Field review S&W/M&P Shield 40
Jun 6, 2012 19:04:10 GMT -5
Post by artjr338wm on Jun 6, 2012 19:04:10 GMT -5
I have long been looking for a small light weight easy to conceal pistol for worm summer weather. I thought I had found it in either the new affordable Kahr CM9 or the Kel-Tec PF-9, but I was not crazy about the PF-9's some what long trigger pull, and the CM-9 as well as the CW-9 triggers were IMHO unacceptably loong and vague. And a friend of mine just bought my XD SC/HP for slightly more than I paid for it so I set out to buy its replacement.
Keep in mind I am looking for a gun for a specific application with a balance of being as light weight and small as passable and as easy to conceal as passable, but still be in 40 S&W with at least a six round capcity.
The Kel-Tec's trigger pull was a little longer than I liked, but no where near as long as the two Kahrs I listed. And it did break cleanly, so it might end up in my safe yet. If there been a 40cal in stock I would have bought it. At $339 for a stainless W/Black frame its to good a bargain to pass by and at $100 less than the Shield I could get use to the triggers longer pull.
Was looking at the M&P Compact when the new S&W Shield caught my eye. Did a S by S of the M&P compact and shield and the shield was lighter, thinner and almost $145 cheaper. It also had to be in 40 S&W.
My choices were down to the PF-9 and the Shield. Unfortunately only one gun shop I know of sells PF-9s and only had ones in 9mm in stock, and had a waiting list for a PF-9 in 40 cal. I would like to take this moment to sing the praises of smaller gun shops. Where I bought my Shield was also where I did all my SbyS comparisons of all the guns I listed. I have in the past not been allowed to have more than one gun out of the case at a time at BP and Cabelas making SbyC comparisons much more difficult. The local shop where I ended up buying allowed me to have as many different guns out at a time as I wished.
I ended up buying the S&W M&P Shield in 40 S&W over the Kahr, Kel-Tec and Ruger for these reasons:
<>Trigger was the best of all models I looked at and tried. Short crisp and not that heavy as compared to all the ones I tried. This fact the single biggest factor in deciding which gun I bought.
<>Shield felt best and fit best in my hand, and IMHO GR8 hand fit + good trigger = best accuracy.
<>Felt it was the best value for the $$$ based on its quality of construction and excellent fit and finish.
The Shield met my fallowing requirements better than anything else I looked at for the fallowing reasons:
<>Cost-I only had a budget of $500 max. Cost is why I don't own a Springfield EMP.
<>Weight-I placed a empty weight limit of 20ozs max. The Shield weighs 19oz empty.
<>Heigth, length, and width-The Shield is +/- within 2oz (except for the weight of the Kel-Tec) and 1" or less of any of the light weight carry guns in my budget.
AS far as capcity is concerned like all things it was a trade off. You cant have a gun in 40 S&W that is short and thin that is also high capacity, so I am willing to except the fact I only have seven rounds of 40 S&W.
The Shields specs are:
Unloaded weight 19oz
Heigth W/6 round clip 4.6"
W/7 round clip 5.5"
Capacity 6+1 or 7+1 in 40 S&W cal
OA-Length 6"
Barrel 3.1"
Max Width .98"
Price pre-tax $409.99
Sights 3-dot Novac type wind-age ADJ
Stainless slide W/BLK Melonite FIN
BLK SYN frame
Both trigger and MAN safeties.
Once I had my new Shield home, I gave it a through "bright lite" going over and found the fit and finish to be quite good and all of its controlls functioning quite good, and the safety is easly disengaged and the motion to do so with your thumb is completely natural, but requires more effort than it should to return to "safe". The difficulty functioning of returning the safety back to safe is the one and only fault I could find with the gun. To become proficient at returning to safe will require practice on my part.
