Handled the new Shield Plus today...

Stopped by the LGS and was pleasantly surprised to find Lil' Gun and Trail Boss powder available.

Was also surprised to see the brand new S&W Shield Plus 9mm on the shelf...

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This is supposedly S&W's answer to the Hellcat and P365 and holds 13 rounds of 9mm.

Along with the increased capacity, it has a groundbreaking trigger for S&W, which is sort of an Apex rip-off flat trigger. Whatever it is, it is very nice with I would guess about 4.75 or 5 lbs weight. It feels about half a pound lighter than the P365 I handled alongside of it.

I asked to see the model with the manual safety, to accurately compare it to my P365 with a manual safety.

The Shield Plus feels great in the hand and is the same height as the P365 with a 12-round magazine inserted. However, with the 10-round magazine inserted in both the Shield and the P365, the Shield is taller. It is also longer by about 3/8" as well, so the P365 is superior as far as overall size is concerned. The P365 also comes standard with night sights, while the Shield only has 3-dot sights.

However, the worst part of this new pistol were the controls. I could not release the slide of the Shield using the lever. Too stiff. Likewise, the safety was completely useless. Not only was it poorly placed and too small, it was so stiff that I had to completely change my grip and struggle to get it to come off.

Perhaps the controls will loosen up with use, but I would not carry this gun in it's current condition.

Price on the new Shield was $509, while the P365, with night sights, was $499.

I was in no way tempted to buy this pistol, but I'm sure the S&W fanboys will love it.

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Thanks for the write up, I've wondered about it and not taken the time to track one down

Thanks that was a good comparison . I did not know they had a higher capacity shield .
I like the shield and the p365 . For me P365 will work in most of my pockets a shield would not .
But I don't like pocket carry except as a last resort and if I belt carry IWB or OWB I prefer a 45 so usually an SA XDE . And I do like the safety better on the P365 than the Shield . Both very good small pistols IMHO. :)

Luv my M&P 45c but not the 9 shields. Surprisingly like the 380 ez shield which i got for my gf to use and became my pocket carry when she got a Kimber Micro 380. Tried a Sig and now a Sig nut. Just tossing out different perspectives. I dont use safeties on carry guns.

I think the tiny manual safety lever is to satisfy legal requirements in some places. It doesn't seem designed for actual use.

Not sure where you can find a $499 Sig 365, but there aren't any places near where I live. I wish there was.

The shops around here the P365 are marked $530 to $550 the one I have ( safety model ) with standard night sights , was $539 or $549. with 3 12 round mags and a plastic holster .

Looks pretty nice, too bad it's only a 9mm.

I've got the original Shield in .45 ACP. Actually bought 4, two 9's and 2 45's when there was a very good rebate on them. Kept one of the .45's and gave the rest to sons and grandson. I really like the Shield .45. I don't think that it can be improved to the point that I would buy the "improved" version, but, I can see how, if someone is looking for a good small carry gun, that the Plus with its increased round capacity would be very attractive.

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Originally Posted by alamogunr

I've got the original Shield in .45 ACP. Actually bought 4, two 9's and 2 45's when there was a very good rebate on them. Kept one of the .45's and gave the rest to sons and grandson. I really like the Shield .45. I don't think that it can be improved to the point that I would buy the "improved" version, but, I can see how, if someone is looking for a good small carry gun, that the Plus with its increased round capacity would be very attractive.

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Yup , a buddy had a shield 45 one of the best shooting small 45s I have shot . He regrets selling it.
If you like hammer guns the SA 45 XDE is as good in a hammer gun. I find them both easy to shoot well.

The original model of Shield, in my opinion, is perfect for a carry gun. Narrow, small, holds enough ammo in its single stack magazine. And my bony thumb works the thumb safety just fine. The slide release does take a firm push, but it's not a race gun so no worries there. Again, just my opinion. I've never liked any double stack magazine pistol very much.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by FergusonTO35

I think the tiny manual safety lever is to satisfy legal requirements in some places. It doesn't seem designed for actual use.

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I had an original Shield in .40 with the safety. I intended to carry it safety off. That was all fine and dandy until I pulled it out one day and the safety had been applied. I found a youtube video on how to disable the safety and did so later that evening.

I just bought one two days ago I got the performance center with crimson trace sight but have not put it on yet. I actually rather use the regular sights probably should of saved some money but I will try it later. Shot it yesterday with four different brands of ammo all worked good with the exception of wolf ammo good primer strikes but no boom on about half of a magazine. All my hand loads worked great even the hollow point stuff. Accuracy was excellent and the pistol is very reliable at least the one I have. I have a leather high ride belt holster that it fits into perfectly and I am already carrying it as my EDC and have no qualms about that yes some of the operation of it is a little bit stiff like the slide release but after I fired it about 200 rounds the gun seem to be breaking in real well I fired about 300 rounds yesterday and the only problem was the stiff primers on the Russian ammo all the other ammo like I say worked great.