[Pmedic920]

M&P Shield: 9mm

Got me one a while back, and like it for the purpose I intended.

Summer carry while wearing lighter/less clothes.

Relatively inexpensive but good quality and reliable.

I caught a decent sale, and was able to get the performance center version for $325.

I’m fully aware of the night time muzzle flash, and I have zero concerns with that issue. Some guys do.

Two things that I don’t/didn’t like about this weapon.

1) “fiber optic” sights
My eye simply not used to them, and they seem to be a distraction.
Will give it more time but am leaning towards some trijicon night sites.

2) although the performance center edition claims to have a smoother/lighter trigger and sear, I’m not a fan. I don’t care for the hinged trigger.
I’ve ordered the Apex flat faced kit to upgrade. Probably could have gone with trigger only but went with the entire kit.


At $325, even with the new trigger and possibly night sights, I think this is a great little weapon for the money. Good value/bang for the buck.

A compact 9mm is not my first choice for carry but it does have its purpose in my circumstance.


Anyone a M&P Shield fan ?

Have an opinion?

 

[Pmedic920]

Sorry about the title.
Not sure what happened, and I can’t figure out how to edit the title.

If a Mod sees this and can/will edit, title should say...

...M&P Shield: 9mm

Thanks

 

[Treader]

Thanks for the review of the pistol. I'm in the market for a smaller CC gun. I've thought about this, the p238 (or p938) and the new Springfield 911.

I work in a bank and carrying even a 3" 1911 gets bulky. I'm turning into a fan of appendix carry. I'll keep the 1911 in the Jeep, love it in the Jeep.

 

[Pmedic920]

Thanks for the review of the pistol. I'm in the market for a smaller CC gun. I've thought about this, the p238 (or p938) and the new Springfield 911.

I work in a bank and carrying even a 3" 1911 gets bulky. I'm turning into a fan of appendix carry. I'll keep the 1911 in the Jeep, love it in the Jeep.

I have a P238 HD, and a Colt Mustang+2

I have not weighed the p238 but it’s heavy for a .380, the M&P feels lighter in my waistband.

The Colt has kinda become collectible as it’s one of the originals in stainless, so it’s value has surpassed what I want to use as a defense carry pistol. No reason to have that type of value tied up in court should the need to use arise.

The Shield was purchased specifically for times when I needed/ wanted something smaller than a 1911 (my first choice to carry). I’m a Colt fanboy, and love my Gunsite CCO. Yes, again it’s more valuable than I’d prefer to carry but it’s been my favorite for too long.

I’ll post my opinion after the Apex trigger is installed, by then I’ll probably have decided on the sights as well.

 

[hokiewest]

Really like my S&W Shield 9mm, tried a lot of different single stack 9mm and I shot the best with it, especially with the +1 magazine for a better grip.

 

[Treader]

@Pmedic920 You hit the nail on the head again. Value of the conceal weapon and if the need arises. I would say it's not collectors status, but I carry a STI 1911 3" Lawman. STI is a Texas based 1911/2011 gun manufacturer. Well I should say was a 1911 manufacturer. They have gone all 2011 (double stack custom 1911 essentially). So I would assume the price of the 1911 (discontinued) should continue to rise.

 

[Pmedic920]

M&P Shield: 9mm

@Pmedic920 You hit the nail on the head again. Value of the conceal weapon and if the need arises. I would say it's not collectors status, but I carry a STI 1911 3" Lawman. STI is a Texas based 1911/2011 gun manufacturer. Well I should say was a 1911 manufacturer. They have gone all 2011 (double stack custom 1911 essentially). So I would assume the price of the 1911 (discontinued) should continue to rise.

I’m familiar with STI, and I’ve wanted one of their 9mm for a long time.

I originally found them while researching a pistol for Defensive Pistol, and 3 gun competition

I really like their “edge”

This would be sweet.
https://dawsonprecision.com/dawson-super-tuned-sti-2011-edge-9mm-hard-chromed-finish/

 

[Pmedic920]

M&P Shield: 9mm

Update:

I’ve installed the apex trigger kit.
Have not been to the range yet but at the bench it feels great.

I’ll post more after I’ve had a chance to put a few rounds though it.

I’ve absolutely decided that the stock sights must go, I have two specific reasons that I don’t like them on this pistol.

