Mossberg Kid
Active Member
I'm back from Accurate Guns & Ammo, in Loveville, MD, then the Myrtle Grove range in La Plata, after picking up my new baby and taking her out on the town (so to speak), and let me tell ya, she's a sweetie and a hottie. We made such beautiful music together, we both had to have a cigarette afterwards.
My new Shield is a dream. First off, this is a true Smith & Wesson M&P. If you're familiar with that level of military and professional-grade quality that is characteristic of this line, you know exactly what to expect. And that makes it feel like noticeably more gun for the money ($449) than my Ruger LC9 ($429).
Both of these guns fit my Gibson Les Paul-sized hands so well -- so if you have Fender Stratocaster-sized hands, you might find it a bit cramped -- and they're both about the same thickness. But the LC9 has a slightly shorter barrel, a slightly shorter grip, slightly smoother edges, and feels just a little more streamlined than the Shield, which is just a tad blockier by comparison, but not as chunky as, say, a Glock or a Beretta.
Because of that, I give the LC9 the definite edge for pocket conceal-carry, whereas I don't think the Shield can quite fit for pocket duty. However, it is quite conceal-capable.
(Speaking of Beretta, I drove by their manufacturing facility in Accokeek, MD, on the way home, waved and said hello, then said: "I'd like to support you as a local gunmaker in Maryland, but you're just not up to Smith & Wesson's standards as far as I'm concerned. Sorry." Not hatin'. Just sayin'.)
The Shield came with two -- count 'em, TWO -- magazines (a seven-round and an eight-round), whereas the LC9 came with only one (a seven). And the LC9 extended mag grip only extends the grip, not the capacity of the mag itself, so you're still stuck with seven rounds, versus the Shield, which gives you one precious more round. I don't know if Ruger makes a larger capacity mag.
And the Shield extended mag feels so much more substantial than the LC9 extended grip -- because it is. The Ruger extension is just an extra lip at the bottom front of the mag, whereas the Shield's extended mag extends far enough to give you that extra round, and a much fuller, more substantial grip in the process.
The stippling on the grip of the Shield is more shooter-friendly than that of the LC9, which is too aggressive for a lot of people. Because of that, I think you can spend more time at the range with the Shield without complaint in that regard than with the LC9.
And if you think Ruger went overboard by engineering in too many safeties with the LC9, you'll be pleased with the alternative approach found in the Shield.
The LC9 has four safeties and the Shield has one. The LC9 has a loaded chamber indicator, a right-hand thumb safety, won't fire without a mag inserted, and has a dreadfully long trigger pull. The Shield only has a RH thumb safety, which I found just as easy to put on as to take off, and much easier to put on than that of the LC9. I don't have to rearrange the Shield in my hand at all to manipulate the safety back on with my thumb, but I do have to do that with the LC9. And the Shield will -- repeat, WILL -- fire without a mag.
Finally, what you've all be waiting for: how the hell does it shoot? As smooth and sweet as Michael Jordan. The trigger pull of the Shield seems just like it should be, and is worlds apart from that of the LC9, and that probably goes a long way in the Shield shooting right where I aim it. And with the Shield being an M&P, you definitely know you're shooting a 9 mm. Only you don't have to look at the target and ask, where the hell did I shoot?
And the reset seems great too, although with all the shooting going on at the range today, it was hard for me to tell just how audible it might be. It's my understanding that this trigger on the Shield is the best available for the entire M&P line, and that S&W plans to upgrade all M&Ps going forward with the new trigger. Sweet! You heard it first here!
The LC9 has decent sights, but the Shield's are probably twice the size and that much better. Some people upgrade with the XDS, and I noticed that Crimson Trace just came out with a laser for the Shield; they want $219 for it, I think. Seems a bit much, IMVHO.
I put 100 rounds of Winchester 115 grain downrange and another 100 of 147 gr; had no problem with either and didn't seem to notice any real difference. But take that last part with a grain of salt since I'm still such a noob. If there hadn't been such a crowd of others waiting to shoot, I could have stayed all day shooting.
So overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase; can't conjure up a single complaint; I'm glad I pushed and probed and prodded around until I could find a Shield in 9 mm, and was happy to drive two hours to the first gun shop within my "territory" that was able to get one. I got their first Shield -- nice!
Now I'll be deciding whether to keep the LC9. If I had a conceal carry permit, I'd definitely go with the Shield as the primary carry, and the LC9 as the backup. I've been carrying the LC9 in my pocket at home, just to get used to carrying in the very limited way I can right now in the People's Republik of Maryland, and I've loved having it on me. Hopefully, Maryland will get with the program already and embrace the 2nd Amendment before too much longer.
In the meantime, I'll be debating. I might just keep pocket carrying the LC9 with the shorter mag, and keep the extended mag Shield 9 mm in my nightstand. That one extra round and longer mag makes a big difference in how the Shield feels in my hand. Definitely feels full-on M&P. If you've got an M&P, you know what I mean. The next time I take it shooting, I'll see if I'm any more accurate with the extended mag.
