Revolver guy considering to buy the new M&P .380 Shield EZ

[oldiesradio1560]

I've been a revolver guy since the 70's with various stainless steel .357 magnums. My current daily carry is a 640 Pro Series that I love. I was conditioned from the 70's that
automatics jammed and were unreliable. I was in my LGS today and looked at the new .380 M&P Shield EZ. Nice feel in my hand and it racked super easy. So I guess what I am asking is how reliable is the 2.0 Shield in .380 and is 1000 fps and 200 ft lbs enough knock down power for concealed carry?

 

[Fla_Sun]

You might want to re-think a .380 if you are wanting knock down power.

 

[Ranger17]

hi OP.

The 380 EZ is a new model, in fact just shipped to stores so except for some online testing videos there's probably little solid info on it yet. Does look like it will fill a niche, and do what it's supposed to quite well.

I cant speak for how semi-autos were decades ago, as I've only been in this hobby for maybe 6 yrs now (and old dog trying to learn new tricks lol). But I've put nearly 1500 rounds thru a PC Shield 9 and over 2k rounds thru a full size MP 9 and not one issue between them (not to mention more rounds thru other MP models). And that round count isnt near what others have put thru theirs on here.
So for me they've all been perfectly reliable. And if i look into the 380 EZ my expectations will be the same.

 

[mcap1655]

Answer to first question is that's it's too early to tell. Early testing looks good though.

Is 380 enough? That's for you to decide. I'd watch a few of Phil Harrell's videos on YouTube and decide for yourself.

Also, take a look at the Sig P938.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RUT]

>>Also, take a look at the Sig P938<<

I had one for a very short while, but quickly realized that carrying "cocked & locked" wasn't my thing.

 

[Lostaro]

I'm also a "revolver guy"....but I did buy a Ruger LCP .380 a few years ago. I carry it now and then, it has it's place in my arsenal.

It's reliable and accurate. I don't worry too much about the .380's power....ALL handguns lack power. Only hits count....and the LCP is capable of quick accurate fire.

Zero experience with the gun you mentioned but don't let the fact that it's "just" a .380 be a deal breaker. Good ammo out there for it now too.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Too soon to know the M&P's reliability, but there are some .380 rounds that perform well enough in testing that I'm comfortable carrying them in my alternate carry SIG P238. The comparatively extra barrel length in the M&P has to make for even better ballistics.

I'd carry the new M&P .380, once I put a big bunch of ammo through it flawlessly.

 

[RGVshooter]

I can't speak for everybody but I've been a revolver guy since the late 80's. Up until 2013/14 is when i first shot a semi auto and I was shocked on how light the trigger felt (it was a M&P shield 9mm) and it took a lot of practice. I mean a LOT before I was able to shoot groups. I sold the thing and went back to revolvers.

 

[Rastoff]

I was conditioned from the 70's that automatics jammed and were unreliable.

Buying a .380Auto, any .380Auto, will only reinforce your conditioning toward semi-autos "jamming" and being unreliable. It has been my experience that the .380Auto is the most likely to malfunction.

There may be a perfectly functioning gun chambered in .380Auto, but I haven't seen or heard of one.

 

[axel]

.380 IMO is not an adequate round for SD. Is there a reason why you haven't considered the more potent 9mm round? The 9mm Shield has been around for years, and has been proven to be an extremely reliable and capable pistol for SD. The .380 Shield is a newcomer to the gun market, and I would pass until any possible quirks or issues are addressed.

 

[cnj]

Buying a .380Auto, any .380Auto, will only reinforce your conditioning toward semi-autos "jamming" and being unreliable. It has been my experience that the .380Auto is the most likely to malfunction.

There may be a perfectly functioning gun chambered in .380Auto, but I haven't seen or heard of one.

It is absolutely inaccurate to say that ANY 380 handgun is likely to "jam". Not discrediting YOUR experience, but MY experience has been that the .380 is NO MORE LIKELY to "jam" than any other round intended for use in a semi-auto pistol. I have/had several 380 pistols that have been perfectly reliable.

 

[Redcoat3340]

I'm also considering a Shield EZ, but for my wife as the slide is supposed to be so easy to rack.

I think .380 is enough gun for her for now. For me however, I think I saw that the dimensions of the EZ are pretty close to the 9mm Shield, so unless I was buying for easy-to-slide, I'd stay with my Shield 2.0. Pocket carryable for me, great trigger and a proven platform. I'd do a side by side before I made a decision.

 

[LVSteve]

Buying a .380Auto, any .380Auto, will only reinforce your conditioning toward semi-autos "jamming" and being unreliable. It has been my experience that the .380Auto is the most likely to malfunction.

