Weird experience today at Dunhams

Protected One

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On a hunch I stopped by a Dunhams store today, just checking to see if (by chance) they had any handgun ammo on the shelves, but not really expecting to see any.

The sales guy was in front of the counter and having a casual (non-business) conversation with another gentleman. To my surprise there were two 50 round boxes of blazer brass .40s&w on the shelf, priced at $36.99/ box. I walked over to the gun display case and was looking at the various handguns. Th sales guy asked if he could show me something and I told him I had come in to check on ammo, but always look at the cases anyway. He asked what ammo I was looking for and I told him, 9mm. .40 or .45. He say's "I may be able to help you on the .45...let me check and see what I have"....and he goes into the back room. I was surprised by this because I would have thought that whatever he had would have been on the shelves.

A minute later he comes back out with a 25 round box of Hornady Critical Defense, 165gr ($35), a box of Blazer Brass 230gr FMJ ($33), and a 50 rd box of FMJ in a brand I never seen or heard of. I took the blazer brass and told him I wanted the Hornady too...until I noticed the grain weight. (I shoot heavier weights). Then he made a couple of comments that were just strange to me: he said "If I have to shoot someone I'll just use target ammo because they will be dead either way". I replied that there are benefits to jhp's otherwise they wouldn't be made. He says - "yeah, I know. I'm a marine."
Then he says that the ammo manufacturers have announced that they are going to stop making 40 cal (and focus on 9mm).
Can you imaging the bind that would put MANY municipal police departments in if that were true?
He also said that S&W is discontinuing the Shield!
When I asked why, he said he doesn't know. Said they sell a ton of them and he has a boatload in the back. So why would they discontinue one of the hottest selling items, I asked? Does that make sense to you? He just shrugged.
I took my box of ammo and headed for the register, convinced that this guy was just another example of people talking out of their ____. But hey, I could be wrong.
 
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He isn’t wrong about the shield. S&W don’t think there will be much demand with the Shield Plus model. My wife and I ditched out Shield pistols for the p365. If you compare the shield with the plus. Same slide..just a slightly fatter grip. I am certain there will be a surplus of standard shield for some time. You will probably see them on CDNN for $249 in a few months.[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]


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He isn’t wrong about the shield. S&W don’t think there will be much demand with the Shield Plus model. My wife and I ditched out Shield pistols for the p365. If you compare the shield with the plus. Same slide..just a slightly fatter grip. I am certain there will be a surplus of standard shield for some time. You will probably see them on CDNN for $249 in a few months.[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]


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I only paid $269 for mine, brand new a few years ago!

I don't see me spending a few hundred dollars on a new gun just gain a couple of extra rounds in a magazine. 9 will have to do for me because I will keep carrying the shield.
 
That’s the weird thing about the Shield…they were introduced at around $429…then eventually dropped to a point where, with a rebates it was $200. Then they brought out 2.0…and prices went back up. During COVID, Shield 1.0 prices rolled back up to $389.

I watched a few video reviews of the Shield plus and several of the host talked about the discontinuation of the Shield. Gotta remember, with the slight mag ext, you are carrying 12 rounds plus 1. That is 25 rounds with 2 mags vs 17 with 2-8 round mags. That is another magazine worth without another mag change.

If shields are back to $200, I would probably pick one up again.


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I have one of those rebated 1.0s bought for $200. My wife did a class and the only downside was that some stages were 10 rounds...but she did get some good tactical reload practice!

I don't get too bent out of shape by gun store folks not knowing much. It's often a low paying job where there's one or two "industry vets" and a bunch of people who either know little or only know quite a bit in a narrow area. Only thing I get animated about are clearly misrepresented guns intended to fool the...fool. So maybe it's all for naught.
 
Those in the know are very skeptical of anything heard at a gun shop, some are worse than others.
 
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