M&P Shield 9 500rds Range Report

[01010110]

Hey guys and gals, I recently purchased my first handgun after extensive researching. Had to go through the SSE process which was free and incredibly effortless via Gunfighter Tactical located in SD.

Picture Album with Details

No external safety, no loaded chamber lever, and no magazine disconnect safety. Added some rubber Talon Grip over the stock stippling, improved my grip immensely, highly recommended.

After 500rds:

Trigger - breaks crisply, audible and tactile reset, feels smoother after 400rds. Loving it HUGE win, I've tried the PPQ trigger and cannot tell a difference, but I'm not an operator.

Slide Lock/ Release - extremely hard to deactivate in the beginning, much easier to activate and deactivate after 400rds. Definitely lube the Slide Lock tab that holds the slide back. I believe this will get easier with use.

Overall - After a few early malfunctions and a thorough cleaning, I have a winner. Accurate, smooth actions, and fits me like a glove. All in a highly concealable package for $425.

Concerns:

Both 7rds and 8rds magazine feeds reliably, however a fully loaded 7rds magazine will take a little more effort to lock into the Shield. A fully loaded 7rds magazine will hang up slightly if you wanted to drop the magazine during a mag change, ie. it will not drop out freely, but hang up ever so slightly before dropping. I hope these minor problems go away with use, or S&W replaces my 7rds magazine. The 8rds magazine functions 100%, thus my concern.

[S.P.F.]

I have a Shield in .40 S&W, and am still getting used to the "snappy-ness" of the gun in that caliber. Follow-up shots are not nearly as easy as the Glock 27 in .40, which I also own. I should have bought the 9mm, like you did. I have large hands, and can grip the Glock more securely.

I bet the Shield really makes for an awesome 9mm.

[static2126]

9mm shield is awesome. My best friend who is an leo has a 40 and neither of us shoot that thing as well as the 9mm. I can easily do headshots at 25 yards with the 9mm stock. The 40 well....lol

[01010110]

I have a Shield in .40 S&W, and am still getting used to the "snappy-ness" of the gun in that caliber. Follow-up shots are not nearly as easy as the Glock 27 in .40, which I also own. I should have bought the 9mm, like you did. I have large hands, and can grip the Glock more securely.

I bet the Shield really makes for an awesome 9mm.

You're preaching to the choir! The fit of the Shield in my small girlish hands is like a glove, combined with the softer recoil of 9mm, and I can shoot my Shield 9 all day comfortably but more importantly ACCURATELY.

9mm shield is awesome. My best friend who is an leo has a 40 and neither of us shoot that thing as well as the 9mm. I can easily do headshots at 25 yards with the 9mm stock. The 40 well....lol

LOL I hope he carries a 9mm for... all our sakes!

[iluvmycolt]

Excellent range report and excellent shooting, OP.

[saudadeii]

I too have a NTS Shield in 9mm. Awesome.

[OGMcSwaggerdick]

01010110 is my shooting buddy, and he let me run quite a few magazines through this gun alongside my XDs 9.
I do have to say that this gun is smooth.
The trigger breaks much cleaner than my Springfield, and the grip feel is quite a bit slimmer in the hand (whether or not you're into the smooth slimmer grip is a to each their own deal.)
The thing is quite accurate and a joy to opperate.
Felt recoil isn't that much more than the XDs either.

I do have to say that the magazine hang up with that short mag fully loaded was a bit strange.
We couldn't figure that one out.

Pretty excited to see how this one loosens up.

[Sledge]

I shot the same Shield (NTS) but only 124 rounds. 50 115gr Blazer brass, 50 147gr American eagle, 16 115 gr Speer gold dot and 8 124gr +p Golden sabers. they all functioned flawlessly. I did clean and lube prior to shooting and racked the slide maybe 100 times before hand. But yeah, fully loaded 7 rd mags took some muscle or slamming to get them in when I put one in the chamber first. Maybe they have to break in? I had that problem at first with a Glock 26 but after almost 600 rounds it's much easier to load.

[stormvet]

9mm shield is awesome. My best friend who is an leo has a 40 and neither of us shoot that thing as well as the 9mm. I can easily do headshots at 25 yards with the 9mm stock. The 40 well....lol

So let me get this straight, your at the 25 yard line at your range. You take aim with your 9mm Shield at the head on a target and BOOM perfect shot, right between the eyes. Then you pick up the .40 take aim and BOOM, miss by a country mile. God I love the Internet.