First reason:
I was alone at my home indoor range the other day, and was able to talk the range master into dimming the room a bit.
These sights are almost distracting too me when there’s a lot of ambient light. They are very bright. Too bright IMHO. See the red rears in picture below.

Second reason A:
In lower light conditions they are hard to see. Obviously this may be in part due to “my eyes”, and others may not have the same problem.

Second reason B:
On this particular pistol, ported barrel and slide, the front sight gets dirty fairly quickly. As it gets dirty, it also get harder to see. This is the only ported pistol that I own, and this problem may be common to them I’m not sure. At this point in time, I feel that S&W missed the mark by using this sight on this pistol. I’m m not saying that it’s a bad sight, I’m saying that there probably are better choices for an upgrade. This sight upgrade is one of the selling points on the “performance center” edition.

This was after firing 100 rounds and before any cleaning. After 250 rounds barely any green could be seen. Notice how bright the rear sights are.

Having said all that, I probably wouldn’t be using the sights all that much in a close range defensive situation but I’d like to be able to use the front and rears should I need too.

Probably will replace them with Trijicon night sights soon but I’m still researching.

Please don’t miss interpret anything here, I really like this pistol, and think it’s a great value at the price point. It was good out of the box. Close too 1200 rounds to date and not a single malfunction of any kind.

I’m just not the type to leave well enough alone, and I enjoy tweaking things a bit in order to suit my needs/ desires.
I’ll post more about the trigger when I’ve had a chance test it.
FWIW, the trigger was easy and straight forward using the video that Apex has available. Trust me, if I can do it, just about anyone can. The one thing that made it a bit easier for me vs the Apex video is, I have a sight pushing tool. The guy in the video tapped the rear sight out with hammer and punch.

 

[ockgator]

I have a shield 40, Don't mind the snappy recoil. Plan on getting the 9mm/357 sig barrel kit for a bit of versatility. I have a full size 9mm Ruger but the double stack mags make it a bit wide for me to easily conceal as I'm not a big guy.

Carry mine at about the 4 oclock position and its comfortable to me, Doesn't hurt that I found a soft IWB holster with 2 belt clips on, Of all places, Amazon. Cheap too, Houston brand. I

 

[rockystock]

Bought a S&W M&P Shield 9mm for my wife to carry a few years ago. She went with the manual thumb safety lever, but it's stock. We like it - feels like my G20 and G21 as far as recoil (much better than a .40 subcompact). Several subtle improvements over the earlier Glock design

 

[Pmedic920]

Update

So I’ve had a chance to put a few rounds through the M&P with the trigger upgrade.

Love it.

It’s in my nature to upgrade/tweak things so doing the trigger was in my wheel house. I do still plan on changing the sights as well.

Here’s my overall opinion on this pistol.

Bang for the buck, it’s a great value. Anyone that wants a small single stacked 9mm should take a good look at this one. Obviously there are others out there, and it comes down to personal preferences but this is a nice pistol. It’s also a great value at its price point.

If I had it to do over, I wouldn’t buy the performance center edition. Not because it’s not a great pistol but because I changed the trigger and will be changing the sites. Those are two of the upgrades that the performance center edition have. The other obvious difference is the ported barrel and slide, that doesn’t bother me but the front site does get dirty quickly. Not a problem with a clean fresh pistol for defensive carry but it is a small issue when firing multiple rounds at the range.
I can’t imagine that the muzzle flip reduction in 9mm is all that much. I can’t say for sure because I haven’t fired the non-ported version. The benefit in .40 cal might be much more IDK.

Overall I’m impressed. This pistol is a joy to shoot. It’s one that I’ll carry with confidence.
Catch this one, or the non PC version on sale, and IMHO it’s one of the best values out there in its’s category.

To those that might argue “yea but” you did this and that, I’m telling you that it was great out of the box.
The stuff I did only made it better based on my personal preferences.

 

[Mguesto]

I sold my glock 380 for a S&W 9. Happy that I did this. Feels better in my hand and agree it is a great value.
Bought mine at Cabelas.
You gave me a great upgrade idea on the trigger. Will look into it soon for mine.

Matt

 

[amyacker]

At $325, even with the new trigger and possibly night sights, I think this is a great little weapon for the money. Good value/bang for the buck.

I use M&P 9mm shield and sig as my ccw.
Sig details: osagecountyguns.com/sti-10-914000.html