I read threads that claim that the M&P 9 Shield was accurate. What does that really mean? Does that mean a five shot 1.5" group from 7 yards? Does that mean that you hit five shots somewhere in the siloette? Does that mean you can hit the paper with five shots?
M&P 9 Shield accuracy?
- Thread starter gsparesa
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I can do the 5 shots in 1 1/2" at 7 yards but every shooter has different capabilities... The shield is not a target gun but does well for it's intended purpose.
If I do my part, my 9mm Shield will shoot 3" - 4" groups at 15 yards.
Depends mostly on the quality of the light, and how many cups of coffee I've had prior to the detonations.
Not as good as my 6906, but OK.
Depends mostly on the quality of the light, and how many cups of coffee I've had prior to the detonations.
Not as good as my 6906, but OK.
I ask this because I am having a difficult time with my M&P 9 Shield. I can shoot 1.5" groups with both of my CZs, both of my Barettas, both of my 1911s and all three of my Sigs. I can not do it with my Shield. I can not get my left hand hold good enough to keep the muzzle flip down. I have resided my self to shooting the Shield single handed. I can get three inch groups at 7 yards using either my right or left hand but the groups are three inches high. Anyone else having this problem?
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BigDog48
US Veteran
Nope. Mine was accurate right from the box (after a quick cleaning). I'd work on my grip if I were you, or use the pinky extension on the 7 round mags....or both.
At what distance?
MyDads38
Member
A Shield is not in the same class as a FS pistol, it's a compact Self Defense pistol. My Shields (both 9 & 40) are quite accurate out to 10 yards, which for ME is fine. At 3 yards/10 feet, my 40 Shield will drop 13 rounds into a 1/2" C-C group; 40 cal. bullet dia. is .400, so I think it's plenty accurate! My thoughts are, SD distances will be from arms length to 7-10 yards. If you can consistently keep groups center of mass you're doing well for what the gun was intended to do.
I shoot FS 4" revolver, have 3-FS M&P's and a FS 1911; the Shield IS NOT the same as these. I had to make only slight adjustments to my grip for my Shields to be accurate/comfortable, but I DID have to make some adjustment. You need to spend more time getting comfortable with your Shield; working on grip and dry firing will help. With correct sight picture/sight alignment, all my guns shoot centered groups on target. Most shooters have problem with low/left so I'm not sure why you are shooting 3" high @ 7 yards. My Shields shoot dead center and did right out of the box-again know how to use the sights with correct picture/alignment.
Leave the FS guns at home and work with the Shield, concentrate on the basics, adjust your grip and work on sight picture/alignment and you'll be fine. Also, pick up some 124 gr. ammo and see if that helps.
I shoot FS 4" revolver, have 3-FS M&P's and a FS 1911; the Shield IS NOT the same as these. I had to make only slight adjustments to my grip for my Shields to be accurate/comfortable, but I DID have to make some adjustment. You need to spend more time getting comfortable with your Shield; working on grip and dry firing will help. With correct sight picture/sight alignment, all my guns shoot centered groups on target. Most shooters have problem with low/left so I'm not sure why you are shooting 3" high @ 7 yards. My Shields shoot dead center and did right out of the box-again know how to use the sights with correct picture/alignment.
Leave the FS guns at home and work with the Shield, concentrate on the basics, adjust your grip and work on sight picture/alignment and you'll be fine. Also, pick up some 124 gr. ammo and see if that helps.
Sharpshooterfl
Member
Definitely a grip issue, not the gun's, yours.
Had the Sheild at the range yesterday.. Grip does matter...Finally found the grip needed to center my groups up from the low left (maybe 3 inches low and left), that I had been shooting...I don't have any trouble shooting under 2 inch groups at 7-10 yards with it... Does exactly what I expect a SD gun to do.. (as long as I do my job!)
When I want to shoot very small groups at extended ranges, I use a rifle...That pistol is for fighting your way back to the rifle you should have never set down!
73
Semper Fi
Ed
When I want to shoot very small groups at extended ranges, I use a rifle...That pistol is for fighting your way back to the rifle you should have never set down!
73
Semper Fi
Ed
walkin' trails
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This was with a brand new Shield last week at 7 and 15 yards with Gold Dot G2 147. Center of mass group at 15 and head group at 7 were fired from a two hand hold. The lower group was fired support hand only. This was a brand new gun, and I was also trying to get used to a slimmer grip and slightly stuffer trigger than what I'm used to with my M&Ps. I didn't try it at 25, but it seemed accurate enough to hit a torso sized target from further back.
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Just to put my 2 cents in...................I'm VERY happy with my Shield. I have however, always had trouble maintaining tight groups while using the 7 round mag because, my pinky finger has nothing to grip and it throws me off. My solution to this was quite simplw. I just bought another 8 round mag.
