If you had to choose

gunny4053

gunny4053

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I'm eyeing a couple Shields, so I'll ask your opinions. One is a Shield 45, no manual safety, the other is a Performance Center .40, also no manual safety. Price wise, they're within a few bucks of each other. I like both calibers and have shot both guns before. Both are of a size and weight that will make my back happier when carrying, and if I could, I'd probably buy both. Unfortunately, I can't right now. So, if "YOU" had to choose, which would you prefer and why?

By the way, there's no right or wrong answer here, just looking for a gentle nudge. ;)
 
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I often carry a Performance Center 9mm Shield Plus, with thumb safety (because I sometimes carry appendix IWB, and you know...). I like and looked at the .45s, but decided that I wanted to have a few more rounds in the magazine. If I were to make a suggestion, I would say get a .45 Shield from the Performance Center. With or without thumb safety is entirely up to your preference. I don't dislike the .40, but I have better control and better hits with a .45 compared to the "snappy" .40.
 
Simply for the reason that I have been set up to reload and cast bullets in 45 acp for a few decades , have buckets of brass , and I'm not set up to reload & cast bullets for 40 S&W and I don't feel like beating the bushes looking for dies, brass and bullet moulds for a new round ...
Also 50 years of shooting 45 acp in semi-auto's and revolvers has left me with a liking for the older round ... I shoot it well and have even won trophies in NRA Bullseye Match competitions with it .

My Choice ... The 45 acp ... hands down !
Gary
 
45 for sure. One reason not mentioned yet is that if you ever go to resale it, 45's normally sell way easier than 40. That may change some day, but it's been the market for several years.
 
I'd go 45 ACP. Ammo is, once again, available and for the reloader, you use big, fat cartridge cases and big, fat bullets which are easier to handle than short, skinny cases and bullets... at least for me.
 
Haven't shot either Shield but would guess the .45 would be softer shooting.

The .40 may sting a bit more in the Shield.

But not totally sure. Just basing off cartridge performance in other firearms.
 
If these are the only two options, I would go with the .40 for ammo prices.

However, why not go with the Shield plus? I have seen some deals online that make it hard to refuse.
 
.45acp

gunny4053 said:
I'm eyeing a couple Shields, so I'll ask your opinions. One is a Shield 45, no manual safety, the other is a Performance Center .40, also no manual safety. Price wise, they're within a few bucks of each other. I like both calibers and have shot both guns before. Both are of a size and weight that will make my back happier when carrying, and if I could, I'd probably buy both. Unfortunately, I can't right now. So, if "YOU" had to choose, which would you prefer and why?

By the way, there's no right or wrong answer here, just looking for a gentle nudge. ;)
Click to expand...

I would go with the .45. I have both and the .45acp version I have just eats anything. The .40 performance center I have only has about 200 rounds through it with a few Winchester white box 165gr not feeding properly. Assuming that was just break in issues/ammo pickyness, I would still go with the .45acp. No noticable difference in recoil for me, but the 45 just feels better in the hand due to it being slightly larger.
 
I've got multiples of all shield calibers. Were I forced to choose 1?

Shield 45. PERIOD

At 31ft using TZZ 230gr FMJ I get 1.961" groupings, and of 3k rounds not one malf.

At 31ft using 147gr JHP groupings were 1.827"

But in all honesty here, you couldn't go bad choosing ANY caliber shield.
 
.40 for 2 reasons. When compared to .45, bullet weight for bullet weight (180 grains or less) .40 is ballistically equal to the .45 from the same manufacturer (Usually.) I don't think any perp is going to notice 5/100ths of an inch difference in bullet diameter. "Excuse me sir, that's only a .40, you need to shoot me again please!"

Second, for those smart***es that request another shot, I believe the .40 is +1 over the .45 in mag capacity. I could be wrong on this, and if so I know someone will be most happy to point out my error as usual.

And third, (hey, wait a minute, you said 2 reasons!) the porting of the PC makes the requested follow up shot a little easier to get off quickly.
 