There may be a perfectly functioning gun chambered in .380Auto, but I haven't seen or heard of one.

Sounds like you've had experience of US ammo in European blowback pistols. There does seem to be a disconnect with that combo at times.

 

[Scorpion520AZ]

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_OgA-wEwBdA[/ame]

 

[pistolpal]

Gotta say the anti-380 stuff if just not right. I have three of them, and the best one is my latest one, the Ruger LCPII. Accurate, reliable, easy to handle and much different than the original LCP. I am selling my S&W Bodyguard as being unreliable, inaccurate and more or less a pain in the ***. Sorry S&W guys, but this new little LCP II is one heck of a pocket pistol.

 

[hyena]

Gotta say the anti-380 stuff if just not right. I have three of them, and the best one is my latest one, the Ruger LCPII. Accurate, reliable, easy to handle and much different than the original LCP. I am selling my S&W Bodyguard as being unreliable, inaccurate and more or less a pain in the ***. Sorry S&W guys, but this new little LCP II is one heck of a pocket pistol.

Interesting how our experience can be so different. I had trouble with my Bodyguard the very first time I took it to the range with failures to feed. Called S&W, the guy said, "I know what the problem is." Sent me two new mag springs and followers. I replaced them, and the gun has been perfect. I mean, not a single malfunction since then. Hundreds and hundreds of rounds, different brands of ammo...perfect. I still had an original LCP, but I shot the BG so much better (more accurately), and it felt so much better in my hand, and it had a thumb safety, so I sold the LCP.

I know opinions vary on the manual safety, but I like it, and the long trigger pull, since I pocket carry the BG.

Nothing against the LCP. It was an excellent gun. I have no experience with the LCP2, but I'm sure it's excellent as well. I just liked the BG better, and saw no reason to keep both.

 

[gc70]

I'm also considering a Shield EZ, but for my wife as the slide is supposed to be so easy to rack.

Oh yes, I tried one at my LGS yesterday and the slide is very easy to rack. I used two fingers to hold the slide by the cocking serrations (muzzle down) and was able to rack the slide by pushing down on the frame with the forefinger of my other hand.

 

[colkid]

"Revolver guy considering to buy the new M&P .380 Shield EZ"

I bought the M&p shield in 9mm with a built in laser. I am just getting
used to it and really like it.

 

[camper]

I plan to get one. I have a few 380s and carry the G42 or LCP II most of the time. For the home, the EZ should be perfect for me. Right now going through chemo so my strength is a bit diminished. My right foot is paralyzed from service connected injuries so light recoil aids standing balance/mobility. And I'm moving toward the 75 year mark.

 

[Dave Lively]

My limited experience with 380s is that they are less reliable than 9mm pistols, probably because the ones I shot were either blowback or really small and light. The 380 EZ is neither of those so it should be OK. But not a lot of data is out about the gun's reliability. Since it is not the sort of gun that normally excites those of us that watch gun videos on Youtube, hangout on forums like this or put enough rounds through their guns to really know how reliable they really are it may be awhile before we know just how reliable it really is.

The 380 EZ is aimed at potential gun owners that are recoil sensitive and/or cannot rack the slide of other pistols. Since you are currently carrying a J-frame 357 I am going to assume recoil is not a problem. If you can rack the slide of a 9mm Shield without too much trouble it is a better choice in every way. Long history of reliability, better stopping power and cheaper ammo. The ammo tests I have seen show that you have to choose between penetration and expansion with a 380, with a 9mm you can have both.

 

[kenneu]

Someone above mentioned the Sig P938. The P238 is the .380 version. I have a shield 9MM (1.0) and it is quite accurate. In carry it has been replaced though. I'm now carrying a Kimber Micro .380 with the 7 round mag in a desantis pocket holster when it is warm to hot weather. In cooler weather, I'm carrying a springfield EMP 3" 9MM in place of the shield. The extra weight on the EMP makes recoil almost nothing so you can dump a mag and keep tight groups.

I got rid of my ruger LCPII as it is too light and still a bit snappy even with .380. The kimber 380 recoil is MUCH less and is superbly accurate. I carry it condition one with the safety on. I carried it for a week without a round in the chamber to be sure the safety wouldn't click off in my pocket and is hasn't ever done so. I practice at the range with all of my 1911s picking up or pulling from holster and flicking off the safety so that's automatic for me...

