Upgrades for Shield 9mm

had my 9mm Shield around 3 weeks. Omly mod so far has been the Talon Rubber grips,, FYI buy from Talon same prices on E bay (or higher) and Amazon The plus from Factory is you can get extra tape for you 8 round mag extension, Seems they do not sell the mag tape to outside vendors! The trigger IMO on mine seems fine , but may have it [polished by a gunsmith one day. Sights I just drop some paint on the front sight for now and looking at sight options. Shoot great and the Talons make a big difference! As for cleaning just be careful with the cleaning liquid, they are supposed to last awhile so just put mine on will update in a month or two on how they stay put
Holsters like mentioned there will be a million answers.
Mine Alien Gear IWB/OWB with their 2 fer deal
http://aliengearholsters.com/
And just got this Jel Tec Kydex one off E Bay and like it a lot. For 25 $ IMO great deal

http://jeltecholsters.com/1/ These are the only ones I can comment on so far :)
 
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Nice!! I probably won't polish the barrel, but I like the looks of the levers.
Sorry to the OP for the slight hijack! :)
 
Don't do anything to it. Learn from my mistakes and get a MTAC IWB holster and possibly a Wright Leatherworks pancake OWB holster. Trust me.
 
I posted this a few weeks ago on another thread. Since then I have ordered the Apex trigger to go with the internals and a Blade-Tech Total Eclipse holster.
Sights, trigger, grip, magazines, holsters...

I initially used black paint on the rear sight to cover up the dots, which helped. Then I replaced them with a black rear and TFO front set from TruGlo, which was on sale from Midway. If I hadn't I probably would have tried the 10-8 black rear/fiber optic front sights.

The Apex Tactical Shield Carry Kit, keeping the stock trigger, helped quite a bit.

The gun feels a little slick and the edge of the trigger guard cuts into my middle finger, but I'm not ready to sand and stipple so I went with Talon rubber grip tape. One "finger" of the tape wouldn't stick and I had to trim it off, but otherwise it has worked well.

I tried both the Pearce and NDZ magazine floorplates, but didn't like either.

I just installed an lf-arms.com extended mag release and my initial impression is good.

Buy more magazines.

I have a MagGuts kit (+1 capacity) in the mail for range use.

I have a Blade-Tech Nano holster and it's OK. I wish it had tighter retention and rode a little higher, my middle knuckle hits my belt when getting a full firing grip. The gun is short enough I'm considering switching to OWB, probably a Blade-Tech Eclipse.

You could also have the slide fully serrated for one-handed manipulation and you could have it Magnaported for reduced muzzle rise.
 
Hmm... Speaking of MagnaPorting...
Many Experts recommend against porting a Carry pistol, for various reasons.

And... I just happened to read this on the back of a box of Federal 9mm Value Pack:
Do Not Use In Firearms With Ported Barrels, Or Ported Recoil Compensators.
I wonder how many other ammo manufacturers also recommend against it.
 

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Two of the S&Ws I own include the M&P 9mm Pro and the Shield. I installed the Apex FSS trigger kit in the Pro and love it. However, I think the Shield's trigger is just fine for a CCW. Before I bought my Shield, I rented one and the trigger on that gun was very smooth so that's probably a good indicator of what mine will become the more I shot it. I personally like the sights on the Shield a lot. Night sights might be a consideration but many complain that they're not that good in daylight and obviously they dim over time until they finally burn out. Bottom line, the Shield's just fine out of the box unless you're someone who constantly seeks perfection and ways to spend your money. Regards, Elliot45
 
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So far I have ordered the Uplula loader and Talon Grips. I will have to see how the trigger and the sights are before I make any more changes. Thanks all.
The Uplula is a GREAT piece of kit to have...and it's not rocket science to operate...but if you haven't used one before go to YouTube and search for Uplula and watch a couple of vids on how to use it.
I'm only suggesting this because I've read more than a couple of posts from folks who couldn't figure it out
 
So far I have ordered the Uplula loader and Talon Grips. I will have to see how the trigger and the sights are before I make any more changes. Thanks all.

You will love the Uplula :) It does load double stack with no issue, On the Shield you may get off center a bit and feels like it sticks,, But once you know it may do that it will not be a issue! As for the Talons there are several videos on You Tube. The tape is very easy to install, when test fitting do not press down hard as you can adjust as you go. Line the Logo up with the hole in the tape, After all is right press down the heat up with a Hair dryer! FYI On your first test fit and nothing lines up and you think you have the wrong grips you have em on backwards lol
 
I got mine in june, and the trigger needs no mods in my opinion. It breaks so clean that i can shoot a propane tank at 50 yards with very little effort, off hand. Its not a competition target gun, so for its purpose i would consider trigger work too costly. The sights work well, but if you try fiber types in the day, it is a great improvement. And tritium at night is also a huge improvement. I can find my glock in the pitch dark bedroom instantly if needed. No fumbling around for light switches. Even the grip works well for the 9mm recoil, but i may try upgrading that and get tritiums for my shield. The gun is near perfect imo. Holsters are personal taste items you gotta try for yourself for a week. Your climate and work conditions can make or break your selection.
 
sales tax free

If you are refering to the Ohio free Sales tax for this w/e, it is only good for up to $25. if you buy anything on line in ohio, you never have to pay sales tax, unless the selling internet site demands such.
 
I've done it all with my shield:

Apex Trigger Kit
SS Guide Rod
CS Green Laser
Mag Guts +1 Spring
Talon Grips
7 rd mag grip extension
Ameriglo Night Sights
Multi holster
Galco Belt
Uplula loader
snap caps

I took it though a 2 day Tactical Response class and it ran great. I probably get 1 failure every 500 rounds due to a double feed or light primer strike, which I was getting before I modified everything.

I opted for traditional sights over big dots, slightly more accurate but slightly slower, not sure if this was the right choice given the purpose of this weapon (self defense).

Long story short, I would stay away from tape grips and get the rubberized one because the tape chewed up my hands. Forget the grip extensions and just get an 8 round mag with mag guts +1, same size as the 7 plus extension but it holds 9 rounds.

Go with either gold dots (+p) or HSTs if you want proper penetration AND expansion out of this short barrel.

Other than that, I might want to try 2-looped holster to distribute the weight more evenly. alien-tuck 3.0 looks like a reasonable price to try it.
 
I can vouch for hidden hybrid holsters and my daily holster now is a Zorn skinny rig, carried in the appendix position. I also love my XS big dot sights. Besides that buy extra mags and shoot it!
 
I have done nothing to mine. It works now.

A consideration - if you modify the Shield, then need to send it back for eventual repairs, you will have to restore it to original factory spec before sending it in, if you want to be in compliance with the warranty. Some have been able to get repairs without problems, but they do have the right, per the warranty, to put it back to spec, and change you for that work.

So tread carefully.
 
The only modifications I made were to put Pearce Grips, Grip Extensions on all of the magazines a placed a Hogue Rubber Grip on the pistol grip.
 
I have done nothing to mine. It works now.

A consideration - if you modify the Shield, then need to send it back for eventual repairs, you will have to restore it to original factory spec before sending it in, if you want to be in compliance with the warranty. Some have been able to get repairs without problems, but they do have the right, per the warranty, to put it back to spec, and change you for that work.

So tread carefully.

Do you know if that would also happen if you changed the sights?? It's the only mod I'm thinking about even though I still like the stock sights.
 
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