CA M&P Shield Mods & MagGuts Spring Test

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Updates:
MagGuts Package - Post #5
Nail Polish Mod - Post #33
Manual Safety Delete and Cover Plate Mod - Post #84
Updates to Nail Polish and Cover Plate mods; HK P2000 Upgrades - Post #92
Talon Grips Gen1 Failure - Post #93
MagGuts Gen2 +2 Kit Part 1 - Post #154
MagGuts Gen2 +2 Kit Part 2 - Post #155
Talon Grips Gen2 Update + Shield's New Big Brother - Post #169
04/30/18 Carry Configuration and Replacement Photos - Post #254

I won this Shield from a $20 raffle to charity + $25 for DROS making my OTD cost a whopping $45 for a BNIB Shield, one 7-round flush mag, and one 8-round extended mag.




I've shot one before and never really liked it. I'm a Sig, metal, double stack kind of guy, although I love my P320 and own an HK P2000, I figured I'd give this a go.

Now everyone seems to want to go off the CA roster and would pay the additional few hundred dollars of difference. I've compared the differences of the CA version vs non-CA and there's nothing that equates to the premium difference in cost. Cool factor?

The LCI is basically the only major change or hindrance to the CA version; I personally hate that it distracts my view and have read that LCIs "may" cause malfunctions. The manual safety is a non-issue since I won't use it anyways so it's cosmetic. Mag DC, blah blah; easily removable.

My conclusion, the CA model vs non-CA just isn't worth the price difference. So, I decided to take the money I would've spent buying a shield and use it to get upgrades. Shield is $419 at my local FFL.

Upgrades:

Mag DC, sear safety, and manual safety are all easily removable. I didn't remove my manual safety yet, but will once I find a filler. I've seen folks use old floppy disks as the filler material, but will need to research more. Now there are some people claiming that the manual safety is required for keeping one of the pins in.

S&W certified armorers have testified on various forums that it is not and can be removed without issue. Also the non-manual safety versions don't have them and do have additional parts in that region. So I call it FUD.

MDC and sear safety completely removed as I'd never use the sear safety to begin with.

Talon rubber grips - $10
Pearce 7-round pinky extension - $5
Additional 8-round mag - $0 (Won as a secondary prize during the same raffle)

I removed the Talon grip from the extended mag and cut it to fit the Pearce extension for the carry mag. I didn't like how it prevented the servicing of the extended and figured that I would need the additional grip texture more on the carry mag.




CA LCI replaced with the Apex Tactical LCI Block - $20 from Amazon




Sights are great for factory and can be improved with a sharpie - $0. Will likely nag my sister to let me use her super skanky girl, bright orange nail polish to redo the front sight. I would like Trijicon HDs, but those sum-beetches are expensive and not necessary at this time.




Mag capacity easily upgraded without changing body size using MagGuts.com Shield specific springs. Currently one 8-round carry and two 9-round spare mags. So 8+1 in carry mode plus two 9-round mags = 27 rounds to deploy in a lightweight, slim, highly concealable pistol is pretty darn good.

I've tested them fully loaded, partially loaded, 1 round, administrative reloads, malfunction drills, +1, load from slide locked back, load from slide forward, etc. . . and all mags functioned flawlessly with 100% reliability. Slide locked back each and every time. The MG setup actually reduced the spring tension allowing for easier +1 loading.

Now, I didn't like the MG floorplates because they protruded outside of the baseplates and impeded the extended mag a bit. No problems with +1, but it does make it a bit tougher to finger push the carry mag with +1; slamming home is no problem. I will have to say that if it annoys you, deburr the corners of the follower as they are a tad sharp.

MagGuts Shield Springs - $22 each x 3 = $66




Since I didn't want to splurge on Trijicon HDs, I figured I'd add a light since this will likely be my primary EDC. I chose the shield specific, Viridian RTL with ECR and figured 100 lumens is plenty for this pistol. It mounts to the trigger guard and definitely lights up a room.

It came with a so so, novelty OWB holster (the old version came with an IWB that is no longer available), but I carry IWB so will probably order an Alien Gear 3.0 with ECR magnet and probably a Remora sticky with ECR magnet for sweatpants or gym shorts days. I can deploy the pistol with the light automatically activating this way.

Viridian RTL-Shield with ECR - $90





Ammo used for testing was approx 100 rounds of 125 gr Miwall Reloads. I have not yet tried HP/SD ammo yet, but will soon since this pistol will likely be my EDC.

