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Gun Review: Smith & Wesson M&P9 Shield
By Craig Hathaway
Dec. 2013
There has been a hefty amount written about Smith
& Wesson’s slim M&P pistol.
Almost as soon as it was released in the spring of 2012, the Shield
became an instant hit and demand quickly outpaced supply. I couldn’t help but add another review to the
pile.
I have to admit up front that I have been coveting
this baby M&P ever since it came out. My current EDC is an M&P Compact that I
really like and prefer over my Glock 26.
Not going to debate Glock vs everything else here. I like the Glock, it’s just, well, it’s a
Glock. ‘nuff said. The thought of a lighter, thinner M&P was
enticing to say the least.
If, like me, you have been looking to get your hands
on a Shield, you might have started to believe that S&W really only
produced the blue plastic trainer that every dealer has on display. Every shop I went into I heard the same thing. “Don't have ‘em, don’t know when we’ll get
‘em, but we have this blue plastic thing that sort of looks like it.”
When it was released in early 2012, the Shield hit the
ground running as the market for smaller, thinner pistols has really heated up.
Worth the wait?
We’ll see.
Recently I wandered into my local gun shop (I was
looking for something else) and asked, “What are the chances you could find me
an M&P Shield somewhere?”
The response was, “Well, if I could locate one, then
what?”
“I’d buy it from you.” I said. The owner produced a thin blue Smith &
Wesson box and said, “Time to put you money where you mouth is.”
Hook, line, sinker and $399 later, I rushed home to
unbox my prize.
Unboxing, fit & finish
At first glance, the Shield looks like a slightly
thinner little brother to the M&P Compact.
While it’s only 6/10’s of an inch shorter than the M&P Compact, it’s
nearly three ounces lighter, and at .95” wide, it’s .2” thinner than the
compact.
M&P
Compact (L) Shield (R)
While that may not seem like much of a difference, it
is. Especially if you’re going to be carrying
it all day long. The Shield comes with
two single stack mags out of the box; a flush-fit 7 rounder and an extended 8
round mag. So, 7+1 and 8+1 respectively.
Holding the Shield felt VERY different compared to
almost every other pistol I have held. I
have average sized hands and the pistol felt really skinny. Not bad, but thin. Can you really be too thin? Maybe.
I decided to swap out the blackstrap for a larger one – oh wait, the
Shield doesn’t have interchangeable blackstraps like the compact. What you see is what you get.
No problem. I
happened to have a Talon Grip for the Shield lying around and slapped it
on. Good thing too, the stock grip feels
like it could get slippery when wet. Maybe
it was all in my head, but with the Talon Grip the pistol felt, well, if not
perfect, very, very good. A tiny bit
thicker and MUCH better traction.
Controls on the Shield are pretty straightforward. It has an oversized trigger guard for use
with gloves or fat fingers. Bright three
dot sights are standard and despite the short 3’ barrel, the Shield’s sight
radius is 5.3”. Compare that to the
M&P Compact’s 5.3” barrel and 5.7” sight radius - the Shield’s sights felt
more than adequate.
Mag release and thumb safety operate smoothly and are well
placed. The thumb safety clicks with a
noticeable sound and feel, so all good there.
For those who dislike mag-safeties, you’ll be happy to hear that the
Shield does not have a mag-drop safety and the gun will fire with one on the
chamber and no mag. Take down lever and slide lock are in their standard
M&P locations.
Shooting the Shield
After a good look and run through of the controls of the
gun, I grabbed all the 9mm ammo I had on hand and headed for the range. That meant an assortment of Fiocchi, Herters
Aluminum case and Blazer – all FMJ. What
can I say, I’m cheap!
At shorter distances, putting the sights on target was
pretty easy. I typically shoot at 21’ at
the range so felt comfortable putting sights in the middle of the target at
that distance. The front sight blade is
standard thickness (same as the compact) so more difficult to get on target at
further distances where the blade obscures the center of the target. The rear sights are wide, so that helps a bit.
The Trigger
I really like the trigger on the M&P Compact and
really wanted like the Shield’s trigger as well. Alas, not so.
S&W claim a 6.5 pound trigger on the Shield and on mine I felt all
of that, if not a little more. For this
review I pulled out my Glock 26 and M&P compact for a quick trigger
comparison. The Shield’s trigger is my
least favorite of those three.
The trigger breaks very clean after about 1/4 “ of
take-up and the you can feel and hear the reset. I’m not much of a “modification guy” but the
Shield’s trigger could do with a minor tune-up.
Maybe it will get better after break-in.
Not a deal breaker, just not quite as smooth as I would like.
Recoil
I was expecting the recoil to be worse than it turned
out to be and it seemed quite manageable.
It flipped a little, but I was able to get back on target fairly
quickly. The Shield’s recoil is managed
by nested recoil springs and I would see no reason to spend hard earned cash to
change ‘em out.
I was slow and deliberate as I put 75 rounds on paper
at 21’ and will admit to being moderately surprised at the results. A couple of fliers, but I’m not THAT good.
75 Rounds of FMJ @ 21 Feet
Feeling pretty confident now, I decided to push the
target out to about 35’ and, well – I’m not going to show that target to anyone,
ever. All I can say is that they were
all on paper, barely. So, shooter
ability aside, the Shield seems more than adequate at shorter distances but
suffers at longer range. The large front
sight blade and (relatively) short sight radius causes some issues at longer
range.
Overall Impression
A-/B+ (Four out of Five Stars)
Reliability
Since my initial outing I have put more than 500
rounds through it without a hiccup of any kind.
I have only used factory ammo – mostly cheap stuff, so can’t vouch for
how it will handle reloads, but seems to be built as well as any other M&P.
Firing
Better than the shooter – at least at self-defensive
distances. Not a long-range
shooter. Less than ideal trigger, but
certainly not the worst trigger in the category. I should note that after more than 500 rounds,
the trigger seems a bit better than it did out of the box. Still not as smooth as the Compact and if I
do any mods on this gun, I’d start there.
Carrying
While not a pocket nine (at least not in my pocket)
it’s notably thinner and lighter than the M&P Compact and should work well
for everyday carry. For comparison, it’s
just a hair heavier and fatter than an LC9, which seems to be the pistol the
Shield was meant to compete with. I have
mine in a Remora holster and it really disappears easier than my other (fatter)
pistols. With a good belt holster it
should be very comfortable all day long.
Overall
My trigger gripes aside, I really like this gun! Easy to carry and conceal, lightweight but
not so snappy it would hurt to shoot all day at the range, reliable (so far),
7+1 or 8+1 capacity and looks distinctly like an M&P – what’s not to
like? If you can’t find one at a gun
shop near you and you want to try one, I’ll meet you at the range - but you’re
buying the ammo!
SPECIFICATIONS:
Model: Smith & Wesson M&P9 Shield
Caliber: 9mm
Magazine capacity: 8 & 7 rounds
Materials: Stainless steel slide and barrel, polymer frame
Weight empty: 19 ounces
Barrel Length: 3.1″
Overall length: 6.1″
Sights: Stainless steel three dot
Action: Striker Fired
Finish: Black Melonite®
Price: $449 MSRP
Market Price: < $400
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