My opinion about the M&P 40 Shield
As I stated in my earlier posts about the M&P40 Shield, after having made my November 20, 2014 purchase and taking my new Shield home, I found that it was inoperative right out-of-the box. As a result, the following day on November 21, I returned it to the dealer who sent it to Smith & Wesson for inspection and repair. Today, December 19 the dealer returned the repaired shield to me. The report from Smith & Wesson accompanying the pistol states: REPLACED TRIGGER BAR.
I am not pleased with the quality control of Smith & Wesson to put this pistol up for sale in inoperative condition. However, I acknowledge that they did respond in a timely manner providing me with a repair of the Shield.
After I got the repaired Shield home today, I disassembled, cleaned and lubed it. I was satisfied that the pistol appeared to function without ammunition correctly. Then, I drove to the desert for a first shooting.
I set up multiple targets and shot 250 rounds into them. My purpose at this first Shield shooting was to familiarize myself with the pistol and to determine if it could properly handle different kinds of ammunition. To that end, I brought the following ammo:
100 rounds America Eagle AE40R3 165GR FMJ
12 rounds Hornady Critical Duty 91340 165gr JHP/XTP
14 rounds Hornady Custom 9132 155gr JHP/XTP
100 rounds REMINGTON UMC L40SW3 180gr MCFMJ
12 rounds Speer Gold Dots WX2-151931 155gr HP
12 rounds Winchester Bonded Q4369 180gr JHP
The Shield discharged each round without a single failure to load fire or eject.
Attached is one of my 10 yard double and triple tap targets
I achieved tighter patterns shooting slow fire 15 yard targets.
My hit patterns on 7 foot point shooting targets were wider but would still be lethal.
This is my opinion about the Shield after its repairs by the factory and my first successful experience shooting targets:
The Shield is an easy pistol to shoot and maintain. It has good balance, a smooth-crisp trigger, eye catching sights and manageable recoil. It is extremely accurate at defensive distances. It is not at all finicky handling all types of ammunition.
I find that the Shield being a sub-compact - single stack - slim size and modest weight pistol is easily concealable and comfortable to carry. It is what it is, a close combat defensive weapon. It is not a substitute for a rifle or recreational target gun.
My concern about the proper functioning of the Shield before I shot it was based upon the gun being faulty out-of-the-box. However, after shooting 250 rounds of mixed ammo without a failure and seeing the accuracy with which I am able to achieve, I am now confident to carry it concealed on a daily basis for my personal protection.
As I stated in my earlier posts about the M&P40 Shield, after having made my November 20, 2014 purchase and taking my new Shield home, I found that it was inoperative right out-of-the box. As a result, the following day on November 21, I returned it to the dealer who sent it to Smith & Wesson for inspection and repair. Today, December 19 the dealer returned the repaired shield to me. The report from Smith & Wesson accompanying the pistol states: REPLACED TRIGGER BAR.
I am not pleased with the quality control of Smith & Wesson to put this pistol up for sale in inoperative condition. However, I acknowledge that they did respond in a timely manner providing me with a repair of the Shield.
After I got the repaired Shield home today, I disassembled, cleaned and lubed it. I was satisfied that the pistol appeared to function without ammunition correctly. Then, I drove to the desert for a first shooting.
I set up multiple targets and shot 250 rounds into them. My purpose at this first Shield shooting was to familiarize myself with the pistol and to determine if it could properly handle different kinds of ammunition. To that end, I brought the following ammo:
100 rounds America Eagle AE40R3 165GR FMJ
12 rounds Hornady Critical Duty 91340 165gr JHP/XTP
14 rounds Hornady Custom 9132 155gr JHP/XTP
100 rounds REMINGTON UMC L40SW3 180gr MCFMJ
12 rounds Speer Gold Dots WX2-151931 155gr HP
12 rounds Winchester Bonded Q4369 180gr JHP
The Shield discharged each round without a single failure to load fire or eject.
Attached is one of my 10 yard double and triple tap targets
I achieved tighter patterns shooting slow fire 15 yard targets.
My hit patterns on 7 foot point shooting targets were wider but would still be lethal.
This is my opinion about the Shield after its repairs by the factory and my first successful experience shooting targets:
The Shield is an easy pistol to shoot and maintain. It has good balance, a smooth-crisp trigger, eye catching sights and manageable recoil. It is extremely accurate at defensive distances. It is not at all finicky handling all types of ammunition.
I find that the Shield being a sub-compact - single stack - slim size and modest weight pistol is easily concealable and comfortable to carry. It is what it is, a close combat defensive weapon. It is not a substitute for a rifle or recreational target gun.
My concern about the proper functioning of the Shield before I shot it was based upon the gun being faulty out-of-the-box. However, after shooting 250 rounds of mixed ammo without a failure and seeing the accuracy with which I am able to achieve, I am now confident to carry it concealed on a daily basis for my personal protection.
