Shield beat out by XDs

[Nakanokalronin]

Agreed very much. Many people over look this because they are blinded by the the idea of a .45, lol.

I like 9mm, 380, 38spl/357, .22, etc, but out of all of the big calibers, the 45acp is the most accurate constantly in my experience. Being blinded means there is some hype or urban legend with the 45acp, but it just isn't that way. For me, it's less about the bigger bullet and more about the consistent accuracy and the fact that ball in such a caliber is no big deal.

 

[COL Jagdog]

I'm not saying "Springfield Armory" doesn't make a quality gun, but I don't like guns that have "Springfield Armory USA" written on one side and "Made in Croatia" on the other.

I'll stick with my Shield and pass on the Hrvatski Samokres XDs.

The Croatians probably don't like it either.

I do very much like Springfields -- my service pistol is a Springfield XDM .40 cal with a match grade barrel -- has an excellent trigger pull out of the box and very accurate.

 

[Smitty357]

IMO, i would never chose a Springfield over a S&W. It's like choosing a Taurus over a Colt, lol.

I think Springfield is just getting into the game a little late. Had they made a 9mm to start with, instead of a .45. The XDS would have sold twice as many units and they would be as hard to find as a Shield right now. But the .45 seems to keep a bunch of users away. The women who CC preferably are more the ones who would go for a 9mm over the. 45. With that being said, i just believe Springfield would have made a better choice going with 9MM first, and they using the unit profits to for go research and development into the .45........S&W made the opposite choice, going with 9mm first. And as u can see, they are literally impossible to find and if they are found, they are usually at a premium. For all we know the .45 could come next from s&w and now its a waiting game.

 

[2tango2]

I have both.....2 very different guns IMHO....I like the fiber optic sight and trigger on the xDS. Just wait until the xDS is released in 9mm.....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Nakanokalronin]

IMO, i would never chose a Springfield over a S&W. It's like choosing a Taurus over a Colt, lol.

I think Springfield is just getting into the game a little late. Had they made a 9mm to start with, instead of a .45. The XDS would have sold twice as many units and they would be as hard to find as a Shield right now. But the .45 seems to keep a bunch of users away. The women who CC preferably are more the ones who would go for a 9mm over the. 45. With that being said, i just believe Springfield would have made a better choice going with 9MM first, and they using the unit profits to for go research and development into the .45........S&W made the opposite choice, going with 9mm first. And as u can see, they are literally impossible to find and if they are found, they are usually at a premium. For all we know the .45 could come next from s&w and now its a waiting game.

Having owned quite a few carry guns the size of the Shield and XDS or smaller, I think it's more about knowing that it's hard to make a 45acp small and controllable at the same time. Do it with a 45acp first and the 40 and 9 versions are a walk in the park. S&W would need to make the grip thicker on the Shield at a minimum to accommodate the 45acp round, SA only needs to make the same gun in different calibers.

As a side note, I like S&W and SA both just fine, so don't take what I'm saying as brand loyalty.

 

[Shielded]

You're not seriously thinking that that award has any relevance at all in terms of comparative quality or utility, are you? At best, it's a subjective opinion. In reality, it's just more ad copy in the guise of "content."

That's probably true for the most part I'm sure. I think the XDs is a nice gun, as is the Shield. Who knows maybe a coin toss decided it LOL

 

[Smitty357]

Having owned quite a few carry guns the size of the Shield and XDS or smaller, I think it's more about knowing that it's hard to make a 45acp small and controllable at the same time. Do it with a 45acp first and the 40 and 9 versions are a walk in the park. S&W would need to make the grip thicker on the Shield at a minimum to accommodate the 45acp round, SA only needs to make the same gun in different calibers.

As a side note, I like S&W and SA both just fine, so don't take what I'm saying as brand loyalty.

You could do it .45 first. But once again IMO, u would be making a gun using company money. In this case, u could somewhere along the lines try to take a short cut and not perfect something as well as u should have. Now if u take a 9mm and see if it sells. And take those profits and put forth research and development (using profits, not company money). Then in that case u have all the time and money to get the .45 just perfect. While ur making the .45 the 9mm is still selling like hot cakes, just adding to the money u can spend for more research and development. Also, IMO I dont see the Shield ever coming in a .45. I just dont believe s&w sees it as an "importance" since they already have the market booming with the Shield. Now they could in fact later on make another smaller version and make it .45. But who knows

Work smarter, not harder.

 

[Nakanokalronin]

I hear you, but the XDS is selling out and hard to find, so I can only imagine how the 9mm version will do.

 

[highaltitude]

The XDS won the award because of the engineering challenge it presented with SA to develop a reliable, low recoil, compact package around a .45 ACP. IMO, that's good for the industry.

"The Most In Demand Gun Of the Year" - Goes to the Shield, no question.

