Hard to Control M&P 9 Shield

[lt05deluxe]

Don't give up on it yet. The shield is a fun little shooter once you get used to it. It is very accurate. I have had the CZ also and you can't compare the two. Keep on practicing with it. Hold on tight, lock your wrist and put a slight bend in your elbows.

[LVcleef]

Shield grip

Try a set of $10 Hogue Beavertail slip on....

they should make it a bit more pleasant on your shooting hand

[five.five-six]

It is a combination of things, grip, trigger, weight of the handgun.

I have been shooting handguns 50+ years and I still have problems with classic Single Action Army style revolvers. My wife shoots great with steel pistols like the Colt 1911 and Browning High Power but does not do well with Glock pistols.

[five.five-six]

Try a set of $10 Hogue Beavertail slip on....

they should make it a bit more pleasant on your shooting hand

Pleasant? Shmesent! How about wrap the grip in a Kotex?


My P380 literally peals the shin off my finger after a hundred rounds or so. I still hit my target, and have grown a callus on that part of my finger LOL

[heidad01]

All tiny guns, Shield included are snappy and unpleasant to shoot. They are meant to be a back up gun or a carry gun if you can not conceal a better sized gun.

An experienced shooter can be accurate with one but a Shield is not a range gun or something you want to learn shooting with, though it is an accurate gun for what it is.

[NorCalRefuge]

Bought my M&P 9 Shield earlier this year only got to shoot it first time past weekend, cleaned and lubed before the range day. Hard to control muzzle flip feels like the thing wanted to jump out of my hand even wearing gloves. Maybe technique? But I shot just fine with my CZ 75 P01 with heavy double action trigger. My M&P 9 shield has the HiViz sights, from 15 yards 12"x12" shoot-and-see target I couldn't hit anything, with my CZ I get good grouping from same distance. I also see primer drags with the Shield. Is it crappy gun?

If this is your first gun, or you have not had formal training - get some.

Shooting a handgun well is deceptively difficult.

It gets worse the smaller the gun is, and it'll expose bad technique a lot more-so than a larger gun which can hide bad technique (to a point) due to it's size and mass.

You will never regret taking more training... some of us have been shooting for a lifetime and still take classes.

That said, you've made some excellent choices in pistols. I LOVE my CZ P01 and my Shield 2.0. Great choices - get some training and you'll have both guns on target in no time.

[Red9]

Need to break it in. Ive shot the heck out of my old gen 1 shield. Hated it at first. After a few hundred rounds it starts to settle down. At 1000 rounds it becomes a pretty soft shooter. At 2000 rounds the trigger becomes really smooth.
But thats just me. Everyone is different. I love the little shield. I think a 40 or 45 would be even better.

[Mr. Blue]

If it functions, its a good gun.

Instead of trying to hit a target, focus on firing the thing first without jerking the trigger or flinching. Get a feel for just trying to control the gun and be consistent in your technique. That hinge trigger sucks. Its my least favorite trigger on any gun I’ve shot. Like anything else, put in the time to be decent, smaller guns like that are just harder to shoot.

[Subotai]

The Beaver tail is excellent. Also dropped in a lighter sear.

[plumbum]

Geez, it’s like y’all never lit off a scandium .357 before!



But yeah, the Shield is skinny and slick - grab it like you mean it.

[saudadeii]

I have a Shield 9. Yes, it can be a bit of a handful shooting decent ammo. Other than my 1911s, all my other pistols are double stack so there's more to hold on.

You might try a Hogue grip sleeve:

https://www.hogueinc.com/grips/grips-for-smith-wesson/m-p-shield

or Talon Grips:

https://talongungrips.com/gun-grips/pistol-grips/smith-wesson/

As others have suggested, you should shoot it more (I know ammo is scarce) to get a better grip on it.

[eaglemike]

OP, don't know how much training you've had or other pistol experience.
I shoot my gen1 Shield w/o gloves, and no problem with a decent group at 10 yards, meaning 4 inches or so, just picking it up and not shooting it regularly. If I shot it all the time, I'm pretty sure it would be a 4 inch gun at 25 yards, maybe less if I was really serious about practice. Key word is practice, including good fundamentals.
As others have said, get some decent training. Work on front sight focus and follow through. I've used mostly 115 grain, and it seems to like that.
Familiarity will bring comfort and control.
Good luck!

[cz74]

Thanks for all the feedback! Definitely work on my grip, my CZ fits my hand perfectly, but the Shield is bit too small especially with that short 7-round mag, my pinky has nowhere to rest. Also maybe I was using too heavy load Winchester 124gr 9mm NATO

[dsconstructs]

Definitely get the 8 round mag, big difference.

[Tactical_Fudd]

I have been shooting my shield .40 for the past year. This was my first handgun (not first time shooting) and my groups were all over the place. It took months to get consistent groups at 7/15 yards.
I had the sights checked, and they were slightly off.. after that solid groups in / close to bullseye, even shooting 1 handed.

I practice weekly, at least 50 rounds. Practice practice practice.

Also I use Hyve +1 extensions and Talon Grips