Concealed Carrying The Shield

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Fanilow33

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Hey guys.
Just picked up my first m&p shield last week for my ccw and I'm absolutely loving it over my full size 1911 or beretta m9! I just had a couple questions about carrying it though.
I've never had a hammerless gun before like a Glock or XDS but I'm wondering how long can you keep the shield in condition 1? Does it harm or wear down the spring on the inside if you have it cocked too long?! Also, would you recommend having a laser or even fiber optics on it for concealed carry? I want to make my shield my go to and have it perfect. I put Talon grips on it which makes a world of a difference but didn't know what else I can do to it aside from the $200 apex trigger job.
 
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Some unload their CC pistol every night, while others, like me, keep it loaded 24/7. The only time my Shield (or any of my pistols) gets unloaded is when I'm at the range, or cleaning.

Leaving Striker Fire pistols loaded will not harm the springs. They're made to take it. With most springs now-a-days (mag springs, striker, hammer, etc.), leaving them partially compressed is easier on them than 'exercising' them.

I've been carrying my Shield since May '12. Before the Shield, I carried an XDM for several years and before that, a 2nd Gen G19, that was my carry piece for 20 years.
Same with them... Never got unloaded, except for being used, or cleaned.
Hope this helps. :)
 
RobzGuns said:
Some unload their CC pistol every night, while others, like me, keep it loaded 24/7. The only time my Shield (or any of my pistols) gets unloaded is when I'm at the range, or cleaning.

Leaving Striker Fire pistols loaded will not harm the springs. They're made to take it. With most springs now-a-days (mag springs, striker, hammer, etc.), leaving them partially compressed is easier on them than 'exercising' them.

I've been carrying my Shield since May '12. Before the Shield, I carried an XDM for several years and before that, a 2nd Gen G19, that was my carry piece for 20 years.
Same with them... Never got unloaded, except for being used, or cleaned.
Hope this helps. :)
Click to expand...

I too always keep my pistols in a ready to fire condition. Doesn't hurt them at all. As far as sights, I just have standard night sights on mine. I see lazers as a crutch and wouldn't recommend them. Practice and train with the iron sights. What would happen if in a shooting situation, the lazer fails. (Battery, switch etc.) I follow the KISS principal.
 
Well, since you already have the Talon grips, the only other things that would improve it are maybe some TFO sights. You might want to have the sights installed by a competent gunsmith as the OEM sights are a bugger to remove.

You don't have to spend $200 on a trigger job. I installed just the Apex sear, and it made a world of difference. For about $42, you can do it yourself with the help of some Youtube videos.

https://apextactical.com/store/product-info.php?pid18.html
 
As you know buy now a spring under tension is not a problem its cycling the spring that cause loss of tension. If you trigger pull does not smooth with time the only change it really needs is a striker block change with a apex part. That alone will smooth the trigger pull with out lighting it. Striker block only-
https://apextactical.com/store/product-info.php?pid20.html

Then you can go from there till take it lighter. This is the whole kit-
https://apextactical.com/store/product-info.php?pid65.html

You have rather light pistol now , when you see that you have to re-grip every couple rounds it may be time to take a break maybe for the day. Not like running a few hundred rounds thru the 1911. Instead of 200 rounds session you might find 50 or 100 is all you can fire AND control the group size.

My carry handguns have been striker fired for 9 years and only time they get unloaded as when firing at the range and when cleaned. Other wise they stay chambered with a full mag.
 
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Loaded, cocked and locked, 24/7 - except when cleaning, at the range, or cycling mags.
 
I have a Crimson Trace Laserguard on my Shield. I cover it up during training, and use the iron sights. I only shoot a few rounds with it, because you don't need a lot of practice to use a laser. I have it because as CT says, I am "helping bad guys make informed decisions".
 
I have truglo TFO's, talon grips, pearce extensions on the short mags. After over 1000 rounds, my trigger is fine, and I don't feel a need to make it any lighter/smoother. The trigger was 6.8 lbs when I purchased it, but it's a little lighter/smoother now.
 
Hey there, congrats on the Shield !!! I am also a new owner of the Shield, hitting 2 months give or take owning it and carrying it all day, every day, everywhere. I have other guns and I love all of them the same , but I quickly became attached to the Shield and it attached to me!!

I upgraded the sights to TruGlo TFO "Brite Sites" as well, as several of my esteemed colleagues hit on. They are simply amazing sights. They feature fiber optic light pipes for capturing all the available ambient light and illuminating the sights for bright sight picture during the day or indoors... but ALSO they contain tritium for illuminating the sights at night. In simple terms, just an amazing combination. I have Trijicon night sights on my Glock 23 and I love them, I have SIGLITE night sights on my MK25, also great sights. However I have always wanted to try the TruGlo TFOs since seeing a Hickok45 video where he has the TruGlo TFOs on one of his Glocks. The bright glowing green fiber optics was simply amazing ... really even on video, a blooming green glow like radioactivity. Plus of course ,they have actual radioactivity in the tritium to illuminate at night and low light.

As far as the springs and keeping it loaded - most people hit it on the head. Modern springs and I mean the last 30+ years are made in a way that compression does not affect them , use does. They are built from specific material to specific tolerance/specific specs. Being compressed like having a magazine full of rounds or a gun cocked has no bearing on the life of the spring. it's the USE of the springs, like the magazine being unloaded/loaded or the gun firing and going through it's use cycle that affects it.

