Shield .40 or 9?

[Donn]

9mm, for all the reasons previously stated, and this. I know he's the Anti-Christ to a lot of guys, but on this particular subject, I agree with James Yeager. High pressure rounds like the 40 S&W and 357 Sig will take it's toll on what is a 9mm frame and sooner or later, it'll break. MHO you understand.

 

[Smitty357]

Actually i believe the Shield was built on the .40 concept. The 9mm was easy, because u dont have to change the design of something for a small caliber if it already handles the bigger caliber. Just change the barrel, lol

 

[DocSunShine]

9mm, for all the reasons previously stated, and this. I know he's the Anti-Christ to a lot of guys, but on this particular subject, I agree with James Yeager. High pressure rounds like the 40 S&W and 357 Sig will take it's toll on what is a 9mm frame and sooner or later, it'll break. MHO you understand.

.40 and 9mm have the same pressure, .40 just happens to be a bigger bullet... How many .40s have you broken? Any pics? I'll be waiting....

 

[wittmeba]

9mm, for all the reasons previously stated, and this. I know he's the Anti-Christ to a lot of guys, but on this particular subject, I agree with James Yeager. High pressure rounds like the 40 S&W and 357 Sig will take it's toll on what is a 9mm frame and sooner or later, it'll break. MHO you understand.

.40 and 9mm have the same pressure, .40 just happens to be a bigger bullet... How many .40s have you broken? Any pics? I'll be waiting....

I would agree with Doc. This is not a 9MM punched out to accept .40 - it is a .40 with a downsized barrel to accommodate a 9MM.

And I would expect to get new magazines. It is my understanding the .40 do not feel 9MM very well.

 

[fbcmrjrtykr]

Me trying to tell u what weapon to buy that fits u. Is like u trying to tell me what shoes to buy that fits me.

I certainly see your point. The thing is, I can go try on shoes.....but I can't necessarily try out these shields. So I look to this forum for the experiences others have had; most of which are very relevant. Clearly it does come down to what works for me.


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[dfhawkins]

9mm, for all the reasons previously stated, and this. I know he's the Anti-Christ to a lot of guys, but on this particular subject, I agree with James Yeager. High pressure rounds like the 40 S&W and 357 Sig will take it's toll on what is a 9mm frame and sooner or later, it'll break. MHO you understand.

Don, I hate to pile on... but the third crack in your argument is the reason you buy a Smith & Wesson; they fix or replace it if it breaks. That, however, is only from personal experience.

 

[timn8er]

You could check your local ranges & see if they might have both of them to rent. I went with the 40 Shield. I have several 40's & recoil doesn't bother me. It is a little more pronounced in the Shield because of its size, but adding a Pierce magazine extension & a Pachmyr slip on grip cleared that up for me & made the gun a joy to shoot. Its not a range gun by any means, but I do enjoy shooting it more now. Hey, open carry is legal here in Oklahoma, I could carry my 4506-1. Its very comfortable to shoot & even with me running it, very accurate. Open carry makes a lot of people nervous though, so that's why I bought the Shield. Carries concealed like a dream. As far as the cost of ammo, 9mm isn't that much cheaper than 40, & when ammo of any caliber was hard to find I always managed to find some 40. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Smitty357]

I certainly see your point. The thing is, I can go try on shoes.....but I can't necessarily try out these shields. So I look to this forum for the experiences others have had; most of which are very relevant. Clearly it does come down to what works for me.


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Well if it were me again. I'd buy the .40 and a factory 9mm barrel. This way I have both and can shoot both whenever I please. Recoil between the .40 and 9mm is about as much recoil as u get from a .22lr. My ole lady shoots her .40 better than she shoots her 9mm conversion. I guess she refuses to use recoil as an excuse, lol.

 

[Hunter991]

I would go 9mm, and if you want bigger get an XDS45 and skip the 40 all together. I have shot the 40 shield and my XDS45 seems more tame.

my 9 shield is very easy to handle.

 

[speedyquad]

op, where are you located, maybe we can get you hooked up with some peeps that have both, such as myself, a couple different people that would let you shoot both...

i'm in Northwest Pa, slightly closer to Erie than Pitsburgh. If you are nearby me, i'll let ya shoot both...

 

[fbcmrjrtykr]

op, where are you located, maybe we can get you hooked up with some peeps that have both, such as myself, a couple different people that would let you shoot both...

i'm in Northwest Pa, slightly closer to Erie than Pitsburgh. If you are nearby me, i'll let ya shoot both...

Thanks for the offer. I'm in south MS.


