LVSteve
Member
Yes, YOUR wife can, but others here have already stated that their wives/mothers/daughters/grandfathers/grandmothers cannot. You cannot dismiss this gun based on the sample of one at your address.
New Shield 380 EZ... Nope. Junk.
- Thread starter fallhunter
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Yes, YOUR wife can, but others here have already stated that their wives/mothers/daughters/grandfathers/grandmothers cannot. You cannot dismiss this gun based on the sample of one at your address.
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The pictures make it look larger than it really is. Compared to a 9mm Shield it is about the same weight and a half inch longer. It looks like the grip is long enough to get all three fingers on so it is a little taller too. So it is still a compact and lightweight gun. Not nearly as small as an LCP but still small enough to carry.
I am not interested in this gun but it is aimed at a market that does not have a lot of other options. Those that want a really, really small 380 can buy one from Ruger, Kahr and other companies. People that need or want a handgun that is simple, does not require much physical strength to operate and has very mild recoil don't have a lot of choices. It is pretty much this gun or a revolver. I think revolvers are still a good choice but the same people that have trouble racking the slide of a 9mm often have a lot of trouble with the DA trigger pull of a revolver and could shoot the EZ better. It will be less expensive than a revolver as well. If I live long enough to need a gun like this I would probably choose a revolver but would at least consider the EZ.
Not for me but I can see it for a specific demographic. I teach CPL classes & have seen more & more women & older folks who are total newbies wanting to carry. Heck I might even buy one to show in a cpl class if S&Wwould offer an NRA instructor discount.
Deadeye Dick
Member
My wife currently carries a 5 shot snub-nosed .38 revolver. She shoots it reasonably well considering it's long heavy trigger pull, short sight radius and stout recoil... but she does not enjoy shooting it.
Unfortunately due to age and arthritis she no longer has the hand strength to easily rack the slide or load the magazines of most of the current semi-autos on the market. The stated features of this pistol address these issues and should prove easier to shoot accurately. The EZ also offers greater capacity as well as make for quicker reloads with a loaded second magazine. IMO the M&P EZ would be a viable alternative to a.38 revolver for her or anyone else with limited hand strength.
I applaud S&W for bringing this gun to market.
Unfortunately due to age and arthritis she no longer has the hand strength to easily rack the slide or load the magazines of most of the current semi-autos on the market. The stated features of this pistol address these issues and should prove easier to shoot accurately. The EZ also offers greater capacity as well as make for quicker reloads with a loaded second magazine. IMO the M&P EZ would be a viable alternative to a.38 revolver for her or anyone else with limited hand strength.
I applaud S&W for bringing this gun to market.
Lets see how may they sell. If my wife with Fibro and Arthritis can rack a 9mm shiled just fine the group that needs the easy racking must be pretty small. I wont carry a .380 nor will my wife and there is no reason to when you can carry a 9mm Shield that is smaller and more powerful. Just my opinion. its worth every penny you paid for it!
Wolfman-Iraq
Member
Brownells has this YouTube on the new gun:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbaQwx6UjYY[/ame]
Julie Golob:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgOIfz3KGZI[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbaQwx6UjYY[/ame]
Julie Golob:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgOIfz3KGZI[/ame]
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Will the ones without the manual safety have a trigger safety?
That is an AD just waiting to happen if it doesn't have a trigger safety and no manual safety. Like carrying a 1911 with no safety.
I know, get a good holster. Not everybody will get a good holster.
That is an AD just waiting to happen if it doesn't have a trigger safety and no manual safety. Like carrying a 1911 with no safety.
I know, get a good holster. Not everybody will get a good holster.
Deadeye Dick
Member
Did you somehow miss the grip safety?
My point is what happens when someone buys one WITH OUT THE MANUAL SAFETY. Throws it in a purse without a proper triggerguard. The gun gets jostled around, "Grip Safety" gets depressed, lipstick gets in the trigger. Kaboom. Think about it. The Grip Safety is the FPB. Maybe I am over thinking this. Murphy is cold blooded, and so are his Laws. If it can go wrong it will.
Sent from my SM-J700T1 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-J700T1 using Tapatalk
One gun to rule them all!!!
Some of you guys think in terms of guns, I think in terms of people.
We have an aging population. Smith and Wesson is addressing the needs of an emerging group wanting self-protection and ease of use of their firearm.
I'm racking my brain (get it?) trying to make this more complicated than that, but I can't.
I like it.
I think it's a good idea too. At 71 I don't have a problem with any slide but I find when I take folks to the range that are new to shooting that some younger guys 50-60 have a big problem with racking the slide or loading the mags even with a loader. Most end up buying a double action revolver b/c they can load it and cock and fire it with little effort. Really has surprised me how many people and women have trouble with the slide but it is a real obstacle. I know of a lot of folks that bought revolvers for this reason very well may have bought this product. I have a .380 BG I bought for a backup but could not recommend them. Replaced it with a Sig P238 but a lot of people don't like a SAO pistol. Still usually end up caring my J frame for back up.
