Shield 9mm to replace M49?!?

[wrkerr]

As some of you know, I have carried my M49 Bodyguard on/off duty for 35+ years. Never seriously even considered anything else. It just works.

Well.......... Sportsman's Warehouse had a sale on Shields in 9mm, version 1.0 for $219. (Yes, $219!) What can I say? I had to do it! So, I will be heading to the range in the next few days to try it out. I have used Glocks; never warmed up to the whole striker-fired thing.

So what can I expect? My muscle memory is all DA revolver. I kind of want to like it. Easy to carry, 8 shots, 9mm. What's not to like?

 

[JNewell]

What to expect - I think you may find the transition easier than you think. The trigger stroke and the reset are shorter (and lighter) than you're used to, but in my experience we humans are mostly much more adaptable than people sometimes tell us. Spend some time at the range and dry firing it to get used to the trigger and I think you'll like it and do well with it.

 

[weyerbacher]

What a sweet deal. I prefer the 1.0 to the 2.0 for no good reason. Mine has a great trigger and does not kick hardly at all. Very accurate. Get a good IWB and you will forget that it's there.

 

[oink]

Well, it's no wheel gun, that's for sure. They're good functional tools and a fantastic bargain, especially for what you paid. The trigger is plenty good enough for it's intended purposes. You'll be fine and grow attached to it for the efficient little compact tool it is. But, it will never give you the pleasure of a fine revolver. I carry mine quite a bit.

 

[robrossk]

Can’t go wrong with a Shield.

 

[wrkerr]

Thanks for the replies. I'll report back after a few hundred rounds. At this point I can't see totally giving up my M49. It's such a part of me for so long.

 

[Mister X]

I don’t see any practical reason or real advantage to switching. For civilian self-defense, I actually view going from a snub to a low capacity single-stack auto as a move in the wrong direction.

 

[Jhawk412]

I love revolvers but everytime I carry my 5-shot, I encounter a situation where I think if it went bad here, I’d wished I had more gun. For instance, walking in the bank to make a deposit. Pumping gas and a full car across the way mean-mugging me. For the same size and less weight you get 8+1 vs 5-shot, night sights if desired, laserguard if you want, faster reloads and less felt recoil. I routinely carry my PC Shield 9 with Trijicon night sights, my Glock 42 with CTC laserpro, and increasingly my M&P 380EZ with a CTC green laserguard. Just my opinion.

 

[hyena]

I''ll be interested in hearing which one you like carrying, as opposed to shooting. I have the Shield 1 in .45, and a 642-1 airweight. I shoot the Shield much better than the airweight, but I MUCH prefer carrying the airweight. Especially AIWB. It just disappears under a t shirt much better than the shield, and the weight reduction is noticeable. My 642 has altamont wooden boot grips on it, which helps. Perhaps with your 649 being steel frame and about the weight of the Shield, it won't be much difference.

 

[wrkerr]

As much as I hate to admit, felt recoil is becoming an issue. I'm no spring chicken and arthritis is taking a toll on my right-hand fingers. With all but the lightest loads, the j frames hurt. In my LEO days, I could handle full magnums with no problem. Times change.

I guess my real reason for thinking of replacing the M49 is the recoil. I'll try some non +p 9mm and see what happens. Getting old sucks!

 

[Jhawk412]

If you can find a rental, try the Shield 380EZ. Much, much easier to shoot. Ballistics are fine. I also used light wad cutters in my j-frames.

 

[oink]

How in the heck did you keep your 49 looking so good being a carry gun so many years?

 

[max503]

I don’t see any practical reason or real advantage to switching. For civilian self-defense, I actually view going from a snub to a low capacity single-stack auto as a move in the wrong direction.

Thanks for reinforcing what I want to hear. I've never owned a 9mm but the lure of the increased firepower has been a siren's call to me. So far I've resisted and stayed with my J frames - which have served me very well.

 

[wrkerr]

How in the heck did you keep your 49 looking so good being a carry gun so many years?

About 15 years ago I bead blasted all the blue off (what was left) and used a spray-on teflon and baked the parts in my oven. It has held up pretty well, but the cylinder face and high spots are now bare metal. Appearance-wise I couldn't care less..... it's a tool. And a darn good one.

 

[oink]

Looks good to me. Yeah, all my carry guns show it pretty well, or bad or whatever.

 

[wrkerr]

Looks good to me. Yeah, all my carry guns show it pretty well, or bad or whatever.

This angle shows better the amount of use. Literally thousands of rounds through it. Granted, most were 141 gr wadcutters from a Cramer mould pushed by 2.7 gr of Bullseye. Other than replacing the hand it has held up very well over the years.

I am skeptical that a Shield will replace it, but I'll give it a fair attempt.

And speaking of wadcutters, the above load is very comfortable to shoot; no pain in my little finger. But how would it be for SD? It's what we carried back in the day for our j-frames, but I don't recall anyone ever having to use it "for real".

 

[JNewell]

About 15 years ago I bead blasted all the blue off (what was left) and used a spray-on teflon and baked the parts in my oven. It has held up pretty well, but the cylinder face and high spots are now bare metal. Appearance-wise I couldn't care less..... it's a tool. And a darn good one.

The J-frame that I recently retired (I think) is a 342 that I carried every day for 20 years. Functions perfectly but looks like it was thrown out of the truck on a rope and driven 20 miles down the interstate.

Having an aluminum frame and titanium cylinder, and weighing about 12 ounces, +P loads are really sharp. Even standard pressure loads are not something you'd shoot much, so I have always had a Model 60 or two for practice.

Here's a funny thing. Most people don't believe me, but maybe this crowd will. The 342 in a pocket holster conceals much better than the Glock 43 that I'm carrying now, even though it's thicker in several places. I think all those rounded surfaces make a difference, compared to the ~90 degree edges on a pistol.

 

[wrkerr]

Here's a funny thing. Most people don't believe me, but maybe this crowd will. The 342 in a pocket holster conceals much better than the Glock 43 that I'm carrying now, even though it's thicker in several places. I think all those rounded surfaces make a difference, compared to the ~90 degree edges on a pistol.

Exactly. It's the shape of the little J's that allow them to conceal easier than comparably sized autos. The perfect pocket gun. It was Jeff Cooper who said years (decades) ago that any attire short of a nudist camp would conceal a j-frame.

Since I rarely pocket-carry anymore, the UM combat grips really help with recoil. I carry AIWB so we'll see how the Shield stacks up.

 

[Saudade]

I carry AIWB so we'll see how the Shield stacks up.

Hmmm... I see what you did here!!

 

[photoman]

If you worry about needing six rounds while carrying a five shot J frame, you will worry about needing nine rounds while carrying an eight shot Shield.