I've put over 500 rounds of various brands of 115gr 9mm ammo (no +P or +P+) through my Shield and I am not particularly impressed with the accuracy at 7 to 10 yard distances. No recognizable groups were noted on a 12" square target. I can then fire the same brands of ammunition through my 9mm Glock or Walther PPS and can cover the resulting 50 holes with a 3 inch disc.
Trigger pull on the Shield remains at > 8 lbs (that's as high as my Wheeler trigger pull scale goes).
I've called S&W and am waiting to receive a shipping label to return the pistol to the factory for evaluation.
What kind of accuracy should I expect on return of the pistol?

I have about 1000 rounds through my Shield 9, and its grouping has improved of late. I recently took Rastoff's Challenge II (in the Concealed Carry section of the Forum), which is the Texas concealed handgun license shooting test. The test requires timed shots: 20 from 3 yards, 20 from 7 yards, and 10 from 15 yards. My Shield outshot my M&P 40c and my SIG P320 9. You can see the results here:

Rastoff's Challenge II

To give you some perspective, the centermost ring is 2" by 3".

My trigger is just about perfect, and if yours is 8 lbs., that seems way high.

Best wishes for a quick turnaround from S&W.

Echo47, My Shield 9 trigger tested out at 6.5#s with an electronic scale and I have an Apex Trigger Kit here at the house waiting to be installed. My groupings are not the best but I believe that to be the shooters problem. We will see after the Apex kit is in.

OP, while i dont speak from experience on a Shield (been pondering adding one to my 9c and fs 9 though), seems i have read that while 115 ammo works well in those MP models it may not do quite as well in the Shield. Have you tried any other ammo just for comparisons?
Not sure if that would affect what you were noticing so just thought i'd add the note on it.

I've found my Shield to be as accurate as I can shoot it.
I went to the range with my new Shield before I even went home with it.

I can't remember exactly the distance I was shooting, but after I learned the trigger, I punched out the bullseye easily. I want to say it was around 25 feet +/-.

This is my first target with my Shield, on the day I bought it. You can see I had a few flyers as I was getting used to the feel of the gun.
This was 100 rounds of 115gr WWB.

At 10 yards, slow fire, I average 8 .7 out of 10 in a 3in. circle, with the Shield 9. 10 out of 10 in a 4in. circle. Quick-fire I haven't really kept score, but I'm pretty much like the green target above. Double-tap... well most are somewhere in that green area.

Early on in my Shield 9 adventures, S&W CS told me that it was designed around 124g, and 124 JHP is my carry round.

I use Remington UMC 115g JHP as a general range ammo, so that the extra mags are always loaded with JHP of some sort. At Wal Mart it runs less than $1 more per 100 than Federal FMJ. I also suspect it is almost +P, as it has a more substantial recoil.

I'm happy with the accuracy.

My Shield 9mm is more accurate than I am. I put the Apex Duty/Carry trigger enhancement kit on it and dropped the trigger pull to a tad under 5 pounds. Very smooth trigger and a clear positive re-set. Nice!

Have you shot it from a rest? That would eliminate a lot of potential human error from the heavy trigger. The Shield is not a target pistol, or even really a range toy. It is meant for defensive use at short range. Mine shoots rather well for a small pistol. It has decent sights, which helps. I can hold about a 3" circle at 10-12 yards with deliberate fire, or clean the plate rack at the same distance firing rapidly. This is better than I expected. Any good S&W revolver will probably shoot one ragged hole at that range. A tuned target semi auto will do the same, most of the time. Shields, or FS service pistols, for that matter, not so much.

My 2 cents! I have shot about 300+ rounds from my new Shield 9mm! 5/10 and 15 ft about 3/4" group. Yea I no not great lol and have been trying 25 ft! At first I was all over the place, The last time I was 5/6" group with a few floaters! SO I am getting better, The Shield is also not a long range pistol so if I can hit center mass with 8 rounds I will be happier then the creeping crude who caught them :O

GREAT grouping remind me not to tick you off EVER lol

My newly acquired Shield 40, so far is a tack driver at 3 & 5 yards. I have yet to shoot it past those distances yet, but plan to at 7 & 10 yards.

