The one I bought my wife for CCW a couple weeks ago runs like a sewing machine with anything you feed it at least thus far. Have run 200 rounds of Wolf and 50 rounds of 147gr Gold Dots through it up to this point.
Mine was good to go. Ran gold dots and around 1k of ball. I would trust one.
I like mine . So does my daughter but she has a hard time racking it .
I have the Apex trigger in my TS Shield. About 400 rounds through it so far and no problems.
I love my Shields. Both are 9MM’s and bought in the last few months. I have run several hundred ball and at least a box of 50 147 grain JHP without any issues. I put Streamlight TLR6’s on them and they continue to be completely reliable. Bought them on a military base where they only have safety models. I paint the frame below the safety with red fingernail polish to ID when on “fire”.
I have stock triggers at this point and they seem okay for now. I typically pocket carry or IWB with Alien Gear tuck.
I agree that they suck to reload a topped off magazine on a closed slide…especially with 7 round flush fit mags. Otherwise, great guns.
Probably the most popular off duty gun at work. Maybe 50 or 60 approved. I’ve only seen one that was a 40 bobble. Never seen and issue with the 9mm version. David
No issues with performance, but I don’t love it. It seems unbalanced (top heavy) and the grip is too thin for the slide.
I’ve fired over 1,000 rounds through my 9mm Shield since it returned from S&W. Loaded magazines are difficult to insert in the pistol with the slide closed and it may be an issue for someone with limited hand strength. The slide stop lever requires more pressure to release the slide than with most pistols we have in the house, which may also be an issue for someone with limited hand strength. Neither of those characteristics are a deal breaker for me or the wife. It is reasonably accurate and follow up shots are easier than with other compact pistols I have fired. It’s good enough and I would consider making it part of my carry rotation.
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?189569-S-amp-W-Shield-9mm-Durability
Almost embarrassingly, despite having better kit for my 1911’s and full size M&P’s, my pair of shields are what get carried everyday. Wouldn’t describe myself as smitten with the things, but considering how little I liked every other small 9mm option, they were far and away the best choice for that type of stuff.
Backstory-I assist with handgun training with an agency that was one of the first in the US to ever go to the (very first) M&Ps. They have had so many problems (granted-maybe some that were corrected in later versions) that I would never have considered one, even when others brought them up. Even though many pro gun carriers started liking the M&Ps I could never get over these experiences (and this agency continues to use some of the first batch-we still see magazines dropped while shooting NOT related to grip positions, slides going forward sometimes when mags are inserted, some malfunctions, etc.). Also the triggers are so NOT to my liking-mushy and NO reset point. In their defense they do point well and are very soft shooting for their respective calibers.
Finally, I was well set up in Glocks anyway (G22 on duty then and G26 off duty, wife has her own G26-we have G26 mags throughout the house:D) and we have a local Glock staffer IF we ever have problems.
This being said, I was considering a small 9mm (G43 or Walther PPSM2) and was going back and forth between them. The retired cop and good friend of mine who works at the local gun shop first suggested a Shield telling me he bought one a year ago and LOVED it. I kind of ignored him. 
He got a Shield 9mm (no safety) out and locked the slide back and handed it to me. I first refused to even take it from him telling him he was wasting his time as I would never consider it (and I love their M&P RIFLES…look at my forum name!) He insisted though. Once I took it off off to the side and started dry firing it, the trigger was clearly better to me than EITHER the G43 or PPS M2). This Shield is CLEARLY a “different animal” than the full sized guns. The trigger is CRISP although a little heavy but WAY better than the stock M&P full-sized guns.
I took mine straight out to qualify on it, and fired a box of ball ammo for practice beforehand. I fired one group of 7 rounds at 10 yards and 5 of them could have been covered with a quarter. I was impressed. I then qual’ed on it (50 rounds day, 50 rounds night) so I’m at 150 rounds and no malfunctions. I REALLY like my Shield! 
Currently running it strong side OWB in a KT Mech kydex with matching double mag pouch on support side. I traded the eight rounders BACK tot eh gun shop and went with ALL 7 rounders and Pearce pinky extenders (makes a difference to me just as they go with the baby Glocks.)
STRONGLY RECOMMEND the Shield!
Mine ate just about everything I fed it. The only no-go was some old +P+ duty ammo I had laying around. I had no intention of carrying that load; I just wanted to get rid of it and test the Shield. Multiple failures to eject, but no surprise. Fed it a lot of our duty ammo (147gr Winchester RA9B) and it ran 100%.
With an Apex trigger kit and HD sights, it was a dream to shoot. Carried OWB, AIWB, pocket, off body (in a running pack), and as a BUG. Performed very well in each role. Only downside, as someone else mentioned, is that it can be hard to insert a full magazine when it’s in battery.
Sold it to buy a spare G19, which for me at the time made more sense.
Solid gun; I miss mine.
I had the same experience as some others here. Failure to extract, every other magazine.
I sent it to smith wesson for repair and it was returned in 5 weeks. they stated they polished the ramp, chamber and replaced
the extractor.
Traded it in on another shield that has been trouble free for 400 rounds that is how much I like this design over the G43.
I just bought my second shield 9mm. This one has no TS. It has functioned perfectly with 124gr Speer Lawman and 124 Speer GD duty ammo. I would say roughly 200 rds total through the gun. I upgraded to the apex internals and flat faced trigger and Ameriglo Hackathorne sights.
My only issue thus far is the gun shoots high starting 10yrds and out. At 25 yards it prints roughly 1 foot higher than POA. I’m not sure why. I know that my first shield doesn’t have the same issue even with identical sights. In all fairness, I haven’t bench rested the gun, and only shot it off hand. I plan to shoot the gun again while supported to see if it still shoots as high.
Honest answer, same junk as every other MP, amazing that people still advocate for these things.
Smith has sold over a million Shields. Both of mine, one bought several months ago, and the second bought several weeks ago, are just great. Very shootable, accurate, and extremely reliable. From the looks of this thread, ALMOST eveyone agrees!
Skip
Not a bad gun, just don’t like having to beat out roll pins.
Kind of cave man.
Outside of the accuracy issues with the full sized 9mm, what can you quantify as “wrong” or junky about the m&p?
Mine is a 2013 model. Hasn’t missed a beat since day one.
Curious what you mean by this post. I mean, it’s half plastic and has sights and a trigger that really are NOT optimal, but that’s true for pretty much any new Glock you pull out of a black plastic tupperware box.
Mine both worked and ran flawlessly out of the box. Hard to consider it junk when it does what it’s supposed to do (go BOOM!)
I have rented the Shield, XDs, and Walther PPS. All shot fine, were accurate for what they are, and did not malfunction. I did like the PPS, and XDs better than the Shield, but they are both more expensive by at least $100 if that matters to you. I was going to replace my Polish P-83 in 9x18, or my Beretta 85FS .380 with a single stack plastic 9MM. So far, I haven’t done it yet, as I prefer the more “traditional” handguns for carry, HD, and range.
People that I know that own a Shield seem to be pleased. YMMV.