Good review. I have noticed WWB ammo seems to have harder primers than it used to. I am getting a couple failures to fire with good primer strikes out of every box. I never used to have this issue. I am noticing this in more than one gun. I might trade in the bodyguard .380 and get a shield.
M&P Shield 9mm range day
So I took out the new Shield 9mm today... thought I'd share some impressions about this new, and apparently very popular pistol.
To start with, it's comfortable. The ergonomics of the M&P line are great, and the thin design of this pistol (more like Kahr than Glock) make carrying it IWB easy. It comes with two magazines, 7-round that is flush, and 8 round that has an extension that my small finger rested on. Personally I find the 8-round mag to be more comfortable.
So, right out of the box, I loaded both mags (15 rounds) and set the target at 10ft. With a VERY slow, deliberate pace,(bang............bang............bang............) I fired the first 15 rounds:
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I then moved the target out to 21 feet and fired 15 more rounds with the same VERY slow pace:
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I then fired 15 more rounds at 10 feet, 15 rounds at 15 feet and 40 rounds at 21 feet:
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That was the first 100 rounds through the gun. There was one malfunction: a fail to fire. After an immediate action drill and firing the rest of the mag, I located the unfired round on the floor and discovered a good primer strike. So, I'm gonna put that one on the ammo: Winchester white box FMJ.
For the next 100 rounds, the target stayed at 21 feet and I fired a little quicker, but by no means was it rapid fire. Bang....bang....bang.... So after 200 total rounds, we have this:
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In the second box of 100, there was another fail to fire and again it had a good primer strike. There was also one fail to lock back, which happened after a single round (the previous fail to fire round) was loaded into a mag and fired.
Overall, I am very happy with the gun. The trigger reset is much better than the factory trigger in my previous two M&P's, but it is not a distinct as the APEX RAM that I installed on my full size 9mm. Although with this new factory trigger, there won't be a need for aftermarket additions. As I mentioned before, I prefer the 8-round mag with the small extension and will be carrying it like that.
The recoil is certainly manageable in the 9mm caliber and I didn't have any trouble getting back on target when I picked up the pace a bit.
The gun does have a manual safety, but I don't use it. Personally, I prefer guns w/ no manual safety for concealed carry. For the sake of trying this thing out, I used the safety a bit, but found the safety lever to be very small and sometimes difficult to manipulate. I would bet that in an actual deadly force scenario, it would be easy to swipe at the safety and not even realize that you failed to disengage it. So, I'll be carring it with no safety. In my M&P 45, I actually removed the safety. I'm going to look into doing the same on this one.
I know it's only 200 rounds, and there will be plenty more, but so far I'm impressed. This will be my new daily carry pistol, especially now that summer is here and clothing considerations are that much more important for concealed carry.
To start with, it's comfortable. The ergonomics of the M&P line are great, and the thin design of this pistol (more like Kahr than Glock) make carrying it IWB easy. It comes with two magazines, 7-round that is flush, and 8 round that has an extension that my small finger rested on. Personally I find the 8-round mag to be more comfortable.
So, right out of the box, I loaded both mags (15 rounds) and set the target at 10ft. With a VERY slow, deliberate pace,(bang............bang............bang............) I fired the first 15 rounds:
I then moved the target out to 21 feet and fired 15 more rounds with the same VERY slow pace:
I then fired 15 more rounds at 10 feet, 15 rounds at 15 feet and 40 rounds at 21 feet:
That was the first 100 rounds through the gun. There was one malfunction: a fail to fire. After an immediate action drill and firing the rest of the mag, I located the unfired round on the floor and discovered a good primer strike. So, I'm gonna put that one on the ammo: Winchester white box FMJ.
For the next 100 rounds, the target stayed at 21 feet and I fired a little quicker, but by no means was it rapid fire. Bang....bang....bang.... So after 200 total rounds, we have this:
In the second box of 100, there was another fail to fire and again it had a good primer strike. There was also one fail to lock back, which happened after a single round (the previous fail to fire round) was loaded into a mag and fired.
Overall, I am very happy with the gun. The trigger reset is much better than the factory trigger in my previous two M&P's, but it is not a distinct as the APEX RAM that I installed on my full size 9mm. Although with this new factory trigger, there won't be a need for aftermarket additions. As I mentioned before, I prefer the 8-round mag with the small extension and will be carrying it like that.
The recoil is certainly manageable in the 9mm caliber and I didn't have any trouble getting back on target when I picked up the pace a bit.
The gun does have a manual safety, but I don't use it. Personally, I prefer guns w/ no manual safety for concealed carry. For the sake of trying this thing out, I used the safety a bit, but found the safety lever to be very small and sometimes difficult to manipulate. I would bet that in an actual deadly force scenario, it would be easy to swipe at the safety and not even realize that you failed to disengage it. So, I'll be carring it with no safety. In my M&P 45, I actually removed the safety. I'm going to look into doing the same on this one.
I know it's only 200 rounds, and there will be plenty more, but so far I'm impressed. This will be my new daily carry pistol, especially now that summer is here and clothing considerations are that much more important for concealed carry.
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Glad to see you are liking it J.
Nice shooting btw.
Nice shooting btw.
I have a feeling I know what holster he's going to use
Did you by any chance shoot any of the Walther PPS' you had for a while? I would love to hear some comparisons between these two very similar pistols.
Did you by any chance shoot any of the Walther PPS' you had for a while? I would love to hear some comparisons between these two very similar pistols.
On Patrol you drifted low left, away from incapacitating organs... Remember heart is to the target's left, your right. You keep drifting that way and you got the liver....takes a while to bleed out from liver shots.
Looks fantastic from all the reviews glad your happy with it. Be interesting to see your accuracy with it and +p JHP, it might get a bit snarly.
You keep drifting that way and you got the liver....takes a while to bleed out from liver shots. Looks fantastic from all the reviews glad your happy with it. Be interesting to see your accuracy with it and +p JHP, it might get a bit snarly.
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