Tweet
First Shots With New M&P Shield 9mm
Picked up my Shield a few days ago, did a good clean & lube and took it to the range today. This is the CA version. (I also have an XDs 9mm in jail and eager to compare them and decide if I want to keep both). Had the 7rnd & 8rnd mags that came with it + 2 more 7rnd mags I bought at my LGS. Shot 200 rnds of 147gr WWB and 100 rnds of 115gr Federal.
First Shots: Started with 100 rnds of 147gr WWB. Wanted the heavier rnd to start with, to break in the spring a little and start getting things smoothed out. As expected for a light, small gun it was a little snappy but improving my grip eliminated any discomfort. The first 100 shot fine. I was focusing on the grip, trigger and function, not accuracy, but at 10 yards, 9 out of 10 were good hits on a 6" target without trying. Next time I'll see what kind of groups I can make. I'm not a bullseye shooter with any gun so I have nothing to complain about it's accuracy.
LCI: With the first few rnds I was specifically looking for the LCI and I could see the top edge, but when stopped looking for it I never noticed it again. It really is hardly noticeable, even from the side. Totally a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.
Safety: Except for a revolver, nothing I have has a safety. The one on the Shield is so small and flush and unobtrusive I actually forgot it was there till almost the end .. I tried it, it works, will likely never flip it on again, but I guess it's there if I want it.
Mags: I don't like the 8 rnd mag. It does let you get a little more meat on the gun if you need it, but I'm used to a 2 finger grip on my Glock 26 & 27 so I like the short Shield grip. But, with the short grip, while trying to drop the mag, the bottom of the 8 rounder hits the heal of my hand and prevents it from dropping free. The 7 rounders drop out fine. If I keep the Shield I'll trade someone my 8 for their 7.
Trigger: I had dry fired it a dozen or so time at my LGS and thought the trigger felt decent. But live firing, it wasn't as smooth as I had hoped. A little jerky on the take up but a pretty decent break. But releasing the trigger back to the reset point was for some reason a little jerky/rough also. Just felt a little weird. A couple of times I seemed to miss the reset point/click. I'll have to watch for that. However, by the end of the 300 rounds, it 'might' have started to smooth out a little bit. If it's not pretty good by the time I hit 1000 rnds of so, I'll find a good smith to tweak it a little (if I keep it). This will be one of my carry guns and no aftermarket triggers are allowed here.
2nd 100: Switched over and shot 100 rnds of Federal 115gr. Obviously softer shooting. The 2nd and 3rd mags failed to lock back on the last shot. Not concerned yet, the spring is known to be stiff when new so I don't expect any problems after a few hundred more rounds. No other problems with the rest of those 100.
The remaining 100 rnds of 147gr WWB went smoothly. Spent most of it focusing on grip and trigger. We easy to get a straight trigger pull even when playing with different finger positions.
Overall, there isn't much to complain about, except the trigger isn't great yet but pretty sure the worst case is a little work by a good smith. The grip is small but it's surprisingly easy to get a good purchase on it, even with my ham-hands. It never felt like it didn't fit well.
Got this and the XDs to add to my carry permit. Wanted something to pocket carry and this certainly fits the need. Lots of people say it's too big for pocket carry, but heck, I pocket carry my Glock 27 sometimes, so the Shield is easy compared to that
I'll give my impressions of that XDs when I get it out of jail .. sure feels like a nice gun!
First Shots: Started with 100 rnds of 147gr WWB. Wanted the heavier rnd to start with, to break in the spring a little and start getting things smoothed out. As expected for a light, small gun it was a little snappy but improving my grip eliminated any discomfort. The first 100 shot fine. I was focusing on the grip, trigger and function, not accuracy, but at 10 yards, 9 out of 10 were good hits on a 6" target without trying. Next time I'll see what kind of groups I can make. I'm not a bullseye shooter with any gun so I have nothing to complain about it's accuracy.
LCI: With the first few rnds I was specifically looking for the LCI and I could see the top edge, but when stopped looking for it I never noticed it again. It really is hardly noticeable, even from the side. Totally a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.
Safety: Except for a revolver, nothing I have has a safety. The one on the Shield is so small and flush and unobtrusive I actually forgot it was there till almost the end .. I tried it, it works, will likely never flip it on again, but I guess it's there if I want it.
Mags: I don't like the 8 rnd mag. It does let you get a little more meat on the gun if you need it, but I'm used to a 2 finger grip on my Glock 26 & 27 so I like the short Shield grip. But, with the short grip, while trying to drop the mag, the bottom of the 8 rounder hits the heal of my hand and prevents it from dropping free. The 7 rounders drop out fine. If I keep the Shield I'll trade someone my 8 for their 7.
Trigger: I had dry fired it a dozen or so time at my LGS and thought the trigger felt decent. But live firing, it wasn't as smooth as I had hoped. A little jerky on the take up but a pretty decent break. But releasing the trigger back to the reset point was for some reason a little jerky/rough also. Just felt a little weird. A couple of times I seemed to miss the reset point/click. I'll have to watch for that. However, by the end of the 300 rounds, it 'might' have started to smooth out a little bit. If it's not pretty good by the time I hit 1000 rnds of so, I'll find a good smith to tweak it a little (if I keep it). This will be one of my carry guns and no aftermarket triggers are allowed here.
2nd 100: Switched over and shot 100 rnds of Federal 115gr. Obviously softer shooting. The 2nd and 3rd mags failed to lock back on the last shot. Not concerned yet, the spring is known to be stiff when new so I don't expect any problems after a few hundred more rounds. No other problems with the rest of those 100.
The remaining 100 rnds of 147gr WWB went smoothly. Spent most of it focusing on grip and trigger. We easy to get a straight trigger pull even when playing with different finger positions.
Overall, there isn't much to complain about, except the trigger isn't great yet but pretty sure the worst case is a little work by a good smith. The grip is small but it's surprisingly easy to get a good purchase on it, even with my ham-hands. It never felt like it didn't fit well.
Got this and the XDs to add to my carry permit. Wanted something to pocket carry and this certainly fits the need. Lots of people say it's too big for pocket carry, but heck, I pocket carry my Glock 27 sometimes, so the Shield is easy compared to that
I'll give my impressions of that XDs when I get it out of jail .. sure feels like a nice gun!
Comment