I took two of my single stack compact pistols to the range. One a Sig P239 and the other a S&W9 Shield. The P239 shot 1.5" groups at 7 yards into a bulls eye using "Point of Aim". The S&W9 Shield shot 3" high with a 3" group while using the 8 round mags. I tried using the "6 o'clock hold" but the group was still high above the bulls eye. The groups for the M&P9 Shield was high even when holding the pistol with one hand. My concern is with bulls eye shooting to determine accuracy for me. Without a bulls eye, I have no idea what you good people were aiming towards. I am a big dude and "breaking wrist up" was never ever a problem for me. Let me put it this way. I shoot my S&W 627 PC one handed and make 2" groups at 7 yards using magnum loads. I do notice that the Shield's barrel tilts quite high when locked back. I'm not expecting a "blow back" alignment but I'm wondering if this plays heavily into the muzzle flip? Could my rear sight be too high? Think I will measure the sights.
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mikeyland
Member
Bought this for cc an don't like it. I feel better with the Glock 19 or the 42 or xds. in 45.
The height of the Shield's slide is 22mm across the slide. So, the top of the Shield slide appears to be flat across the slide like a Glock. It was difficult measuring the rear sight since it molded rearward. I measured the front sight and got 5.6mm. The rear sight was ~7.4mm for a difference of 1.8mm between the from and rear sights.
I used the sight correction calculator from Brownells WEB sight. The formula for sight correction needed is ((Amount of Error[3"] X Sight Radius[5.25"]) / Distance to Target[252"]). If I'm getting groups 3" above bulls eye, the correction IS 0.063" OR 1.6mm. The 1.6mm is awfully close to the 1.8mm difference in sight height.
I used the sight correction calculator from Brownells WEB sight. The formula for sight correction needed is ((Amount of Error[3"] X Sight Radius[5.25"]) / Distance to Target[252"]). If I'm getting groups 3" above bulls eye, the correction IS 0.063" OR 1.6mm. The 1.6mm is awfully close to the 1.8mm difference in sight height.
Hillbilly77
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My Shield is as accurate as I can shoot it.
This was the first target I ever shot when I first bought my Shield.
I can't remember now if it was 7 or 10 yards, but this was 100 rounds of WWB.
You can see it took me a few shots to learn the trigger, but then I shot out the bullseye easily.
Plenty accurate for a carry gun.
This was the first target I ever shot when I first bought my Shield.
I can't remember now if it was 7 or 10 yards, but this was 100 rounds of WWB.
You can see it took me a few shots to learn the trigger, but then I shot out the bullseye easily.
Plenty accurate for a carry gun.
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My 9mm Shield wasn't very accurate to POA for me either (low left groups) and a big part of the blame was the trigger. The rest was me. My other handguns have far better trigger pulls so I wanted to improve the Shield. I replaced the sear only with one from APEX. Instantly better with improved groups. I also discovered trigger finger placement is very important with this pistol. It's no target gun for sure and you won't find many people taking head shots in a hostage situation with it LOL.
When the sight dots fell out, I replaced the sights with Tru-Glo TFO night sights and I think that helped some too. If you want to shoot a pistol that really, really takes practice to shoot well - try the Ruger LCP. Love it and the Shield for their intended purpose - CCW. Good luck!
When the sight dots fell out, I replaced the sights with Tru-Glo TFO night sights and I think that helped some too. If you want to shoot a pistol that really, really takes practice to shoot well - try the Ruger LCP. Love it and the Shield for their intended purpose - CCW. Good luck!
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I think the biggest problem is that you're comparing the Shield to full size pistols with different types of triggers. This would be especially true if the Shield is your first striker fired trigger after extensive experience with SA and DA/SA triggers. The striker fired trigger has that wall before the break which makes it easy (at least for me) to introduce a flinch or push or some type of movement that impacts group size significantly. A shorter barrel and lighter weight also makes a difference.
Try shooting your Shield from a rest, if you can, and I think you'll find the accuracy is fine. Probably not 1911 accuracy though. It's just a matter of practice and learning the Shield and its trigger.
My Shield is as accurate as I can make it.
This was the first target I ever shot when I first bought my Shield.
I can't remember now if it was 7 or 10 yards, but this was 100 rounds of WWB.
You can see it took me a few shots to learn the trigger, but then I shot out the bullseye easily.
Plenty accurate for a carry gun.
I agree completely. The trigger on my Shield 9 is nearly as good as the excellent trigger on my SIG P320 Compact 9. I often practice at 15 yards. When I first got my Shield, I could only hit a 4"x4" square at that distance about 25% of the time. Now I consistently hit the square better than 50% of the time. That's plenty accurate for a self-defense gun for me. At closer ranges, it's even better. The attached photo shows my entry in Rastoff's Challenge--Dropping the Gauntlet, in the Concealed Carry section of the Forum. It requires 4 shots from 3 yards, 6 shots from 5 yards, 6 shots from 7 yards and 4 shots from 10 yards. The shots must be taken "cold" -- no warm-ups. I'd had my Shield for two months at the time.
Keep working at it, and it (and you) will get better!
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