Range report after a good first cleaning:
Fired a total of 112 rounds from it first time out;
50 Federal white box 165grn FMJ
20 Winchester 155grn Ranger SJHP
28 Federal 155grn SJHP
14 Hornady 175grn Critical Defense
Distance shot was 15 feet. This guns sole purpose is for personal protection and and not a target gun so I saw no sense or reason to shoot farther than I would in a save a life situation. Also I was shooting at a indoor range with no provision for shooting from a solid rest on a bench. All shooting was done free hand using a Issolise triangle stance. The Shield experienced no malfunctions or problems of any kind what so ever while firing.
Used the FED 165/FMJ to check POI VS POA and get a feel for the gun as well as the trigger. After about 30 or so of the 165/FEDs, I decided to try all the above listed rounds in shooting rapid fire "Double Taps"
I am relived to report that my Shield shot to POA, but such short barrels and subsequently such a short sight radius require experience and concentration to hit exactly to POA. When I did not aim just right I shot consistently 2" below or above POA, but I have 10 shot 15yrd group that measures right at 3-1/8" C-C.
90% of all shots were at human silhouette center mass "A Zone," remaining 10% at the head region of the human silhouette target. Shot about 70% of rounds using the small 6 round clip and about 30% using the longer 7 round clip. 6 round clip allows partial but not complete purchase for your pinkie finger, where the longer 8round clip does. I plan on carrying with the 6 round clip so that is why I used it 70% of the time.
Before I list my accuracy results please keep in mind this is my first time shooting this gun, and first time I ever shot such a small gun period. I am also at best a average hand gun shot, and this is the first time I have shot any hand gun in almost 4 months.
Short vesrion is I landed a total of 98% of all shots in the targets head and chest "A Zones". I only had 3 total non "A Zone" hits and those hits would have still been serious certainly fatal wounds that I reasonably sure would have convinced any would be thug to cease and desist almost instantly considering the ammo I was using was averaging nearly 400 ft-lbs of impact.
What impressed me most when shooting the Shield for the first time was three things:
#1-Normally guns with such short barrels (the Shields is listed at 3.1") make you pay dearly in the form of left/right fliers for not keeping your sights centered on target. Out of 112 total shots I only had two fliers and both were to the left and none were off target and both still hit in the vitals. Over all my entire chest "A Zone" group max width was only 3.5" so I experienced very little left to right deviation.
#2-I was able to consistently land over 80% of my double taps in the chest "A Zone" which is a 10" circle. No I did not shoot the Shield nearly as good as I can my 5" barreled Springfield XD Tactical in .45acp, but to be able to keep over 80% of my shots fired in the "A Zone" and 98% total of my shots in the head, neck or chest of my human silhouette first time shooting this gun and a quite small gun at that, made me extremely happy. I only fired five double taps at the head zones of three different targets, but all six rounds stayed in the head "A Zone".
Considering i am at best a novice with small and power full hand guns, I am extremely happy with the performance of this gun.
But a few strong words of caution. Such a small gun in a powerfully round like 40 cal S&W is not for the recoil shy. I brought with me 170 rounds total, and stopped at 112 rounds because at about 85 rounds out of the short clip it stopped being fun to shoot and became more like work. At 100 rounds it was work.
But again I would stress this gun is designed for personal protection and the few shots needed to fire to save the owner or his loved ones lives, not for general plinking or recreational shooting, my full sized XDs and Dan Wesson are for that.
My over all slow fire 15 foot 5-shot average was around 2.375" The group comprised of my largest no# of shots fired at the chest "A Zone", 24 shots in all from all four types of ammo fired measured right at 4.75"s height and 2-5/8" wide, but no POI were more than 2-3/8" above or below my POA. So based on this data I am more than pleased and completely satisfied with the Shields performance.
At present I carry my Shield in my right front pants pocket in a Desantis "Super fly" pocket holster. Although not perfect, this set up works well, but I am looking for a good IWB holster.
