Do ANY Shields shoot to POA from factory?

[DartonJager]

I now own three Shields
A Gen-1 3.1" 8+1 Shield I bought in 2012
A P/C 4" Shield Plus I bought 4-5 weeks ago
A Gen-2 3.1" 13+1 Shield plus I bought 3 weeks ago.
And when I was sighting in my original G1 Shield it shot (post Apex trigger upgrade) consistently prior to adjustment 3-4" to the left at 15 yards off sand bags and both of my new Shields also shoot 3-4" to the left at 15 yards. Not high or low just nice uniform 2.5-3" clusters at 15 yards but always 3-4" to the left. Easily corrected by drifting the front sight Right, just surprised me this was the case with all three of my Shields.

I know this was not me as I didn't experience this issue with any of my three P320's or two Walther PDP's or my one 4.25" 9mm M&P C.O.R.E.

Not a big issue what so ever and easily fixed just surprised all three of my Shields had the same accuracy POA/POI difference.

 

[326MOD10]

I have had two Shields, Gen 1 version, and still own both.

They were the most accurate handgun out of the box I have ever owned.

Now, I will tell you that I had to adjust a little how I fired them because of the thin grip and a tendency to pull the shots to the left when I fired. I was told by Chuck Haggard, who I worked with at the time, to shoot the shield as if it was a J Frame and the groups would move to where they need to be. So I adjusted the amount of finger on the trigger and just like that on target.

May not be your issue but something to consider.

Have you had anyone else fire them to see if they also are experiencing the same issue?

 

[biku324]

This is a common problem. I own 2 Shield 2.0, one in 45, one in 40. Both shot 4 or 5 inches left at 10 yards, so I drifted the FRONT sights (as the manual says) so POA = POI with my duty ammo. Both are excellent machines, with the 45 my EDC, the 40 my wife's.

You get lots of advice on grip and trigger control that truly mean nothing when the sights are mechanically misaligned. Fix it and move on.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Have 3 Shields......Had to move the front sight on all 3.

 

[jammer216]

Yep, moved Shield+ front sight a few thousandths, all good....

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I think they install them with a hydraulic press........CUZ they are *()^&*^& to move..........SP's didn't work.....Used a hammer/punch.

 

[biku324]

I used the Wyoming Sight Drifter that I had laying around.

 

[Hawg Rider]

My PC M&P Shield Plus 9mm is an EDC, and it shot POA when I first took it out of the box. I have had no issues with this pistol, and not a single F2F. However, I can see how some of these short barrelled pistols may need to have the front sight drifted a little.

 

[rwsmith]

I own several Shields also. I'm in the process of re-evaluating each one and finding out what might be wrong with each gun compared to what might be wrong with my shooting them. I'm going to use my typical ammo without variation on each one. A ways back I decided I really needed to brush up on my SD skills. Found out I was shooting my original model Shield alarmingly low. Especially after reading this thread I'm going to run each one through the paces in my next range trips and see what needs to be done with each.

Unfortunately, 'Low' is a problem because Shields don't have elevation adjustment.

 

[LVSteve]

There's a big difference to shooting small guns versus duty and full size guns. One of the mistakes I think made with small guns is they are simply scaled down variants of larger guns. Funny thing, your hands are the same size on all guns, so usually the trigger reach is fouled up, and often how your hand sits on the grip. 326MOD10 alluded to this in post#2 above.

I also have a suspicion that shooting off sandbags doesn't necessarily take the shooter out of the equation. If the sandbags are under your wrists, that won't always stop the gun moving in your grip or your wrists cocking left/right as you squeeze the trigger. If the pistol is supported under the dust cover in a V rest, then that should deal with any errors introduced by your grip.

 

[gunny4053]

You're comparing apples and oranges. The way a full size firearm fits in your hand is different than how a subcompact fits your hand. This affects how your trigger finger and the trigger interact, in some cases causing you to push or twist the gun when you pull the trigger. This is mainly due to the difference in trigger reach. Generally right hand shooters see this as shooting left. Depending on the firearm, say Glock, it's often seen as shooting low left.

If adjusting the sight corrects the problem, then you're set. A better solution is to practice with the smaller gun and work on your technique with it. Another possible solution would be to change the grip, perhaps adding a Hogue Handall, making the grip fit your hand closer to that of the larger guns. This is what I have on both my ported PC Shields, one 9mm and the other .40, and both of those pitted the X on the first shot. There's not a huge size difference, but it's enough that I shoot the Shields as well as I shoot the larger guns without touching the sights. Good luck, shoot safe.

