Acceptable ammo in a S&W M&P Shield...

[Pat-S&W]

Sorry if I didn't go through all the tons of pages and pages on the Shield forum.

I am a CCDW licensee who only sees gun as a "tool" in the worst of situations. I perform at the level of about 7-8 out of 10 on marksmanship.

Ammo is a confusing topic and there is too much information out there. I am looking for the minimum/maximum grain and technical information on my 9mm Shield loads.

Thanks,
Pat

[Ranger17]

only 300+ rounds thru my new Shield (PC 9) but all practice ammo has been new brand 115fmj. That is the same ammo I've ran 3k rounds thru in my full size & compact MP's so i can keep one stock for all practice/fun needs... And it works well.
Just tried a couple mags worth so far of SD ammo in the Shield, it was Hornady 115 as well which worked out fine and consistent.
I have heard other Shield owners 'like' to run 124 gn, but for me if what I have works i'll stick with it for now anyway

* for a point of reference, (not to show off my still learning skills lol) to show how the particular ammo i use worked out for me i added a couple pix. One with all the holes was doing fairly quick shots with a couple mags at 6 yards, using UMC practice ammo. Other pic was one mag worth of the Hornady SD rounds at 7 yds.
Always room for improvement of course but at least the practice and SD rounds were pretty similar in their results. And again this is with a PC (ported) Shield.

[JAREDSHS]

Try some different grain weights in practice grade ammo(read CHEAP) Decide which one you shoot the best(most accurately),then find a Hollow point load that matches. They are all good---what is most important Is how accurately you hit the target, in the shortest time,--the MOST times. Don't worry you will be fine.

[bigwheelzip]

Welcome to the forum.
As many opinions as members. For self-defense, Federal P9HST2, 147gr. HST is well regarded and shoots accurately from all my 9mm's, including the Shield.

It's marketed as a "Law Enforcement" round, and generally not seen in brick and mortar stores, but lately has re-appeared through mail-order.

50 Round Box - 9mm Luger Federal HST 147 Grain Hollow Point LE Ammo P9HST2 | SGAmmo.com

My Shield shoots every weight bullet equally well, but I've settled on 124gr. for plinking.

50 round box - 9mm Luger Speer Lawman 124 grain TMJ Ammo 53616 or 53651 | SGAmmo.com

Tried a bunch of brands and weights, and not much difference in performance at self-defense range (5-7 yards).

[swsig]

I have a Shield 9mm with 4500 rounds through it. The only FMJ target rounds it does not seem to like are Winchester NATO. As to self-defense rounds, I suggest that you start with the list of rounds that meet FBI standards for penetration and expansion. You can find that list here:
Service Caliber Handgun Duty and Self-Defense Ammo

Choose a couple from this list, and fire at least 100 rounds of each to determine which functions best in your Shield. Any SD round that you trust to save your life should fire at least 100 consecutive times without failure. In my case, the rounds that have worked best in my Shield are Hornady Critical Duty +P 135g (zero failures out of 174 fired), Speer Gold Dot +P 124g (zero failures out of 116 fired), and Remington Golden Saber 147g (one FTE after 227 fired). I carry the Hornadys. Yeah, I know it's expensive to shoot all of that SD ammo, but what's your life worth?

Enjoy your new Shield, and welcome to the Club!

[Bill In Texas]

Anything you like off of this guy's list would be acceptable. Hope this helps

Self Defense and Duty Loads...ballistics info by DocGKR