So the other day I unboxed a brand new Shield 9mm and eagerly waited to make a trip to the range.

So here we go...........

Likes:

1. Low recoil. I was astonished at how little recoil this little pistol had. I did not really think about it until I got home and had to try to remember if there was any recoil to speak of. I have heard of the nice low bore axis but it does not look lower than anything else. But wow what a pleasant shooter. I shot better with the 7 round mag than the 8 rounder. Go figure.

2. Sights are great. Coming from a Kahr CW9 which has very usable but small sights, the S&W were a dream. Nice and big. I have older eyes and wear reading glasses but not while shooting and the bigger 3 dot sights on the S&W were super.

3. MUCH more accurate than I expected from a 3" barrel. It shot pretty much point of Aim at 7-10 yards.

4. Excellent natural pointer. It feels very natural to hold the Shield. It points with no effort what-so-ever. A must in a high stress situation.

5. The trigger. This is a mighty fine trigger for sure. I do not know the pull weight and do not care. It was simply very easy to shoot. Very nice break happens without having the gun move around because of anticipation. This contributed to improved accuracy for me.

Dislikes:

1. The only criticism I have are the mags. It seem that S&W has managed to recycle the coil springs from a '71 Impala when building these mags. Those last couple rounds were a bear for sure. I had to stop in the middle of my shooting session and go into the gun shop to buy an Uplula.



All together I put 100 rounds through it and it never balked once. Perfect reliability. While I did like the Kahr CW9 overall, I needed a change. I also carry a Springfield XD9 and the two were a night and day difference in manual of arms. The Shield is a single action LIKE trigger similar to the XD9 and it was VERY easy to jump back and forth between them with no ill effects. Having owned both and a Ruger LC9 as well, I can say for me this is the head and shoulders winner. Highest build quality by far. The Kahr frame actually seemed thin and flimsy by comparison. The S&W has a metal-like stiffness much like a Glock, XD or other full sized polymer.

"Dislikes:

1. The only criticism I have are the mags. It seem that S&W has managed to recycle the coil springs from a '71 Impala when building these mags. Those last couple rounds were a bear for sure. "

Yea, same thing I found out! LOL!
But they do get easer after some use.

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

gearup,
Sounds like you sorta like your new Shield. I have had mine about a month and could not be happier. The springs in my mags came out of a '72 chev half ton pickup with overloads.I am either getting stronger thumbs or the mags are breaking in. I have seen many comments about a magazine loading tool called Uplula or something like that , that takes all the strain away.

Anyhoo, welcome to the forum and enjoy your shooting.

3 wks on my 40 shield, 150 rounds & sore thumbs for first 100. Mags are getting easier to load.
Great Site!

glad to hear it RPL. You going to carry and if so how? I carry the Shield 9 in my pocket.

Welcome to the group.

I do think I have found my long term solution for EDC. I carry CC and OC depending on the situation but ALWAYS OWB. This gun is light and carries so well. I have a Tagua BH1 thumb break holster that I like as well. This is the third gun I have used one of these holsters for. They are great values.

Mags stiff and a pain to load.

Hey did anyone mention the word Uplula to the new shield owners. :-)

I knew there was something you guys forgot to tell me.

gearup, Welcome to the forum and congrats on your Shield. What few rounds I've been able to shoot through mine pretty much mirror your results.

Good Luck and good shooting.

STCM(SW), Navy, what are you doing on the dry side of the State? Where are you located? I have family around Yakima, so one of these days when I pop over to visit, maybe we can send a few rounds down range. Thanks for your service my friend.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

I got lucky, my first S&W 9mm was the full size in FDE with a range kit. It came with an Uplula loader. Works great on My 9C and Shield also. Glad to hear you like the Shield. Its one of 2 pistols in my CC rotation. The other is a Sig/Sauer P938.

Congrats on your new pistol. I think S&W must use over sized mag springs on all their offerings. I never had to fight the mags on the Shield because I'd already fought that battle on my SD40VE. Uplula saved the day then and was used from the get go on the Shield.

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JR
SD40VE and Shield 9

As an added bonus, for those who want one, Crimson Trace announced a green laser for the Shield.

No such luck for those of us who have J-frame revolvers. (Insert pun about being green with envy here.)

The Uplula loader should be the first purchase with a shield or any other auto for the matter!!

I like my shield too, but it jammed quite a bit at first and I lost faith in it. It has been great for a while now and I am going to continue to shoot it without cleaning it. About 500 rounds without a clean and re-lube and no jams. After another 400/500 rounds I will be totally convinced. Many say that these guns dont need to be broken in, but in my case I think it did. A guy that I shoot with that is a handgun collector told me that the manufactures dont even want to talk to you until you have 500 rounds down range.

I cant believe how many people buy a hand gun and start to carry it before shooting a bunch of rounds through it.

Will be picking up my new, first Shield by end of work week.

Will do a thorough clean and degrease and then FrogLube it. Will also install the rubberized Talon grips and may likely color-fill parts of frame and/or slide with white or other colored nail polish.

First range trip should be this weekend and will report back here with any information contrary to OP's encouraging remarks. Intend to shoot at least 100 rounds of WWB for this first range trip. However, I usually do not form serious opinions about a handgun until after I've shot 200-500 rounds through it including SD and other HP ammo.

And yes, UPLULA has been with me for years until lost/stolen at an indoor range a couple of years ago. Have since replaced it with a new one. The price is 'steep, but cheap' in the long run.

IMHO, your standards are way too high for the realities (unless you face truly extreme danger on an almost daily basis). And your remarks contain self-contradictions. Whatever...spring for a Glock 26/19 or Beretta 92FS if you are so concerned about reliability. The latter averages 17,500 rounds without a stoppage.

Or consider a 9mm revolver if you want to stick with the caliber.

Almost any new mag is pretty stiff to load, and especially those which are double or partially double stacked. It is ALWAYS a good practice to fully load new magazines and allow them to sit for at least a day, better two days before heading out to shoot. During that time, you can also lock the slide back and allow the gun to sit with the mags.

Doing this causes fully compressed springs to begin to take the initial set that all new springs must take when they begin to be used. Many malfunctions of brand new semi autos can be avoided or reduced by following this practice. Try it and see if it does not help. The mag springs and the recoil spring will still be a bit stiff afterward, but not nearly so much as if you just take the gun from the box and go shoot. k

That said, I wish I had known about the Maglula universal magazine loader the first day it became available. It's a wonderful device, it doesn't cost much money, and it is a blessing for either young or old hands, fingers, and thumbs, even for single stack mags.

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So long ... Ken