Having said that, it's not like you're going to wear out your springs by using the gun "too much" and you're screwed. They're tested with 10s of thousands of cycles bear minimum. People replace their springs proactively or because of physical damage but rarely do they ACTUALLY "Wear out" from too much ( proper and safe) use.


Have fun with your Shield - you have what I consider to be the perfect pistol for every-day-carry.
 
I carry mine just as it can out of the box, except, loaded of course. I like the trigger on mine and see no reason to change it. I do not see any reason to have a laser on a CCW handgun. If my target is so far away that I need a laser, I am just going to walk away.

Carrying one in the chamber should not cause any stress on the springs, as LEO's do it all the time. The most important thing is being very careful holstering the gun to make sure nothing is in the trigger guard. Carry it in a quality holster made for the gun, on a gun belt.
 
Welcome and congrats on the new Shield. Mine is always loaded and ready to go, right now its the only pistol I have, so its bedside gun as well, no reason to unload it.

As far a sights go, thats going to be a personal preference. A lot of people like the FTO's and so do I, but I'm more of a 2 dot or 1 dot guy. If I was going to change, I'd go with the Ameriglo Pro-I Dot, but that's me. I actually painted my front dot flo-orange, and blacked out my rears, and that works great for my needs.

Whatever you decide to do, have fun and be safe.
 
Shoot it for a while before installing an Apex kit, as you may find you don't need it. I have a Shield 40 with the Apex kit, it does improve the trigger pull, but the Shield has a pretty good stock pull, and the Apex upgrade improves it somewhat, but not day to night difference, just slightly better. I have a LaserMax laser on my Shield, and I feel it allows for great low light and awkward shooting position targeting.

My Shield is always kept fully loaded with a round in the chamber, which means the striker is always cocked, except for those times for cleaning and reloading. It is over two years old and performs perfectly.

You picked a great gun, small, light weight, and dependable.

Bob
 
Stock sights, 7 +1, 24/7. Stock trigger improves with use. No concerns about striker spring fatigue.

Enjoy and save your $$$ for ammo for the range. It's a great piece right out of the box. Shoot it for six months and then decide what, if anything, you need to mod.

Peace, Out
 
What Mustangman( Tran Am rules!!!) said. I personally like the 2 or 1 dot systems. My Shield, 9C and G19 all have xs sight big dots on them. My full size has the ameriglo I dot pro on it. Both great sights for fighting sights. Semperfiguy is right. Shoot it for a little while and see.
 
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kcbet2 said:
I too always keep my pistols in a ready to fire condition. Doesn't hurt them at all. As far as sights, I just have standard night sights on mine. I see lazers as a crutch and wouldn't recommend them. Practice and train with the iron sights. What would happen if in a shooting situation, the lazer fails. (Battery, switch etc.) I follow the KISS principal.
Click to expand...



+1 all around. I keep my Shield loaded and at the ready. It's only cleared and empty when cleaning or range practice is afoot. I can't carry it to work every day, and then when I travel for work, it is in ready-condition in case my wife needs to go to it in the event of a home-type invasion.

I put TFO TruGlo green-green sights on mine. Was well worth the investment. I, too, don't trust the lasers. Good training aids, but I wouldn't want to rely on them.

Additionally, a defense lawyer recommended to my CC class that he's seen cases where prosecuting attorneys will go after any mods done to CC weapons - including lasers - as showing that you had intention to go out and hurt someone.

It's all BS, of course, but it's just another obstacle to worry about should the worst happen.
 
Forget the advise about not adding Lasers or modifying a gun for legal ramifications. If you intend to shoot someone in a SD situation, and you do shoot them, then it was not by accident. You thought about it, even if only for a second, you aimed the gun, you pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit the target. Case closed, the mods or extra equipment does not matter, you intended to shoot the person. Now the prosecutor will decide if the shooting was SD or if other criminal charges should be made. I was LEO and we were taught to fire 3 rounds minimum, center mass. No thought of wounding the person, but ending the threat, whether that meant incapacity or death. In a life or death situation, who's life are you going to save, yours or the person that is the threat? Or are you just trying to "hurt somebody?"

My Shield 40 is highly modified, with a very short trigger pull, very short reset, and 3.5 pound trigger pull. Those modifications will not cause me any worse charges than if I used a stock Shield, if I intended to shoot someone. And why did I fire three shots? Because that is how I was trained in my LEO career. I needed to stop the threat to me, my family, etc.

If you "accidentally" shoot someone, and your modification might have caused the gun to fire, then you might face some type of negligent type charges, do to improper gun handling or improper modifications.

Bob
 
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Thank you so much guys! You all really helped me out without making me feel like a noobie or making fun of me for not knowing!! :D

I was looking into the fiber optic sights but have heard from people that they break easily on carry guns? All my guns have iron sights so I have no idea.

I ordered an Alien Gear 2.0 tuck holster that I'm hoping will complete my everyday ccw. Thanks again everyone!
 
IMO, there's nothing wrong with lasers on a gun assuming they're used correctly. It's best use is for when you can't get a traditional sight picture or presentation...shooting around, under or over things...as long as you can see the laser you might be able to minimize your exposure.

Good news about fiber optics is that even if they do break, you'll still have an iron sight. They are also relatively easy to replace yourself.
 
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