Picked up my new Shield in .45acp this morning. Wiped it down, ran a few patches through the bore, some Break Free on the rails and off to the range I went.
I recently got rid of my 9mm Shield only because it just felt a tad too small, almost like it wanted to jump out of my hands. I had it set-up with Ameriglo i-dot night sights and the Apex aluminum trigger and duty/carry kit. Great gun but as I say just a tad too small.
Well the .45 is just "a tad" larger lol and fits my hand much better. This gun has a much better out of the box trigger than the stock action on either the Shield 9 or my full size 9 (which I really really like, also has the Ameriglos and Apex trigger/kit). However I still feel it will benefit from the Apex parts and my preferred shop is ordering them for me.
I always start with a new gun at 10 yards. Not going for speed, just taking my time to get a feel for it. Very impressed with this new one. I ran a total of 100 rounds of Winchester Service Grade (brown box) 230 gr fmj and 25 rounds of Federal HST 230gr jhp standard velocity through it. No issues with the 3 mags at all or any of the rounds. I won't lie, to me this is as lightweight of a pistol I'd like (it feels lighter than my Colt Defender), definitely has a sharp recoil to it but I didn't buy it for a range/class gun. It's kinda like shooting hot .38s through an airweight J; not fun for plinking but will work just fine for self defense.
Very happy I made the decision to get it, the texturing on the grip frame really locks it in to my hands and allows for a consistent grip shot to shot.
Here's a pic of the first rounds fired, not rushing the shots but letting the shot go when the sights realigned on target. No issue with the finish, just oil smudges near the muzzle/logo.
I recently got rid of my 9mm Shield only because it just felt a tad too small, almost like it wanted to jump out of my hands. I had it set-up with Ameriglo i-dot night sights and the Apex aluminum trigger and duty/carry kit. Great gun but as I say just a tad too small.
Well the .45 is just "a tad" larger lol and fits my hand much better. This gun has a much better out of the box trigger than the stock action on either the Shield 9 or my full size 9 (which I really really like, also has the Ameriglos and Apex trigger/kit). However I still feel it will benefit from the Apex parts and my preferred shop is ordering them for me.
I always start with a new gun at 10 yards. Not going for speed, just taking my time to get a feel for it. Very impressed with this new one. I ran a total of 100 rounds of Winchester Service Grade (brown box) 230 gr fmj and 25 rounds of Federal HST 230gr jhp standard velocity through it. No issues with the 3 mags at all or any of the rounds. I won't lie, to me this is as lightweight of a pistol I'd like (it feels lighter than my Colt Defender), definitely has a sharp recoil to it but I didn't buy it for a range/class gun. It's kinda like shooting hot .38s through an airweight J; not fun for plinking but will work just fine for self defense.
Very happy I made the decision to get it, the texturing on the grip frame really locks it in to my hands and allows for a consistent grip shot to shot.
Here's a pic of the first rounds fired, not rushing the shots but letting the shot go when the sights realigned on target. No issue with the finish, just oil smudges near the muzzle/logo.

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