What is the Shield ??
It is a single (well slightly staggered) stack sub-compact version of the ever so popular M&P pistol. This very concealable pistol is available in either 9mm or 40S&W caliber with the 40 caliber model just losing a single round in capacity. One reason people like it is the manual of arms is the same as it’s bigger brothers, so if you carry a M&P your training curve with the Shield is very short.
The thinness of this pistol is what makes it so marketable, coming in at .95 of an inch this is a substantial savings compared to the standard width M&P’s at 1.2in. This makes it very comfortable to carry inside the waistband, which is the easiest way to conceal a handgun.
Build Quality:
Is being thin enough ? Over all the Shield is an extremely well built, as are all of the M&P line of pistols. I have owned 2 of the full size variants and this little one is just as strong as the bigger relatives. One thing I did notice out of the box is that the Shield is very tall for a subcompact firearm, with an overall height of 4.6in the closet of it’s cousins the Compact reaching just 4.3 inches. So it does really look tall when looking down the sights.
Weight wise the Shield tips the scales at 19.0 ounces with the M&P9C coming in at just 21.7, full size M&P 9 is 24.0 not a heavy weight by any means. Where the weight starts to skyrocket is when you load those double stack magazine with ammo.
So with that being said “Is being thin enough” that is what I intend to find out over the next few months as I use this pistol. This will fill the role of summer carry gun once I determine that it will be reliable with my preferred carry ammo. The mode of carry will be IWB both traditional, appendix and OWB. All holsters will be made of kydex to keep weight and thickness to a minimum.
I want to do some ammo testing with the emphasis being on both reliability and performance (JHP). Also want to run an extended endurance test, with 500-700 rounds thru it in a single afternoon. If there are any other tests you would like to see please let me know and I will try to make them happen. If there is a particular ammo you would like to see I will be happy to test any ammo supplied.
Keep tuned for some Shield related gear in future articles.
allthingstactical 