I learned that I had to modify my grip a bit and add more tension with my support hand with the Shield. Once I figured it out, I started cutting out the center of the target. Next time the target will be cleaner.




Go easy on me. I'm used to shooting Sig P229s so the lightweight striker thing is new to me. Not quite used to the Sig P320 yet either. I tried to shoot the N, S, E, W locations of the outer circle at 7 yards. The rest were 5 yards in the C zone of the IDPA target. I do have Trijicon HDs on this pistol; only because I got them for $100 from a local member here.




Itemized cost:

Shield w one 7-round mag and one 8-round mag - $45
Talon rubber grips - $10
Pearce 7-round pinky extension - $5
Additional 8-round mag - $0
Apex Tactical LCI Block - $20
Sharpie, tactical sights - $0
MagGuts Shield Springs - $22 each x 3 = $66
Viridian RTL-Shield with ECR - $90
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Total cost: $236
Cost of Shield new: $419 + 36.66 (8.75 tax) + $25 DROS = $480.66

Remaining funds to spend: $244.66

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the pistol and the outcome. The AG 3.0 and Remora holsters will probably run about $40-50 each after all is said and done so I'll still have about another $150 to spend.

What's next?

[325inthe510]

Want to make a couple hundred bucks?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Not at the moment. I've already had 5 pistol sale transactions for the year and I want to keep testing this pistol out. Maybe down the line.

[Cokebottle]

Nice.
So the new followers ran without issue!

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That's correct. I'll be testing Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr, Gold Dot 115 gr, Winchester PDX 115 gr, and some other random SD ammo at a later time. I'll report back with each range session if I experience any malfunctions.

They were an all .380 shop up until the Shield and seem to focus only on single stacks at the moment. The Shield is the first 9mm tested by MagGuts and is a dual type spring; their other setups are single springs which is relative to the pressure required for the .380 mags I guess. I'm sure they will eventually make their way to the Glock 43 and Sig P938 as well.

You can see the very thin floorplate in the picture below. You should be able to find more photos of it online.

[Cokebottle]

I ordered 4 the other night

How is the pressure? Are the 8th and 9th any easier to insert than the 8th used to be?

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For those unaware, here's a stock photo of the ridiculous CA and NY compliant LCI:

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I ordered 4 the other night

How is the pressure? Are the 8th and 9th any easier to insert than the 8th used to be?

LOL, good job. Totally worth the investment for the metal follower alone.

Yes, they were easier with the supplied floorplate, but even with the OEM floorplate the pressure was easier than OEM. It's up to you if you want to use the supplied one or not.

If you use the OEM floorplate and find the spring pressure when going +1 in the chamber with the flush mag at 8 rounds, swap to the supplied floorplate; it's a noticeable difference. MG also stated that if your extended mags take a 10th round, they may not feed reliably and to mitigate that, switch to the OEM floorplate or count your rounds.

It's not such a big deal on the flush mag, but I would recommend that you deburr it a bit as the edges may be a tad sharp. They do cause an additional gap between the baseplate and the adapter on the extended mags. You'll see what I mean when they arrive.

Just to confirm, you do have the 9mm model, correct? I do not believe these will work on the .40 variant. At least MagGuts doesn't advertise it to.

[Cokebottle]

Ya, 9mm Shield.
I sat there looking at the four 7rd mags and how the Pearce pinky extension showed under my shirt, and just made the call to go with only 8 rounders.

Once I'm totally satisfied I will probably sell all but one of the 7 round mags.

[code_blue]

Does it? I'll have to tinker with mine once I order the IWB holsters. I have read that others have also made the decision to do so. I may also just switch back to the flush to retain max concealment. I don't NEED the extension, but it certainly feels much better with it. Plus at $5, can't complain for a worthy experiment.

Feel free to post your updates here since it's the same topic.

[EspoMan]

$22 for one maguts? That's ridiculous IMO as that's the price for a brand new factory magazine.

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Shield mags retail are about $35 retail, but I can see your viewpoint. My mags were essentially free so you can see the reason behind my decision.

Plus testing them for other Calgunners to make informative decisions, which you have, is a good thing.

[P5Ret]

Nice, I took mine to the range yesterday ran 100 rounds of Critical Defense through it, along with some various other loose rounds I had around. All fed fine no issue's with the gun at all. It even ate the old Remington 147 sub-sonic's, I had from ages ago.

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OEM mag internals or MG internals, P5?

[P5Ret]

I haven't forked up the money for the MG kit, yet. Think I'm going to upgrade sights first, well after I pay for whatever my wife buy's herself for Christmas that is.