I own an M&P 9C, a 9mm Shield, and a full-sized Beretta 92FS. All have factory night sights. Both Smith and Wesson and Beretta offer really good discounts to current and former LEO's and military personnel, and most of their LE guns come with three magazines, which is a nice touch.
There is something I love about all of them. I love that the 9C can be turned into a 17-shot full-size pistol by adding a magazine with an X-grip, and I love that even the short magazines hold 12 rounds. I can live with the trigger. I actually prefer this gun to my much-loved Glock 19 as a "Do It All" handgun. If I were back on the job, I'd cheerfully carry the M&P 9C both on and off duty.
I love that my Shield 9mm is so thin you can almost forget you are wearing it. I love its trigger, and I love that it is just heavy enough so that the recoil is easily managed by a new shooter. I think of it as the modern re-incarnation of the Model 39-2, especially with the 8 round magazine installed. It is my most consistently popular 9mm among my students, the one they choose to buy after their initial training class. My biggest problem with the Shield is keeping one. Students keep wanting to buy them from me. Finally, I love that the Shield is affordable, even without a police discount.
My Beretta 92FS is a big, beautiful pistol and is a total joy to shoot on the range. It is measurably more accurate at long range than the two Smiths. I often let novice students shoot it as their first semi-auto, because it almost shoots itself, and gives them a great first result. I also love being able to tell them that if they buy a Beretta, they are buying a product from the oldest company in the world that is still in business.
I love it because it is a fine example of a service pistol, and I can remember setting records back in the day in police service auto competition with stock 92's. I've carried it concealed in a good holster, even IWB, and know it can be done, and I remember when the Beretta 92 was a reliable autopistol when there were not many guns that could say that. I'm still a bit surprised at how many of my students with large hands still buy these, even at civilian premium prices.
So, I'm not getting rid of any of the three of them any time soon. I love all three, and each in its own way is a fine example of how much our sidearms have advanced in the last 30 years.
There is something I love about all of them. I love that the 9C can be turned into a 17-shot full-size pistol by adding a magazine with an X-grip, and I love that even the short magazines hold 12 rounds. I can live with the trigger. I actually prefer this gun to my much-loved Glock 19 as a "Do It All" handgun. If I were back on the job, I'd cheerfully carry the M&P 9C both on and off duty.
I love that my Shield 9mm is so thin you can almost forget you are wearing it. I love its trigger, and I love that it is just heavy enough so that the recoil is easily managed by a new shooter. I think of it as the modern re-incarnation of the Model 39-2, especially with the 8 round magazine installed. It is my most consistently popular 9mm among my students, the one they choose to buy after their initial training class. My biggest problem with the Shield is keeping one. Students keep wanting to buy them from me. Finally, I love that the Shield is affordable, even without a police discount.
My Beretta 92FS is a big, beautiful pistol and is a total joy to shoot on the range. It is measurably more accurate at long range than the two Smiths. I often let novice students shoot it as their first semi-auto, because it almost shoots itself, and gives them a great first result. I also love being able to tell them that if they buy a Beretta, they are buying a product from the oldest company in the world that is still in business.
I love it because it is a fine example of a service pistol, and I can remember setting records back in the day in police service auto competition with stock 92's. I've carried it concealed in a good holster, even IWB, and know it can be done, and I remember when the Beretta 92 was a reliable autopistol when there were not many guns that could say that. I'm still a bit surprised at how many of my students with large hands still buy these, even at civilian premium prices.
So, I'm not getting rid of any of the three of them any time soon. I love all three, and each in its own way is a fine example of how much our sidearms have advanced in the last 30 years.
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