When I purchase a new firearm, I usually write my first impressions down, almost my own personal blog. Helps me put all of my thoughts about a new firearm in order. Usually I don't bother showing anyone but I figured I would with the Shield. Yes, it's long and I don't know why but I feel like apologizing for the length. You don't have to read it but it might interest some so here you go.
My Reluctant Shield Purchase and a Skeptical Review
When The Shield first came out there was a lot of excitement surrounding this new single stack 9mm from Smith and Wesson. It joined a short list (that seems to be growing) of guns that are untouchably hot. Guns that everyone wants and are willing to pay a premium to get. The XDS and the PPQ come to mind. I went down to my LGS to see if they were lucky enough to get one of within the first few days of their release. Not to purchase but I wanted to see what all of the hype was about. No luck. In fact they didn’t have any idea what I was talking about. They had heard rumors here and there and remembered something about it being mentioned by someone, etc… Hadn’t they seen the cover of every gun magazine in print? All was forgiven as they are only a small store and I told them I was looking forward to them getting one in.
Fast forward to labor day weekend. A phone call comes in letting me know that they have a Shield with my name on it and they’d hold it for a couple days if I wanted to come and check it out. Umm… O.k. I didn’t know I was on a list. Turns out that they had my name and number from my days searching for a Walther PPQ and they started a Shield waiting list with my name on the top. Yes it took almost 5 month for my LGS to finally get in their first Shield.
So here I am standing in the store holding a Shield that I had no intention of buying 2 days earlier. (How did I get here???)The owner could tell I was reluctant so he told me he’d give me 24 hours to think it over and then he’d call the next name on the list. “No problem, it will sell in 2 days so I can give you one” he told me as his list was 17 names long. Dang, I don’t know if it was intentional but it was a pretty good selling point. To have your pick before 17 (16?) other guys makes it easier to look past the flaws of the gun. I went home and watched a dozen YouTube videos and read twice as many articles. The next day my shield was paid for after raiding the hunting rifle fund which had been slowly building. Looks like my 30-30 will head out in the woods for another year. I do like my lever action so it’s not the end of the world.
I was initially reluctant to purchase the Shield for a number of reasons. While I have frequented different forums and read what seems like endless glowing reviews about the shield, I didn’t automatically assume that it was a great gun that fit my needs. Was this gun going to be that much better than my current conceal piece, an LCR? Thickness never really bothered me in my concealed weapon and the M&P9C otherwise has pretty much the same dimensions as the shield. Wouldn’t I be better off with the M&P compact with its increased capacity, interchangeable grips and established aftermarket products? I could use the compact in the range games, I mean training exercises, so could The Shield fill that role? Or will it be like my LCR which seems like a one trick pony? The LCR is not a fun gun to shoot all day at the range from a recoil perspective. 50 or so rounds and my hand starts letting me know maybe it’s time to switch weapons. Would The Shield be the same way?
To answer one of those questions right away, before I bought the shield I held both the full sized and the compact M&P to get a good idea of what my .25 of an inch difference was giving me on The Shield for thickness. Boy, you wouldn’t think a quarter of an inch would make a difference but comparing the two side by side, the compact is a little piggy. I didn’t make the guy put the small backstrap on, maybe that would have made a difference but as the M&P grips effect palm swell more than grip thickness I didn’t feel it was necessary. Yes the thickness is noticeable and since I’m buying the shield for CC, the thinness of the shield is something that I want. Time and experience will tell if the new M&P will finally be a firearm that will truly disappear to both me and anyone else who may notice.
Admittedly I headed to the range with my new possession and a healthy dose of skepticism. I tire of all of the gun magazines and their stellar reviews of almost every gun that they review. I’ve always suspected blatant collusion but that is a subject of a different matter. I wanted to judge for myself if the new Shield was truly as spectacular as they say. I already knew that the firearm fit well in my hand so the ergonomics were there. The fit and finish were what I expected from Smith and Wesson. If the fit and finish were not acceptable, that would have been a surprise. Off to the range to put the Shield through it’s paces. If it didn’t measure up, I would have no problem voicing my concerns or expressing disappointment.
After a quick cleaning and a test of the trigger (8 ½ pounds!!!- S&W’s spec sheet says 6 ½ so here’s to hoping the trigger loosens up a little) I went off to the range with a couple experienced shooters and instructions to all to pay attention and give honest reviews. You won’t hurt my feelings pointing out flaws in my new gun. To sum up everything, the Shield surpassed my expectations right out of the gate. For starters, I found the gun to be a very soft shooter for such a small 9mm and I would have no problem working on drills such as good ol’ El Presidente all day at the range. With the 8 round magazine all of my fingers fit nicely on the grip. With the 7 round mag, I lose most of my pinky grip yet that didn’t effect how I was able to manage recoil or my aim. In all my new Shield fired 250 rounds down range without a single problem. Not enough to call the weapon 100% reliable yet, but that is a nice start. Finally, accuracy was spot on. I didn’t try to bench test it nor did I shoot from 50 yards away as the Shield wasn’t meant to be a target handgun. But in all of the self-defense drills and small competitions that we held, the Shield held its ground delivering consistent double taps to center mass from 7 to 15 yards away. The Shield even won several small competitions to see who could shoot all of their clay pigeons first from 15 yards away. Natural pointer, natural shooter and I’m happy.
