. You have to change magazines too, of course, and whether the mag drop problem that SOME of the Shields have had would be an issue by doing this, I don't know. (If the mag release in the frame is the problem in those .40s, then perhaps it wouldn't be if you used a 40 mag in a 9mm frame.) The 9mm Shields don't seem to have had the mag drop problem.

Anybody tried ordering a 40 barrel and/or mags from S&W to trade out in a 9mm frame, or vice versa?

 

[SavageSmoker]

I have a .40 Shield with 500+ rounds though flawlessly. While I agree with those here that say it is not enough to trust 100%, I will continue to shoot it until I have complete piece of mind. Keep in mind, the .40 Shield issues seem to be associated with the 7rnd mag only. If I am not mistaken, the .40 can accommodate a 9mm barrel and mags so for a little extra cash you really get two guns.

I am full aware of the issues with the .40 Shield and do believe them to be real. Maybe I was lucky, as others here. What I struggle with is the magnitude of the problem. We hear about issues on forums but S&W has yet to issue a recall on the firearm. We are always more likely to share our negative experiences then our positive ones. This situation truly baffles me. I find it hard to believe that S&W would keep producing and distributing a firearm with known issues.

The choice is yours. Buy what you can get your hands on but I would not be too worried about the reported .40 issues. Best of luck as decide...Brian

 

[sticknstring]

I have a 40 shield and trust it completely. It has around 500 flawless round thru both mags. I really like having the extra power of the 40. Love this gun!

 

[Edmo]

... What do u guys think??? Should I take er back and get the shield 40??? Wanted to get some opinions

In the end both the 9 & 40 are just pistol rounds lacking anything close to the immediate effectiveness of a rifle or shotgun. Quibbling between the effectiveness of the 9 vs 40 really is pointless when you put it in that light. Keep the 9mm version and fill it with some good short-barrel 9mm defensive ammo.

I'm a believer in the "my caliber has to start with a 4" concept, but with the smaller guns you have to also think about the already limited magazine capacity and recoil recovery for the next shot. I think we can all agree the 9 beats the 40 in both of these areas in the small Shield platform.

Just a thought... And here I sit with a non +P 5-shot 38 Special J-frame snubby on my side! Talk about less thump and fewer rounds...

Edmo