Lastly if you look at youtube, ammoquest tested a bunch of .380 ammo in pocket pistols and the little fiocchi xtrema met fbi penetration levels. That's what I carry and I've probably put 200 rounds of it through my little micro and it has never FTF or FTE. I suspect that is because of the longer, pointier nose.

 

[ultratec00]

I owned a BG380 for about 2 months. There are way too many pocket size 9mms out there that are shooter friendly, accurate, and have superior ballistics to a 380. I have a 642 w/ crimson trace grips. Fine firearm but has its limitations. It sits in reserve while my P938 or Micro 9 get all the holster time.

 

[TainoGuns]

Picked up EZ this morning

Picked up an EZ this morning. Took it to the range and ran 100 FMJ rounds thru it. Very easy to operate. Easy to rack. No malfunctions.

A little bigger than the shield which makes it easier to hold and aim. Much less recoil and it was more accurate than my .40 Shield which I traded in.
I will go back next week a fire a few of my carry rounds, WInchester PDX-1.

I will keep my full size .40 for home defense. The EZ will be my carry weapon.

 

[mrmike7189]

Interesting how our experience can be so different. I had trouble with my Bodyguard the very first time I took it to the range with failures to feed. Called S&W, the guy said, "I know what the problem is." Sent me two new mag springs and followers. I replaced them, and the gun has been perfect. I mean, not a single malfunction since then. Hundreds and hundreds of rounds, different brands of ammo...perfect. I still had an original LCP, but I shot the BG so much better (more accurately), and it felt so much better in my hand, and it had a thumb safety, so I sold the LCP.

I know opinions vary on the manual safety, but I like it, and the long trigger pull, since I pocket carry the BG.

Nothing against the LCP. It was an excellent gun. I have no experience with the LCP2, but I'm sure it's excellent as well. I just liked the BG better, and saw no reason to keep both.

I have over 1200 rounds through mine and never a malfunction. Only used USA made quality ammo.Mine is n M&P no laser from 2014.

 

[Rastoff]

It is absolutely inaccurate to say that ANY 380 handgun is likely to "jam".

I didn't say that.

 

[lkabug]

After 1000+ rounds through my Bodyguard 380. I can say I haven't has so much as a hiccup of any kind. However I will say, it does take some range time to become proficient.
Picked up the new Shield 380 EZ today and after 100 rounds I didn't have any issues whatsoever. In fact, out of the box was super accurate and great trigger and as advertised easy to rack, mags easy to load by hand. With the new ammo on the market, I suspect it will be a very effective carry gun.

 

[Ranger17]

I dont own one of these new 380ez models but have to say (on days the hands are pretty sore) that i am a little intrigued by it. I did stumble on a video of someone gel testing 380 ball ammo vs hp, his results showed the hp was nowhere near where it should be for penetration and the ball did well.
I am not familiar with the 380 round at all but would want to do more research to see (if that ez model gets in our collection) what truly would work best.

If i can find the video again I will add it, thought it was by a "military arms channel" but could be wrong there.

 

[cnj]

I didn't say that.

Then I guess I misunderstood this part of your previous post?

"Buying a .380Auto, any .380Auto, will only reinforce your conditioning toward semi-autos "jamming" and being unreliable".

 

[GeoJelly]

Looks pretty good to me - Thanks Scorpion520 for posting the video. I'm surprised that it appears to have an aluminum slide. It does have a much larger steel (I assume) breech block thingy pinned into the slide just like the M&P 22. Hopefully there won't be any slide peening from the the slide lock as I couldn't see a steel reinforcement pin embedded in the slide. An engineer I am not - but I think the whole thing about easy-racking is a double-edged sword. Sure, the slide is easy to rack, but does that also mean that there's more potential for the slide to fail to close ... especially after it's had a 100 rounds or so thru it? There's a lot less recoil spring pressure on the .380EZ and (hopefully I am wrong!) it could lead to problems - especially since the slide is so lightweight and thus doesn't have much inertia. Just sayin' ... Its definitely on my want list now - I've just got to wait a few months for the usual teething problems to be sorted out.

Edited to add: S&W website notwithstanding - I'm going to stick to my assertion that the slide is aluminum. Reason I say this is why would S&W pin an insert into a steel slide?? Screen grab taken at 11:05 in the video above - reviewer says a steel breech insert is pinned into the lightweight slide. He adds that he doesn't know what the slide is made out of but it's "lightweight material". Aluminum or not - I'm still going to get one once the tax man finishes with me ...

I don't know why S&W would pin a steel breech insert into a steel slide - but magnets don't lie! I was wrong, the slide is NOT aluminum.

 

[Teasip]

How much did you get in trade for the Shield out of curiosity?