Both of my companions were pressed to come up with negatives about the gun. Rob, a Navy veteran and experienced shooter, couldn’t figure out what niche the Shield would fit into; an excellent point that I lean toward agreeing with. Yes the shield is thin, but it’s not that much thinner than it's big brother, the M&P Compact. My initial perception of the M&P compact was correct, the M&P compact is noticeable thicker. But thicker enough to justify the loss of 5 rounds not including the possibility of using a full sized magazine? If a full sized magazine was used with the collar, we would be talking about losing 10 rounds of capacity and that isn’t something to be so easily dismissed. An M&P compact couldn’t be concealed nearly was well with a full sized magazine, but a full sized mag could be used as a back-up. If my back up magazine comes out, I’m not worried about concealment anymore.
Richard had a different perspective on the Shield. As an older gentleman and a former law Enforcement Officer, he finally made the switch from revolvers to semi-automatics. He liked the heavy trigger pull (prevents you from pulling the trigger my mistake under stress) and didn’t mind the reduced capacity. “A .22 shot to the eye stops the fight!” is one of his favorite saying. He disagreed with me about the Shield being a soft shooter but he is also the type of person that has no interest in shooting .357’s out of his revolver or trying out my 870 12-gauge.
For me my biggest complaint is almost nit-picking. I’m a self-admitted trigger snob. I want every trigger to be a very smooth 5 pound pull with little to no pre-travel. The trigger on the Shield is superb in terms of a small amount of pre-travel and over-travel, a crisp break and a noticeable reset. Not the best mind you, but I know I don't have custom 1911 here. What got me was how stiff the trigger is. I know my mechanical trigger pull tester isn’t the most accurate but I also know it’s in the ballpark. To have a trigger out of the box that’s about 33% heavier than advertised is perplexing. If it was 33% lighter, it may have gone back to Smith and Wesson. 250 rounds didn’t seem to loosen it up very much, but I’m still taking the ‘wait and see’ approach.
In all, I’ve added a winner to my arsenal. The few times that it has been with me for concealed carry have been a success and yes, the quarter inch does seem to make a difference. A better gauge will be when the Kydex body for my M-Tac holster gets here so I can properly carry it around. Is my search over for the right concealed carry weapon? Only time will tell.
My Reluctant Shield Purchase and a Skeptical Review
When The Shield first came out there was a lot of excitement surrounding this new single stack 9mm from Smith and Wesson. It joined a short list (that seems to be growing) of guns that are untouchably hot. Guns that everyone wants and are willing to pay a premium to get. The XDS and the PPQ come to mind. I went down to my LGS to see if they were lucky enough to get one of within the first few days of their release. Not to purchase but I wanted to see what all of the hype was about. No luck. In fact they didn’t have any idea what I was talking about. They had heard rumors here and there and remembered something about it being mentioned by someone, etc… Hadn’t they seen the cover of every gun magazine in print? All was forgiven as they are only a small store and I told them I was looking forward to them getting one in.
Fast forward to labor day weekend. A phone call comes in letting me know that they have a Shield with my name on it and they’d hold it for a couple days if I wanted to come and check it out. Umm… O.k. I didn’t know I was on a list. Turns out that they had my name and number from my days searching for a Walther PPQ and they started a Shield waiting list with my name on the top. Yes it took almost 5 month for my LGS to finally get in their first Shield.
So here I am standing in the store holding a Shield that I had no intention of buying 2 days earlier. (How did I get here???)The owner could tell I was reluctant so he told me he’d give me 24 hours to think it over and then he’d call the next name on the list. “No problem, it will sell in 2 days so I can give you one” he told me as his list was 17 names long. Dang, I don’t know if it was intentional but it was a pretty good selling point. To have your pick before 17 (16?) other guys makes it easier to look past the flaws of the gun. I went home and watched a dozen YouTube videos and read twice as many articles. The next day my shield was paid for after raiding the hunting rifle fund which had been slowly building. Looks like my 30-30 will head out in the woods for another year. I do like my lever action so it’s not the end of the world.
I was initially reluctant to purchase the Shield for a number of reasons. While I have frequented different forums and read what seems like endless glowing reviews about the shield, I didn’t automatically assume that it was a great gun that fit my needs. Was this gun going to be that much better than my current conceal piece, an LCR? Thickness never really bothered me in my concealed weapon and the M&P9C otherwise has pretty much the same dimensions as the shield. Wouldn’t I be better off with the M&P compact with its increased capacity, interchangeable grips and established aftermarket products? I could use the compact in the range games, I mean training exercises, so could The Shield fill that role? Or will it be like my LCR which seems like a one trick pony? The LCR is not a fun gun to shoot all day at the range from a recoil perspective. 50 or so rounds and my hand starts letting me know maybe it’s time to switch weapons. Would The Shield be the same way?
