What is the lure of the Shield?

JNewell said:
If there were a choice, I'd got for a single-stack version of the G19 twice any day and five times on a Sunday, but there isn't...so the Shield it is. :)
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A similar path to what I travelled on my way to the Shield. The G36 in 45 ACP is a single stack, somewhat similar in size to a Shield. The thumbnails show the Shield 40 overlaid on the G36, end view of Shield 40 & G36 and end view of Shield 40 and G19.

The G36 is slimmer than the G19. As often stated "45ACP - for when you care enough to send the very best."

I'm very satisfied with the Shield owning both the 40 and 9mm. Not a big difference in recoil so 40 S&W is becoming my favorite.
 

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On paper the Shield is a great gun, and so we tell ourselves all the reasons to buy it, perhaps even why it would be a better purchase than some other pistol. But then you pick it up. You hold it. You handle it. You feel something. You look around, see if anyone else just felt something. You are still holding it. Something starts, some spark of what? Desire? Want? Need? All of the above? Something just happened, later generations will laugh at how little we understand about this; you don't pick the Shield, it picks you.
 
WI357SIG said:
A similar path to what I travelled on my way to the Shield. The G36 in 45 ACP is a single stack, somewhat similar in size to a Shield. The thumbnails show the Shield 40 overlaid on the G36, end view of Shield 40 & G36 and end view of Shield 40 and G19.

The G36 is slimmer than the G19. As often stated "45ACP - for when you care enough to send the very best."

I'm very satisfied with the Shield owning both the 40 and 9mm. Not a big difference in recoil so 40 S&W is becoming my favorite.
Click to expand...

Yep, but I didn't say I wanted a slimmer version of my G30, I said I wanted a slimmer version of my G19 and my G26. A G36 does not take care of that. ;)
 
Dayvid23 said:
... But then you pick it up. You hold it. You handle it. You feel something. You look around, see if anyone else just felt something. You are still holding it. Something starts, some spark of what? Desire? Want? Need? All of the above? Something just happened, later generations will laugh at how little we understand about this; you don't pick the Shield, it picks you.
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You've got that nailed! :) When I finally found one to wrap my fingers around, it just felt so "right", almost like an extension of my hand, and the sights lined up so naturally when I pointed it, it was uncanny. :rolleyes:

Unfortunately, that was the shop clerk's personal carry piece, and the only one in the store. I'm now on a waiting list...

I just hope that the "promise" from that initial encounter is fulfilled when I actually get to shoot my own, but from many of the comments I see on the forums, I expect that it will be.:cool:
 
Dayvid23 said:
On paper the Shield is a great gun, and so we tell ourselves all the reasons to buy it, perhaps even why it would be a better purchase than some other pistol. But then you pick it up. You hold it. You handle it. You feel something. You look around, see if anyone else just felt something. You are still holding it. Something starts, some spark of what? Desire? Want? Need? All of the above? Something just happened, later generations will laugh at how little we understand about this; you don't pick the Shield, it picks you.
Click to expand...

My friend has been researching for his first pistol purchase, and he really liked a few others, namely the Kahr's, but he had to hold a Shield before making a decision. One of our LGS had one on hold, and the owner was not able to pick it up for a few days. The salesman told us to come see it.

What seemed ideal on paper was the real deal in my hand. We both ordered ours. What had really gotten my interest up was reading where some owners said the recoil was as good or better than a G27. I have shot a friend's G27 and always felt it was more controllable than my 990Lc .40, so I decided the Shield would be an improvement while being slimmer. My friend's 9 mm arrived late last week. I may get my .40 this week. Christmas in March...
 
avigar said:
Other than it makes a great CCW due to it's size and weight, what other features may make it better as compared to my M&P 9FS, for an example? I'm just wondering what the lure and "gotta have one" factor of the Shield is all about.
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It's the "Thrill of the Hunt". Bagging that rare and most elusive prize. :D
 
There's an old Harley owner saying that applies to the Shield as well:
"If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand". :D

While it does feel great to hold, one doesn't really appreciate it until you've shot it side-by-side with one of the other 3" Subcompacts in its class (PF-9, LC9, Nano, DB9, etc).
 
dullh said:
Everything in that picture combined is worth more than my car!

I've carried a CW9 for a while. I wanted to replace it with a shield, but after putting a loaner Shield up against my CW9 at the range one morning, I decided to keep the Kahr and spend that money on a couple cases of ammo instead. The Kahr felt better and I did not like that tiny little thumb safety on the Shield, which I think is pointless on a striker-fired pistol. That's my own personal opinion...
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Your probably right considering that keyless transmitter belongs to a Cadillac XLR or XLR-V

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
dullh said:
Everything in that picture combined is worth more than my car!