Pictures are up next...
My new Shield is a dream. First off, this is a true Smith & Wesson M&P. If you're familiar with that level of military and professional-grade quality that is characteristic of this line, you know exactly what to expect. And that makes it feel like noticeably more gun for the money ($449) than my Ruger LC9 ($429).
Both of these guns fit my Gibson Les Paul-sized hands so well -- so if you have Fender Stratocaster-sized hands, you might find it a bit cramped -- and they're both about the same thickness. But the LC9 has a slightly shorter barrel, a slightly shorter grip, slightly smoother edges, and feels just a little more streamlined than the Shield, which is just a tad blockier by comparison, but not as chunky as, say, a Glock or a Beretta.
Because of that, I give the LC9 the definite edge for pocket conceal-carry, whereas I don't think the Shield can quite fit for pocket duty. However, it is quite conceal-capable.
(Speaking of Beretta, I drove by their manufacturing facility in Accokeek, MD, on the way home, waved and said hello, then said: "I'd like to support you as a local gunmaker in Maryland, but you're just not up to Smith & Wesson's standards as far as I'm concerned. Sorry." Not hatin'. Just sayin'.)
The Shield came with two -- count 'em, TWO -- magazines (a seven-round and an eight-round), whereas the LC9 came with only one (a seven). And the LC9 extended mag grip only extends the grip, not the capacity of the mag itself, so you're still stuck with seven rounds, versus the Shield, which gives you one precious more round. I don't know if Ruger makes a larger capacity mag.
And the Shield extended mag feels so much more substantial than the LC9 extended grip -- because it is. The Ruger extension is just an extra lip at the bottom front of the mag, whereas the Shield's extended mag extends far enough to give you that extra round, and a much fuller, more substantial grip in the process.
The stippling on the grip of the Shield is more shooter-friendly than that of the LC9, which is too aggressive for a lot of people. Because of that, I think you can spend more time at the range with the Shield without complaint in that regard than with the LC9.
And if you think Ruger went overboard by engineering in too many safeties with the LC9, you'll be pleased with the alternative approach found in the Shield.
The LC9 has four safeties and the Shield has one. The LC9 has a loaded chamber indicator, a right-hand thumb safety, won't fire without a mag inserted, and has a dreadfully long trigger pull. The Shield only has a RH thumb safety, which I found just as easy to put on as to take off, and much easier to put on than that of the LC9. I don't have to rearrange the Shield in my hand at all to manipulate the safety back on with my thumb, but I do have to do that with the LC9. And the Shield will -- repeat, WILL -- fire without a mag.
Finally, what you've all be waiting for: how the hell does it shoot? As smooth and sweet as Michael Jordan. The trigger pull of the Shield seems just like it should be, and is worlds apart from that of the LC9, and that probably goes a long way in the Shield shooting right where I aim it. And with the Shield being an M&P, you definitely know you're shooting a 9 mm. Only you don't have to look at the target and ask, where the hell did I shoot?
And the reset seems great too, although with all the shooting going on at the range today, it was hard for me to tell just how audible it might be. It's my understanding that this trigger on the Shield is the best available for the entire M&P line, and that S&W plans to upgrade all M&Ps going forward with the new trigger. Sweet! You heard it first here!
The LC9 has decent sights, but the Shield's are probably twice the size and that much better. Some people upgrade with the XDS, and I noticed that Crimson Trace just came out with a laser for the Shield; they want $219 for it, I think. Seems a bit much, IMVHO.
I put 100 rounds of Winchester 115 grain downrange and another 100 of 147 gr; had no problem with either and didn't seem to notice any real difference. But take that last part with a grain of salt since I'm still such a noob. If there hadn't been such a crowd of others waiting to shoot, I could have stayed all day shooting.
So overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase; can't conjure up a single complaint; I'm glad I pushed and probed and prodded around until I could find a Shield in 9 mm, and was happy to drive two hours to the first gun shop within my "territory" that was able to get one. I got their first Shield -- nice!
Now I'll be deciding whether to keep the LC9. If I had a conceal carry permit, I'd definitely go with the Shield as the primary carry, and the LC9 as the backup. I've been carrying the LC9 in my pocket at home, just to get used to carrying in the very limited way I can right now in the People's Republik of Maryland, and I've loved having it on me. Hopefully, Maryland will get with the program already and embrace the 2nd Amendment before too much longer.
In the meantime, I'll be debating. I might just keep pocket carrying the LC9 with the shorter mag, and keep the extended mag Shield 9 mm in my nightstand. That one extra round and longer mag makes a big difference in how the Shield feels in my hand. Definitely feels full-on M&P. If you've got an M&P, you know what I mean. The next time I take it shooting, I'll see if I'm any more accurate with the extended mag.
Pictures are up next...
It's very accurate, especially for such a small package, seems to shoot as well as my M&P Pro. The LC9 is a tad smaller and lighter, but it shoots like garbage in comparison. If I wasn't so averse to selling my firearms, i would get rid of the ruger. 
