After six surgeries on my hands in the last three years plus severe arthritis I came to the conclusion that my Sig P938 was no longer an option for me. It hurts to rack the slide, my grip strength has diminished and I no longer can hold the slide back to remove the take down lever. Love the gun but it’s time to move on.
I have a M&P 1.0 full size 9mm with an Apex trigger and a red dot that I still enjoy shooting but is too big for comfortable carry so my search began. I tried the P365, Hellcat, M&P Shield Plus and many others without success. S&W has been touting their Shield EZ and their Equalizer as being designed for people with poor grip strength, arthritis and women and when I tried them I found that it was true. I could hold and function both of them equally well. The EZ is like a first generation Shield, single stack but with tabs on the magazine like a 22 to pull down for reloading. For me, my finger-thumb squeeze strength and the pain associated with that cancelled out that feature. I would still have to use my UpLULA which still works for me.
I then closely inspected the Equalizer which is to the EZ family like the Shield Plus is to the Shield family. I have read many articles and seen a lot of videos about the grip safety and how many people don’t like them. Also mentioned was the trigger, is there any review of any gun where that is not mentioned? My LGS had four Equalizer’s in stock so I tried all of them to see which one had the best trigger pull. The difference between them was amazing, from gritty all the way through to gritty halfway through to not bad. The last one I tried was the charm, very smooth to the wall, crisp break and a decent reset. I pick that one. Turns out that one was the model with a thumb safety which is a turn off for many. However since I have been carrying a P938, a mini 1911 style pistol, cocked and locked for years it’s not an issue for me nor is the grip safety. It is also optic’s ready and since at 77 all my pistols have optics on them that is another plus. It also comes with three magazines; a 10 round, that I probably won’t ever use, a 13 round that allows me to get a full three finger grip an a 15 round that will most likely be used at the range.
I brought it home and field stripped it and did a full cleaning. Yesterday I took it to the range to start the break in process. I loaded the 13 round magazine with 10 rounds five times on the first target. At 10 yards hand held, no rest, it was a dream to shoot. Very light recoil and quick recovery. The trigger was nice and I assume with more rounds through it, it will get even better. I shot 100 rounds , 50 per target, and the gun ran flawlessly It was a bright sunny day and I had a little trouble with focus on the front sight, remember, old eyes and all my pistols have red dots on them. The pistol seemed to shoot a little bit left but it’s good enough for me. I’ve already ordered a Holosun 407K for it. Here are the obligatory pictures of the two targets.





Would I recommend the Equalizer to anyone? Not really, if you’re young, healthy and enjoy shooting there are plenty of options out there for you. However if you’re older, have compromised hand strength or a slight female, I believe this is probably one of the best, if not the best option out there currently to keep you in the game either as a carry gun or a comfortable range gun.

Thanks Joe, I bought an EZ a few years ago but may have to check this out.

I do like stories with a happy ending!

__________________
Sit Reloader Sentiret

I’ve had mine for a while now and find it to be very accurate and easy to shoot. I think it would be a good option for anyone looking for a good conceal carry and also still be able to shoot at a distance and shoot very accurately. Mounted a holosun eps carry green dot on it and can still barely use the stock sights. I’ve shot it out to 21 yards at my backyard range and it shoots as good as my 2.0 compact and the other more full-size guns. I carry the 13 round mag with a 15 round backup.

+1 on the 13 round mag in the gun and the 15 as a backup. I have a Holosun EPS Carry 6 MOA green dot on mine. I carry IWB and like having the extra peace of mind the grip safety + thumb safety brings when stuffing a loaded pistol in my pants.

Attached Images

831B15B4-455F-405F-A7FC-6C735CBBB8B2_1_201_a.jpg (146.7 KB, 54 views)

I have the old EZ 9mm with the 8 shot mag, which is ok. But I want to put an ambi safety on it. Trigger is about 3-4 pds and very smooth. Want an extra level of protection.

It shoots good and it is accurate.

I find the thing to be quite accurate for it's class, i.e. polymer compacts.
It hangs right there with the Sig X Macro. For me, I'd like a stronger recoil-spring to help mitigate the felt recoil a bit more. However, I haven't researched to see if such a spring exists.

I hear you however the light recoil spring assembly is what allows me to continue shooting. As I noted in my op, I tried many others and failed to rack the slide on most. And yes, I’ve done the push version of racking the slide and it was still pretty painful. A pistol, regardless of brand, where you need to pull/push the slide to a certain point to remove the takedown pin is impossible for me at this point in my life. Old age sucks and it can only get worse. ☹️

I bought an Equalizer yesterday. I got one without the thumb safety and was pleased to see it also came without a mag safety as well. Both are deal breakers for me.

I shot it for the first time today, using Hornady Critical Defense and Critical Duty ammo. The second being 135 grain +P. I also shot a variety of range ammo of various weights. I used all three mags, did one mag dump shooting as fast as I could, and not one malfunction. The slide locked back solidly every time.

I gave no thought to the grip safety and it was never a problem. I did OK for the first time out, but my groups weren't that great. I am sure that will improve with more range time.

My current everyday carry is a M&P Shield Plus that I have been carrying for almost year. I have a green laser on it and it is extremely accurate. Being that I will soon be 100 minus 20 I find the Equalizer a solution to my aging hands. The ease of racking the slide is amazing. After I shoot another 100 rounds or so it will replace the Shield as my go to EDC.

I have both the equalizer and the 380 ez love both of them. Highly recommended both of them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk