Shield 9mm accuracy?

[Echo47]

I've put over 500 rounds of various brands of 115gr 9mm ammo (no +P or +P+) through my Shield and I am not particularly impressed with the accuracy at 7 to 10 yard distances. No recognizable groups were noted on a 12" square target. I can then fire the same brands of ammunition through my 9mm Glock or Walther PPS and can cover the resulting 50 holes with a 3 inch disc.
Trigger pull on the Shield remains at > 8 lbs (that's as high as my Wheeler trigger pull scale goes).
I've called S&W and am waiting to receive a shipping label to return the pistol to the factory for evaluation.
What kind of accuracy should I expect on return of the pistol?

 

[swsig]

I have about 1000 rounds through my Shield 9, and its grouping has improved of late. I recently took Rastoff's Challenge II (in the Concealed Carry section of the Forum), which is the Texas concealed handgun license shooting test. The test requires timed shots: 20 from 3 yards, 20 from 7 yards, and 10 from 15 yards. My Shield outshot my M&P 40c and my SIG P320 9. You can see the results here:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/concea...1991-rastoffs-challenge-ii.html#post138636756

To give you some perspective, the centermost ring is 2" by 3".

My trigger is just about perfect, and if yours is 8 lbs., that seems way high.

Best wishes for a quick turnaround from S&W.

 

[1hatchet]

Echo47, My Shield 9 trigger tested out at 6.5#s with an electronic scale and I have an Apex Trigger Kit here at the house waiting to be installed. My groupings are not the best but I believe that to be the shooters problem. We will see after the Apex kit is in.

 

[Ranger17]

OP, while i dont speak from experience on a Shield (been pondering adding one to my 9c and fs 9 though), seems i have read that while 115 ammo works well in those MP models it may not do quite as well in the Shield. Have you tried any other ammo just for comparisons?
Not sure if that would affect what you were noticing so just thought i'd add the note on it.

 

[Hillbilly77]

I've found my Shield to be as accurate as I can shoot it.
I went to the range with my new Shield before I even went home with it.

I can't remember exactly the distance I was shooting, but after I learned the trigger, I punched out the bullseye easily. I want to say it was around 25 feet +/-.

This is my first target with my Shield, on the day I bought it. You can see I had a few flyers as I was getting used to the feel of the gun.
This was 100 rounds of 115gr WWB.

 

[ChiefStealth]

At 10 yards, slow fire, I average 8 .7 out of 10 in a 3in. circle, with the Shield 9. 10 out of 10 in a 4in. circle. Quick-fire I haven't really kept score, but I'm pretty much like the green target above. Double-tap... well most are somewhere in that green area.

 

[hoc9sw]

Early on in my Shield 9 adventures, S&W CS told me that it was designed around 124g, and 124 JHP is my carry round.

I use Remington UMC 115g JHP as a general range ammo, so that the extra mags are always loaded with JHP of some sort. At Wal Mart it runs less than $1 more per 100 than Federal FMJ. I also suspect it is almost +P, as it has a more substantial recoil.

I'm happy with the accuracy.

 

[ghoffman]

My Shield 9mm is more accurate than I am. I put the Apex Duty/Carry trigger enhancement kit on it and dropped the trigger pull to a tad under 5 pounds. Very smooth trigger and a clear positive re-set. Nice!

 

[epj]

Have you shot it from a rest? That would eliminate a lot of potential human error from the heavy trigger. The Shield is not a target pistol, or even really a range toy. It is meant for defensive use at short range. Mine shoots rather well for a small pistol. It has decent sights, which helps. I can hold about a 3" circle at 10-12 yards with deliberate fire, or clean the plate rack at the same distance firing rapidly. This is better than I expected. Any good S&W revolver will probably shoot one ragged hole at that range. A tuned target semi auto will do the same, most of the time. Shields, or FS service pistols, for that matter, not so much.

 

[Radco]

My 2 cents! I have shot about 300+ rounds from my new Shield 9mm! 5/10 and 15 ft about 3/4" group. Yea I no not great lol and have been trying 25 ft! At first I was all over the place, The last time I was 5/6" group with a few floaters! SO I am getting better, The Shield is also not a long range pistol so if I can hit center mass with 8 rounds I will be happier then the creeping crude who caught them :O

 

[Radco]

I've found my Shield to be as accurate as I can shoot it.
I went to the range with my new Shield before I even went home with it.

I can't remember exactly the distance I was shooting, but after I learned the trigger, I punched out the bullseye easily. I want to say it was around 25 feet +/-.

This is my first target with my Shield, on the day I bought it. You can see I had a few flyers as I was getting used to the feel of the gun.
This was 100 rounds of 115gr WWB.

GREAT grouping remind me not to tick you off EVER lol

 

[MyDads38]

My newly acquired Shield 40, so far is a tack driver at 3 & 5 yards. I have yet to shoot it past those distances yet, but plan to at 7 & 10 yards.

