Safety or No safety M&P9 Shield

[Saudade]

You can buy the safety, spring, and indent for about $50 and add the safety to your compact. Look at your gun. You can see on the frame where the plugs are installed.

JFTR

His question regards his Shield. The Shields don't use plugs like the rest of the line, so there's no "conversion".

 

[oink]

Safety, yes.

 

[Old cop]

Since I've never trained w/a safety (aside from a 1911 in the military in '66) I prefer not to have it, and own only those handguns I deem safe enough to handle w/o it.

 

[double-dipper]

Due to my age and where I am in life I don't carry. And I don't want to pay $350+ and 2 days for a W&C permit that I may not need in 3-4 years, but I do have a Shield the car when I travel, with no safety.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Ron,
is it legal where you live to carry a firearm in the car without a W&C permit? if not, the question about safety or no safety won't matter much to the cop, prosecutor or judge.

safety or no safety I prefer no safety and carry it in a holster in condition #1

 

[sousana]

I prefer handguns with safety's, mostly because after 50 years of using the 1911, it's so ingrained in me to go for the safety I really don't think I'd be able to fire a semi that didn't have a safety primarily because I'd still be looking for said safety when I got popped.

 

[Ron In MD]

Do you have a round in the chamber and where in the car is the Shield? Glove box, center console, lock box, under the seat, holster like carrier?

I carry with a round in the chamber in a holster because having to chamber the round takes time, requires two hands and is another way for something to go wrong.

But if you will have time to retrieve the gun from under the seat or a glove box if you need it you will probably have time to rack the slide and chamber a round too. If you are worried about kids or grandkids finding the gun most of them will lack the strength to rack the slide, its more of a deterrent than a safety. And you would not have to go through the process of buying a new gun in what sounds like a restrictive state.

When out of state I keep mine in a lock box tethered with a steel cable. I don't need a holster, as stated I don't carry and don't plan too.
No grandchildren to worry about getting hold of it.
Yes, the not so great state of maryland is restrictive. It is not by choice a shall issue state, so they made it expensive and time consuming to get a W&C permit that expires in 2 years. At my age I have no plans to get one.

 

[Ron In MD]

Ron,
is it legal where you live to carry a firearm in the car without a W&C permit? if not, the question about safety or no safety won't matter much to the cop, prosecutor or judge.

safety or no safety I prefer no safety and carry it in a holster in condition #1

No it is not permitted in the not so great state oh maryland to carry a firearm loaded in your car without a W&C permit. From home to and from the range it must be in holster or box unattainable by passengers and sparated from ammo.

 

[Ron In MD]

I prefer handguns with safety's, mostly because after 50 years of using the 1911, it's so ingrained in me to go for the safety I really don't think I'd be able to fire a semi that didn't have a safety primarily because I'd still be looking for said safety when I got popped.

Understandable, I hope you never get popped.

 

[kbm6893]

JFTR

His question regards his Shield. The Shields don't use plugs like the rest of the line, so there's no "conversion".

Read his post that I replied to again. He said he doesn't have one in his 2.0 Compact but wishes he got one with the safety. I know the Shield can't be converted. The full size and compacts can.

 

[Lucifer]

When I was introduced to sticker fired pistols about 10 years ago, I had to have a safety.
I have gained a lot of confidence and now would prefer a non safety weapon. In fact I have a few M&P variants that had the safety and I removed them and installed the plugs instead....
So it really is personal preference, confident and peace of mind.....

 

[BSA1]

I'm thinking, nothing for sure yet, of buying another one and wanted a consensus of what others do that's all.

Ah I understand.

I believe in "2 is 1 and 1 is None" so my pairs of self-defense guns are the same models and set up the same. My M&P's are Gen 1's without the safety. The first Shield I brought has the thumb safety and was intended for conceal carry by my wife. This proved to be a mistake as my wife's M&P doesn't have a safety and she was not familiar with the use if it. We decided that under stress it was best to have it the same as her larger M&P. I gave it to my daughter whose pistols have the thumb safety and brought a Shield without the safety for my wife.

Long winded way of saying I try to keep things the same.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

They really got the safety right on the Shield. As stated above I use it while holstering but carry with it off.

 

[BSA1]

Do you practice automatically sweeping the safety off every time you draw the gun just in case it somehow accidentally got pushed on?

That was my Come to Jesus moment. Like you I did the same practice of holstering my Beretta 92 with the safety on then pushing the safety to off position for carry. Then one day I happened to look in the mirror and was aghast to see the safety was engaged. I never practiced with disengaging the safety when I draw it and realized that the time I wasted figuring out why the gun wouldn't fire could get me killed. Fortunately the safety on the Beretta 92FS can be converted to decock only which I have done on both my carry and spare 92's.

 

[biku324]

We have two Shield 2.0 - mine is in 45 and was a fair bit cheaper than other 45 Shields online because it was MA compliant (with a safety). My wife's 40 was the same price either way - safety or none, so we took one without a safety. I've yet to use the safety on mine, and don't intend to start.

 

[HEADKNOCKER]

Out of five Shields of various calibers all have the manual safety except for one = The Optics Ready Shield Plus 9mm

 

[sousana]

Understandable, I hope you never get popped.

Not a chance Ron, I've carried my 1911 since 1981 concealed, I'm too darned old to change my carry pistol. The only difference now is that more often than not my primary carry is my Caspian Titanium framed 1911 with a Safari Arms Matchmaster Slide.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

Do you practice automatically sweeping the safety off every time you draw the gun just in case it somehow accidentally got pushed on?

No. That would defeat the purpose of carrying with it disengaged. But your point is well taken and this is something I have spent a lot of time thinking about. With any other gun I wouldn't try it. With the Shield, the safety is unlikely to engage on it's own. I will periodically check the position of the safety throughout the day and I have never found it in the engaged position.

 

[RobzGuns]

Do you practice automatically sweeping the safety off every time you draw the gun just in case it somehow accidentally got pushed on?

That was my Come to Jesus moment. Like you I did the same practice of holstering my Beretta 92 with the safety on then pushing the safety to off position for carry. Then one day I happened to look in the mirror and was aghast to see the safety was engaged.

One of the things I noticed, right off the bat, is that the Shield's manual safety sweeps Off very easily, but is more difficult to sweep On. I actually can not sweep the safety On with my shooting hand. I need to engage it with my support hand.
So far, almost 11Yrs of carrying my Gen1 Shield9 with the Safety Off and no unintentional engaging of the Safety. (knock wood).

As far as I know, there has not been any 'first hand accounts' of the Shield's manual safety Engaging on its own. DISengaging on its own? Yes (usually due to an improper fitting holster), but not Engaging on its own. And Yes, there have been Plenty of 'A friend read on another forum' reports, but no First hand accounts.

 

[Ron In MD]

Ah I understand.

Long winded way of saying I try to keep things the same.

This is my thought too, "KISS" always comes to mind.