It if is as easy to use as a .22 it could be a great step up from a rimfire for self defense. Good job S&W!
The problem there is they don't know how to rack a slide. I worked with my wife to no avail. then she watched you tube "how to rack a slide like a woman" and once she listened to how to do it she has NEVER had a problem.
Same scenario could apply to any pistol tossed in a purse, regardless of configuration . . .
Ijust posted this reply on the other thread about these pistols, not realizing that this one is the most current and active, so I am reposting it here as well.
As an old retired guy suffering from boredom, I spent the last couple of years working part time in a local gun store and shooting range. I waited on a LOT of folks who were not shooters or gun enthusiasts, but were looking for a gun for personal protection and with which they could effectively manipulate the controls and tolerate the recoil.
Many were older. Others had various strength and dexterity issues that limited their choices. Most of this group struggled racking the slides of most any center fire semi autos, and many could not effectively pull the trigger on a double action revolver. Recoil sensitivity was a concern for this group as well.
I would often try to show them every gimmick I had learned over 60 years of shooting that might help with the slide manipulation but sometimes none of those techniques worked for these folks. Sometimes I would try to point them to hammer fired semis, showing them how to pull the hammer back prior to racking the slide to make moving the slide easier. Sometimes that worked. Sometimes not.
The 2 pistols that we had that were the easiest to rack the slide were both Walthers: the PK380, and the 9mm CCP. Interestingly, they were actually approximately the same size. However, the CCPs had some reliability issues, and the PK380's manual of arms is a bit convoluted and unnecessarily complicated.
Based on what I have been reading, I believe this new S&W M&P 380 EZ is aimed squarely at the demographic that I was discussing above. If this new gun is as easy to work as advertised, and as reliable and shootable, then I think S&W will have a winner on their hands. It may not be for everyone, but for folks like those described above, it just may be the cat's pajamas.
Colt
As an old retired guy suffering from boredom, I spent the last couple of years working part time in a local gun store and shooting range. I waited on a LOT of folks who were not shooters or gun enthusiasts, but were looking for a gun for personal protection and with which they could effectively manipulate the controls and tolerate the recoil.
Many were older. Others had various strength and dexterity issues that limited their choices. Most of this group struggled racking the slides of most any center fire semi autos, and many could not effectively pull the trigger on a double action revolver. Recoil sensitivity was a concern for this group as well.
I would often try to show them every gimmick I had learned over 60 years of shooting that might help with the slide manipulation but sometimes none of those techniques worked for these folks. Sometimes I would try to point them to hammer fired semis, showing them how to pull the hammer back prior to racking the slide to make moving the slide easier. Sometimes that worked. Sometimes not.
The 2 pistols that we had that were the easiest to rack the slide were both Walthers: the PK380, and the 9mm CCP. Interestingly, they were actually approximately the same size. However, the CCPs had some reliability issues, and the PK380's manual of arms is a bit convoluted and unnecessarily complicated.
Based on what I have been reading, I believe this new S&W M&P 380 EZ is aimed squarely at the demographic that I was discussing above. If this new gun is as easy to work as advertised, and as reliable and shootable, then I think S&W will have a winner on their hands. It may not be for everyone, but for folks like those described above, it just may be the cat's pajamas.
Colt
There are generally two types of people who have difficulties racking a pistol's slide:
(1) people who have not been exposed to good techniques to rack a slide, and;
(2) people with infirmities that make it impossible to use more than X force to rack a slide.
I used to be arrogant enough to believe that essentially anyone could rack a slide if they wanted to and were willing to learn a few simple techniques. Then I learned humility the hard way. I injured the ulnar nerve in my arm and lost nearly all grip strength in my left hand; I could not even keep a 32-oz. soft drink cup from slipping out of my hand. While that was disconcerting, I was confident I knew the techniques necessary to operate my pistols when I took my weekly range trip on Saturday.
At the range, I took a solid hold on the slide with my left hand, powered the frame forward with my right hand, and immediately tore the slide out of my left hand's grip. I could apply plenty of force to rack the slide, but I could not hang on to the slide to make that force useful. Luckily, only my left hand was impaired. I could grip the slide with my right hand and push the frame with my left hand (no grip strength needed) to easily rack the slide.
I was lucky that my ulnar nerve healed and the grip strength in my left hand returned in a few weeks. My wife will never regain her former grip strength after surgery on her hands. I learned how wrong I was when I used to think she "wasn't trying" when, in fact, she was physically incapable of racking the slides on most pistols. Subsequently we have searched and found a few pistols that require less force and she has enough grip strength to rack the slides.
The 380EZ is about the last thing I'd ever buy. Why would I pick something that big that's chambered only in 9mm, with a dopey thumb safety and a useless grip safety to boot? I think I'll stick with my Glock 26, with its 10+1 rounds of 9mm, thank you very much.
