Are you happy with your Shield???

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I have one that is now running like a top. It was painful, with several trips to S&W to get it that way. Lots of folks have great results new out of the box, others not.

If you have patience and want that weapon to work, go for it. Hope it will click sooner than it did for me.

(Mine is also a 9mm)
 
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I liked it so much when I rented it back in May '12, that I immediately bought one and have never regretted buying it.

As mentioned, the Shield is very tight to operated and manipulate, so do make sure she can manipulate the slide.

Also... If at all possible, she needs to rent one, or try someone's, to ensure SHE likes shooting it. Many subcompacts feel good when fondling it at the counter, only to NOT like how it feels to shoot. Not so much with the Shield, but still... If she doesn't like shooting it, she won't want to practice with it and subsequently, won't carry it.

As mentioned (also), the mag springs are VERY tight and getting that last round into the mag, when new, is near impossible. If you don't already own one, if/when you get the Shield, also buy an UpLula (Universal Pistol maglula). You won't regret it. :)
 
I bought a 9mm, had good results out of the box, except the front sight white dot took a flight in the first range session, no loss, I black them out anyway. It was reliable and I never had any trouble with the slide or magazines, though topping the mags off was stiff, not impossible and eased with use.

I liked the first one well enough to buy a second and had similar and reliable use through the first 250 rounds of FMJ and SD ammo. I now rotate them to keep the round counts similar.

No problems, no malfunctions and an adequate number of magazines and a couple of IWB holsters. It's a good back-up for a larger carry piece and a nice pocket gun for around the house, walking dog, etc.

Good luck in your choices!
 
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Yes. I love my shield. My wifes loved it so much its her EDC. I get to shoot it sometimes now and then.
 
The wife and I both carry the Shield 9. GREAT carry gun, but make sure she's willing to learn to manipulate the slide. My wife has issues with the slide, and is "slack" about practicing with it. It's not ideal, but I keep the gun loaded for her, and she's slowly getting better with the tight spring. She DOES shoot the gun with incredible accuracy, but she needs more time "handling" it. Heck, buy one just to have one...it's actually my favorite gun to shoot at the range, even over my M&P9 full size.

Just my .02
 
I love mine. I had to have one after carrying the 9c for a while. I have about 1000 rounds they it with no issues. The slide can be stiff, but with a bit of a break in period, it shouldn't be an issue.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've had my 9mm Shield for just a tad over 2 years. I've run close to 2000 rounds of all different kinds of ammo through it without any malfunctions at all. I have a 638, a Taurus TCP and a Ruger SR9c that are in the carry rotation but the Shield is the gun that gets carried the majority of the time. In spite of being carried a lot it still looks like new. I carry on the waistband in a leather holster and there are no scratches dings or scuffs, so not only does it shoot well but it also has a quite durable finish. It would be extremely difficult to get me to part with my M&P Shield.
 
Thank you all for your replies...
She has a FS M&P 9 and has no problems operating it, she also shoots 1911's...
My avatar is a picture of her shooting her heavily modified 1911...
 
Even if she's used to 1911s and FS pistols, it doesn't guarantee that she'll initially be successful with the Shield. Subcompact springs are much tigher than FS (or even compacts). In fact, don't be surprised if her initial groupings a Low-Left. It seems that many people transitioning from FS pistols, because of the difference in grip, etc) initially shoot Low-Left and blame the gun... or the sights being off. Lightweight Subcompacts will bring out trigger control flaws that heavier FS and even Compacts can be 'forgiving' with.

There are probably several threads about the Low-Left phenomena on the 1st 2 or 3 pages of this sub-forum. Forum Search 'Low and Left' and you get several dozen hits. ;)
 
I just got mine Wednesday but I like what I see so far, specially the way it conceals. i will take it to the range later in the week when it warms up, plan to put about 200 rounds through it if my arthritis doesn't make my hand hurt. When I brought mine home and handed to my wife she held it and said "I like this". I think I'll be selling my Bersa Thunder.
 
I have had my shield 9 for almost a year and absolutely love it. A good 1000 rnds down range and not an issue. Like stated above the spring is really stiff to start but after a couple hundred rounds it broke right in. Shoots like a champ and I have no doubt that it will go bang if I need it too! I added Williams fiber optic sites to it that really added to the weapon and put the Pearce mag extensions on them as well. Great carry gun. On my side all the time. Cant go wrong with the Shield
 
I've had my Shield 40 since the end of June of this year and have probably +-300 rounds through it. It has not malfunctioned once and is very comfortable to shoot. A couple of weeks ago my wife had the opportunity to shoot it and had no issues with recoil, shooting low-left or operating the slide. From about the 5-7 yard line she put them all in the 9 & 10 ring...with the majority in the 10.
 
