Shield 40 Camp Gun

[jim123321]

Hello Everyone, On here all the time mostly lurking and reading threads. Not Posting much

Question Im a Backpacker mostly in Florida, No Im really not worried about bears so much, But crazy people or whatever name we call them these days, can be a problem or worry.

Im really trying to downsize my weight but having a gun is some piece of mind when your out several miles in the woods spending a few nights,

Trying to carry double stacks are just to heavy and big, yes the shield is awesome in so many ways, Only have 7 rounds in the gun in one time is also nerve racking

Yes I carry extra mags, But if ever needed thats a long time to reload in a emergency in the middle of the night

Just curious if anyone is in the same boat, Im letting this worry me too much I know just looking for input and is anyone doing the same thing

Thanks for your Help, Jim

 

[cmj8591]

Everything is a compromise. A 40 Shield is a good choice for a backpacking gun. It really doesn't matter what system you decide on. What is important is that you make yourself as proficient as possible with it.

 

[ColbyBruce]

I fly fish. Around here, single stack subcompact .40 S&W handguns with 200 grain hard cast Underwood or Buffalo Bore ammo are carried by lots of fellow fishermen. Those guns have fallen out of favor lately and can be had for reasonable prices.

My son carries a Walther PPS .40 S&W. I use either a Glock 29 10mm or Sig P250sc .40 S&W.

Other popular river guns in these parts are Glock 27, S&W Shield .40, Sig P239, Glock 38 & 39 .45 GAP.

 

[jim123321]

Thanks for the input and you are correct, Just trying to downsize my weight load, Over the years Ive carried several medium to large guns all which have been to heavy, but did it anyway


Even after 30 years of camping ive never fired a gun in defense, Ive just never went this small before and puts my mind in over drive am I making a good decision or not.

After several days thinking about it decided to post and get some input, Heck I dont know, Its all cute until it goes down, LOL

 

[jim123321]

I fly fish. Around here, single stack subcompact .40 S&W handguns with 200 grain hard cast Underwood or Buffalo Bore ammo are carried by lots of fellow fishermen. Those guns have fallen out of favor lately and can be had for reasonable prices.

My son carries a Walther PPS .40 S&W. I use either a Glock 29 10mm or Sig P250sc .40 S&W.

I have the G29 as well, and as my wife would say I have one for every occasion LOL. Its all good until your five miles from the truck and its 2am with three drug addicts in your camp

Yes my mind goes in overdrive I guess with safety,

I have 4 shields in my collection, The Shield 45 was also on my mind, have that one too same round count but very doable to carry

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it

 

[ColbyBruce]

jim123321, I had a neighbor retire to Apalachicola in 2015. He bought a boat to fish and joy ride. He went up the river between East Point and Panacea which I think goes into Tate's Hell. He motored around a sharp bend and came upon a campsite. There was a guy wearing a clown suit and makeup cooking on a fire. The weird folk are out there.

 

[jim123321]

jim123321, I had a neighbor retire to Apalachicola in 2015. He bought a boat to fish and joy ride. He went up the river between East Point and Panacea which I think goes into Tate's Hell. He motored around a sharp bend and came upon a campsite. There was a guy wearing a clown suit and makeup cooking on a fire. The weird folk are out there.

You know I have to admit, Ive never seen that before, LOL

I hunted that area 30 years ago, It was like forgotten florida back then, When the local Sheriff has to jump start his car so he can get to work you know you have something there, True Story

Spent a week going to the same hunt spot looking at the same cop car every day only to see the jumper cables out the last day of the hunt, LOL

thanks for the laugh my friend

 

[ColbyBruce]

I understand there are bears and cougars in Tate's Hell. My old neighbor has taken a few coyotes from his boat.

 

[jjmIII_Ruger]

I think a 40 Shield is a great idea. Especially with hot ammo as suggested by Colby. Could find one cheap too. With two extra mags you'd be more than fine.

 

[Echo40]

Personally, I cannot conceive any realistic scenario in which someone camping in the woods would ever need more than 7+ rounds of .40 S&W faster than they could possibly slap in a spare magazine.

Honestly, even if you were attacked by a bear, you wouldn't have time to use up a whole magazine, much less could you possibly need more if attacked by some random maniac in the woods. (Not unless you're camping out near Camp Crystal Lake, anyway.)

So yeah, you're definitely overthinking it. Carry your Shield. You most likely won't need it, and if you do, then I'm sure that it will suffice.

 

[ColbyBruce]

"Personally, I cannot conceive any realistic scenario in which someone camping in the woods would ever need more than 7+ rounds of .40 S&W faster than they could possibly slap in a spare magazine."


"Caucasian rubbish" generally carpools to events. I once encountered five in the cab of a Dodge clone of a Mitsubishi pick-up.

 

[otis24]

A couple of ways to look at it. It's better to have more ammo and not need it than to need it and not have it. Time spent loading is time spent not fighting.

That being said, I carry a Kahr K9 with a 7 round single stack magazine and two spare mags. I like the weight of an all metal pistol. Perhaps there is a S&W CSX 9mm in my future! At the end of the day it's about risk assessment. How likely are you to be involved in an armed confrontation? How likely are you to face multiple assailants? We never know; that's why we carry. Perhaps you should consider the new Shield Plus. 12-15 round capacity.