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[fbcmrjrtykr]

Well if it were me again. I'd buy the .40 and a factory 9mm barrel. This way I have both and can shoot both whenever I please. Recoil between the .40 and 9mm is about as much recoil as u get from a .22lr. My ole lady shoots her .40 better than she shoots her 9mm conversion. I guess she refuses to use recoil as an excuse, lol.

Now that's an interesting idea. I'd asked about the feasibility of buying a .40 and dropping in a 9mm barrel and may have missed any responses. Assuming the 9mm barrel can be found, that seems like a no brainer since I am comfortable shooting my SD40. Being a smaller gun, the shield .40 may be a bit snappier but surely not too bad.


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[Smitty357]

Now that's an interesting idea. I'd asked about the feasibility of buying a .40 and dropping in a 9mm barrel and may have missed any responses. Assuming the 9mm barrel can be found, that seems like a no brainer since I am comfortable shooting my SD40. Being a smaller gun, the shield .40 may be a bit snappier but surely not too bad.


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U see theres where the problem is. S&W no longer sells the barrels to the public anymore. Ever since we let the cat out of the bag about the conversion, they seem to have stopped selling them. Several of us members were lucky enough to get our hands on some 9mm barrels before S&W stopped selling them. They work perfect as a 9mm conversion. I shoot mine mostly as 9mm because i have a ton of 9mm fmj laying around. However, i do train with the .40 just to keep fresh on it and its my carry weapon.

OP: South Mississsippi, anywhere close to Baton Rouge/New Orleans area?

 

[shoots]

I currently own an SD40VE and hope to be soon adding a Shield for CC. I've been thinking 9mm but find myself wondering if I should stay with .40? On the 9 side you have diversity of ammo, less expensive ammo, and (I'm assuming) less kick. But on the .40 side is more stopping power and no need to stock up on a different caliber of ammo. Can you go the .40 route and later buy the barrel and mags to convert to 9? Are there other benefits to either? Can't do both as much as I'd like to.


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FYI you can buy the 40 and get a 9 barrel only and be able to shoot both, but not conversely. 9mm ammo will fit in the 40 mags not conversely. And 9mm barrel just fits in the 40 slide fine.
This way I carry the Shield 40 with CD rounds and practice with the 9mm barrel inserted. Works great. And I sometimes practice with the 40 ammo. Good luck.

 

[ca survivor]

FYI you can buy the 40 and get a 9 barrel only and be able to shoot both, but not conversely. 9mm ammo will fit in the 40 mags not conversely. And 9mm barrel just fits in the 40 slide fine.
This way I carry the Shield 40 with CD rounds and practice with the 9mm barrel inserted. Works great. And I sometimes practice with the 40 ammo. Good luck.

where did you get the 9mm barrel? because S&W is not selling just barrels.

 

[fbcmrjrtykr]

where did you get the 9mm barrel? because S&W is not selling just barrels.

That's the conclusion I'd come to as well.


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[fbcmrjrtykr]

OP: South Mississsippi, anywhere close to Baton Rouge/New Orleans area?

Hattiesburg, MS. Originally, I thought 9 for reduced recoil and diversity of ammo. When I wasn't thinking about getting one, they weren't hard to find in this area. Now it's a different story. Isn't that the way it goes?

I think I'll hold out till I can get a 9. I can shoot .40 every day with my HD gun.


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[speedyquad]

you are welcome, sorry i couldn't help. My wife has family that lives in Corinth, MS. We have visited them a few times in the past.

I'll add a little to the recoil question...i have a sigma(sw40ve) and a 40c. the recoil of the 40 in the shield is not much more than either of those. the sigma is very similar to your sd40ve.

eventually, the 9mm barrels will become available somehow...

 

[wtburnette]

So if you really are only paying $26 for a value pack of 9mm and actually finding it, consider yourself EXTREMELY lucky... Makes me wish for the good ole days circa 2008 before Obama was elected when 9mm Value packs could be had at Wal-Mart no problem for $18.88 for a box of 100.

That's the way it is here in Indy. I think with tax a 100 round pack of WWB 9mm is ~$28. Same for .40 is ~$41. Stock on 9mm is much more volatile than .40. Every time I go to WM, they have .40 and .45 in stock, but 9mm is only in stock once a week or every other week. Still, I've been finding it often enough that I stay pretty stocked up. Lately they've been out of WWB 100 round packs, but have had a lot of Federal Champion and PerFecta (Fiocchi offbrand) 50 count boxes for less than $15 before tax. When they have it in stock, it's better to buy ammo from WM than to order it almost anywhere, due to shipping costs from most online vendors.

 

[Donn]

Not interested in getting into a urination match with anyone here, and I know there are rules about other websites. Want to see where I got the info that formed my opinion? Google the name I mentioned.