What upgrades to the Shield as an EDC weapon?

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bluelund79

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Purchased a SW Shield 9mm that was on sale. I had shot the 40cal Shield and was impressed. Besides the obvious of shooting the beejezus out of it for break in and familiarity, what are some of upgrades to do? I have seen the trigger upgrade from Apex, and will be looking at night sights, too. What else am I missing? I am looking forward to breaking it in next week when I return from a work trip.
 
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With what you mentioned above the only other and very important items would be a good COMFORTABLE HOLSTER with a good GUN BELT. Then lots and lots of rounds, some good training and you will be all set for some more rounds and more training.
 
I put a Pachmyr grip glove on mine (double sided tape underneath in front and back so it doesn't shift) due to the pistol grip being a bit "slippery".

Quite a few guys have Talon grip tape on theirs.

I also have an aluminum rear striker cover.

I haven't done anything with the trigger, as mine is just fine for me. Its a good shooting pistol. :)
 
I have a great gun belt, and got a good holster (using the same holster as my other carry weapons, but made for the Shield). I appreciate the reply's so far, they are greatly appreciated. On the grip tape, rubber or sand texture? I'd prefer whichever has the least amount of width addition.
 
Both the wife and I carry a Shield 9 everyday. I did the Apex duty carry kit on both. Our only differences is that her also has a Crimsom Trace laser. I carry mine in a DeSantis Sof-tuck, she in her "Pistol Packing Mama" purse. Nothing else needs done to them for a perfect carry piece.
 
I love my Shield 9 so much that I went out & bought a Shield 40. I alternate using both pistols for local IDPA club matches that we have weekly at the range & I find myself carrying the 40 more than the 9. Although either will get the job done if needed, I think I carry the 40 more probably cause of the cool factor that I'm packin a 40.

On both pistols, the only "upgrade" I've done was I added a Pachmayr slip on grip. To keep the grip from sliding around on ya wash the grip with warm water & dish soap to get that "oil" off it and then used rubbing alcohol & cotton ball & cleaned the grip. Doing this & the rubber grip wont slide around on you at all... For holsters I use alien gear cloak tuck 2 IWB and one thing that I feel a lot of guys lack on is a good strong belt. I use a 5.11 Tactical TDU belt I picked up at bass pro shops. The belt made a difference!
Other than that, shoot the heck out of it, & grab some extra mags. the shield is a perfect CC weapon!
 
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You pretty well covered it with the night sights and maybe some action work. I did not go for the expense of the Apex but did the light job from the online videos instead. Its down to about 5.5# which is what I want for carry. I have Apex products in my "game" guns and really like them for that function.

The DeSantis Sof-Tuk does work fine.
 
After shooting 500 or more rounds through it, you may feel that an Apex kit is not really needed. I've been carrying mine for 3yrs now and it's still stock.

If you feel the need to tinker, first look at the Burwells DIY Trigger job (a fluff & Buff)
S&W M&P Trigger Job

If you're not sure where on your body you're going to carry (3 o'clock, 4 o'clock, Front Pocket, Cross-Draw), make your 1st holster (oh... There WILL be more than 1!!!) a Remora. It will let you play around with various positions and cants, until you figure out which position and caant is most comfortable.
 
My daily carry gun is a .40 Shield. I have put a set of Talon rubberized grips on it, as well as Truglo TFO's. I carry it in a N82 Professional Holster. Really comfortable holster. I really like this setup...
 
I put Talon Grips and a Crimson Trace on my .40 Carry it in an Alien Gear holster.
 
I put Trijicon HD (yellow/green) on mine, great sights. That and some Talon rubber grip tapes is the extent of my modifications. I carry in a OWB pancake holster whenever I can, super comfortable, and unless you do the "tuck" thing just as concealable as IWB in my opinion, either way, there's a lump on your hip.

Don't go all crazy and buy an Apex kit until you have 500-600 rounds through the gun. My trigger seems to just get better and better. I doubt you'll need the Apex unless you plan to shoot IDPA or something with it, and even then I'd suggest waiting out the 500-600 before making a decision.
 
Sights, trigger, grip, magazines, holsters...

I initially used black paint on the rear sight to cover up the dots, which helped. Then I replaced them with a black rear and TFO front set from TruGlo, which was on sale from Midway. If I hadn't I probably would have tried the 10-8 black rear/fiber optic front sights.

The Apex Tactical Shield Carry Kit, keeping the stock trigger, helped quite a bit.

The gun feels a little slick and the edge of the trigger guard cuts into my middle finger, but I'm not ready to sand and stipple so I went with Talon rubber grip tape. One "finger" of the tape wouldn't stick and I had to trim it off, but otherwise it has worked well.

I tried both the Pearce and NDZ magazine floorplates, but didn't like either.

I just installed an lf-arms.com extended mag release and my initial impression is good.

Buy more magazines.

I have a MagGuts kit (+1 capacity) in the mail for range use.

I have a Blade-Tech Nano holster and it's OK. I wish it had tighter retention and rode a little higher, my middle knuckle hits my belt when getting a full firing grip. The gun is short enough I'm considering switching to OWB, probably a Blade-Tech Eclipse.

You could also have the slide fully serrated for one-handed manipulation and you could have it Magnaported for reduced muzzle rise.
 
My generic, unaltered Shield was fine out of the box. Other than a good holster, the most important thing you can get for your gun is ammo to practice with.

Congrats on purchasing a fine firearm.
 
Advantage Tactical Firefly Sights (cause my eyes are getting very old.) The triangle really helps me when my non-dominate eye tries to takeover in low light situations.

Lee Travino, when asked what clubs to buy, told the guy to get the cheapest sticks he could find ~~~and hit 600 balls every day.
 
Thank you for all of the replys. I have 500 rounds of 9mm waiting on my return from a work trip so I can break in that Shield. New holster and another mag is sitting on my workbench too. Range report once the initial shoot is completed will be posted, as well as taking my new to me 617-6 out at the same time
 
I added the LaserMax Laser and Talon Grips to mine. For now I use an Uncle Mikes IWB(Alien Gear Cloak 2.0 for my Shield and BodyGuard 380 w/ Crimson Trace on order) and my DeSantis Mini-Scabbard OWB Holster. It's a great firearm. Over 2k rounds down range and only 2 FTE.
 
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Groo here
Can you shoot the gun well enough?
If so, Good belt, if you carry that way.
A holster YOU will use.
As to night sights , If you can see the sights [ dark enough]
how do you ID the target.
If you can ID the target , night sights not needed.
[night sights will help you find the gun on the night stand]
Rather use the saved money to take a class on
short range shooting that includes "point", "point shoulder",
or sightless shooting.
 
Other then a good belt and holster it doesn't need a thing. Just plenty of range time. EDC isn't target shooting so why spend $ on a trigger job and night sights.
 
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