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Cant decide, small 9mm?

TomMontana said:
Do Shield owners use it at the range for training purposes or is it actually an enjoyable range gun?
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I enjoy shooting mine.. I usually shoot 50 to 100 rds when I shoot it... Do I enjoy shooting it at the range as much as I do my FS 9,40 or 45 M&P's.... hmmmm.. hell no!! But I enjoy shooting it. If 84 has a 45acp M&P... I have to say... it's one of the finest shooting 45 plastic guns on the market!! Bar none.. of course, IMHO.. and experience.

And when I talk about shooting my Shield.... I carry my 40 Shield, the 9 sits in the vault... so I shoot my 40 and love it!! This conversation has me jonesing for shooting my 1st M&P, my 40fs... I may have to take it out today, loved that gun.. if it wasn't for the Shield coming out, I'd still be carrying my M&P40C.... sheeeit... I'm going to have to take that to the range too...[smile]
 
TomMontana said:
Do Shield owners use it at the range for training purposes or is it actually an enjoyable range gun?
Click to expand...

My wife had one, it was a cute purse pistol, but one day she woke up and realized she may need more then 7 shots if she had to go to guns. She sold it after picking up a G26. New we both carry the same full size mags for spares.
 
jibbr71 said:
I get that, but most dudes say "I have to put a trigger in it to make it shoot well"....patently false. It will make it easier to shoot well, but a vanilla M&P will mechanically out shoot 90% of the people who buy it. It's not the gun's fault that the shooter can't keep them all on a paper plate at 15 yards.



I'm not awesome, I do not have awesomeness; I just learned how to shoot. No crutches, no fancy gizmos, just a set of clean and precise sights and a lot of ammo. I can sympathize with the plight of the 10lb trigger in your shitty state, and sometimes I don't take that into account when I rant on the "I don't want to actually train, but I want to shoot like Proctor" crowd. That being said, you can still work that trigger and shoot proficiently, but people want to blame the tool, not the handyman.

WRT the text that I made red....My point exactly. Could I benefit from a fire control work over in my favorite pistol? Probably. Could I benefit more from spending that money on ammo and just owning that bitch like a Yugo? Most certainly, so that's what I do.
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I understand your point. Shooting fundamentals > snazzy trigger jobs. I'm sure excellent shooters can punch through the same hole with a 20lb trigger, just not as easily.

My point though... I can cut a tomato with a dullish knife, but why would I want to if I can sharpen the blade?
 
edmorseiii said:
Yep. Although, I was being lazy this weekend and tucked it into my waist with her VG2 and loved it. It may spend more time in my shorts then hers this summer. [laugh]
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I should pay closer attention, as now I realize that you said that the other day...[thinking]

I've got a friend who's trying out some pistols for CC and to have in the office and that might work pretty well. Smaller than a 19, but still double stack, right? So she's not giving up all the capacity. Maybe sometime in a couple weeks I can kidnap it and she can try it out.
 
jibbr71 said:
I should pay closer attention, as now I realize that you said that the other day...[thinking]

I've got a friend who's trying out some pistols for CC and to have in the office and that might work pretty well. Smaller than a 19, but still double stack, right? So she's not giving up all the capacity. Maybe sometime in a couple weeks I can kidnap it and she can try it out.
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Yeah man, Glock 9mm mags. You go as small (10 rounds) or as long (33+) as you want. I will bring it with me next time we hit the range, which we should do sometime soon.
 
TomMontana said:
Do Shield owners use it at the range for training purposes or is it actually an enjoyable range gun?
Click to expand...

Can't speak for a nine but the 40 wasn't for me. even if the trigger was improved I wasn't going to spend the time needed to be proficient with it. may a nine would click with me but i have other nines i'd rather keep or look into over another shield. strictly preference.
 
jibbr71 said:
How about buy a shield, forget the god damn trigger and learn how to shoot it. I guaran-****ing-tee that if you give me a box stock shield, 200 rounds of ammo, and 2 hours, I'll out shoot each of you with fancy, "I can't run my gun so I'll try to buy good shooting" triggers.
How about this: Man up, learn your f-ing craft, and stop blaming the equipment for shitty technique.
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Calm down, tough guy. I just don't feel like a 10.5 pound trigger pull is comfortable in a pistol that small. To each their own.
 
M&P9c splits the difference between Shield & fullsize. Stock MA trigger was tolerable, but putting in an Apex DCAEK+RAM made *me* a better shooter. I carry it AND it's a fun range gun.

Comes w/ 3 sizes of palmswells to fit any hand.

Do any compact/subcompacts come with a DA/SA trigger? Most seem to be DAO.
 
TomMontana said:
Do Shield owners use it at the range for training purposes or is it actually an enjoyable range gun?
Click to expand...

I shoot it every trip, but i shoot it because i carry it (Apex & Night Sights)
It shoots Great, for the Size, but its just not the gun i am going to hand someone "to have Fun"
 
Last edited:
OP, only one I have of your choices is an m&p9, with an apex kit and night sites. You're more than welcome to shoot it should we be able to make it to a range together.