I just got my Shield 40 yesterday and have only fired about 150 rounds. However, right out of the box the slide didn't seem too stiff or difficult to rack and from most of the posts it seems that it will get even easier with use. I'm looking forward to putting a lot of rounds through it.
 
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Absolutely. Zero issues. Carries well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I cannot recommend the Shield highly enough!
Yes, it can be a little tricky at first. They're tight and it can be difficult to get the slide locked back, for example.
But once you learn the gun and it's broken in, it works beautifully. It's easy to shoot, accurate, reliable and concealable.
I've been a confirmed Glock guy for years but liked the Shield from the first moment I saw and handled one. I'm glad I bought it. It's my primary carry gun now and fun to shoot. I plan on getting one for my wife and my son-in-law down the road.
When S&W introduced it, it was an immediate game changer. Everybody else has been forced to play catch up.
 
I'm still waiting on mine. the paperwork should be ready this week. The Empire state loves paperwork.. This is my first S&W semi, I have Sigs and a Para and a few Colts, just cant wait to get my hands on this one Already started stocking up on ammo and a new Kramer holster. then its off to the range.
 
carry mine daily and shoot it every weekend at the end of my range trip. I love this gun and it shoots great and conceals great.
 
My shield 9mm was tight and not just the recoil spring, but fit of slide to frame, etc. Jammed initially and S&W replaced extractor. Still jammed and then I shot more and racked slide a lot and it now seems to be working properly.

As others have mentioned the recoil spring is strong and force must be exerted to retract slide fully. While recoil spring will loosen a bit with use, the tight fit on some guns will definitely loosen up with use.

For uses where I want a slim gun and/or one with safety the shield fill a need for me. But for general use I like a glock 26.
 
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I love my 9mm Shield. It's my do-everything conceal carry gun. After about 300 rounds it loosened up nicely and can do some impressive work at the range when the guy holding onto it goes his part.

I had a Sig P238 and a Taurus TCP that I used to conceal as well, but I always ended up going back to the Shield because I prefer the 9mm round and it just fits my hand better. I sold the other guns and never looked back.

Mike
 
I shoot the Shield 9mm better than some of the other guns I have. When I first got it I could not release the slide without extreme difficulty. There was nothing wrong with it, just stiff. After shooting a few hundred rounds and working it, dry firing and overall manipulation it loosened up. It's still a little tight but I'm sure another few trips to the range and it will be fine.

Right now I have an older 915, .380 BG, 9mm Shield, M&P 9 full size & M&P 45 full size. I love them all but shoot the shield best right now. I do need more range time, funny thing is I shoot the 45 better than the 9, go figure. I'm still figuring out which backstraps to use.

I haven't fired a lot of handguns but every time I do shoot something it just never feels as good as my S&Ws. Except for a good M1911, that's the first pistol I ever fired 40 years ago and it fits my hand great, the S&Ws are very similar. I even use the Magpul K2 grips on my ARs because they feel more like the S&W grip, especially the angle.
 
I like my 9mm Shield as a CCW. However i have taken it to the range twice just to get used to shooting it and its way off. Really off. Either the sites are screwd up right out of the box or something is wrong. I shot anther gun the same size of the shiel and no problems. However i moved the target to 12 feet and the grouping is off but i think i still could drop somebody with it if i had too. Maybe considering anther model. But i do like my other MP's. They shoot great just a little disapointed with my shield.
 
I love my shield, I will say, for those that say it's tough to manipulate that my friends wife, who went with a revolver for her EDC because she had difficulty manipulating slides on semi-auto's had no problem with my Shield out of the box. I have about 1000 rounds through mine, and it's much easier.

I do agree with the recommendation to get an UPLULA. After one outing, I went and got mine because of how tough the magazine springs were. I have mine on my hip unless I'm sleeping or at work. IWB for outside the home and OWB around the house or up on the property.

I highly recommend it compared to other guns near the price point. Maybe the only other gun I might consider, which I bypassed because I wanted a 9mm is the BERSA .380 Thunder CC. My friend has that gun as his EDC and it is easy to shoot. I didn't go .380 because 9mm ammo is much easier to find (not getting drawn into the arguement about which round is better for SD.)
 
Love mine. One very worthy upgrade is an Apex Tactical Trigger kit. The factory trigger pull of 6.5 lbs (possibly more with some state specific versions) is, IMHO too much for a pistol of that size. The Apex kit reduces the pull down to 5-5.5 lbs and is worth every penny.

I've also added Hi-Viz sights (for my old man eyes) and Talon rubber grips.

I've put about 500 rounds through it with zero issues. As others have said, stiff slide, but will loosen up after a couple boxes.
 
Carry mine daily. Works great straight out of the box, with over 600 rounds through it. The only FTE/problem I have had was due to carrying it for a month IWB without cleaning just to see how it would handle the lint/dirt.
 
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