Shield optic ready

[wicat3]

Hey everyone. Been considering a shield plus for a carry pistol. I had a shield in the past and it replaced my Glock 19 but I’m really looking to add an optic. I was considering looking into a 4” pc shield 2.0 but unsure if it’s worth it compared to a shield plus optic ready model?

 

[Well Armed]

Hey everyone. Been considering a shield plus for a carry pistol. I had a shield in the past and it replaced my Glock 19 but I’m really looking to add an optic. I was considering looking into a 4” pc shield 2.0 but unsure if it’s worth it compared to a shield plus optic ready model?

Get the Shield Plus 4" PC

 

[wicat3]

Get the Shield Plus 4" PC

Can you elaborate on why you say that?

 

[Super Trucker]

A 4" shield over a G19 loses capacity and gains not much of anything. A 4" Shield plus is .3" shorter, .06 taller, .15 thinner, 1oz lighter. Not worth losing 5 rounds for those minimal specs in my opinion.

I'm not a fan of the optic ready guns, I prefer to have them milled for the optic.
Think of fit, is one size fits all better than something sized correctly.

I am rough on optics, I want them to be secured in a pocket, not riding on a plate less secure and higher above the muzzle.

If you want a shield plus, I would suggest getting the original size and have the slide milled for preferably an optic from this country or go with a similar sized higher capacity gun.

 

[357 shooter]

I bought a Shield Plus optics ready last year and couldn't get two different optics to zero. Both optics - a Sig Romeo Zero and Holosun 407K worked fine on 3 other pistols: Glock 43XMOS , SIG P365X and SIG P322.

Contacted Smith customer service and they say to contact the sight manufacturers? Seriously? How about I'll never buy another new Smith again.

If I had to do it again I would do like Super Trucker recommends , buy the regular Shield Plus and have it milled properly.

 

[Gman556]

I bought a Shield Plus optics ready last year and couldn't get two different optics to zero. Both optics - a Sig Romeo Zero and Holosun 407K worked fine on 3 other pistols: Glock 43XMOS , SIG P365X and SIG P322.

Contacted Smith customer service and they say to contact the sight manufacturers? Seriously? How about I'll never buy another new Smith again.

If I had to do it again I would do like Super Trucker recommends , buy the regular Shield Plus and have it milled properly.

Did you run out of elevation?

I can't remember for sure but I think this has been an issue with the sheilds due to their downward angle of the factory cut out?

I also agree that it is better to have a slide milled to the optic, but there are some cons with this in that you are stuck with that particular optic pretty much for the life of that pistol.

This is why it is best to have your slide milled to a popular footprint, the RMR, RMSc, holosun 4O7K etc:

 

[357 shooter]

Did you run out of elevation?

I can't remember for sure but I think this has been an issue with the sheilds due to their downward angle of the factory cut out?

I also agree that it is better to have a slide milled to the optic, but there are some cons with this in that you are stuck with that particular optic pretty much for the life of that pistol.

This is why it is best to have your slide milled to a popular footprint, the RMR, RMSc, holosun 4O7K etc:

With the elevation as low as it would go the Shield was shooting 4" high at 25 ft. and 12" high at 25 yards. Just out of curiosity I installed an angled shim and low and behold I was able to zero the optic!

There is one shop that even offers a service to mill flat the Smith factory optics cut. You would think that milling an optics cut flat would be and easy and simple process on the Smith & Wesson production floor.

What irks me the most is that Smith did not offer to make it right , just a replay of "contact the sight manufacturer." When they no longer stand their product they lost me as a customer.

 

[Gman556]

With the elevation as low as it would go the Shield was shooting 4" high at 25 ft. and 12" high at 25 yards. Just out of curiosity I installed an angled shim and low and behold I was able to zero the optic!

There is one shop that even offers a service to mill flat the Smith factory optics cut. You would think that milling an optics cut flat would be and easy and simple process on the Smith & Wesson production floor.

What irks me the most is that Smith did not offer to make it right , just a replay of "contact the sight manufacturer." When they no longer stand their product they lost me as a customer.

I believe S&W do that intentionally to the cut because some rds elevation would bottom out on the shields.

Reason that some company's are selling shims for them or offering to flat cut the slide.

I really love the grip angle and feel of the M&P full size models over just about everything else out there, but I'm done buying anymore myself.

Only one out of the 4 I own didn't need any tweaking or work to get them running right.
My 9mm did have terrible accuracy until I fit an apex barrel to it.

The gun does run like a thief now though with 3600 rounds through it and no issues.

I use it mainly as my USPSA gun.

My 4.6" 10mm needed stronger mag and recoil springs but it runs good now. Only keeping it and the 9mm, and the other two are getting traded in later this year.

 

[Quillslinger]

Shield plus and 507K elevation issue

My brother-in-law just got an OR Shield Plus and he and I just looked into this issue. Seems that the angle on the deck of the optics mount space on the slide is angled such that a 507K doesn't play well with it. It's cut for RMSc, so getting the Holosun on there requires modification. Some have said it's no big deal, just grind off those two extra studs on the back and cut down the bumps in the front and you can use the Holosun with a direct-mount... but I've spent about 4 hours reviewing posts on other sites and a lot of guys who did that, but then ran into the same issue for elevation on the red dot.

That said, my BIL went with the 507K with the ACSS reticle (a truly AWESOME sight). He opted to use the adapter plate from C&H. Apparently it still allows for a tiny bit of co-witness with the factory standard-height iron sights.

 

[CouchPotato]

S&W makes a slide assembly for the M&P Shield (part # 3015613) that's advertised as being cut to directly accept a Holosun 407K/507K and they're available at various online retailers.

I did receive this slide from S&W for free due to a customer service and warranty repair fiasco. Because of that, I can't really complain.

I went ahead and got a Holosun 507K ACSS and mounted it. In order to zero it, the elevation is maxed out. I did try an aftermarket shim but it’s fitment is poor and I lose my co-witness with my iron sights. As a result, I'm not using the shim.

By a lot, the absolute best way to mount an optic to a M&P Shield is to send the slide out to a reputable place to get milled for the optic that you want.