All this Shield talk....

[S&W Fan]

.....about whether they're any good or not led me to this post. I noticed something very interesting in an advanced pistol class I was in this past weekend, limited to semi-autos only.

19 students with 2 instructors (both LE, one a former SEAL) and here's the guns:
Instructor 1-Glock 26
Instructor 2-Sig (though I didn't notice the model).
Of the students:
2 Rugers (both 9mm)
2 S&W M&P Full Size 9mm (I was one)
1 Walther PPQ
1 FN
3 Shields (9mm)
1 Sig 220 .45acp
8 Glock 19s
1 Glock 23

The only gun that had any issues was the Walther and that was probably a combo of not enough lube and crappy ammo. This was a grueling 4 hour course, roughly 200 rounds expended per student. Thankfully we had cloud cover for the first 2.5 hours but it did warm up to about 85 when we finished at 1pm.

The one issue I had was during a malfunction drill where we set-up a double feed failure I was unable to get a good grip on the mag to pull it out of the frame. As the instructors stated this type of feed is pretty rare today, we didn't spend a lot of time on it but it can happen.

All the Shields worked perfectly, no problems traceable to the firearms. I used mine the last time I took this class as it's what gets carried more than the others, not rushing to sell off my Shield-just my observations/experiences from this past weekend. Your mileage may vary.

 

[aggiesam1983]

Interesting there were no Springfields or 1911s in the mix. I am not surprised with the G19/G23.

 

[Roccaas]

Are the Army + Marine Corp watching this?

 

[Arik]

Are the Army + Marine Corp watching this?

What are they watching for??

 

[Roccaas]

What are they watching for??

Big new contract for American Armed Forces sidearm. $MultiMillions on the line.

S&W hooked up with General Dynamics. FS 9mm? With Safety?

Glock's in (they were late to the show in '85 when the 1911 went away).

Sig, Walther, etc probably in. Colt probably in.

Gotta figure Beretta's the leader in the clubhouse with 30 years in American holsters.

The training and parts contract would be worth even more than the hardware contract.

 

[S&W Fan]

Well that went sideways quickly lol.

 

[gnystrom]

I feel it all depends of the type of class you were taking. There are defensive pistol classes where students bring their favorite, usually full sized handguns, and fire away for a couple of days. Following that, they go home and stick a completely different sized handgun in their carry holster. As an instructor I see this every day. I recommend that those who can, take a course with the handgun you actually carry every day and depend on to maybe save your life.
As for good and bad comments on the Shield, I am not a M&P fanboy and only own the Shield. It has functioned perfectly and is a joy to carry daily.

 

[JCashStudios]

I've been looking at the Shields, but they don't seem to 'fit' my hand well. I recently took an advanced CPL course too and found out some pretty interesting things while shooting tactically and under stress. The first half of the all-day class was shooting with my Sig Sauer P-938 Nightmare. I had several issues which included a stove pipe, and another FTF; difficulty dropping the 7-shot magazine as my palm gets in the way; and twice my thumb accidentally hit the magazine release and the mag dropped. Every exercise we performed, included a magazine reload under stress. By noon, I put away my EDC P-938 and switched to my FS S&W M&P 9mm.

What a huge difference. No safety to worry about (one exercise I had failed to disengage the safety on the P-938, not good). In any case, I'm only using the P-938 if concealment is way too difficult. Although, with an IWB holster, I don't have much of a problem concealing the FS M&P 9mm. I am now practicing more with the P-938, but feel much more confident with the S&W M&P FS 9mm.

 

[S&W Fan]

The biggest problem I've seen over the past 37 years is people buying/using pistols that don't fit their hands. By the way as I mentioned this was an advanced class- oriented towards the non-leo ccw person.

When I first attended Gunsite in 1978 I had a 4" 66 and two speedloaders. The gun wore Pachmayr Signature grips. I transitioned shortly thereafter to a 5" 1911, it fit my hand better and I shot better.

Over the ensuing years, and multiple schools, I've used most of the "popular" guns. The past two classes I attended with this same instructor I used my Shield-it's my warm weather carry gun. In the cooler months I've gone to the FS M&P.

I've been known to tote a Smith wheelie now and then as well. I like to carry what I shoot best and then make other considerations as circumstances dictate.

 

[exdetsgt]

Of all the handguns I've shot and carried daily over the years, nothing fit my hand better than a 1911.

 

[Lonestar57]

Not a S&W fanboy by any means but for me the Shield 9mm has done very well for daily concealed carry and during my live fire practice sessions.

 

[River Walleye Guy]

S&W fanboy here

Great thread,
While I wait on my Shield to get to my FFL I've read a lot of posts. This string named most of my carries except the Bodyguard. I've read mixed reviews on that DAO. I'm also waiting on my first model 66 as well as an M&P9 Pro. To illustrate my fanboy-ism further, I sold my Colt Trooper Mk V and soon after purchased the best 27-2 I could find for my hunting sidearm. I've never been happier to own a gun.

As far as the rest of the posts, it was interesting to read from Mr. P938. I was married to my 938 until I couldn't stop dwelling on how I might forget the safety in the heat of a nasty moment. I'm in the midst of switching over from my 938 to mostly carrying the Shield. I'll carry a BG when a Shield is in-concealable if that's even possible.

***Here's where I'd like input: I've come across a number of posts mentioning magazine releases accidentally depressed during carry. Too light of a release spring? This thread never mentioned that on the Shield. Any knowledge of that problem on ANY S&W?

 

[Roccaas]

Well that went sideways quickly lol.