Should I Replace My G43 With a Shield?

[wwit]

I love my full size M&P 9. My favorite to shoot. It just "feels" right. My carry gun is a 9mm Shield Performance Center. Nice carry gun. (I carry with the 8 round mag.) Just my 2 cents.

I own the exact same duo and have the same opinion exactly with this sentiment. I carry my PC 9mm Shield with the 8 round mag also. Mainly due to the fact that the 9mm Shield was my older CCW and have gotten used to it. Thankfully I live in a relatively violent crime free area and shootouts are not common at all, so no real need to carry the fill size double stack.

Both are great guns. At the range, the full size I find to be a tad more accurate at 25 yards. Mainly because the full size fits my catchers mitt hands better then the Shield.

 

[wwit]

Can someone explain why everyone is carrying the Performance Centers, or any ported barrel handgun for that matter?


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Why not carry a ported firearm?

I own both the M&P 9mm Shield(single stack) PC as well as the full sized M&P 9mm (double stack) PC. Both have ported barrels. The full size came with a TB also. I bought both at different times, but in both cases I was able to buy them for only a small upcharge over the non-ported version. Both come with Apex Enhanced Triggers, which was worth far more than the slight upcharge I paid.

 

[rwsmith]

Why yes......

Is there a problem with the Glock?

It's not a Smith.

 

[Flash_80]

Have the Shield. Have held the G43. And its the only Glock I ever held and liked. That being said, if I had either one already, I would not trade it for the other.

 

[eahicks]

Why not carry a ported firearm?



I own both the M&P 9mm Shield(single stack) PC as well as the full sized M&P 9mm (double stack) PC. Both have ported barrels. The full size came with a TB also. I bought both at different times, but in both cases I was able to buy them for only a small upcharge over the non-ported version. Both come with Apex Enhanced Triggers, which was worth far more than the slight upcharge I paid.

So you didn't answer why. I get that they come with upgrade triggers, sights.... but why carry a ported barrel?


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[Breakaway500]

Glock: hammer. Shield: not a Glock.

 

[Lima26]

I prefer non-ported for my EDC. Even when you replace the ported barrel with a non-ported barrel the ports cut into the slide could potentially get jammed up. The other issue is the slide ports also reduce weight and increase slide speed in an already small pistol.

Just my 2-cents

 

[T2C]

I owned a Glock 43 for several months and never warmed up to it. It was stone axe reliable, but it was not as precise as my other concealed carry pistols.

I purchased a Shield 9mm last fall and I like the way it handles and shoots better than the Glock 43. I had to send the Shield in for warranty work when I first bought it and I have been tracking other threads about magazine spring issues. If I don't have any more breakages, I'll stick with the Shield. If I do have another issue that affects reliability, I won't be able to recommend the Shield as a personal protection firearm to my students.

 

[wwit]

So you didn't answer why. I get that they come with upgrade triggers, sights.... but why carry a ported barrel?

Why Not? was my answer. For me ported makes no difference at all for a CCW. Its very simple, or so I thought. I CCW a ported barrel gun because it came that way. I got a good price on it at the time and the upgrades other than the ported barrel far outweighed the upcharge to get a PC vs. a standard model. I recall it was only @ $20-25 upcharge then. Prices have come done a lot since then though. I clean my firearms frequently. My PC 9mm Shield gets cleaned once a week. I'm highly confident that it will be good working order should I ever need to draw it in any potential SD or HD situation.

If you prefer the non ported model, then that's the one for you.

 

[eahicks]

Why Not? was my answer. For me ported makes no difference at all for a CCW. Its very simple, or so I thought. I CCW a ported barrel gun because it came that way. I got a good price on it at the time and the upgrades other than the ported barrel far outweighed the upcharge to get a PC vs. a standard model. I recall it was only @ $20-25 upcharge then. Prices have come done a lot since then though. I clean my firearms frequently. My PC 9mm Shield gets cleaned once a week. I'm highly confident that it will be good working order should I ever need to draw it in any potential SD or HD situation.

If you prefer the non ported model, then that's the one for you.

"Why not" explains nothing. I get the "cool" factor of ported guns. But for a short barrel like the Shield has, and porting it, you are making something more dangerous to the person shooting than anything. This gun is meant for SD, and most likely would be used in close contact.... if you shoot from the hip with it, you risk being burned by the muzzle flash being directed back at you practically. If you use it at night, the extra flash could temporarily blind you. Also, with the porting it seems you lose some of your velocity. So short barrel, with the extra decrease, is limiting the punch of even your best defense round. I'm not saying these guns are bad. I just don't think they are the best choice for a CC weapon.


