Way back in the mid '90s my father bought a S&W 1006 from a shady fellow that frequented our business. It was a solid beast, stainless and chambered for the up and coming 10mm. Initially I was excited at having it under the counter, if ever needed. However, shooting it was an unpleasant surprise. The 1006 handled the 10mm recoil impulse quite well, making the pistol comfortable to shoot, but the grip and ergonomics were another matter. It did not fit my hand, at all, no matter what grip configuration was tried. When practicing finger point drills the muzzle was never aligned as desired. Having small hands the controls were a pain, I had the shift the pistol sideways in my shooting hand to reach the slide or mag release. The experience was terribly disappointing. So, I wasn't too heartbroken when the FBI showed up and collected the weapon stating it had been stolen from the LLEO evidence lockup. Never got the money back either. Short story long, we picked up a Colt King Cobra on sale and it resided under the counter till my father passed and the family business sold. The Colt is still in my collection.
In the intervening years I wouldn't even considered a S&W after that negative experience.
So, to the present. When it came time to pick a CCL piece I waited with bated breath for the Springfield XDs to be released in .45 ACP. Unfortunately, for the wrong reasons: it was incredibly compact (which was good), it was made by Springfield (product bias) and it was in .45 (a bad choice as it turned out). Bought it for full retail and proceeded to fling large chunks of lead down range in large random patterns. After about 2 years and 900 rounds it was realized that the gun would be useless in a self-defense situation. But not because of the weapon, I loved the XDs, the size, the feel, the function and the grip safety. The sad fact was that only on occasion, with slow fire and with great concentration could I keep all shots in center of mass. In a draw from concealment or attempted double tap some shots would miss a full silhouette at 10 feet. I was the culprit, anticipating recoil, jerking the trigger (which was much worse after the recall), slow recovery for a second shot and the little bugger just beat my shooting hand mercilessly.
During my attempt to tame the XDs the wife took her CCL class and we started shopping for her everyday carry. That is when we ran across the Shield. She loved it and is scary accurate with the piece. When I finally wrestled her to the floor and took the Shield from her, they were quite attached, I was amazed. The 9mm is so much easier to shoot, the lower recoil allows for much greater accuracy, easy follow-up shots, the trigger is much smoother&lighter and ammo is much less expensive that .45 ACP.
So, I sold the XDs (taking quite a loss) and bought the Shield. However, there are just a couple of features I wish the Shield had: 1. A grip safety, I feel more secure with the added safety measure.
2. A tactile loaded chamber indicator, much more preferable than a push check or trying to see a round in low light.
3. A trigger that does not return to firing position after the striker has been released. One could determined if the XD was cocked by the position of the trigger, not so for the Shield.
On the few occasions I had to deploy the XDs at night I was very thankful for the trigger reset and tactile chamber indicator.
Does anyone else feel the same?
In the intervening years I wouldn't even considered a S&W after that negative experience.
So, to the present. When it came time to pick a CCL piece I waited with bated breath for the Springfield XDs to be released in .45 ACP. Unfortunately, for the wrong reasons: it was incredibly compact (which was good), it was made by Springfield (product bias) and it was in .45 (a bad choice as it turned out). Bought it for full retail and proceeded to fling large chunks of lead down range in large random patterns. After about 2 years and 900 rounds it was realized that the gun would be useless in a self-defense situation. But not because of the weapon, I loved the XDs, the size, the feel, the function and the grip safety. The sad fact was that only on occasion, with slow fire and with great concentration could I keep all shots in center of mass. In a draw from concealment or attempted double tap some shots would miss a full silhouette at 10 feet. I was the culprit, anticipating recoil, jerking the trigger (which was much worse after the recall), slow recovery for a second shot and the little bugger just beat my shooting hand mercilessly.
During my attempt to tame the XDs the wife took her CCL class and we started shopping for her everyday carry. That is when we ran across the Shield. She loved it and is scary accurate with the piece. When I finally wrestled her to the floor and took the Shield from her, they were quite attached, I was amazed. The 9mm is so much easier to shoot, the lower recoil allows for much greater accuracy, easy follow-up shots, the trigger is much smoother&lighter and ammo is much less expensive that .45 ACP.
So, I sold the XDs (taking quite a loss) and bought the Shield. However, there are just a couple of features I wish the Shield had: 1. A grip safety, I feel more secure with the added safety measure.
2. A tactile loaded chamber indicator, much more preferable than a push check or trying to see a round in low light.
3. A trigger that does not return to firing position after the striker has been released. One could determined if the XD was cocked by the position of the trigger, not so for the Shield.
On the few occasions I had to deploy the XDs at night I was very thankful for the trigger reset and tactile chamber indicator.
Does anyone else feel the same?
