Ok, finally got out to the range after acquiring a shield 9mm. I took along my M&P 9mm full size as a comparison. I also took my wife along to give her some range time with the full size version as that is our HD weapon and in the biometric safe in the bedroom.
So, given the current situation with ammo, I didn't get to shoot nearly as much as I would have liked, but I did get to shoot some and got a decent feel for the new gun.
After shooting about 30 rounds through each gun, I loaded 8 rounds and 7 rounds in the magazines for the shield and did the same for the full size M&P. I don't fire with methodical slowness, I fire more like real life situations, about 1 round per second. I know this isn't the most accurate way to fire, but it works for me. This was at 21 feet/7 yards.
Results with each set and gun (first group shot center, second above, third target's left shoulder, fourth target's right shoulder thereby alternating guns in the sets)
As you can see I grouped the full size better and had a flyer on each set. I blame the groups being smaller on the full size due to it being full size (duh) but also the gun has been shot a lot more (the shield probably had only 30 rounds in it before I did this trial compared to hundreds through the full size M&P 9). I blame the flyers on a combination of my quickness of shooting and poor marksmanship.
Couple notable things about the Shield.
1. I didn't feel any significant jump in recoil between these two guns. I have small-medium sized hands and the recoil was very similar between the guns. I currently have a crimson trace backstrap on my M&P 9, which corresponds pretty well with the medium backstrap on that gun. The M&P 9 fits better in my hands, but it should, it is a full size pistol. The feel in hand of the shield was decent though. It didn't feel that much different, but you just didn't get the full palm swell you get from a full size gun. Ergonomically, the shield was very good, just like the full size, it feels like an extension of my hands.
2. The 8 round mag with the slight extension allows my hand to completely grip the shield. The 7 round may allows my pinkie finger to hang. I like the 8 round may a lot better. However, I didn't notice any appreciable difference in accuracy with either mag, at least with my minimal shooting today.
3. The shield is lethally good right out of the box. I didn't clean it. I didn't do anything other than load bullets and fire. And it hit targets inside Center of mass as long as I did my part. I didn't have time or ammo to test it outside 21 feet, but it should perform dutifully at any range if you have that capability.
4. Speaking of dutiful action...no issues with the gun right out ofthe box. Like I said I put a small amount of ammo through it today, but not one single issue. The M&P line is a great line and I am happy to say the Shield fits right in there with the rest.
5. Some have complained about trigger pull on the Shield. I will say I didn't notice much difference between the two guns in the trigger. The Shield is supposed to reset a little better than the rest of the M&P line; like I said I didn't notice much difference. I expect the shield's trigger will loosen a bit with time, but I found trigger pull to be fine and reset to be of no issue. I fire quickly sometimes (almost all the time) and it ran flawlessly. I just want my gun to work, and the shield just works as well as my full size M&P 9.
I like this gun. I will be keeping it. I may get an other 8 round mag or two so I don't have to deal with the smaller 7 rounders, but overall I give this weapon two thumbs up for it designed purpose as a single stack carry weapon.