If you are on a budget and looking for a small, light, easy to conceal and carry gun that has 40 S&W power and don't like the long "lawyer triggers" of the Kahrs, is reasonably easy to shoot well, has all the same advantages of the Kahrs except for "their Lawyer Triggers" and is more than reasonably priced, give the S&W M&P Shield a look.
Be well and exercise your 2nd Amendment rites often as you can,
Arthur.
Keep in mind I am looking for a gun for a specific application with a balance of being as light weight and small as passable and as easy to conceal as passable, but still be in 40 S&W with at least a six round capcity.
The Kel-Tec's trigger pull was a little longer than I liked, but no where near as long as the two Kahrs I listed. And it did break cleanly, so it might end up in my safe yet. If there been a 40cal in stock I would have bought it. At $339 for a stainless W/Black frame its to good a bargain to pass by and at $100 less than the Shield I could get use to the triggers longer pull.
Was looking at the M&P Compact when the new S&W Shield caught my eye. Did a S by S of the M&P compact and shield and the shield was lighter, thinner and almost $145 cheaper. It also had to be in 40 S&W.
My choices were down to the PF-9 and the Shield. Unfortunately only one gun shop I know of sells PF-9s and only had ones in 9mm in stock, and had a waiting list for a PF-9 in 40 cal. I would like to take this moment to sing the praises of smaller gun shops. Where I bought my Shield was also where I did all my SbyS comparisons of all the guns I listed. I have in the past not been allowed to have more than one gun out of the case at a time at BP and Cabelas making SbyC comparisons much more difficult. The local shop where I ended up buying allowed me to have as many different guns out at a time as I wished.
I ended up buying the S&W M&P Shield in 40 S&W over the Kahr, Kel-Tec and Ruger for these reasons:
<>Trigger was the best of all models I looked at and tried. Short crisp and not that heavy as compared to all the ones I tried. This fact the single biggest factor in deciding which gun I bought.
<>Shield felt best and fit best in my hand, and IMHO GR8 hand fit + good trigger = best accuracy.
<>Felt it was the best value for the $$$ based on its quality of construction and excellent fit and finish.
The Shield met my fallowing requirements better than anything else I looked at for the fallowing reasons:
<>Cost-I only had a budget of $500 max. Cost is why I don't own a Springfield EMP.
<>Weight-I placed a empty weight limit of 20ozs max. The Shield weighs 19oz empty.
<>Heigth, length, and width-The Shield is +/- within 2oz (except for the weight of the Kel-Tec) and 1" or less of any of the light weight carry guns in my budget.
AS far as capcity is concerned like all things it was a trade off. You cant have a gun in 40 S&W that is short and thin that is also high capacity, so I am willing to except the fact I only have seven rounds of 40 S&W.
The Shields specs are:
Unloaded weight 19oz
Heigth W/6 round clip 4.6"
W/7 round clip 5.5"
Capacity 6+1 or 7+1 in 40 S&W cal
OA-Length 6"
Barrel 3.1"
Max Width .98"
Price pre-tax $409.99
Sights 3-dot Novac type wind-age ADJ
Stainless slide W/BLK Melonite FIN
BLK SYN frame
Both trigger and MAN safeties.
Once I had my new Shield home, I gave it a through "bright lite" going over and found the fit and finish to be quite good and all of its controlls functioning quite good, and the safety is easly disengaged and the motion to do so with your thumb is completely natural, but requires more effort than it should to return to "safe". The difficulty functioning of returning the safety back to safe is the one and only fault I could find with the gun. To become proficient at returning to safe will require practice on my part.
Range report after a good first cleaning:
Fired a total of 112 rounds from it first time out;
50 Federal white box 165grn FMJ
20 Winchester 155grn Ranger SJHP
28 Federal 155grn SJHP
14 Hornady 175grn Critical Defense
Distance shot was 15 feet. This guns sole purpose is for personal protection and and not a target gun so I saw no sense or reason to shoot farther than I would in a save a life situation. Also I was shooting at a indoor range with no provision for shooting from a solid rest on a bench. All shooting was done free hand using a Issolise triangle stance. The Shield experienced no malfunctions or problems of any kind what so ever while firing.
