This is why I stick with a Shield over a P365

[jnichols2]

I carried a Shield with 8 rounds, needed the pinkie rest, for a long time.

The P365 had 12 rounds, and was thinner and lighter. Also, a lot easier to rack with my arthritic thumbs.

No slight on the Shield, but the P365 is better.

 

[kbm6893]

Maybe we live in different environments? Where I'm at, life is cheap and thugs travel in packs.

That's why I sold my Shield and stepped up to P365.

People gotta live where they gotta live. I worked in a high crime precinct for years and carried a 5 shot snub off duty and felt fine. My experience, thugs are cowards and run when met with resistance.

But as I said, the 365 is a game changer. 11 rounds of 9MM in that small a package is awesome. Just not awesome enough for me to take a loss on selling two perfectly capable weapons and accessories to start all over again with a new platform and having to replace mags and holsters. If I was a first time buyer, the 365 would very likely best the Shield. Only thing it doesn’t beat it in in price, but the standard night sights mitigate that.

 

[sipowicz]

I don’t mind a striker fired gun in my duty holster...but for CCW, especially appendix carry I opt for a hammer....and since I’m at it, why not a cylinder...

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Have a shield in 45. LOVE IT. Have a p365. LOVE it. Have a 337 LOVE It. Have a 638. Meh...
What do I carry every day........................wait for it
My M&P380.
Go figure

 

[smith46wesson]

Here are some comparison photos: M&P Shield with standard and extended magazines vs my P365X (P365 with the XL grip module). As you will note the standard shield magazine makes it very close in size and the extended magazine clearly makes the shield larger. Slightly thinner in the grip, but larger.

 

[sweetfoal]

I carry the Shield as my EDC. When I was selecting a compact for daily carry I test fired the Shield and P365 (along with others). The ergonomics of both worked for me and I shot both well. My choice of the Shield came down to the fact that for me I shot it better in rapid fire than the P365. I could carry either one with confidence.

I found it too, Shield can be shot surprisingly better than I'd expect from such a small gun, though my hands are not in the medium size. But the recoil and snappy are comparable to a g19 and definitely better than g26. Not sure what magic SW pulled into the Shield, other than the capacity it's an amazing gun. Could be just I naturally grip Shield better.

 

[Echo40]

It's all in the bore axis. M&P Series pistols have a lower bore axis than some other pistols, so more of the recoil force is transferred into the shooter's palm/wrist rather than the web between the thumb and forefinger, which in turn allows the shooter to keep the pistol more under control.

A pistol with a high bore axis is more prone to muzzle rise, which causes the beavertail to smack down into the web between the thumb and forefinger on the back of the hand.

The snappiest pistol I own is a Smith & Wesson PPK/S chambered in .380 ACP.

Despite being chambered in .380 ACP, being of all steel construction, and weighing in at over 23oz unloaded, the pistol becomes downright painful to shoot after a few magazines because the extended beavertail just keeps on hammering the back of the hand. I once shoot a mere 100 rounds of ammo through it at the range and went home with back of my hand bloodied, bruised, and swollen.

Oh, and before anyone goes thinking that I'm being overly dramatic or exaggerating, I'm not.

I also shoot this...

And yes, it has LESS felt recoil.

How, you ask? It's simple, because the PPK/S is straight blowback operated, meaning the only thing holding the action closed is the combined mass of the slide and weight of the recoil spring. The barrel is fixed in place and doubles as a guide rod, it doesn't lock the action, and the bore axis is rather high, so all of that recoil is transferred directly into the web between the thumb and forefinger. The Taurus Judge Magnum also has a fixed barrel and a high bore axix, but being a hefty 37oz Revolver which has been fitted with a nice pair of aftermarket grips, the gun just rolls back a bit in the hand under recoil, so the recoil doesn't hurt. Yes, it's certainly a handful, especially with 3" .410 000 Buckshot Shells, but there's no steel beavertail smacking down into the hand.

So yeah, felt recoil is a crazy thing like that.