Let me say, that until a week ago; I never planned to have/carry anything smaller than a 4" FS semi-auto at any time. And I may not carry the Shield 100% of the time. But I now have a smaller pistol available, that so far, I am very happy with! I can see myself picking up a Shield in 9mm some time in the future :-)

Accuracy is different from one person to the next and I strive for the best I can get from all my guns. With my Shield 40, the first 13 rounds of reloads (165 gr. plated) yielded a slow fire group of 3/4" x 1 1/4" @ 3 yards; 13 rounds slow fire @ 5 yards yielded a group of 3/4" x 1 1/4". 13 rounds of Federal Alum. 180 gr. FMJ @ 3 yards yielded 1" x 1 1/2" and 13 rounds rapid fire @ 5 yards yielded a nicely centered 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" group. No issues so far with 83 rounds down range in the first week. Never thought I would like a compact semi-auto, let alone one in 40 S&W. But the Shield 40 feels more like a 9mm and is a joy to shoot. With no issues and several hundred more rounds, I will be adding to my carry rotation.

This is my target from the 1st 'Rastoff's Challenge thread.
4 shots from 9', 6 shots from 15', 6 shots from 1' and 4 shots from 30'... All with my little Shield. The 3 shots definitely outside the 2" orange center, were at 30'.
Mine seems to be more consistent with 124gr FMJ & JHP than 115gr.
My Shield is stock... Factory sights, no Grip Tape, no Apex Kit.

The 2nd pic, of three 6" 'Shoot & See' targets, shows how well it does with controlled pairs (aka: double-taps) and just 30'... So the pistol CAN deliver great accuracy once you get used to it and Learn The Pistol.

While once in a while a person can get a Barrel-Slide setup with specs at the opposite ends of the tolerances (regardless of Brand/Model), MOST of the time, bad (or no) grouping is the shooter, not the pistol.

Very nice groups as well! I also agree the 124 gr, is a tad better in accuracy then the 115Gr. I am still amazed how nice this little gun shoots Getting the stock trigger pull down pretty good. I do not think it is too bad but that could change I just added the Talon Grip tape and $$$$ very well spent! Didn't no I need them till I tried them lol....

I thought mine was grouping 2 inches left at 10 yds so aked the range manager to shoot it and he put all 7 shots in a 2 inch bull and handed me the gun back. Don

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USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

I have no problems with accuracy with my M&P Shield 9. I also IDPA with it and its one of my primary carry's. This is just me standing, two hand weaver stance... As you can see, the center is entirely blown out, the few other holes (flyiers) are from me, not the pistol.... I would say the Shield is pretty fricken accurate for a compact 3" barrel 9mm.

dump the 115 grn. , I found mine loves the 124 grn, I can generally spin the 4" plates @ 20 yds. all day long with Freedomunitions 124 grn. reloads Round nose. With the Federal Tactical 124 gr. HST it just gets better!

I just hapened to have Federal 115 gr. 9mm that day. I've shot probably around 1k rounds of Freedom munitions 124 gr. FMJ's with better results. 147 gr. Win. Train & defend is what I now use for practice & IDPA, their "Defend" in the train & defend series is what I carry.

Heck Capt. Ron I never even tried the 147 grn. stuff, It might even get better, I'll have to give em a try !

I just proved the same point to a couple at the range a few evenings ago. Beretta 92M 9mm. These folks could barely hit a standard target at 10 yards (awful flinch) but just knew it had to be the gun/sights. I keep a pistol rest in my car, so I went and pulled it out. 6 rounds off the rest were just to the right of the bullseye and elevation was spot on. I was surprised the 92M had such a heavy trigger pull in SA, My M&P's have a lighter trigger! I then offered them some tips on dry firing at home, sight picture and sight alignment, trigger press and grip/how to hold the gun. And I let them fire my Shield 40 and FS M&P 9. It's all good, when you can help someone out and help them become better shooters.

Ha, I tried to accuse the guy of holding 2 inches to the right just to make me look bad. He did out shoot me on the BE challenge the range had going this week but that was only because he was shooting his Buckmark and me a M&P 22. Well I would like to think that was the reason. Don

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USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

My Shield's as good as I am on any given day.

Have you let anyone else shoot it to see if the results repeat?

LOL-Same for all the guns I own!

I found the 147's to be the best just shot it for the first time today. 124's were 2nd 115's weren't bad the heavier the better in my Shield I love it!

I too came to the same conclusion, that the M&P shield likes the heavier 147 gr. bullets better than the 124's. 115 gr. ammo was "all over the target" in comparison. You're not the first person that said that the Shield performs better with the heavier loads.

