A Shield 45?

[Nakanokalronin]

Hmm..........sounds interesting but, how many rounds could you get in a single stack mag for the Shield platform? Maybe 5 or 6?
Nah..........I'd rather just have a 1911.

I'd guess 5 in a flush fit mag like the XDS.Using the extended magazine would offer more rounds if someone wanted to carry it that way.

I had Officer and Ultra sized 1911s and the fatter,longer grip still caused printing. That's one advantage poly guns have, no need for bolted on grips. I even tried some slim line grips and it was still tugging on the shirt. I think S&W would do well with a 45 Shield as long as they could keep it as close to the size of the current Shield as possible. I don't doubt that some XDS45 owners would switch over as well.

 

[shooter1911]

Hmm..........sounds interesting but, how many rounds could you get in a single stack mag for the Shield platform? Maybe 5 or 6?
Nah..........I'd rather just have a 1911.

I'd rather have a 1911 also, as indicated by my name, but it's tough carrying ol slab side while wearing my Speedo

 

[Amedeus]

The first line of 40 Shields had some issues, because it was designed around the 9mm round. Trying to stick a 45 in that same platform simply wouldn't work. If they made the frame bigger and heavier to handle the larger round of a 45 it would just be a Compact 45 with a flush thumb safety.

Which would work for me. I hate the big wingy looking safety on the compact and full MP's which is why I sold my 40 compact for a 40 shield. I wish they would offer the flush thumb safety on all M&P's.

But you would be far better off asking S&W to add the Shield features to a M&P Compact in .45 then asking them to design a larger version of the shield, there is not a whole lot of difference between them anyway.

I wanted a larger version with the same features. I ended up getting a FNS 40 which, except for the trigger reset which has an added safety feature of reseting from the slide and not a spring feels and fires just like my Shield, only it carries more then twice as many rounds.

 

[B3500]

Was happy with my XDS45 when I got it. Was not so happy with it when it came back from the recall with a completely different feeling trigger, it was much heavier than before. Almost sold it off because of it. Soon after PRP came up with a post-recall spring kit and I put that in. That seems to have wrangled the trigger back to the pre-recall feel so am good with it again.

The 7 round magazine is nice at the range and for carry on the belt as a spare, it makes the grip too long for me to carry IWB. It would be great if SA would bridge the gap between the standard 5 round magazine (4.4" overall height) and the 7 round magazine and come up with a 6 round magazine, that would be enough to get the pinky on the grip and not make it overly tall for concealed carry.

Kahr recently came out with the CM45 - finally - after they initially announced it nearly two years ago at the shot show of January 2013. One does wonder why it took so long after they announced it before they actually started building and releasing it to the public. It might be something else to consider now if wanting a small 45 for carry.

 

[Nakanokalronin]

The first line of 40 Shields had some issues, because it was designed around the 9mm round. Trying to stick a 45 in that same platform simply wouldn't work. If they made the frame bigger and heavier to handle the larger round of a 45 it would just be a Compact 45 with a flush thumb safety.

Which would work for me. I hate the big wingy looking safety on the compact and full MP's which is why I sold my 40 compact for a 40 shield. I wish they would offer the flush thumb safety on all M&P's.

But you would be far better off asking S&W to add the Shield features to a M&P Compact in .45 then asking them to design a larger version of the shield, there is not a whole lot of difference between them anyway.

I wanted a larger version with the same features. I ended up getting a FNS 40 which, except for the trigger reset which has an added safety feature of reseting from the slide and not a spring feels and fires just like my Shield, only it carries more then twice as many rounds.

The XDS45 is very close to the size of the Shield, yet smaller than a 45 Compact. If SA can do it, S&W should be able to as well.

I sometimes see people saying the Compacts are barely larger than the Shield and never understood it. I had a 9c and Shield 9 and it was a night and difference when carrying. Everything is thicker on the 9c which is important when carrying IWB. The grip would print more and pulled the pants out farther which meant bigger pants and/or shirts. I can wear normal pants and shirts with the Shield or XDS.

 

[GerSan69]

I'll cut to the chase: if they come out with one, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!
Another possibility: adapt the 45c design to a single-stack with a shorter barrel. No reason I can see that keeps the compact's system from being fed by a single-stack mag. The rest is plastic and therefore open to redesigning a narrower grip/mag well. I understand that's essentially all that Springfield did to shrink down to the XDS.

 

[Nakanokalronin]

I'll cut to the chase: if they come out with one, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!
Another possibility: adapt the 45c design to a single-stack with a shorter barrel. No reason I can see that keeps the compact's system from being fed by a single-stack mag. The rest is plastic and therefore open to redesigning a narrower grip/mag well. I understand that's essentially all that Springfield did to shrink down to the XDS.

Actually the XDS is a completely different system and shares none of the internal or external design of the XD/M series. I say we all write S&W tomorrow for a Shield sized 45. Imagine if they got a flood of similar requests at the same time.

 

[beamon]

I've been dreaming about the possibility of a 45 Shield, but I'm getting closer and closer to trying an XDS.

I'm a bit of a nut on 'fit and finish', and that XDs is one finely constructed pistol! Congrats to the Croatians on a good job. I don't own one, but I could see one in my future. From all the YouTubes they seem to run fine.