For the record, I own a 9mm Shield friend has the .40. I thought the difference in recoil was minor, not enough to really make a difference for me. I shot them both, failure drills at 7 and 10 also on the move. But yeah, never any head shots at 25.

[deephouse]

DAMN $425 you're lucky down there...lived in SD for 31 years and Now I'm up here in NorCal paying $120 for SSE. Well, gotta pay to play I suppose.

The other thing I don't really like about the 7 rounder, is that to run +1 you have to really SLAP that base in, and you can't really get that without hitting the palm of your strong hand. Guess that takes practice too... but just something I noticed.

[Jimi Jah]

Got mine from Turner's after one year for $419. It's a fantastic design. Flawless operation from mine, broke in nice, easy to pull, shoot, slide release is easy too.

I buffed a few of the worn areas on the slide and frame mounts. I use Slip 2000 EWL grease on them and it's easy-peasy. It's so much different from when it was new, it's not even the same gun anymore.

S&W has a winner here, go buy one.

[teflondog]

So let me get this straight, your at the 25 yard line at your range. You take aim with your 9mm Shield at the head on a target and BOOM perfect shot, right between the eyes. Then you pick up the .40 take aim and BOOM, miss by a country mile. God I love the Internet.

For the record, I own a 9mm Shield friend has the .40. I thought the difference in recoil was minor, not enough to really make a difference for me. I shot them both, failure drills at 7 and 10 also on the move. But yeah, never any head shots at 25.

+1

Recoil only affects follow up shots. It should not affect the accuracy of the first shot.

[Lead Waster]

...

After 500rds:

Trigger - breaks crisply, audible and tactile reset, feels smoother after 400rds. Loving it HUGE win, I've tried the PPQ trigger and cannot tell a difference, but I'm not an operator.

...

Wow!

I have a shield, but very low round count, like less than 100. Even when dry firing I have a hard time not moving the gun when the trigger breaks. I have a PPQ as well, and the trigger is quite amazing.

I'm not an operator either, but there is quite a difference between the two triggers IMHO.

... but I'm going to take my shield out and cram some more rounds through it, I do hope that the trigger gets "better" and more PPQ-like with usage, because that would be nice.

[CJJohn]

Got mine from Turner's after one year for $419. It's a fantastic design. Flawless operation from mine, broke in nice, easy to pull, shoot, slide release is easy too.

I buffed a few of the worn areas on the slide and frame mounts. I use Slip 2000 EWL grease on them and it's easy-peasy. It's so much different from when it was new, it's not even the same gun anymore.

S&W has a winner here, go buy one.

I shoot it once a week at least. Jimi's statement about sums it up. It just seems to keep getting better. Definitely a winner. There is a couple of maintenance items to watch, but overall a great little gun.

[01010110]

Wow!

I have a shield, but very low round count, like less than 100. Even when dry firing I have a hard time not moving the gun when the trigger breaks. I have a PPQ as well, and the trigger is quite amazing.

I'm not an operator either, but there is quite a difference between the two triggers IMHO.

... but I'm going to take my shield out and cram some more rounds through it, I do hope that the trigger gets "better" and more PPQ-like with usage, because that would be nice.

Perhaps it's a bit rash to compare a PPQ trigger with the Shield's, price point being vastly different and my handgun experience lacking. But I couldn't get over the fact that the Shield's trigger stock was as nice as it was... for the price.

I dry fired my Shield 400+ times before the first range trip, add to that 500+ rds fired. The trigger has consistently been improving, what little grittiness has been smoothed out.

But yeah, fully loaded 7 rd mags took some muscle or slamming to get them in when I put one in the chamber first. Maybe they have to break in? I had that problem at first with a Glock 26 but after almost 600 rounds it's much easier to load.

The other thing I don't really like about the 7 rounder, is that to run +1 you have to really SLAP that base in, and you can't really get that without hitting the palm of your strong hand. Guess that takes practice too... but just something I noticed.

It's interesting to note a few of us have similar problems with the 7rds magazines... does it get better with use?