FWIW, I've never shot a free state version, but the difference once the apex is in and it has time to break in is night and day.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
[smile]Daaamn... this thread inspired me yesterday... spent 2 hrs at the range late yesterday with another member here... I broke out as many of my M&P's as I thought I could shoot... [smile] .... took all the 40taaaas.. the Shield, compact and FS... they were all still a blast to shoot... even brought my 45fs.. forgot how amazing a shooter that 45 is.. sorry, I didn't bring my Shield 9, but the 40 was still easy shooting and target acquisition for me. My friend brought his Shield 9 though so you was represented.. for 9's, my Vtac and 5" PC were just too easy to shoot... did all rapid shooting and from 25yds since we were on the rifle range and too many guys shooting rifles..

My vote still goes to the Shield or M&P9c if you want more capacity.. if you haven't shot one try that too..
 
turbo38gn said:
Not to pop anyones bubble here... but, if you just replace the sear on the Shield with the APEX sear, you have a trigger as good as any of these guns..... and the cost .... is about $40 for the sear. Replacing the striker block really isn't necessary. You don't have to replace the trigger either... so the reality is, 20 minutes of work anyone can do with a small hammer and a couple of punches...
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+1 on this, I did the same on my Shield 9 which I carry everyday. Did not do the full changeover. Trigger is 100% better. Believe it brought the weight down to about 5lbs. I also shoot my fathers LC9s when we head to the range, also a great gun for the price point.

10.25lbs on a small frame just feels awkward. But as mentioned any modifications are not to replace good fundamentals.
 
jibbr71 said:
How about buy a shield, forget the god damn trigger and learn how to shoot it. I guaran-****ing-tee that if you give me a box stock shield, 200 rounds of ammo, and 2 hours, I'll out shoot each of you with fancy, "I can't run my gun so I'll try to buy good shooting" triggers.
How about this: Man up, learn your f-ing craft, and stop blaming the equipment for shitty technique.
Click to expand...

Saying this is like saying......... dude why did you put that scope on your rifle, with enough practice you can hit that deer at 200 yards with your iron sights.

Why do any is us change out our factory pistol sights...... Because they freakin suck, we pick our upgrades based on what works for each of us, and what we are using it for.
 
My BIL has the S&W SHield 40 and likes it. He also has an older near full size S&W 9mm. Model 99 I think.
For subs, I like my wife's Walther CCP. Much lighter recoil behavior than other sub 9's. More like a 380 feel. Fixed barrel. SHoots very well.
 
one more suggestion you take a look at what kahr brings to the table with the cm9 - I've been on the fence between the cm9 and the cm45 for a few weeks now.
 
Lots of folks don't like Kahrs but I bought a CW9 used a couple of years ago and I really like it. In fact when I was looking for a pocket .380 I got a CW380 and love that one too. The used CW9 was like new with box and an extra mag. Price was around $320 I think. Maybe not a great price but seemed fair enough and I really like the gun. Trigger is not too heavy and although the pull is on the longer side it's very smooth and consistent. I wear size XL or XXL gloves and it feels very comfy to me. I'm just an ok shot, need more practice in general with all of my pistols but I shoot the CW9 pretty well.
 
I looked at 3 different used Kahrs at Four Seasons, and all three had the gap between the frame and slide different from one end of the gun to the other - it seemed kind of crappy and turned me off. Probably doesn't affect function, it just seemed odd in an expensive gun.
 
TomMontana said:
Do Shield owners use it at the range for training purposes or is it actually an enjoyable range gun?
Click to expand...
Had a shield replaced it with a Glock 43.... they are carry guns not range guns.

As usual I recommend trying before buying. I would go to Mass Firearms School in Holliston and try some guns. THey have both a Ruger LC9S and SR9C in their rental armory which are guns in your price range that I would recommend. THere are Sigs I would recommend but above your price range. American Firearms School in Attleboro also has guns to rent however I have been unable to locate their inventory after stumbling around their website for 10 minutes (took me 15 seconds to find MFS inventory!).
 
84ta406 said:
Looking for a small 9mm pistol. Keeping it pretty low budget, 400-450 seeing as its just going to be a range gun for the most part. I already have a 92FS and people I go shooting with love it, except for the size. I also have smallish hands so something with a better grip would be more fun to me.

So far I have it narrowed down to 3 pistols:

1.) Gen 1 Walther PPS, got rid of my .40 version and miss the gun, biggest downside for me is the trigger but thats just a disconnector swap away. To me the gun just felt smooth and ran like a sewing machine.

2.) M&P shield 9, was never a big fan of them but shot one recently and liked it. It was in NH so I imagine the trigger was much better but again, Apex kit and call it done.

3.) Steyr M9-A1, feels great, shoots great, not much downside aside from finding replacement parts if needed.

Im open to suggestions but thats what I have it down to for now.
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I have a 938 and a M&P 9c if you would like to try either of them. I know you live close to me. Let me know
 
"Fun" Gun - Pistol Rankings High to low (limited to guns I currently own or have owned in the past):
1) Ruger 2245 - four mags, a speed loader, and bulk pack = pure bliss....
2) Sig 226_9mm
3) Sig 229_9mm
4) G19
5) 1911 - AO_45acp
6) G26
7) shield (w/apex)
8) LC9s pro
9) PM9
10) Smith 642_38sp.

The "Practical list" meaning what I train with and what Id most like have on me during a crisis:
1) G26
2) LC9s
3) Shield
4) S 642
5) all others from the list above would fall into HD or range-toy bucket.
 

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