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[carbuff]

To answer your question, no. If the G43 meets your needs, why change to another brand and platform? Having said this, I do carry both the G43 and Shield 9 at different times for different reasons.

Both the G43 and Shield 9 meet my every EDC needs. Each is well made, reliable, accurate and easily maintained. Both fit my hands well.

I carry in the front right pocket of my pants. The pistol I choose to carry depends on the pants I wear. In summer daytimes wearing tighter fitting shorts, I carry the G43 because it is overall smaller than the Shield 9.

When wearing regular pants or suits, I carry the Shield 9 because the larger front pockets allow the Shield with its larger size to fit better without printing.

I do not find switching from one of these pistol to the other to be detrimental to my ability to control or shoot either.

The beauty of having to decide which of these fine guns to carry is a win-win situation. Wish every decision in life was this easy.

 

[dben002]

I am not a Glock fanboy or hater.. Traded my G26 for the Shield 9 then moved up to the Shield 45.. For me the Shield is a better shooting gun but that is probably because the Shield fits my hand better and my eye. Both are capable weapons..always choose the one you shoot the best under stress.

 

[mlk18]

I just did a comparison of the G43 and the PC Shield. I went with the PC Shield. I have several Glocks and enjoy them all, but the G43 made me think of the Walther CCP or Walther PK380. They say Walther, but they don't feel or shoot like a Walther. The G43 does not feel or shoot like a "real Glock" to me. YMMV.

 

[walkin' trails]

I have both. Both are in factory original form. I carry the 43 as a BUG at work because it is authorized and the Shield is not. At present, I find myself preferring the 43 to the Shield, but then again I've got the 43 on me all the time and handle it daily. Both have about the same number of rounds and neither has had anything resembling a stoppage or failure other than the Shield seemly having a bit of a snag going into battery when working the slide in a less than purposeful manner. I feel that the Shield needs a little more break-in time.

As far as keeping everything in the family, all I can say is that I have no problems going back and forth between Glock and M&Ps. I have several of the later and carry a 9c off the clock. I've shot my Shield on qua courses, and have scored the same with it as I do the 43. Bottom line, it's up to you.


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[Fastbolt]

While I've spent some range time with the Shield 9, I've not yet tried a G43.

Having been through the armorer classes for both (G43/42 added to current Glock class, bu the Shield class is a separate module subsequent to the regular M&P class), I tend to think both are fine for their intended roles.

S&W says that the Shield is the number one selling pistol in the world at the moment, and Glock said they G43 is their number one selling model (out of their whole model line) for the last year. Bopth are selling as fast as they can be produced.

I know some other instructors who own/owned both, and a couple of them are what you might call Glock fans. One of them is rather ambivalent about his G43, and the other is regretting having sold his Shield to buy the G43.

I didn't get a Shield because I have a 3913, 3913TSW (late production) and a CS9. I didn't get a G43 for the same reason. Neither are what I'm looking for in a "pocketable" pistol, and I have a bunch of little single stack 9's, .40's & .45's.

If anyone is interested, Glock started using a special minus connector in the G43 about a year ago (not the same one used in their larger guns), replacing the original G43 connector, and this reduces the trigger pull weight down into the average weight of the larger Glocks.

Some folks seem prone to nit-pcik about the difference in mag capacity between the Shield (7/8) and the G43 (6), but it might be reasonable to bear in mind the intended role of this really diminutive single stack category.

My CS45 uses 6rd mags, my CS9 7rd mags and my 3913's 8rd mags. All of them hold at least as many rounds as the 6-shot service revolvers I carried on-duty, and the Commander I carried off-duty.

Why 6-8 rounds wouldn't be sufficient for a really small off-duty/secondary weapon, or a really small private citizen's CCW choice, is a bit of a head-scratcher. Unless, of course, someone has in mind a fear of having to live out some fantasy shootout scenario inspired by the couple of John Wick movies.

Then again, these thoughts are from someone who has a plethora of pistols with 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12rd magazines ... but who commonly carries a 5-shot snub or a LCP (6rd mag) as retirement weapons.

I'm not exactly a mag capacity junkie.

So ... both the Shield 9 and the G43 would seem to be fine choices for the smallish, lo-cap single stack pistol categories. Get one of each and compare them for a few years, yourselves.