But that's okay. S&W isn't making this pistol for me.
New shooters want these features. They want a gun that's easier to rack and softer-shooting (and the racking-grip-thingy on the rear of the slide is simply brilliant). New shooters like manual safeties, and they really like grip safeties. Are they the sorts of things I'd pick? No, but they give a new CCWer confidence.
And that's what this is: an answer for what a lot of people ask for. It's designed to be a first carry gun, or an only gun, or a *******-I'm-getting-old gun.
Because 9mm recoils a lot more than .380, and requires a stronger recoil spring than .380. Your perception of .380 ACP being "snappy" is entirely based on shooting it out of very small, very light pistols. This isn't one of them--think of it as 9mm Lite.
If you're going to be a gun enthusiast, then there's not a lot of reason to select a big .380 over a mid-size 9mm. That's okay, see above. A neophyte is going to see a much bigger difference.
I think new shooters in general. I see a lot of guys in otherwise good shape who have developed bad slide-racking habits (riding the slide, sweeping the line on their support side, etc) by virtue of quiet suffering. It doesn't just take grip strength or technique, it takes confidence in manipulation. New shooters do not have it yet. I've worked with a lot of people who really just had to be shown that some energetic manipulation wasn't going to hurt their gun.
In fact, that's really one of the things I'm proudest of S&W for doing. They're not marketing this as the M&P For Ladies, or offering it in your choice of black, lavender, purple glitter, or pink.
No, dude, you're just sexist.
But that's okay. S&W isn't making this pistol for me.
New shooters want these features. They want a gun that's easier to rack and softer-shooting (and the racking-grip-thingy on the rear of the slide is simply brilliant). New shooters like manual safeties, and they really like grip safeties. Are they the sorts of things I'd pick? No, but they give a new CCWer confidence.
And that's what this is: an answer for what a lot of people ask for. It's designed to be a first carry gun, or an only gun, or a *******-I'm-getting-old gun.
Because 9mm recoils a lot more than .380, and requires a stronger recoil spring than .380. Your perception of .380 ACP being "snappy" is entirely based on shooting it out of very small, very light pistols. This isn't one of them--think of it as 9mm Lite.
If you're going to be a gun enthusiast, then there's not a lot of reason to select a big .380 over a mid-size 9mm. That's okay, see above. A neophyte is going to see a much bigger difference.
smooth1 said:
I think new shooters in general. I see a lot of guys in otherwise good shape who have developed bad slide-racking habits (riding the slide, sweeping the line on their support side, etc) by virtue of quiet suffering. It doesn't just take grip strength or technique, it takes confidence in manipulation. New shooters do not have it yet. I've worked with a lot of people who really just had to be shown that some energetic manipulation wasn't going to hurt their gun.
In fact, that's really one of the things I'm proudest of S&W for doing. They're not marketing this as the M&P For Ladies, or offering it in your choice of black, lavender, purple glitter, or pink.
A Guy Who's Not Smooth1 said:
No, dude, you're just sexist.
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LVSteve
Member
Originally Posted by GRU_ 7_ mech
Not going to bad mouth this new S&W, but with plenty of small 9mm firearms to chose from ( like my CM9 Kahr for one) why buy a 380 that is a more snappy firing pistol and uses ammo that is around $5 a box more?
Because 9mm recoils a lot more than .380, and requires a stronger recoil spring than .380. Your perception of .380 ACP being "snappy" is entirely based on shooting it out of very small, very light pistols. This isn't one of them--think of it as 9mm Lite.
I still say that most folk who complain about .380 being snappy have never tried that caliber in a locked breech gun. It makes a HUGE difference. To my perception, a Ruger LCP (locked breech) is less snappy than a Beretta 84/85 (blowback). My wife's Sig P250SC in 380 is a locked breech pistol and is essentially recoiless.
100% agree! It is a night and day difference.
This is just what I was looking for, for my wife...and why I bought both a Sig 250 and Walther PK 380 (both locked breech with easy to rack slides). And I had a little shootout between my Sig 230, the 250 and Walther and the 230 is going to go...I shoot the others much better.
Where was this last year when I was shopping? And I'll probably be shopping again....I have no problem ditching the Walther....but I like the Sig and I'll keep that one...and got it in .22 (simple slide and mag change on this modular gun) so she could train in .22 and then move up to 380 and to 9mm if she wants....it's a tri-fecta that takes full advantage of Sig's design.
I'll be keeping my Shield 2.0 for pocket carry....and my 6906 and Walther P99ASc for IWB.
Where was this last year when I was shopping? And I'll probably be shopping again....I have no problem ditching the Walther....but I like the Sig and I'll keep that one...and got it in .22 (simple slide and mag change on this modular gun) so she could train in .22 and then move up to 380 and to 9mm if she wants....it's a tri-fecta that takes full advantage of Sig's design.
I'll be keeping my Shield 2.0 for pocket carry....and my 6906 and Walther P99ASc for IWB.
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