I've carried a CW9 for a while. I wanted to replace it with a shield, but after putting a loaner Shield up against my CW9 at the range one morning, I decided to keep the Kahr and spend that money on a couple cases of ammo instead. The Kahr felt better and I did not like that tiny little thumb safety on the Shield, which I think is pointless on a striker-fired pistol. That's my own personal opinion...
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Tell that to all the people out there with glock leg.
 
I own the Shield 40, Beretta Nano, MP 40c and XDs. I like all of them for different reasons, but the one I carry in IWB is the shield. It shoots better than all of the above, it is slim so it fits better than any of the others. That said, I did have some growing pains with the shield. It had to go back to SW for some tweaking. The front sight was off center and I had a magazine ejection problem, those issues are fixed and I really like this gun now.
 
jajo said:
The lure is that I really like my M&P 9 FS, and wanted something like it but smaller to carry.

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ditto -- same reason. My FS is ok for carry during the winter OWB, but I need something smaller for summer IWB.

I also hear that the recoil on the Shield 40 is VERY minimal compared to other similar size weapons. I haven't had it to the range yet, but am anxious now that the weather is getting nice.
 
Concealability, reliability, accuracy, ergos, great trigger all for a great price. What is not to like? It is now my only carry gun, the M&P40c has officially been retired. Between the shield and the M&P40 FS, idi why I even own a compact anymore. The full size is my night stand gun and the shield is my carry gun. The compact can be a do all, but the shield and full size do the roles much better.
 
Reliable, accurate, good trigger, slim and has a manual safety, good sights and a rail.

The Ruger LC9 would do it for me except for that long pitiful trigger.
 
OP, if you own a full size MP9, then you are familiar with the system. The Shield gives you a much smaller version. While this sounds like the answer from a simpleton, think about that for a minute.

I got my Shield about 4 days after it was anounced last year at the NRA show. I've had an issued FS for almost 7 years, and a MP9c for a few years.

The Shield shoots as well as my 9c. As a matter of fact, after a few minutes shooting the Shield, one tends to forget that you are shooting a sub-compact and start to compare it to a duty size gun.

The 9c is a good gun, but it's chunky. It's not much smaller than the full size. The Shield best compares to the Walther PPS. I owned a PPS when I bought my Shield. Shot both together during a couple range trips. Sold the Walther. It was a good gun but I liked the Shield better.

I can pocket carry the Shield in docker type shorts. I can pocket carry my Kahr PM9 a bit better. Same can be said for my old J frame 642. But when it comes to shooting these guns, I can shoot the Shield to a much higher level when it comes to putting rounds on target.

One must always remember why you are carrying a gun to begin with. If you want shear comfort, get a Beretta .25acp. Jetfire. I don't want comfortable. I want comforting. Something I know I can carry discreetly, yet have direct access to. Something I can put rounds on target with while under stress. And I want those rounds to be of an effective caliber so that they can stop the threat. (No 380acp for me, thank you)

I took my Shield with me to Sanibel Florida last December. Was on vacation/getting married. Low threat environment, but I am confident in the "shoot ability" of this gun that I wasn't concerned about it being a primary gun. Something I could not say about my Kahr PM9 or my 642.

I am stopping for coffee as I type this, am at work. My Shield is attached to my vest as I speak. It's my BUG while working. I don't even notice it, have to give my side a quick pat to ensure it's there.

My new wife is short with tiny hands. (She uses the small grips on a 9c.) The Shield is a great size CCW gun for her.

I am old enough to remember when the S&W 3913 took the market by storm. Because it combined duty gun performance in a smaller package. At that time in history, it really was a trend setter with no real competition.

I feel the 9mm Shield is the modern equivalent.

The only downside to the Shield in my opinion is the lack of supply. I really hope S&W will work on that.
 
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JNewell said:
YMMV, but I neither want nor need a rail on a gun that fits the Shield's duty profile.
Click to expand...

Yes, my mileage varies. I like to carry a handgun while bow hunting and do some long walks in the dark so my duty profile is a bit different than yours but I understand your point and appreciate your opinion.
 
Lure? What lure? The lure that if something is hard to get it must be
better? I've only read one test report and it wasn't too favorable. Hard
to beat the Glock 19 and 26 for a compact 9mm.
 
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