New 9mm Shield Story - Times 2

[dwp10mm]

Okay, finally joined the Shield club after what seemed like an extremely long wait. How long? Well let me put it in numbers. Leading up to the NRA Show, I was following the hype. Based on the rumors, I was ready to pounce. So that Thursday, I started calling local stores to find my Shield. By the first weekend, I had two answers. One, we've never heard of it. Or two, we sold the two we already received. So I keep calling. About the third week in April, I called another store (henceforth known as Store 1) and was put on their waiting list. They were selling them for $399 so I thought I would be patient for a few weeks and get my Shield. A month later I call for an update. No new ones have arrived. Two months later...same thing. So in July, I call another store and get added to their list. For this story, they are now Store 2. I am told I am number 2 on their 9mm list. They are selling at MSRP $449. At least once a month, I check in with each store. Nada! Getting at most one a month, haven't seen one, etc. By this point, I am not paying crazy Gunbroker pricing. I have reserved myself to wait.

Now, this week arrives. On Tuesday, Store 2 calls and tells me my Shield is in. Hooray! Finally I can join the club. So I run up when they are open on Wednesday and finally view in person this pink unicorn that everyone else seems to be finding. Pistol looks great so paperwork and $449 and 20 minutes later I am on my way. This is a great week.

Cue up Friday. My phone rings again. Store 1 is now calling saying my new Shield is in. Are you kidding me? I hadn't called to be taken off the list yet. Part of me said to just stay on and see how long before they actually get one. I ask after a 5 month wait are they still asking $399. They said yes so I decide I'm going to pick it up as well. Everything is better in pairs right?

So if this story sounds crazy to you, just wait. It gets better. So I go to Store 1 this morning to pick up my 2nd new Shield this week. Paperwork done, $399 and I'm on my way. As I'm walking out the door, I look at the box and the serial number. I say to myself, "that looks almost like the same number as my other one." These stores are about 25 miles apart. Sure they got them in the same week, but no way they are in sequence. Well guess what, they are! I kid you not, the two guns I picked up from different stores 4 days apart are sequential serial number 9mm Shields. I couldn't believe it. Any thought of possibly selling one later is now gone. After 5 months of waiting, I somehow managed to get two Shields in one week and they are sequential serial number guns. Wow!

Now on to the guns themselves. For those of you who are saying the trigger is so much better than the old M&P, I say I'm not buying it. The reset yes, but the pull weight on both of these guns is heavy, heavy, heavy. I may be the minority of M&P owners out there, but I've always liked the feel of the M&P trigger. This comes from owning 2 compacts and 1 full-size. I put an Apex DCAEK in one of my compacts and can't say I noticed a huge difference. But for these Shields, I almost certainly will be putting an Apex in at least one to see if it gets better.

No pics at the moment, but I'll try to get one up later tonight. In the meantime, stay patient my fellow Shield lookers. You may luck into two in one week as I did.

dwp10mm

 

[FLY FIS]

Congratulation on the new Shield Pistols. That is quite a story about the serial numbers, and I fully understand holding on to both. I have had my Shield, also 9 mm, for several months now. I have put numerous rounds through it with no problems. I also carry the Shield every day, under a sport coat, on the job. It's light weight and hardly noticeable at all. Perfectly satisfied in the trigger pull as well. Enjoy!

 

[mrcllusb]

Congrads on double fisting it!!!!! I've reserved to a Shield 9 just for my wife and a 40c with CT for myself!!!

 

[dwp10mm]

Here are a couple of pics as promised. I did remove some serial number information, but rest assured the missing information is the same on both.

What a beautiful pair.

 

[Shielded]

That's just too cool Congrats! Ya know I'll bet S&W would like to hear the story, who knows maybe they will give you a token of some kind. Enjoy I do mine

 

[Cook74]

Great story... the wait was worth it!!!

 

[RobsTV]

....
Now on to the guns themselves. For those of you who are saying the trigger is so much better than the old M&P, I say I'm not buying it. The reset yes, but the pull weight on both of these guns is heavy, heavy, heavy. I may be the minority of M&P owners out there, but I've always liked the feel of the M&P trigger. This comes from owning 2 compacts and 1 full-size. I put an Apex DCAEK in one of my compacts and can't say I noticed a huge difference. But for these Shields, I almost certainly will be putting an Apex in at least one to see if it gets better.

Thanks for confirming what many have probably thought. Trigger is nothing like what you would expect based on reviews. You are not in the minority. Maybe not Heavy, Heavy, Heavy, but I agree it is at least Heavy, Heavy. It will need an Apex kit here as well. BTW, with 12 various handguns owned, mostly low cost versions, this is the first that "needed" a trigger kit. Maybe they screwed up and installed some MA parts in non-Mass handguns? The measured 9.5 lbs is unacceptable.

 

[y-not]

I got one of the first shield's that came out and the trigger is very good much better then my M&Pc, I have to say that the ones I have seen at gun shows of late have much worse triggers, I thing that S&W is trying to produce them to fast to keep up wiyh demand.

 

[dwp10mm]

Thanks for confirming what many have probably thought. Trigger is nothing like what you would expect based on reviews. You are not in the minority. Maybe not Heavy, Heavy, Heavy, but I agree it is at least Heavy, Heavy. It will need an Apex kit here as well. BTW, with 12 various handguns owned, mostly low cost versions, this is the first that "needed" a trigger kit. Maybe they screwed up and installed some MA parts in non-Mass handguns? The measured 9.5 lbs is unacceptable.

