Went to the Nation's Gun Show today and managed to score the only S&W M&P Shield any vendor had. In fact, as I was walking out, I had multiple vendors offer to buy the Shield from me. I have a second Shield showing up Monday or Tuesday.
Fiancée bought her first gun belt, two holsters, and a magazine holder; she also joined the NRA. We'll both be carrying the same single stack.
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
-Winston Churchill
I entered the show at 3:05p, went to every vendor I saw and asked for a Shield, all said no. I bought a XDS. In retrospect, it was probably a better decision for me.
tursiops: Man, I was tempted to add the XDS to my bill, but practiced some self discipline. I may pick it up later....
The fiancée will be carrying a Shield when she becomes a Virginia resident and gets her CHL. Commonality of weapon sounds like a good idea to me. (Though I am sure I'll carry my double stack XDM and M&P plenty often.)
The fiancée (AKA Tess) and I took it to the range earlier today. Handles like a dream. Tess has small hands, and she can get a firm grip on the gun and reach the trigger just fine. I found that even with the smaller grip that it is not too small, as with many super compact 9mm pistols. We differ on recoil sensitivity - 50 rounds of +P in my Airweight is about my limit of fun; 5 rounds of regular .38 Special in that Airweight is her limit. With that scale in mind, we both thought the gun was very easy to control, shooting 115gr, 124gr, and a magazine of SD ammo. The gun shoots where you point it. We shot at 5, 7, and 10 yards and it was spot on. Sights are very visible.
The trigger of the Shield is one of the things a lot of M&P fans like, and I have to say it is quite nice. Very crisp break for a polymer gun with a nice reset. It is one of the things that Tess liked about the gun as well - superior in her mind to the Taurus Slim, Ruger SR9C, and my XDMs.
The gun disappears in both OWB and IWB holsters. Shorts and a t-shirt? No problem. It also fits into the pocket of my cargo shorts, which makes me wonder about carrying my Airweight....
I have a M&P Compact 9mm and the Shield doesn't fill the hand like the former, as expected. It only has 7+1 or 8+1 capacity, so if you're coming from a double-stack gun, you will probably want to carry an extra magazine. (No, I am not a 1911 guy.)
Found mine from a gunshop online using the S&W M&P forums. Had it in hand in 4-5 days. Paid $479 shipped, which is a little much, but I've been shooting it regularly instead of being 50 deep on the local waiting list.
