Practice With Shield 9mm/.40 Flush Fit Mag.?

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BRL40

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I understand many of you carry the +1 extended magazine concealed.

Haven't seen many posts about carrying with the flush fit magazine concealed.

I tried a grip extension, then I shortened it as much as I could and still put my pinky to use, and now I want the maximum concealment these pistols have to offer, so I'm giving the flush fit floorplate a try.

My question is: how many of you actually practice drawing etc. regularly with that flush fit magazine?

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Can't say I have. I prefer having a "pinky purchase". I even swapped out the flush plates on my M&P Compact for the pinky extensions.

I have only the one 7 round for my 9mm Shield. All the rest are 8.

Let us know how you like the flush fit.
 
I changed out the flush floor plates on my Shields for the Pearce extensions. I needed someplace for my pinky and it's not enough length for me to be concerned about. I carry an 8 round for a reload.
 
I don't think my Shield has had the flush magazine inserted more than twice, I have tried the pinky extensions from Pierce and didn't really care for them, so for me I have gone to all 8 round extended magazines and won't ever look back. It feels so much better in my hand, it's much easier and faster to draw with and I get that extra round to boot.

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Saudade said:
...Let us know how you like the flush fit.
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Nobody carries on this forum with the flush fit mag. so far?

Wow.

I definitely prefer a purchase for my little finger, but was walking out into the woods this summer with it concealed under just a T-Shirt, and I do believe the critters out there could see that Shield pistol butt "printing". :o

Looks like fall has finally arrived here in western Washington though, so maybe I'll just go back to that middle floor plate pictured in my first post and put on more outer clothing.

Appreciate the replies. :)
 
I always carry my 9mm Shield with the flush mag inserted. I also practice with the flush mag, since that would be the one in the gun if I ever needed it.

I have very long but thin fingers. For me, I can JUST get all three fingers on the butt of the gun with the flush mag in it. It is a touch cramped, but I can do it, and my pinky doesn't come off under recoil. That's one reason I love my Shield so much, JUST enough room for all my fingers but short enough to conceal well.
 
bub075 said:
I always carry my 9mm Shield with the flush mag inserted. I also practice with the flush mag, since that would be the one in the gun if I ever needed it...
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It is very cramped for me as well, but when I purchased this gun, I did try the flush fit out at first.

Seemed easier to just tuck my pinky underneath as I recall.

But now I have stippled that 1.0 frame and may be able to keep my pinky on there easier.

Maybe give that a try first.

Maybe stipple the front of that floor plate a little too?

...I wrenched on my old truck today so don't mind the dirty greasy fingernails. :o

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I carry a Shield with the 7 round magazine with a 2 round extension. The two round extension is still very concealable. I think most people are paranoid about printing. Just forget about it printing.
 
I carry both shields with big mag in gun, spare mag on belt is small mag with Pearce grip extension.


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I carry with the flush magazine and half of my practice is with the flush magazine. If I was going to carry with the extended magazine I would just carry my Glock 48 instead of the Shield and gain both sight radius and capacity. I prefer to carry the Shield.
 
I always carry with the flush 7 rounder, its hard to explain and I am not good at posting pictures but I can not drop the bigger mag in a reload. With the bigger mag it gets hung up on the fat part of my hand and with the smaller one it clears and drops free making for a much smoother reload. so I have one large mag for a spare when out and about and a bunch of extra 7 rounders for practicing reloads.
 
Raisin said:
I think most people are paranoid about printing. Just forget about it printing.
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I have to agree with this. I have a license to carry a concealed weapon, so if by chance someone notices, what's the big deal? At first I thought everybody knew I was carrying a gun but over time I realized that most people are so totally oblivious to the world around them that they don't notice even if it's pretty obvious. You could probably open carry and a lot of people wouldn't take notice.

My first carry gun was a shield and right away I hated the 7 round mag as even with my small hands the pinky was half on half off the end of the grip which felt terrible. I bought some 8 round mags and they were better but I still just never shot that pistol very well.

I bought an M&P Compact 4" next and fell in love with it. I thought the double stack grip would be too big for my hands but instead it just felt right and I shot that gun much better right away than I ever did the Shield.

And so the Compact became my carry gun. It is of course much bigger, yet all summer I wear just a T-shirt over it and if anybody notices they don't say anything or act weird about it. I really think about the only people who probably notice are other CCW's and they certainly aren't offended by it.

Maybe I'm just old and set in my ways but since I'm 100% legal to carry it if someone doesn't like it I don't care. But again, nobody notices.

I would want most of my practice to be with the gun I carried in the configuration I carried it, that seems like simple logic to me.
 
I shoot the 9mm Shield for IDPA BUG, and ONLY use the 7 round mags because they are much the quickest for speed reloads. IDPA BUG is limited to 6 rounds in the mag anyway.

I realize most who carry but don't compete don't practice speed reloads and are limited to what they have in the gun. Those that try it quickly find the ring on the 8 round mag becomes loose and awkward.
 
OKFC05 said:
...I realize most who carry but don't compete don't practice speed reloads and are limited to what they have in the gun. Those that try it quickly find the ring on the 8 round mag becomes loose and awkward.
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I forgot all about that stupid ring, hated it so much that I glued it in place and trimmed the tail off it.

Love it now! :D

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Stippling on the floor plate feels great, won't know until tomorrow if my finger will stay with full power loads but I believe it will.

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ETA, the floor plate on the extended magazine is still removable for cleaning and maintenance.

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Mine is a .40 Shield.

When I do carry it, I exclusively use the flush fit magazines.

I have long ago found that if I feel the need for a longer grip... or more rounds... I actually need more gun.

My need for concealment far outweighs my need for one additional round of ammunition.

As to the shortness of the grip.... There is only one cure...... PRACTICE.
 
Watched a video yesterday where some guy was saying that the middle and ring fingers do most all of the clamping on a grip frame anyway.

I would also agree that practice would be of great help in presenting from a holster consistently if that's an issue.

Heck, some are pretty dang good with pocket pistols, and they have even shorter grips yet!

I'll try the flush fit magazine out today and if I don't like it I can always increase the length.

I want to try maximum concealment with this pistol first though just to see what I think.

UPDATE: Just got back from shooting with the flush fit magazine and I really liked it, no problem at all keeping all my fingers on the grip. :)
 
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