 

[eahicks]

While I've spent some range time with the Shield 9, I've not yet tried a G43.



Having been through the armorer classes for both (G43/42 added to current Glock class, bu the Shield class is a separate module subsequent to the regular M&P class), I tend to think both are fine for their intended roles.



S&W says that the Shield is the number one selling pistol in the world at the moment, and Glock said they G43 is their number one selling model (out of their whole model line) for the last year. Bopth are selling as fast as they can be produced.



I know some other instructors who own/owned both, and a couple of them are what you might call Glock fans. One of them is rather ambivalent about his G43, and the other is regretting having sold his Shield to buy the G43.



I didn't get a Shield because I have a 3913, 3913TSW (late production) and a CS9. I didn't get a G43 for the same reason. Neither are what I'm looking for in a "pocketable" pistol, and I have a bunch of little single stack 9's, .40's & .45's.



If anyone is interested, Glock started using a special minus connector in the G43 about a year ago (not the same one used in their larger guns), replacing the original G43 connector, and this reduces the trigger pull weight down into the average weight of the larger Glocks.



Some folks seem prone to nit-pcik about the difference in mag capacity between the Shield (7/8) and the G43 (6), but it might be reasonable to bear in mind the intended role of this really diminutive single stack category.



My CS45 uses 6rd mags, my CS9 7rd mags and my 3913's 8rd mags. All of them hold at least as many rounds as the 6-shot service revolvers I carried on-duty, and the Commander I carried off-duty.



Why 6-8 rounds wouldn't be sufficient for a really small off-duty/secondary weapon, or a really small private citizen's CCW choice, is a bit of a head-scratcher. Unless, of course, someone has in mind a fear of having to live out some fantasy shootout scenario inspired by the couple of John Wick movies.



Then again, these thoughts are from someone who has a plethora of pistols with 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12rd magazines ... but who commonly carries a 5-shot snub or a LCP (6rd mag) as retirement weapons.



I'm not exactly a mag capacity junkie.



So ... both the Shield 9 and the G43 would seem to be fine choices for the smallish, lo-cap single stack pistol categories. Get one of each and compare them for a few years, yourselves.

When you're confident you can place 2-3 rounds on target when you need to, having 6 rounds or more is just insurance. If you feel the need to carry something with 12-17 rounds in it.... I don't know what to say to that.


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[justBrian]

I sold my G43 and bought an M&P 2.0 5" FDE. ;-)

 

[ScaryWoody]

I love Glocks. I live in Atlanta and take my Glocks to the mother ship eery 5k rounds for a free check up. My Glock 19 is probably the best carry gun made. That said, I just bought my second Shield 45. I've been carrying the Shield for a while. Light weight and affordable. I traded some capacity for much bigger holes. I just bought the second Shield 45 because of the rebate. A new good gun for $264. I couldn't pass that by.

 

[eahicks]

I love Glocks. I live in Atlanta and take my Glocks to the mother ship eery 5k rounds for a free check up. My Glock 19 is probably the best carry gun made. That said, I just bought my second Shield 45. I've been carrying the Shield for a while. Light weight and affordable. I traded some capacity for much bigger holes. I just bought the second Shield 45 because of the rebate. A new good gun for $264. I couldn't pass that by.

Yep.... ordered my 45 Shield (NTS) this weekend, after the rebate will cost me $269. No need to replace anything... just add another to the family.


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[gen3guy]

I was recently faced with the dilemma of selecting a small, single stack, carry 9. I had narrowed my choices down to the G43 or the Shield. When I asked a friend (a Shield owner) what he thought, he said "Don't forget about Ruger's LC9s." Good advice because that's what I selected. It was $90 cheaper than the G43 plus it holds one more round. It's every bit as accurate and the trigger is superb. The Shield came in a close second but I can't get used to it's looks. I keep wondering where the rest of the pistol is.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Amazing the number of observations and opinions! Since I know almost nothing about either gun, and have never to my knowledge touched an example of either one, I feel particularly qualified to comment.

Why, you might ask? Because I will not tell you how either gun feels to me, or what I like about one gun or the other. You, vjp, have your own experience with the Glock 43. It sounds like it works. If that's not a reason to replace it, I don't know what is. I mean, you are an engineer, right? If it ain't broke, fix it until it is broke.

No-brainer. Keep the Glock 43. If you want to buy another gun, go ahead, but don't blame it on the Glock.