 

[biku324]

There's a big difference to shooting small guns versus duty and full size guns. One of the mistakes I think made with small guns is they are simply scaled down variants of larger guns. Funny thing, your hands are the same size on all guns, so usually the trigger reach is fouled up, and often how your hand sits on the grip. 326MOD10 alluded to this in post#2 above.

I also have a suspicion that shooting off sandbags doesn't necessarily take the shooter out of the equation. If the sandbags are under your wrists, that won't always stop the gun moving in your grip or your wrists cocking left/right as you squeeze the trigger. If the pistol is supported under the dust cover in a V rest, then that should deal with any errors introduced by your grip.

Well; I've shot N-, L- and K-frame revolvers and had no windage issues with any J-frame.

 

[DartonJager]

I think they install them with a hydraulic press........CUZ they are *()^&*^& to move..........SP's didn't work.....Used a hammer/punch.

OHHHH but I do know what you mean. I had to make my own sight drift punch out of a 35 Remington case and a small chisel as I BENT three brass punches trying to remove my Shield factory sights to do one trigger upgrade and instal XS F8 NTS sights on both my 3.1" and 4" Shield plus models.

 

[pantannojack]

I had a gs move my fs 1mm wind. fixed it.

 

[CajunBass]

I've got three shields that I don't shoot any worse than I do other guns, but I did buy them all used, so maybe someone else adjusted the sights before I got to them.

 

[white cloud]

I have two Shield Plus pistols. Both shoot "to the sights" with 115 grain standard pressure ammo. Both have also been totally reliable. It's nice to have two pistols ready to go right out of the box. I am past the stage where tinkering with guns to get them "right" is something to look forward to.

 

[M1A4ME]

I've not noticed an issue with the POA/POI with the Shield or Shield Plus.

I do have some experience with replacing sights. My Shield 9MM was pretty easy to replace the sights with night sights.

Another Shield slide I bought was darn near impossible to get the rear sight out of. Got a new rear sight tool that looked/felt more heavy duty than my original sight pusher/tool. Nope, wouldn't budge it. Bought a set of brass punches, sanded one down to a rectangular nose profile to increase the contact patch with the rear sight. Clamped the slide in my bench vise and went to work with the modified punch and a ballpein hammer. Nope. Back to the tool box for the 2.5 lb. shop hammer and destroyed the tip of the new brass punch before the sight finally moved a noticeable amount. Beat on the sight some more and finally got it to the point I could see almost have the striker block spring plastic cover. Removed it from the vise and put it back in the new sight pusher tool and it was still a no go. Got frustrated and put a cheater bar on the sight tool hand wheel/knob and as I'd crank on the cheater bar I could hear the sight popping and cracking as it moved out of the sight channel (made that loud bone snapping sound three times before it finally came loose. Filed on the sight some before putting it back in the slide. Still cranked on it pretty hard to get it back in and centered.

It stands as the worst rear sight removal job I've ever done up to this point.

 

[sousana]

I have 1 shield 2.0 9mm
1 shield 40 cal
4 shield 45 safety models

With the exception of the 9mm, at 21ft, they all shoot point of aim. The 9mm shot 1" port, now she's POA.

 

[gila_dog]

Mine shot left and it wasn't my fault. The front sight needed to be drifted to the left. So I beat, and beat, the front sight with a rectangular brass punch and a big hammer, while the gun was held down on a piece of cardboard on the concrete at the range. Finally the sight moved a little. The gun's POI moved to the right a bit, almost enough. More pounding, a little more movement, brass punch just about destroyed. Shot the gun some more, and it was perfect, right on. 800+ rounds later the gun is still absolutely reliable and deadly accurate. So I'm very happy with it and it's my EDC. But that was a miserable experience, beating on a brand new gun with a hammer and a punch. I know I should have gone home with it, done some research and found a sight pusher tool, ordered it, then tried to do a more professional job. But fortunately, my brute force job worked out ok.

 

[ccssid]

I always sucked shooting my shield 1.0. that was until I installed the Apex kit. Night and day difference. Fell in love with my shield again. So much so I went out and got an optic ready slide. Installed optic ( found an excellent deal on vortex defender ccw). Now I shoot the shield almost as well as m&p 2.0 compact. But still shoot my 1911's better