I had a couple of Shields including the 3.1" plus but ended up selling them. Today I held and dry fired a 4" Performance Center with the CT dot and the trigger felt much better than what I remember. I read where a lot of people said that the performance center models were not worth the extra cost and the one with the dot is pretty expensive comparatively.

Just wondering what the verdict is from the group if the Performance Center CT is any better than a regular old plus.

The 4" PC guns definitely have improved triggers. I have the ported 4" PC Shield .45 with the original red dot from Shield that preceded the CT sights. One other thing that makes a difference is the 4" seems to balance better, especially with the longer mags. It's almost like an OR polymer 1911 size wise.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

It did seem to feel much better to me but it's been a while. Is the Crimson trace dot durable? Just wondering why they changed.

Were the Shields you sold older models or Shield Plus guns with the the new trigger?

I was at a gun store a couple of days ago and also handled a 4 inch plus with the red dot. The trigger was a little better than the one on my Shield Plus but not the big improvement other posters here are reporting. The trigger on any Shield Plus is a big step up from the trigger on the older Shields.

The CT sight mounted on the 4 inch gun had a very dim dot and no way to adjust brightness. It might have been a battery issue or something with that particular sight but did not inspire a lot of confidence.

I was at the store because I was looking for an optics ready pistol to replace my 2.0 Compact and would rather buy a new gun than get the slide milled. I walked out with an optics ready 2.0 Compact with the flat faced trigger and tall iron sights. I took both the old and new guns to the range and shot the new one better, mostly due to the flat faced trigger. I plan to put a Holosun 507c on the new gun. By the time I am finished the cost will be $100 more than the PC 4 inch Shield Plus, due to the 507 being a better and more expensive sight and 2.0 Compacts being more expensive than a Shield Plus. But if you look at the total cost the PC Shield Plus is not that expensive for a pistol with an improved trigger and a RDS.

If you want a pistol with a red dot I would go ahead and get the PC model. Otherwise I don't think it is worth the money. If you do get it make sure the CT sight is working properly, all the supplied magazines drop free, etc. PC means more features and a better trigger, not better quality control. The Shield Plus I own came with a dead front night sight and 3 of the 5 magazines that came with the gun would not drop free. S&W replaced the defective parts but I check everything I can check when I buy an new S&W these days.

I've had both in 3.1" The PC trigger in mine was MUCH better than the non-PC. I'm not a fan of lasers so never had the CT on a Shield, but have it on a Kimber Micro 380. I find it hard to activate and not all that useful. If I were to do it again, I would make sure to get OR Shields. Have become a huge fan of RDS.

My Shield was a 2.0 and I don't recall if it had a flat trigger. I also had M&P 9C OR and couldn't stand the trigger on it. I installed an APEX flat faced trigger and felt it was a marginal improvement. I basically gave it away because I just didn't like it. Sometime before that the Shield was sold off too. I don't have any striker fired pistols left. What interested me with the PC I handled today was the longer barrel and the trigger pull. It seemed to be much smoother than my last one and the reset seemed much shorter.

The model I saw today had a Crimson Trace Red Dot. I would like to option but don't want to pay extra for a ****** red dot. I didn't notice any PC Shields that were red dot ready that didn't include the red dot.

It sounds like the guns you previously owned had the curved and hinged trigger. If that is true you might find the flat trigger with the Glock style center blade is better than what you had before, even if not as good as the PC gun.

I don't understand why the only way to get a 4 inch Shield Plus is one of the performance center guns. They have all the parts. All they would need to do is not etch "Performance Center" on the slide and put in the same trigger and iron sights they already use on the 3.1 inch Shield Pluses.

The CT on the PC Shields is a red dot, not a laser. The originals came with a red dot made by Shield Firearms and Sights, ltd. The newer versions now come with the Crimson Trace red dot. They look the same other than the "CT" on the side of the Crimson Trace. The batteries last about a couple years, so if the dot appears to be dim, a new battery should brighten it right up.

As near as I can tell, these sights are pretty durable. If mine ever goes downhill, I'll replace it with the Vortex Defender. Larger sight window, way longer battery life, comes with everything needed to mount directly to the PC Shield slide cut, and is only about $250.

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SFC, US Army, Retired