My Shield has had some RSA “issues” since I purchased it last May. (If you’re interested, you can read about them here: http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/432397-shield-rsa-one-more-time.html) Now that I have a good RSA, I’ve spent a great deal of time determining which SD rounds work best in my Shield. Because my early RSA problems caused me to lose faith in my Shield as a reliable carry gun, I've done a lot more testing of SD rounds than I imagine most Shield owners do in order to reassure myself.
Here are the results of my testing over the last three months:
Speer Gold Dot 124g standard pressure: Wonderfully accurate, but I had 4 FTEs in a little over 100 rounds. Not good enough.
I would love to have tried the +P version, but Gold Dot 124g +Ps seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth.
Barnes TAC-XPD 115g +P: Fired only 20 rounds. They cycled perfectly, but they were so inaccurate, I stopped testing even though I had 60 more. I tried them in my SIG P320, and they were more accurate, as expected, but not as accurate as other rounds I’ve tried in my SIG. Not good enough.
Federal HST 124g +P: Very accurate, but I had 3 FTFs in the first 31 rounds. Three separate cartridges hung up on the bottom of the feed ramp. Apparently the shape of the open bullet point is not compatible with my feed ramp. Not good enough.
Federal HST 147g standard pressure: Not particularly accurate, with shots all over the target, although all 50 rounds cycled perfectly. Not good enough.
Remington Golden Saber 124g +P: Very accurate, but with one FTE after 42 rounds. There were no FTEs during 90 following rounds. A definite contender, but I will need to fire at least 100 more rounds to make sure there are no more FTE problems. Possibly good enough, but the jury is still out.
Hornady Critical Duty 135g +P: These all went left, something that hasn’t happened to me since my first weeks with the Shield. However, they all cycled perfectly, and were more accurate than the Barnes TAC-XPDs, so I kept working with them. After 150 rounds with perfect cycling, they now have decent accuracy as long as I aim slightly low and right. Although they’re not perfect, I know I can count on them. They are also widely available, so they make my “good enough” list as as my second choice SD ammo.
And here is the winner (for now):
Remington Golden Saber 147g standard pressure: The most accurate round (SD or target) I have ever fired with my Shield in 3600 total rounds. My standard test for accuracy is the percentage of hits I achieve in the 4”X4” center square on a 12”X12” Birchwood-Casey target at 15 yards. In my last three range sessions with the Golden Saber 147s, I hit the square 53 times in 88 shots (60%), with 12 in the bullseye. I am happy with any hit percentage over 50, so these made me super-happy. The only flaw was one FTE after the first 32 rounds. Since then, I have fired 193 consecutive rounds without a problem, which gives me confidence that I can count on Golden Saber 147s to be a reliable SD round. Therefore, definitely good enough.
If I find anything better in the future, I'll let you know.
Now with all of that said, don’t completely take my word for it. I think there are enough individual quirks among Shields so that an SD round that works in one may not be as good in another, and vice versa. Bottom line: Use these results as a guide, but do your own testing (and post your findings).
One final thing: I now consider my Shield to be completely carry-worthy, and I am now a member of the legion of happy Shield owners.
Good Shooting!
Here are the results of my testing over the last three months:
Speer Gold Dot 124g standard pressure: Wonderfully accurate, but I had 4 FTEs in a little over 100 rounds. Not good enough.
I would love to have tried the +P version, but Gold Dot 124g +Ps seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth.
Barnes TAC-XPD 115g +P: Fired only 20 rounds. They cycled perfectly, but they were so inaccurate, I stopped testing even though I had 60 more. I tried them in my SIG P320, and they were more accurate, as expected, but not as accurate as other rounds I’ve tried in my SIG. Not good enough.
Federal HST 124g +P: Very accurate, but I had 3 FTFs in the first 31 rounds. Three separate cartridges hung up on the bottom of the feed ramp. Apparently the shape of the open bullet point is not compatible with my feed ramp. Not good enough.
Federal HST 147g standard pressure: Not particularly accurate, with shots all over the target, although all 50 rounds cycled perfectly. Not good enough.
Remington Golden Saber 124g +P: Very accurate, but with one FTE after 42 rounds. There were no FTEs during 90 following rounds. A definite contender, but I will need to fire at least 100 more rounds to make sure there are no more FTE problems. Possibly good enough, but the jury is still out.
Hornady Critical Duty 135g +P: These all went left, something that hasn’t happened to me since my first weeks with the Shield. However, they all cycled perfectly, and were more accurate than the Barnes TAC-XPDs, so I kept working with them. After 150 rounds with perfect cycling, they now have decent accuracy as long as I aim slightly low and right. Although they’re not perfect, I know I can count on them. They are also widely available, so they make my “good enough” list as as my second choice SD ammo.
And here is the winner (for now):
Remington Golden Saber 147g standard pressure: The most accurate round (SD or target) I have ever fired with my Shield in 3600 total rounds. My standard test for accuracy is the percentage of hits I achieve in the 4”X4” center square on a 12”X12” Birchwood-Casey target at 15 yards. In my last three range sessions with the Golden Saber 147s, I hit the square 53 times in 88 shots (60%), with 12 in the bullseye. I am happy with any hit percentage over 50, so these made me super-happy. The only flaw was one FTE after the first 32 rounds. Since then, I have fired 193 consecutive rounds without a problem, which gives me confidence that I can count on Golden Saber 147s to be a reliable SD round. Therefore, definitely good enough.
If I find anything better in the future, I'll let you know.
Now with all of that said, don’t completely take my word for it. I think there are enough individual quirks among Shields so that an SD round that works in one may not be as good in another, and vice versa. Bottom line: Use these results as a guide, but do your own testing (and post your findings).
One final thing: I now consider my Shield to be completely carry-worthy, and I am now a member of the legion of happy Shield owners.
Good Shooting!
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