Thanks everyone, lots of good reasons for both, but in the end, I decided to go with the .45. Ran in and put it on lay-a-way this morning and found a bonus. After looking at the tag, it comes with 4 mags, 2 holsters, and the original box for $399. Probably a little high, but the whole thing looks like new, even the box. Since I reload .45, I'm set for a while.
 
Good choice

gunny4053 said:
Thanks everyone, lots of good reasons for both, but in the end, I decided to go with the .45. Ran in and put it on lay-a-way this morning and found a bonus. After looking at the tag, it comes with 4 mags, 2 holsters, and the original box for $399. Probably a little high, but the whole thing looks like new, even the box. Since I reload .45, I'm set for a while.
Click to expand...

You will not regret that choice my friend. Enjoy you new gun. Let us know what you think after getting it out to the range.
 
I don't own a shield anymore but I have had multiple samples of the 9, 40 and 45's. ( All 3 stock with grip tape and an apex duty kit trigger job) Of the 3, I found the 45 ( by far) the easiest and most pleasant to shoot. The 9mm/40SW flavors seemed too slim and slick in the hand (even with grip tape). the first round was fine but the gun would swim around in my hand with follow up shots. This was particularly true in the 40SW which had the harshest recoil of the three. The 45 on the other hand was just a bit more hand filling and ergonomic. It's recoil was very manageable and accuracy was VG.

That said, I ended up trading them all at one point because they really offered very little more concealability over a well tuned M&P compact yet gave up considerable mag capacity and overall smoothness of operation.

Your results may vary.


p.s. The 40 is considered a "has been" round in many circles since the FBI and other LE agencies moved away from it. . When I last worked in a gun shop a few years back, we couldn't give a 40SW chambered carry gun away. Some would sit on the shelf for over a year. If you go that route, look for a discount .
 
I was going to nudge you toward the .45, but I was too late. I've owned both. Nothing wrong with .40SW, in my opinion. I'd prefer either to 9mm, but a 9 is a bit more economical to shoot. To actually rely on, in this case bigger is better, to me.
 
I've had one of each in the past, and as it has been said many times, hindsight is 20/20. My youngest brother has my original Shield .45. He acquired a PC .40 with no manual safety in a shrewd deal, but really wasn't into .40 and wanted a manual safety, which my .45 had. At the time, .40 was my preferred caliber and I liked the no safety version better, so I made a trade with him, and we were all happy. At some point, we started downsizing the number of calibers in the safe and since my wife shoots 9mm, 9mm was what we settled on.

These days, with ammo and most reloading components back in reasonable supply, adding a caliber isn't an issue. Although I like my Glocks, yes, I'm one of those guys, I believe the Shield will be my carry gun of choice for the foreseeable future.
 
I'm probably answering this wrong. I really try to never buy a carry gun without a manual safety. Sometimes, like my 340, this is impossible.

I also try to not buy small guns over 9mm Luger in caliber/recoil level. This has nothing to do with me being a wimp, etc. It is all about shot timer performance. With the higher recoil rounds, I find my hand shifts just enough to slow my split times below 0.4s. I don't like that for putting rounds on target.

If your measured performance meets what you desire, both are a well made handgun.
 
I understand what you're saying, but......
Depending on the firearm, I don't mind a manual safety, but if I had to be critical of the Shield, the thumb safety is all but useless. Will it make the gun safe? Yes, right up to the point you need it to defend yourself. It's too small and tucked in too tight to the frame to function quickly when needed. Considering I'm a Glock guy, I've learned that the best safety is the one between your ears.
Keep your finger off the trigger until it's time not to and carry it in a good holster that covers the trigger.

As far as recoil, the Shield .45 has almost none. It's a bit of a mystery in that it has very little for such a small package. In fact, if I had to describe it, I'd say it has more of a push than a sharp pulse. This one may be different than my first one, but I'm betting she'll put 230gr hole punchers COM and one to the melon just fine. Split times just don't concern me because I'm not a gun gamer. How'd they put it in the movie Shooter, "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast". I'm good with that.
 
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