Let me say, that until a week ago; I never planned to have/carry anything smaller than a 4" FS semi-auto at any time. And I may not carry the Shield 100% of the time. But I now have a smaller pistol available, that so far, I am very happy with! I can see myself picking up a Shield in 9mm some time in the future

Accuracy is different from one person to the next and I strive for the best I can get from all my guns. With my Shield 40, the first 13 rounds of reloads (165 gr. plated) yielded a slow fire group of 3/4" x 1 1/4" @ 3 yards; 13 rounds slow fire @ 5 yards yielded a group of 3/4" x 1 1/4". 13 rounds of Federal Alum. 180 gr. FMJ @ 3 yards yielded 1" x 1 1/2" and 13 rounds rapid fire @ 5 yards yielded a nicely centered 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" group. No issues so far with 83 rounds down range in the first week. Never thought I would like a compact semi-auto, let alone one in 40 S&W. But the Shield 40 feels more like a 9mm and is a joy to shoot. With no issues and several hundred more rounds, I will be adding to my carry rotation.

 

[RobzGuns]

This is my target from the 1st 'Rastoff's Challenge thread.
4 shots from 9', 6 shots from 15', 6 shots from 1' and 4 shots from 30'... All with my little Shield. The 3 shots definitely outside the 2" orange center, were at 30'.
Mine seems to be more consistent with 124gr FMJ & JHP than 115gr.
My Shield is stock... Factory sights, no Grip Tape, no Apex Kit.

The 2nd pic, of three 6" 'Shoot & See' targets, shows how well it does with controlled pairs (aka: double-taps) and just 30'... So the pistol CAN deliver great accuracy once you get used to it and Learn The Pistol.

While once in a while a person can get a Barrel-Slide setup with specs at the opposite ends of the tolerances (regardless of Brand/Model), MOST of the time, bad (or no) grouping is the shooter, not the pistol.

 

[Radco]

This is my target from the 1st 'Rastoff's Challenge thread.
4 shots from 9', 6 shots from 15', 6 shots from 1' and 4 shots from 30'... All with my little Shield. The 3 shots definitely outside the 2" orange center, were at 30'.
Mine seems to be more consistent with 124gr FMJ & JHP than 115gr.
My Shield is stock... Factory sights, no Grip Tape, no Apex Kit.

The 2nd pic, of three 6" 'Shoot & See' targets, shows how well it does with controlled pairs (aka: double-taps) and just 30'... So the pistol CAN deliver great accuracy once you get used to it and Learn The Pistol.

While once in a while a person can get a Barrel-Slide setup with specs at the opposite ends of the tolerances (regardless of Brand/Model), MOST of the time, bad (or no) grouping is the shooter, not the pistol.

Very nice groups as well! I also agree the 124 gr, is a tad better in accuracy then the 115Gr. I am still amazed how nice this little gun shoots Getting the stock trigger pull down pretty good. I do not think it is too bad but that could change I just added the Talon Grip tape and $$$$ very well spent! Didn't no I need them till I tried them lol....

 

[Magload]

I thought mine was grouping 2 inches left at 10 yds so aked the range manager to shoot it and he put all 7 shots in a 2 inch bull and handed me the gun back. Don

 

[CaptRon956]

I have no problems with accuracy with my M&P Shield 9. I also IDPA with it and its one of my primary carry's. This is just me standing, two hand weaver stance... As you can see, the center is entirely blown out, the few other holes (flyiers) are from me, not the pistol.... I would say the Shield is pretty fricken accurate for a compact 3" barrel 9mm.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STCWWTgzYLM[/ame]

 

[RandyX]

dump the 115 grn. , I found mine loves the 124 grn, I can generally spin the 4" plates @ 20 yds. all day long with Freedomunitions 124 grn. reloads Round nose. With the Federal Tactical 124 gr. HST it just gets better!

 

[CaptRon956]

dump the 115 grn. , I found mine loves the 124 grn, I can generally spin the 4" plates @ 20 yds. all day long with Freedomunitions 124 grn. reloads Round nose. With the Federal Tactical 124 gr. HST it just gets better!

I just hapened to have Federal 115 gr. 9mm that day. I've shot probably around 1k rounds of Freedom munitions 124 gr. FMJ's with better results. 147 gr. Win. Train & defend is what I now use for practice & IDPA, their "Defend" in the train & defend series is what I carry.

 

[RandyX]

Heck Capt. Ron I never even tried the 147 grn. stuff, It might even get better, I'll have to give em a try !

 

[MyDads38]

I thought mine was grouping 2 inches left at 10 yds so aked the range manager to shoot it and he put all 7 shots in a 2 inch bull and handed me the gun back. Don

I just proved the same point to a couple at the range a few evenings ago. Beretta 92M 9mm. These folks could barely hit a standard target at 10 yards (awful flinch) but just knew it had to be the gun/sights. I keep a pistol rest in my car, so I went and pulled it out. 6 rounds off the rest were just to the right of the bullseye and elevation was spot on. I was surprised the 92M had such a heavy trigger pull in SA, My M&P's have a lighter trigger! I then offered them some tips on dry firing at home, sight picture and sight alignment, trigger press and grip/how to hold the gun. And I let them fire my Shield 40 and FS M&P 9. It's all good, when you can help someone out and help them become better shooters.