To answer one of those questions right away, before I bought the shield I held both the full sized and the compact M&P to get a good idea of what my .25 of an inch difference was giving me on The Shield for thickness. Boy, you wouldn’t think a quarter of an inch would make a difference but comparing the two side by side, the compact is a little piggy. I didn’t make the guy put the small backstrap on, maybe that would have made a difference but as the M&P grips effect palm swell more than grip thickness I didn’t feel it was necessary. Yes the thickness is noticeable and since I’m buying the shield for CC, the thinness of the shield is something that I want. Time and experience will tell if the new M&P will finally be a firearm that will truly disappear to both me and anyone else who may notice.
Admittedly I headed to the range with my new possession and a healthy dose of skepticism. I tire of all of the gun magazines and their stellar reviews of almost every gun that they review. I’ve always suspected blatant collusion but that is a subject of a different matter. I wanted to judge for myself if the new Shield was truly as spectacular as they say. I already knew that the firearm fit well in my hand so the ergonomics were there. The fit and finish were what I expected from Smith and Wesson. If the fit and finish were not acceptable, that would have been a surprise. Off to the range to put the Shield through it’s paces. If it didn’t measure up, I would have no problem voicing my concerns or expressing disappointment.
After a quick cleaning and a test of the trigger (8 ½ pounds!!!- S&W’s spec sheet says 6 ½ so here’s to hoping the trigger loosens up a little) I went off to the range with a couple experienced shooters and instructions to all to pay attention and give honest reviews. You won’t hurt my feelings pointing out flaws in my new gun. To sum up everything, the Shield surpassed my expectations right out of the gate. For starters, I found the gun to be a very soft shooter for such a small 9mm and I would have no problem working on drills such as good ol’ El Presidente all day at the range. With the 8 round magazine all of my fingers fit nicely on the grip. With the 7 round mag, I lose most of my pinky grip yet that didn’t effect how I was able to manage recoil or my aim. In all my new Shield fired 250 rounds down range without a single problem. Not enough to call the weapon 100% reliable yet, but that is a nice start. Finally, accuracy was spot on. I didn’t try to bench test it nor did I shoot from 50 yards away as the Shield wasn’t meant to be a target handgun. But in all of the self-defense drills and small competitions that we held, the Shield held its ground delivering consistent double taps to center mass from 7 to 15 yards away. The Shield even won several small competitions to see who could shoot all of their clay pigeons first from 15 yards away. Natural pointer, natural shooter and I’m happy.
Both of my companions were pressed to come up with negatives about the gun. Rob, a Navy veteran and experienced shooter, couldn’t figure out what niche the Shield would fit into; an excellent point that I lean toward agreeing with. Yes the shield is thin, but it’s not that much thinner than it's big brother, the M&P Compact. My initial perception of the M&P compact was correct, the M&P compact is noticeable thicker. But thicker enough to justify the loss of 5 rounds not including the possibility of using a full sized magazine? If a full sized magazine was used with the collar, we would be talking about losing 10 rounds of capacity and that isn’t something to be so easily dismissed. An M&P compact couldn’t be concealed nearly was well with a full sized magazine, but a full sized mag could be used as a back-up. If my back up magazine comes out, I’m not worried about concealment anymore.
Richard had a different perspective on the Shield. As an older gentleman and a former law Enforcement Officer, he finally made the switch from revolvers to semi-automatics. He liked the heavy trigger pull (prevents you from pulling the trigger my mistake under stress) and didn’t mind the reduced capacity. “A .22 shot to the eye stops the fight!” is one of his favorite saying. He disagreed with me about the Shield being a soft shooter but he is also the type of person that has no interest in shooting .357’s out of his revolver or trying out my 870 12-gauge.
For me my biggest complaint is almost nit-picking. I’m a self-admitted trigger snob. I want every trigger to be a very smooth 5 pound pull with little to no pre-travel. The trigger on the Shield is superb in terms of a small amount of pre-travel and over-travel, a crisp break and a noticeable reset. Not the best mind you, but I know I don't have custom 1911 here. What got me was how stiff the trigger is. I know my mechanical trigger pull tester isn’t the most accurate but I also know it’s in the ballpark. To have a trigger out of the box that’s about 33% heavier than advertised is perplexing. If it was 33% lighter, it may have gone back to Smith and Wesson. 250 rounds didn’t seem to loosen it up very much, but I’m still taking the ‘wait and see’ approach.
In all, I’ve added a winner to my arsenal. The few times that it has been with me for concealed carry have been a success and yes, the quarter inch does seem to make a difference. A better gauge will be when the Kydex body for my M-Tac holster gets here so I can properly carry it around. Is my search over for the right concealed carry weapon? Only time will tell.
My experience is that pistol-packers are a lot like trapshooters. We're always searching for something better than what we already have - even if what we have is perfectly adequate. But the trapshooters are a little different. They'll use their trap gun every weekend until they are convinced they have found a better one. (In my experience, this usually takes 3-4 months; maybe a full season, at most. 