Used the FED 165/FMJ to check POI VS POA and get a feel for the gun as well as the trigger. After about 30 or so of the 165/FEDs, I decided to try all the above listed rounds in shooting rapid fire "Double Taps"
I am relived to report that my Shield shot to POA, but such short barrels and subsequently such a short sight radius require experience and concentration to hit exactly to POA. When I did not aim just right I shot consistently 2" below or above POA, but I have 10 shot 15yrd group that measures right at 3-1/8" C-C.
90% of all shots were at human silhouette center mass "A Zone," remaining 10% at the head region of the human silhouette target. Shot about 70% of rounds using the small 6 round clip and about 30% using the longer 7 round clip. 6 round clip allows partial but not complete purchase for your pinkie finger, where the longer 8round clip does. I plan on carrying with the 6 round clip so that is why I used it 70% of the time.
Before I list my accuracy results please keep in mind this is my first time shooting this gun, and first time I ever shot such a small gun period. I am also at best a average hand gun shot, and this is the first time I have shot any hand gun in almost 4 months.
Short vesrion is I landed a total of 98% of all shots in the targets head and chest "A Zones". I only had 3 total non "A Zone" hits and those hits would have still been serious certainly fatal wounds that I reasonably sure would have convinced any would be thug to cease and desist almost instantly considering the ammo I was using was averaging nearly 400 ft-lbs of impact.
What impressed me most when shooting the Shield for the first time was three things:
#1-Normally guns with such short barrels (the Shields is listed at 3.1") make you pay dearly in the form of left/right fliers for not keeping your sights centered on target. Out of 112 total shots I only had two fliers and both were to the left and none were off target and both still hit in the vitals. Over all my entire chest "A Zone" group max width was only 3.5" so I experienced very little left to right deviation.
#2-I was able to consistently land over 80% of my double taps in the chest "A Zone" which is a 10" circle. No I did not shoot the Shield nearly as good as I can my 5" barreled Springfield XD Tactical in .45acp, but to be able to keep over 80% of my shots fired in the "A Zone" and 98% total of my shots in the head, neck or chest of my human silhouette first time shooting this gun and a quite small gun at that, made me extremely happy. I only fired five double taps at the head zones of three different targets, but all six rounds stayed in the head "A Zone".
Considering i am at best a novice with small and power full hand guns, I am extremely happy with the performance of this gun.
But a few strong words of caution. Such a small gun in a powerfully round like 40 cal S&W is not for the recoil shy. I brought with me 170 rounds total, and stopped at 112 rounds because at about 85 rounds out of the short clip it stopped being fun to shoot and became more like work. At 100 rounds it was work.
But again I would stress this gun is designed for personal protection and the few shots needed to fire to save the owner or his loved ones lives, not for general plinking or recreational shooting, my full sized XDs and Dan Wesson are for that.
My over all slow fire 15 foot 5-shot average was around 2.375" The group comprised of my largest no# of shots fired at the chest "A Zone", 24 shots in all from all four types of ammo fired measured right at 4.75"s height and 2-5/8" wide, but no POI were more than 2-3/8" above or below my POA. So based on this data I am more than pleased and completely satisfied with the Shields performance.
At present I carry my Shield in my right front pants pocket in a Desantis "Super fly" pocket holster. Although not perfect, this set up works well, but I am looking for a good IWB holster.
If you are on a budget and looking for a small, light, easy to conceal and carry gun that has 40 S&W power and don't like the long "lawyer triggers" of the Kahrs, is reasonably easy to shoot well, has all the same advantages of the Kahrs except for "their Lawyer Triggers" and is more than reasonably priced, give the S&W M&P Shield a look.
Be well and exercise your 2nd Amendment rites often as you can,
Arthur.