That thought crossed my mind as well about the MA trigger. I don't have a trigger pull scale to get an accurate number. But in my opinion, both of these feel at least 3 pounds more than any of my other M&P pistols. They are going to the range today. Let's see if some use cleans it up some. I'm considering dropping in the sear that came out of my compact that I put the Apex in just to see what it does to the pull weight.

 

[qcdougn]

Great story and congrats on the nice set of Shields. I'm still waiting (6-weeks) as #2 on the list at my LGS. I've considered giving up and selecting something else. But cannot find another make or model that has all the features of the shield and have the great reports. I'm a little surprised now to hear of the "not so great-heavy" trigger. Up until now, the hype was all about the "Trigger"...I'll be curious to see if other reports like this show up on this forum or on the net in the handgun world.

Doug

 

[dwp10mm]

Great story and congrats on the nice set of Shields. I, myself am still waiting (6-weeks) as #2 on the list at my LGS. I've considered giving up and selecting something else. But cannot find another make or model that has all the features of the shield and have the great reports. I'm a little surprised to now hear of the "not so good" trigger. Up until now, the hype was all about the "Trigger"...

Doug

My gripe is more about the pull weight. The reset is much more pronounced than previous M&P triggers. If I can get the pull weight down, then I think it will be fine. When dry firing, without a very firm grip I can see the front of the gun pulling noticeably downward. With my other M&Ps, they move very little with the same grip. Based on what I'm used too, I don't have a lot of faith that I will be grouping real well when I get to the range. But time will tell.

I almost gave up a month ago and was going to pick up a Springfield XDS. Only reason I didn't was I like the two tone model better and couldn't see why it was $80 more than the all black version at the time. So I decided to keep waiting. It paid off.

 

[Maddmax]

I got mine way back in April as soon as they came out (LGS knows me VERY well) and has a very low number.With a find like that,I'd keep them original in the box and sit on them. That WILL be a high $$$ collector item in the not too distant future. NO mods and original condition is best.

 

[158Grain]

Congrats on the twins! Great story and pics, but I have one complaint...Please don't degrade a S&W by putting them on a GLOCK mat...

 

[dwp10mm]

Congrats on the twins! Great story and pics, but I have one complaint...Please don't degrade a S&W by putting them on a GLOCK mat...

As I was taking the pictures, I thought to myself that I need a S&W mat. But I figured if I'm going to spill oil all over something, the Glock mat will do.

 

[dwp10mm]

Well, took them both to the range today. Point was to run as much ammo through them as I could. No paper targets. Just clay pigeons, misc water bottles, etc. No further judgement on the triggers yet. I'll hold of on that until I get some more time on them to break it in. What a fun gun. The little 9mm reminds me more of shooting a .40 due to the size/recoil combo.

Probably got around 100 rounds through each. Had one issue with a light primer strike on a Federal Hi Shock white box round. It fired when I put it back in. This was within the first 20 round or so. After that, no problems. Mostly Speer Lawman with some Remington green box and the afore mentioned Hi Shocks. Will try to go for paper targets and grouping tests next week.

 

[MP22]

Nice pair....thanks for sharing.

 

[RobsTV]

That thought crossed my mind as well about the MA trigger. I don't have a trigger pull scale to get an accurate number. But in my opinion, both of these feel at least 3 pounds more than any of my other M&P pistols. They are going to the range today. Let's see if some use cleans it up some. I'm considering dropping in the sear that came out of my compact that I put the Apex in just to see what it does to the pull weight.

Not sure about the 9mm shield versions, but there are at least 3 versions of the .40 Shield.
The first versions, with pretty much no problems.
The last version, which is MA compliant.
And then the 2nd version, which drops mags.

Mine is second version, which drops mags and has bad trigger.
Spent case dated 08-16-2012.

It would not surprise me if S&W was trying to do a design change from original production, so that they could get by as cheaply as possible doing production of both MA compliant, and the rest of the USA, changing least amount of inexpensive part. Maybe even changed to simply being 1 different spring, and then compliant, after changing both versions to a different sear, (or something along these lines). Mag drops in the .40 might also relate to this type of design change, caused by trying to be MA compliant as quickly and cheaply as possible. The mag drop fiasco will force them to do another design change of some sort, since this design change clearly does not work.

I'm sure S&W will eventually get it right with new production, correct all the guns already sold, as well as those still waiting to be sold. If your gun's only problem is just heavy trigger pull, and buyers do not measure it, or don't request S&W correct it, then this might just slip through and continue to be poor for future buyers. Isn't it great to be a Beta Tester?

 

[dwp10mm]

Okay. After two range trips this week and a few hundred rounds, my verdict is in. Shield gets two thumbs up. Love this little gun. Accuracy was great at the 20 feet or so I was shooting. That being said, Apex kits will be ordered this week. The trigger is just too heavy in both of them. Compared to my other M&Ps, it is like shooting different guns and not in a good way. Other than that, these live up to my expectations I've been living with while I waited for 5 months.

 

[OldLawman]

I too have two 9mm Shields, but not with as cool a story regarding serial numbers.

I am running the Apex Shield carry kits in both of them. I was comparing them to my G19, which has the standard 5 lb. connector and coil spring setup. The Shield trigger pull was lighter.
YMMV.