Curious as to what the S&W ladies and gentlemen carry and why?

My current inventory includes: Shield 9, Taurus PT111 G2, and a M&P Full Size Crimson Trace.

I’ve been carrying my M&P Full Size AIWB and it’s perfectly comfortable comparable to any double stack I’ve tried (compact, Glocks, Springfield, etc…). Only drawback is the longer barrel of the Full Size which makes it uncomfortable when sitting but I’ve found some a trick to counter this by pulling up my pants a little when sitting.

Obviously, there are advantages and disadvantages to carrying a sub-compact (shield), compact (PT111 G2), and full size (M&P9).

My personal experiences:

Shield:
- Slim, light, comfortable, and easily concealable
- Recoil and muzzle flip is difficult to control without practice.
- Low round count.
- Fantastic manual safety. Literally no chance of accidental engagement/disengagement.

Taurus PT111 G2:
- Same profile as the shield except width.
- Double stack (12+1)
- Better recoil than Shield
- Shorter barrel/slide than FS when carrying.
- Good compromise between SC and Full Size.

M&P9 Full Size
- Softest shooter among the 3 with literally no recoil or muzzle flip allowing quick follow up shots.
- Nice beaver tail and full size grip.
- Capacity (17+1), lesser need of mag change. I’ve put about 500+ rounds through the M&P9 with a single mag and am confident in the primary mag not to fail during a SD.
- Very fun range gun. I’ve switched to 3” splatter targets when shooting with the M&P9 CT laser because it’s so easy to group (7, 10, 15, and 25 yards).
- Big, heavy, and uncomfortable to carry compare to the SC and compact. More difficult to conceal.
- Large and intimidating, not many will mistake a Big Black Full Size with a laser dot on target as a peashooter.


I haven’t touched my other pistols since acquiring the Full Size…it’s just so fun to shoot and train with. Trigger is amazing, accuracy is phenomenal with the CT Laser, and the comfort of carrying 17+1 with the rounds to deal with a wider variety of situations is very soothing.