My first outing with my new shield, I was knocking down steel plates at 12 yards with 124gr 9mm ammo. Missed a few, but definitely hit more than missed. I was pretty happy. No real learning curve on the trigger.

Virtually all modern pistols are more accurate than virtually any shooter. Exceptions do occur, but they are exceptions.

I was very impressed with my accuracy and grouping with my brand new shield. It took a few rounds to get comfortable but then to my surprise my accuracy was better than my M&P 9 FS at 5-7 yards. Both targets had 17 rounds shot.

M&P 9


Shield

Nice shooting, Lead Pipe... Were you 'covering' the X with the front dot, or were you putting the X just above the Front sight (pumpkin on a post)?

If you were covering the X, it looks like you started anticipating the recoil and twisting downward. I'm guessing that the first few were dead-on and the low shots were after anticipation set in.

If you were using pumpkin on a post aim, start covering the X.

I believe my accuracy with my Shield is fine up to 21" or so. I shoot Freedom Munitions 124 grain bullets and I think I have better results with them than most of the 115 gr. ammo I shoot. I installed an Apex trigger kit in my M&P 9mm Pro and my accuracy definitely improved afterwards. However, the trigger pull in my Shield is at 6.5 lbs. and even though my accuracy might improved with the Apex kit, I really don't want lighter in a CCW gun. Also, the trigger breaks very clean and it's fine like it is. I'm really not worried about precision shooting past 30' and when I practice double tap rapid firing between 15' to 21', I'm more concerned about placing the shots in the torso of the target and the Shield performs just fine. BTW, I didn't see where you mentioned what Glock model you have, only that it is a 9mm. The Shield is no comparison for my 9mm Pro that has a 5" barrel. Your Glock might be a model 19 or 17 and then you're comparing apples to oranges for the Shield. Anyway, I know the trigger on the Shield will get better with the more rounds I put through it so I suggest to keep practicing and give it some time. I have large hands so I admit it does take getting use to. On my Pro I have the largest back-strap installed and that also helps me with my accuracy. Regards, Elliot45

Yep at 21 inches it is petty easy to shoot one hole groups even with out sites. Just kidding I know it was a typo. Well I hope so. Don

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USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

The first few shots, shooting my new M&P Shield, were on center and then drifted down and left. I'm right handed. This little pistol gets a mind of its own on the last couple of shots in a magazine.
Either that or it is me. Most likely me.

I'm pretty sure that would be you. Unless the sights adjust themselves while you're shooting, it seems pretty unlikely it's the fault of the gun.

I find the 9mm Shield to be very difficult to shoot with any accuracy. I have a lot of fly-away's and many drop down and some are wide left at 21'. My FS9 consistently groups at 3". I am about to get rid of the Shield!

mb

Try Rastoff's Challenge, it should improve your accuracy after a few attempts.

I thought I was a good shot until I tried it. My initial results made me want to improve on the basic principles, which made me a better shot.

I will go back to that challenge occasionally to gauge my accuracy.

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MSP - Retired

Thanks to all of you who replied. Clearly, there is a problem with my Shield and it has been FedEx'd off to S&W for evaluation once they return from their summer break (next week).
I didn't think it was the operator, and to confirm, I took my 1970's vintage Hi-Power to the range with the same ammo I fired through the Shield and was able to keep all hits (multiple 13-round magazines) at 25 feet within the 9-ring of a repair center target (100-yd rifle).
Other than the Prvi Partizan 115gr FMJs, all ammo fired was as recommended by S. Camp in his Browning Hi-Power book, so I was confident the ammunition fired was 'reasonably' accurate and consistent.
This will be my first warranty repair from the factory. The last time I sent in an out-of-warranty repair, it was about six weeks before the pistol was returned to me, but it was fully repaired and functioning as intended on receipt.
Patiently waiting..........

You're convinced it's the pistol, because a larger heavier Full Size pistol shoots the same ammo more accurately than a lightweight Subcompact pistol? okay.....

I don't think the Mother Ship is going to be able to fix the way you shoot the gun but good luck let us know haw that works out for you.

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USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

In my case I was drifting several shots at first. Worked on my trigger control and now a lot better! At 25 ft I am in a 6" group with a couple floaters! I would like to be 4" at 25 ft I do have 1000 rounds of 9mm I do need to burn so I am foeced to go shooting a lot

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9mm Shield

But the weather has been against me getting out to the range.

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Thanks! Yes I was using "pumpkin and post". I will try covering the X.