Coastie762
US Veteran
My local FFL recently located a couple of new Shield 9MMs; he kept one and the other came home with me. I took mine to the range this morning and put 175 rounds of assorted FMJ through it without a hitch.
The springs on both the 7 and 8 round mags were stiff, but not overly so. I had no problems loading both to capacity. When attempting to seat a full mag on a closed slide, the 7 rd was noted to be harder to seat than the 8 rounder.
The pistol shot to point of aim (note, not always the shooter!). I tested 4 types of ammo off a rest at 10 yards. RWS 124 gr FMJ, Aguila 124 gr FMJ, Wolf 115 FMJ and Blazer Aluminum 115 gr FMJ. All put a full 8 rd mag into 1 1/4- 1 1/2".
No stoppages were encountered, even when deliberately shooting with a loose one-handed grip to see any effects of "limp-wristing". Ejection with all types were positive.
The trigger pull was measured at 7-7 1/4 lbs on an RCBS spring scale. I did not notice any of the roughness or "gritty" feeling during take up as was common on the larger M&P factory triggers. To me, the pull felt to be a bit heavier than the weight noted above. I believe this is due to the positive sear angle, which cams the striker back a bit before release as the trigger is pulled. By comparison, the Apex hard sear has a more neutral engagement angle which contributes to the smoother let off.
The only issue I noted was the take down lever seemed to be very stiff to move fully to the take down position. I found the roll pin for the locking block to be sticking slightly above flush, causing the lever to bind. A few judicious taps with a small ball peen and roll pin punch took care of that.
Overall I'm very satisfied so far. We'll see how the trigger feels after additional dry and live fire before deciding on installing the Apex kit. She'll definitely make a fine carry piece!
The springs on both the 7 and 8 round mags were stiff, but not overly so. I had no problems loading both to capacity. When attempting to seat a full mag on a closed slide, the 7 rd was noted to be harder to seat than the 8 rounder.
The pistol shot to point of aim (note, not always the shooter!). I tested 4 types of ammo off a rest at 10 yards. RWS 124 gr FMJ, Aguila 124 gr FMJ, Wolf 115 FMJ and Blazer Aluminum 115 gr FMJ. All put a full 8 rd mag into 1 1/4- 1 1/2".
No stoppages were encountered, even when deliberately shooting with a loose one-handed grip to see any effects of "limp-wristing". Ejection with all types were positive.
The trigger pull was measured at 7-7 1/4 lbs on an RCBS spring scale. I did not notice any of the roughness or "gritty" feeling during take up as was common on the larger M&P factory triggers. To me, the pull felt to be a bit heavier than the weight noted above. I believe this is due to the positive sear angle, which cams the striker back a bit before release as the trigger is pulled. By comparison, the Apex hard sear has a more neutral engagement angle which contributes to the smoother let off.
The only issue I noted was the take down lever seemed to be very stiff to move fully to the take down position. I found the roll pin for the locking block to be sticking slightly above flush, causing the lever to bind. A few judicious taps with a small ball peen and roll pin punch took care of that.
Overall I'm very satisfied so far. We'll see how the trigger feels after additional dry and live fire before deciding on installing the Apex kit. She'll definitely make a fine carry piece!