As far as utility goes, that's always a matter of preference. For me, I would rather carry my Shield 9mm 8+1 124 +P Gold Dots. If I was looking at 5 rounds or less, I would reach for my Ruger LCR 357. I never understood the utility of choosing a semi-auto with 5 rounds over a revolver... that's just me though

 

[RacerScott]

I would never trust a magazine review. Its just reading entertainment. Who knows what they are paid to say or what politics went on behind closed doors. The whole magazine is a walking advertisement.

 

[JNewell]

That's probably true for the most part I'm sure. I think the XDs is a nice gun, as is the Shield. Who knows maybe a coin toss decided it LOL

Or just the year of introduction? The Shield technically debuted in 2011, I think? - so it wouldn't have been eligible this year as a 2012 introduction?

 

[Nakanokalronin]

The XDS won the award because of the engineering challenge it presented with SA to develop a reliable, low recoil, compact package around a .45 ACP. IMO, that's good for the industry.

"The Most In Demand Gun Of the Year" - Goes to the Shield, no question.

As far as utility goes, that's always a matter of preference. For me, I would rather carry my Shield 9mm 8+1 124 +P Gold Dots. If I was looking at 5 rounds or less, I would reach for my Ruger LCR 357. I never understood the utility of choosing a semi-auto with 5 rounds over a revolver... that's just me though

Easier to carry and reload. Remember it's 5+1 which is 6 rounds. They have an extended mag which makes it 7+1 of 45acp too. When the 9mm hits, I'm sure it will be a 8 or 9+1 extended mag as well. Some people seem to keep going over to the capicty side of the argument when one is a 9 and the other is a 45acp. Let's talk about the two guns in the same caliber since it makes no difference at that point.

 

[VMaxSplat]

I would seriously doubt that the "here and there issues" of either pistol had much to do with the decision. I would lay my money on the fact that there are many recently introduced single stack small 9mm pistols, and only one new single stack small .45 ACP.

That is my guess too.

Personally, as much as I love the 45 ACP, from a subcompact's 3" barrel the high pressure 40 is probably a better choice.

Either way, the "winner" of this award is strictly just an opinion that got printed. Really means very little.

 

[Armanius]

I haven't shot the XDS yet, but have fondled it a couple of times. It is an impressive pistol. But the Shield feels much better in my hands, and the recoil in my Shield 9 is no worse than my Glock 19. That's impressive for a gun that's so much smaller and lighter. The grip of the XDS is a little too aggressive. I do like the fact that Springfield makes the buyer feel like they are getting a lot of their $ by including all the extras in a very nice plastic case, unlike my Shield's cardboard box. I definitely wouldn't mind adding a XDS to the armory.

 

[Roger S&W]

Now the XDs 9mm is going to out really soon. Wonder how it will stack up against the Shield in the same caliber. A more appropriate comparison.

 

[Smitty357]

Now the XDs 9mm is going to out really soon. Wonder how it will stack up against the Shield in the same caliber. A more appropriate comparison.

It isnt going to be fair as its not fair to even attempt to say a Springfield can equal a S&W.

You may as well buy a Taurus instead of buying a Colt

 

[RussC]

Now the XDs 9mm is going to out really soon. Wonder how it will stack up against the Shield in the same caliber. A more appropriate comparison.

Roger

I read the XDs 9 mm will weigh in at 23 oz empty with magazine and have the exact dimensions as the 45 version.

The weight in my opinion is too much for my pocket. Loaded she will be around 26 oz. My Shield at 24 oz requires some belt tightening when in my pocket.

I know its only 2 -3 oz more but the difference in weight between the Sig P938 and Shield is about 2 -3 oz with the Shield heavier and the felt difference is huge in my pocket.

Sorry there is a point the weight is too much and 26 oz in the pocket is too much.

Russ

P.S. I do like the XDs grip safety over Shield safety and ambidextrous magazine release. Definite plus for my left handed wife. 26 oz is the big downer. Yes it will be less recoil but pocket may not be fun.

 

[EugeneNine]

I quit putting any weight into magazine reviews.
Years ago I worked for a GEM reseller of computer equipment. These state agencies would read reviews from places like PC magazine and call us up to order Epson printers. We would advise them against it since they weren't printing pictures but they would insist based on how much better the reviews were than HP. So later they would then call me up complaining about how they had to replace the ink every week because they would clog and we would tell them it was well known that you had to print something every day to keep them from clogging and we knew they didn't print often enough which is why we suggested the HP's. It was still our fault somehow because PC magazine knew better than we did.

 

[Nevadadvx]

One thing I haven't seen anyone mention, is price difference between the two. I nearly traded my brand new Shield 9mm for a near new XDs because I wanted to go with 45acp. The only thing that stopped the deal was the other guy wanted my Shield PLUS 10 boxes of 9mm to go with it. His reasoning was the $150 difference in retail price. Needless to say, I kept the Shield and have no regrets.

 

[N4KVE]

I sell guns for a living. A magazine article can only go so far. The thing I ask my customers is "which gun feels better in YOUR hand". No magazine article can answer that for you. Personally, while I love the Shield, & XDs, both are too slim for MY hand, while the 40c fits my hand perfectly, & that's what I carry. GARY