Shield First Range Trip

[Bozz10mm]

I picked up my Shield 9mm the Friday after Christmas. During the last week, I disassembled and cleaned and lubed it a couple of times and also dry fired probably a couple hundred times to get the feel of the gun and trigger.

At the range yesterday, I shot about 40 rounds just to break it in a little and to get used to the weapon. Then I settled in to see what I could do. This is typical of what I was doing at 25 feet. Not real impressive, but adequate at that range. The flyer to the left is from a previous group.



Feeling fairly confident, I moved back to 25 yards. That was a very humbling experience. With the same point of aim, I was getting a larger group, as to be expected, but the rounds were all impacting very high. (Sorry, no Pics of that)

I then put it on a rest and got the group down to about 8", but impacting above the silhouette's right shoulder, around 12-13 inches high and 4 inches left with that same target and POA.
I can handle the 4" left, but the 13" high was causing me a bit of consternation. Well, after a good nights sleep and a bit of studying, I have come to the conclusion that it is my sight picture. With my old, aging, eyes, I am in the habit of just lining up the top of the front sight with the top of the rear sight and ignoring the white dots. That works pretty well with my other pistols, but when you do that with a Shield, the front dot is about a 16th of an inch higher than the rear dots. With such a short sight radius, that makes a big difference at 25 yards. At least it makes me feel better about the gun, and hopefully my next range trip will prove to be more satisfying.

All in all, I put 50 rounds of Blazer Brass 115gr, 16 rounds of Federal HST 124gr standard pressure, and 19 rounds of Rem Golden Saber 124gr +P through the Shield with nary a bobble on the part of the pistol. I even "plus oned" in the chamber a couple of times with no problems either. Recoil was fairly pleasant with the Blazers, but I could tell the HST's were a little hotter, and Golden Saber +Ps were starting to get pretty snappy. In the end, I wish I would have brought more target rounds with me. I am going to try Fiocchi, WWB, and UMC next time.

The Shield seems to be rock solid. I just need more practice with it. It is so small and concealable, I will be carrying it during the shorts and tee shirt season, with my XDm 45 3.8 compact taking up the duty in colder weather. I have a couple of hybrid holsters (Alien Gear shell and Firearm Holster) and a MIC holster on the way. Today, I will be installing a set of rubberized Talon grips.

And that's all I have to say about that.

 

[jimmib]

nice report...sounds like you enjoyed it

 

[Scooperfl]

I got a shield 40 recently and am still getting used to the heavy striker trigger (from Sig DA/SA). When I started I was way low and way left, now I am shooting just a little low.

First outing I shot 80 rinds with zero issues. Then I got some (4/100) nasty FTE's on my second outing with magtech range stuff. Slide was pushing the new round against the old case which was sticking halfway out of the chamber. Looked like the extractor was somehow coming off the rim during extraction. When I engaged the slide lock and removed the magazine the case fell out. I re inserted it in the chamber and it fit loosely, so it was not stuck. When I moved the extractor it felt sticky, so I cleaned/lubed it. Zero missoperations on the third outing with white box. I think the extractor was not able to move freely enough but I still do not fully trust it. Been practicing clearing this. Thinking about trying an apex FRE if I see this again.

My defense ammo is Golden Sabre, which the shield has no problem with. However the gun will not even chamber Critical Duty.

The worst thing about the M&P is the plastic trigger. It just feels flimsy to me. I see apex has an expensive fix for that too, has anyone tried it?

 

[Bozz10mm]

My defense ammo is Golden Sabre, which the shield has no problem with. However the gun will not even chamber Critical Duty.

Does the Critical Duty have a longer OAL than other 9mm ammo?

 

[bob98366]

Feeling fairly confident, I moved back to 25 yards.

Nice report and glad it's shooting reliably. Our Shield 9 is solid also. Hope never to have to fire for effect at 25 yds with a Shield!

 

[CatSnipah]

Good review. I had similar experiences when breaking mine in, although I tended to be low and left. First subcompact I've really shot more than just a dozen or so rounds through (when I was evaluating new ccw options).

Remember, you can improve with practice and familiarity. However, a 3" barrel doesn't easily lend itself to extreme accuracy and ultra tight groups at longer ranges. This is a PD firearm, and as such, is designed to conceal easily and get the job done at 20 feet and closer.

Some folks will tell you they knock it out of the park at 40+ feet. Maybe they do, maybe they are embellishing some. Some folks are natural talents, and could pick off a bumblebee with a 3" barrel at 75 yards. But that's not what this firearm is designed for.

You want to be comfortable with a draw, aim and fire quickly and accurately at a threat that will typically be inside 20ish feet.

I can nail a tight group at 50 feet with my Sig 229, but it's a different animal. My Shield is my personal protector, and I practice differently with her.

Keep those thoughts in mind, keep on practicing, and you will be a happy person.

 

[Arney]

My first experience with my Shield was with 50 rounds at 7 yards. The best I could was a 3 inch grouping of 6 rounds.

So are the trigger pull is abit hard and hopefully will break-in after a few more hundred rounds....

 

[WilliamG]

Well, after a good nights sleep and a bit of studying, I have come to the conclusion that it is my sight picture. With my old, aging, eyes, I am in the habit of just lining up the top of the front sight with the top of the rear sight and ignoring the white dots. That works pretty well with my other pistols, but when you do that with a Shield, the front dot is about a 16th of an inch higher than the rear dots. With such a short sight radius, that makes a big difference at 25 yards. At least it makes me feel better about the gun, and hopefully my next range trip will prove to be more satisfying.

I thought with any gun, you're supposed to just use the dots as a quick way of getting a fast sight picture, but lining up the top of the sights, as you have been doing, is exactly what you're supposed to do to get that point of aim. The dots are just for being able to get that POA quickly.