Advice for Shield .40

[ccampo]

I have a Shield .40. I am thinking of putting on Ameriglo SW-145 sights, and APEX kit and maybe getting the 9mm barrel for it. Any last minute advice on any of my changes is appreciated. I like Trijicon sight but they do not make them for the Shield specifically annd the Ameriglos look very similar. I am pretty sure about the APEX kit. I will be doing all work myself. I am up in the air about conversion to 9mm. I can shoot the .40 but I think the 9mm may be more comfortable to shoot.

 

[Maddmax]

I'd shoot it first and get it broke in,then see what you'd like to do with it. It's been known to make people change their minds now and then.

 

[Dean1818]

I went with the truglo TFO on my Shield 40

I would recommend dry firing it about 200 times and see if you like the trigger pull weight.

I chose to do a light polish on the trigger internals, and did a very slight re angling of the sear.

Made a huge difference.

I now have a smooth trigger pull at 4.5 to 5 pounds

Its VERY easy... Use the burwell trigger process, and do it yourself
I also smoothed up the edge of the striker block when I removed
The rear sight to put on the truglo sights

The front sight is a little difficult to remove, but if you put penerating oil on it for Awhile, it can be knocked out.

Tape it with painters tape and pad your vise. Use a brass punch.......


I absolutely love the result

 

[insomniac]

i kept my shield 40 stock for several months and hundreds of rounds. in that time i decided that better sights would be nice, so i recently installed XS big dots. i like them.

i had not planned to install the Apex kit on my shield. it's a carry weapon and i felt that the stiffer trigger would be safer.

however.......

yesterday i had a long range session (250 rounds) with the shield and my FS 40 which has the the Apex dcaek installed...as do all my other M&P pistols.

i was shooting them side by side and realized how i've become accustomed to the Apex parts. the stock shield trigger is not bad, but the force required to release the striker causes the muzzle to jump around, killing my accuracy

when i got home i ordered the Apex sear for my shield.

hope to never have to use my shield to defend myself, but i want to have it set up so that i can hit with it if that situation ever comes.

 

[Murphy's Law]

I was under the impression that only the DCAEK works on the shield. All the other kits (containing actual trigger, sear, etc) is "not" for the shield per APEX. You may wish to verify that before trying to install.

 

[insomniac]

I was under the impression that only the DCAEK works on the shield. All the other kits (containing actual trigger, sear, etc) is "not" for the shield per APEX. You may wish to verify that before trying to install.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/272637-sheild-sear-same-m-p.html

 

[robkarrob]

I have a Shield 40, and installed an Apex sear and blocker. I did not get the kit, as the kit includes a higher pressure trigger and sear spring. The full Apex Duty/Carry Kit (DCAEK) will yield a 5 to 5.5 pound trigger pull. Per Jon Shadwick from Apex, if you keep the stock trigger and sear spring, the trigger pull would drop to 4 to 4.5 pounds. My measured trigger pull, using a Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Gage, was 4.25 pounds. I have since removed the stock trigger spring and replaced it with a stock Glock trigger spring. My trigger pull dropped to 3 pounds 10-12 ounces. It is just where I want it.

Apex is now selling a Shield Kit. I bought my kit early June, and they had no Shield kit. They said their DCAEK would fit the Shield. As I said, I only bought the separate sear and striker blocker and not a kit. I would bet they added the "Shield Kit" to eliminate the many questions they were getting about if their kit would fit the Shield. Same kit with a different name. The only kit that will not fit the Shield is the FSS Kit (forward set sear trigger kit), as the trigger is smaller in the Shield than the other M&P's.

The stock Shield trigger is pretty good. I took good measurements of the before and after. My stock Shield had the following, all in inches:

Trigger safety takeup 1/8; takeup to start of sear pull 1/4; sear pull just under 1/8; over travel just under 1/8; reset just under 1/4; trigger pull 6.5 pounds.

After the Apex install:

Trigger safety takeup 1/8; take up to start of sear pull 5/16; sear pull little over 1/16; over travel 1/16, reset 1/8; trigger pull 4.25 pounds using the stock trigger and sear springs.

With the Apex install I lost about 1/16 of sear pull; lost about 1/16 of over travel; and lost 1/8 of reset. These are not huge gains (reset of 1/8 was good), but did shorten the sear pull, over travel, and reset. What I liked the best was the reduction in trigger pull weight.

I added a LaserMax laser and was not interested in changing out the sights with the laser. I also added Talon Grips and did I mention an over travel stop. That trigger stop eliminated all the over travel and thus reduced the reset to 1/16. It now has a 1/16 sear pull with just a tad over 1/16 reset. It is now a super trigger. You can check out the trigger in the following video:

Bob


M&P Shield With Apex Trigger and Over Travel Stop - YouTube



M&P Shield With Apex Trigger and Over Travel Stop - YouTube

 

[Dean1818]

3 pound trigger is VERY light if you CCW

 

[mcbizkit02]

3 pound trigger is VERY light if you CCW

Yeah that doesn't sound like anything I'd want to be a part of, but to each his own.

 

[robkarrob]

Practice makes perfect. You practice with a heavier trigger pull and are used to that pull. I practice with a lighter trigger pull and am used to it. This trigger has 7/16 takeup before getting to the sear pull, plus I use the safety.

An inexperienced shooter or someone that does not practice often, should not have a trigger like mine. But since I practice often, I know the pull, know the reset, know the recoil, know the time it takes to get back on target. My light pull trigger is safer in my hands than a 7-8 pound pull trigger in the hands of someone that doesn't take the time to practice.

Bob

 

[Ranger98]

I have installed the Apex sear and Truglo sights on mine.

 

[M29since14]

I am up in the air about conversion to 9mm. I can shoot the .40 but I think the 9mm may be more comfortable to shoot.

I believe I would just buy another Shield in 9mm. As for the Apex parts, I don't see any need for them in the Shield. It is not a 50-yard gun and I don't want or need a 4# trigger on this type of pistol. My own Shield has a pretty mean trigger (it's still fairly new) but it is getting better as I shoot it. Even as it is now, I could hit an apple every time at 15-yards. I would rather have a little safety margin in the heavier trigger. To each, his own, and all that.

 

[ccampo]

All good advice. I think I will skip the 9mm for now. I think I am going to do the Apex and sights. I was debating the Apex but if I have the sights off already, I may as well do it. I dont see the light trigger pull as a problem with the safety. Also I train to not have my finger on the trigger until I am shooting. I also want a Foxx iwb magazine holder. I have the holster and love it.

 

[M29since14]

I dont see the light trigger pull as a problem with the safety.

Good point. The Shield does have that advantage. I wish my little Kahr PM9 had a decent safety lock similar to the Shield.

I prefer the Shield's trigger action too, which has very little take-up, compared to the Kahr. I don't see the Kahr's very long take-up, together with no noticeable staging as the press progresses, as being an attractive set-up for this type of pistol.

I think S&W got it right in the overall layout of the Shield. My only concern with it is the rather odd magazine spring. Mine has already confounded itself once, for no reason that I could determine. I would have preferred a straight, single-column magazine with a minimal-size baseplate (similar to the one on 5906 magazines), but the jury is still out on the mag as-is, for the time being. If I get another bent-spring incident that I cannot attribute to being my fault, I am going to have my doubts about the design.