This past Saturday I picked up an M&P Shield 9mm for the girlfriend, and today I got a chance to shoot it. I must say I’m very impressed with this little pistol. The main characteristic that blew me away was it’s accuracy. This pistol has a 3.1" barrel and I was making head shots at 25y with no issues.
There’s no arguing that one needs solid fundamentals to shoot a small frame with any degree of accuracy at distance, and this system is no different. However, in the hands of a good shooter, the pistol will perform and perform beautifully.
Initially, there’s a few of characteristics I would like to change on it, the trigger pull being be the first. I think it’s a bit heavy, especially for a small frame like that. I can see why some could be having accuracy issues with the 6.1LBS trigger pull. I had to really focus on my trigger to make sure my sight picture remained perfect as the shot broke.
The other characteristic I don’t like is the spacer on the 8 round mag. When manipulating the mag the spacer comes apart from the mag’s butt plate and it’s annoying. I think a better system could have been designed.
The last feature I found pretty pointless was the safety. I don’t see how that design, size and placement can be effective for a pistol used under stress. Additionally, if you’re a south paw like me, you’re screwed, since the safety is only on the left side. Not a big issue though, I think one can just leave it on fire (down) and not have any issues with it. The engagement of the safety is pretty solid so IMO I don’t think it will engage on it’s own. With that said though I can understand if some are still uncomfortable with that possibility.
Personally I wish they would have done away with it.
Besides the little sharper recoil which is expected from a small frame, the pistol shoots just fine. I haven’t put enough rounds through it to give a very informed reliability report, otherwise so far we like it.
Like I said before, it’s the Indian not the arrow and on small frames like these, the Indian better have solid skills if expecting to hit targets at longer ranges.
The pictures I’m showing were shot at 7 yards and 25 yards using standard 115gr ammo. I also ran some Corbon 115gr +P ammo.
The Corbon ammo ran just fine but the +P pressure was definitely more noticeable in the small frame. Regardless, it was still very manageable, even for women IMO.
All head shots at 7 yards.
25 yards. 3 head shots at 25 and 3 body shots at 25.
Glad to continue hearing positive reports on this pistol. As soon as I can find one I plan to pick one up for the wife…and if she gets one it only makes sense to get one for myself. So I guess I should be looking for 2
I see this a lot, and did the same… bought one for the girl, now I’ll be getting one for myself, although I have other purchases first…
I ran 200 rounds through hers in about 30-45 mins. No issues, and found the accuracy to be way above what I thought it would be. Rapid shooting at 7yds was covered by a fist. After looking at it, I noticed the sight radius was the same as my cz compact even though the gun is quite a bit larger. The shield is a lot of gun in a small package.
As for the 8rd mag issue, it hasnt caused an issue yet, but I can see it becomin one as it loosens up. When it gets to that point, Ill just superglue it to where it should be on the mag, just to prevent it from walking up - something to think about. Also, I dont know how many rounds you put through it, but my trigger got considerably better after the initial 200rnds and a bit of dryfiring. It didnt change noticably after the next 200 rounds, but its pretty damn good, but I like glock triggers so take it for what it is ;).
Good range report, and thanks for reminding me I suck at 25yds
Do you have an FFL 07 near you? You can bring in a 48-state version via the single shot exemption. IMHO, that loaded chamber indicator looks crazy-huge, and that mag disconnect isn’t a great idea, either.
I’ve been very happy with mine. Only real issue is the lack of magazine availability.
The only issue I’ve had with the gun itself was right out of the box - the pin holding the mag disconnect and associated parts (goes through the sear block) was missing. Went to take down the gun and parts started falling out. I needed to remove all that crap anyways, so wasn’t a huge deal. Somebody was asleep at the S&W factory that day…
But it shoots great, reasonable recoil, and trigger is easily modified to not suck. I have ATEi do all my M&P triggers. It’s more or less the same as the regular M&P, so most the trigger work already available should translate.
I have a bit over 500 rounds through mine with no issues. Shot a fair amount of Ranger +P+ 9mm and recoil still wasn’t too bad. Hoping to put a case or two through it before the end of the year. It conceals VERY well in my Raven Concealment holster.
Standard 3 dot Trijicons. I put them on last night. The rear is a little wider than the dovetail but not wider than the slide so they’re not going to snag on anything. I know they make Shield specific sights now but these work just fine for me…
I am looking forward to getting mine to the range. Got the call from Cabelas this morning that mine was finally in(got on the waiting list first part of June), dropped everything and drove to pick it up.
I will post a follow up after I am able to put a couple of hundred rounds through it. I am interested to see how it compares to my compact.
Ok thanks. The last time I checked Trijicon was in the process of developing night sights for the Shield. But that was a few months ago when I called Trijicon directly. Hopefully they are available now.
I too would love for flock to do it, but I feel that they will not. Glock owners have wanted this for some time now, please have fallen on deaf ears over at Glock.
Nope, not even close. It’s a single stack, but it is still a thick little beast. AND it is the only Glock that most would agree is less than stone cold reliable. They just never quite got the 36 right.