I think that the .40 S&W is under appreciated. If ammo was more readily available and more comparable in price to 9mm, I would consider it!

 

[robrossk]

The M&P Shield 40 is not a bad choice. The +P ammo makes it even better.

 

[The Mighty S&W]

Without reading all of the previous posts, I'll offer my take. First of all, I tend to think a small, single stack .40 S&W is likely more gun than you will ever need in a backwoods setting due to a low likelihood of human interaction. So, the sensible side of me says that you would be making a good choice.

The other side of me looks at the fact that out in the wilderness, you really are on your own. My own rural property has exactly zero cell phone service. Even if I could get a bar or two to call for help, it'd take hours to find me. The kind of people I'd be likely to run across are going to be trespassers at best, and people looking for a quiet spot to cook dope/dump a body or commit some other felony level offense at worst.

The way I see things, ounces DO add up when out hiking the wilderness. But, the firearm I choose to take with me may be called upon to do everything from harvest game if something were to leave me stranded/injured or whatever, to defending against bobcats, black bears, coyotes, wolves, rattlesnakes, copperheads, or even the carload of thugs who have managed to locate a very remote area to do whatever it is that thugs do. As such, I always find it advantageous to carry a gun that I feel would be adequate for any of those above referenced tasks. In my case, that is an M&P M2.0 Compact 4" in 9mm with a spare 15 round magazine. It is enough gun in my opinion, without being too much to manage when I have other gear to concern myself with.

From a practical standpoint, I'd say the Shield .40 is plenty. Still, I carry a gun for those worst case scenarios, and for that I would want a bigger gun with more ammunition onboard.

 

[jim123321]

Thanks for the feedback folks, Its appreciated

The input was good to give me food for though, One guy runs a total of 21 rounds in his gun, and another one runs 2 extra mags for a 9mm, for 45 rounds of ammo on board

So picking up a few extra mags I should be good to go, Just keep a higher round count on board

Most likely will never need it or have time to use it, as pointed out already which is also true, But it also has peace of mind knowing that its there


At least I can settle down on my choice now and find a better way to carry a few extra mags in the woods

Again thanks for the input, Have a great week
Jim

 

[Catwrangler]

Better living thru modern chemistry.

jim123321, I had a neighbor retire to Apalachicola in 2015. He bought a boat to fish and joy ride. He went up the river between East Point and Panacea which I think goes into Tate's Hell. He motored around a sharp bend and came upon a campsite. There was a guy wearing a clown suit and makeup cooking on a fire. The weird folk are out there.

I'm not sure which of the characters in this story- But someone was over/under medicated.... Just saying,

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Y'all do know why gators don't usually eat clowns, don't ya'...?

They taste funny!

 

[sandog]

From 2016 when I got into Shields, until about a year ago, my EDC was a PC40 Shield, with both night sights and a TRL-6.
At the time I seemed to shoot it better than the first .45 Shield I had, so I stuck with the .40.
A year ago I bought another .45 and could shoot it much better than the PC40, so I sold the .40.
New .45 got TFO sights and a Lasermax Mint green light and green laser.

I find a Shield with an attached (small) light to be a great camping gun.
If you need to grab and check out a noise, nice not having to grab a separate light. (Although I have a brighter handheld close by as well).

The Meth heads here stick to the towns where they can walk to the Dollar General and get Sprite and Cheetos.
The only thing I've drew down on while camping was a herd of Javelina.
Heard movement outside the wall tent and the dog was growling, went outside and turned on the Lasermax and saw we were surrounded by a dozen 40 lb. pigs. Too bad it was summer and they weren't in season.

Anywhere I go north of me the country changes from high desert to pine covered mountains. Lots of Black bear and Cougar that prey on the Deer and Elk herds.
I've been carrying the .45 Shield with 200 gr. Gold Dot +Ps (those are snappy !) but now I have a smaller (L frame 5 shot) .44 mag so it will go along instead, loaded with 280 grain WFNGC bullets at 1100 fps.

As others have said, just carry a couple spare magazines, practice often, and don't worry so much.

I find it amusing that so many would trade in a perfectly good Shield because they can't sleep at night owning a sub compact pistol that "only" holds 7 or 8 rounds.

The more rounds manufacturers try to cram into a small pistol, and the smaller they make them, the less reliable they seem to be.
More rounds in a mag means a stronger spring, but then people complain that they can't load (or rack it either), so S&W makes the springs weaker (can you say EZ ?)
Dang humans can't leave well enough alone.
Just make your shots count and practice mag changes.
Sorry, rant over.

On the lighter side, some Gator humor:

 

[Ranger17]

Interesting thread.
I don't hike much but when on family property I have carried my full size MP (9), which has twice the round count of my Shield EZ.l while yes being a bit heavier.
Seems to me that if one was going to carry a lighter single stack but then carry an extra mag or two; is that of any benefit vs having the larger model with more rounds loaded? And potentially a little better accuracy w/ a longer barrel, etc?

Again just curious.

 

[sandog]

Good point, Ranger. My MP9L is slightly fatter, heavier and more noticeable on the hip than a Shield, but it's still not bad at all.
For camping/open carry, a full size gun would be fine.
I'd much rather have the Sheild for CC though.

Accuracy advantage at close range is there but minimal. At longer range the Fullsize with 5 inch barrel would be better.
Even though it is a 17+1, I'd probably still carry a least one spare mag.
Just habit I guess.