Had a great day at the range yesterday with a good friend. I selected a few things I thought would be fun for him to shoot: 1944 Springfield M1 Garand, self built .458 SOCOM AR, a self built 6.5 Creedmoor AR I just finished and registered Friday night, a G34, and my Colt Delta Elite 10mm. I pocket carry my new G43, so that came along for the ride. I was pleasantly surprised that his stash included a M&P Shield and a Walther gen 1 PPS. Time for the impromptu 9mm single stack comparison!
These pistols have been compared ad nauseam, so I'll skip details and just give my summary in order of personal preference. Comparison via blowing through many boxes of 9mm at 15 yards with either Winchester or Remington ammo:
Visual appeal:--------1) Shield, 2) PPS, 3) G43
Ergonomics:----------1) Shield, 2) PPS, 3) G43
Weight:--------------1) G43, 2) PPS and Shield tied for 2nd
Controls / operating:--1) G43, 2) Shield, 3) PPS (goofy mag release...)
Trigger:--------------1) Shield*, 2) PPS & G43** tied for 2nd
Recoil management:--1) PPS, 2) Shield, 3) G43
Accuracy:-----------1) PPS, 2) G43, 3) Shield
Reliability:-----------1) G43 and Shield tied for 1st, 10) PPS
Concealment:--------1) G43, 3) Shield, 4) PPS
Value (as tested)----1) Shield, 2) PPS, 3) G43
Yes, I played with the ranking a bit to make a point or two.
*Shield had the Apex trigger
**G43 stock trigger group polished by me
What impressed me the most:
-The Walther PPS had laser-like accuracy for me. My friend was giving me crap about missing the target until the hole at dead center began to open up after continued shooting. Insanely accurate for me.
-The Shield with the Apex trigger by far had the best trigger. Others have said this and I'll repeat: Always get an Apex trigger for any M&P. Stock PPS trigger was similar to the G43, but I have polished the G43. I like my Glocks, but the stock triggers are so-so to crap. If all three were stock, the PPS would have had the best trigger.
-Though on paper the numbers are not hugely different, the G43 is by far the best for concealment. Thinner, lighter, more compact, smoother profile. It gives up 1 round capacity vs. the other two, but I don't care. I bought mine for summer pocket carry and it fits that purpose much better than the PPS and Shield. All are OK, but the G43 stands out IMHO...
Overall surprise of the day was how much I liked the M&P Shield. I have been jonesing for a PPS M2 and might have bought one instead of the G43 if I could have sourced one in Mass. Glocks are easy if you know the secret handshake . Now I want the Shield with the Apex trigger of course. I like it that much. Wish the accuracy was a little better, but it was adequate at 15 yards and would be more than enough for 7 yard self defense purposes.
The PPS had some light primer strikes and the only failures of the day. Walthers aren't known for reliability issues & I don't yet know the cause of the issue. My G34 gave me fits before break-in and custom trigger job, though the G43 has been 100% reliable.
My personal summary? Any one of these would make a great 9mm single-stack CCW. I don't see any particular reason to avoid any of them, unless the lever-type mag release on the Walther bugs you. The M2 fixes that. Mrs. Mountain needs a CCW in this category, and I hope she prefers the Shield or perhaps the PPS M2 once available in the PRM. That way I'll only have to buy one of the other two I don't already have. edit- Glocks are homely, so my money is on the Shield or PPS.
These pistols have been compared ad nauseam, so I'll skip details and just give my summary in order of personal preference. Comparison via blowing through many boxes of 9mm at 15 yards with either Winchester or Remington ammo:
Visual appeal:--------1) Shield, 2) PPS, 3) G43
Ergonomics:----------1) Shield, 2) PPS, 3) G43
Weight:--------------1) G43, 2) PPS and Shield tied for 2nd
Controls / operating:--1) G43, 2) Shield, 3) PPS (goofy mag release...)
Trigger:--------------1) Shield*, 2) PPS & G43** tied for 2nd
Recoil management:--1) PPS, 2) Shield, 3) G43
Accuracy:-----------1) PPS, 2) G43, 3) Shield
Reliability:-----------1) G43 and Shield tied for 1st, 10) PPS
Concealment:--------1) G43, 3) Shield, 4) PPS
Value (as tested)----1) Shield, 2) PPS, 3) G43
Yes, I played with the ranking a bit to make a point or two.
*Shield had the Apex trigger
**G43 stock trigger group polished by me
What impressed me the most:
-The Walther PPS had laser-like accuracy for me. My friend was giving me crap about missing the target until the hole at dead center began to open up after continued shooting. Insanely accurate for me.
-The Shield with the Apex trigger by far had the best trigger. Others have said this and I'll repeat: Always get an Apex trigger for any M&P. Stock PPS trigger was similar to the G43, but I have polished the G43. I like my Glocks, but the stock triggers are so-so to crap. If all three were stock, the PPS would have had the best trigger.
-Though on paper the numbers are not hugely different, the G43 is by far the best for concealment. Thinner, lighter, more compact, smoother profile. It gives up 1 round capacity vs. the other two, but I don't care. I bought mine for summer pocket carry and it fits that purpose much better than the PPS and Shield. All are OK, but the G43 stands out IMHO...
Overall surprise of the day was how much I liked the M&P Shield. I have been jonesing for a PPS M2 and might have bought one instead of the G43 if I could have sourced one in Mass. Glocks are easy if you know the secret handshake . Now I want the Shield with the Apex trigger of course. I like it that much. Wish the accuracy was a little better, but it was adequate at 15 yards and would be more than enough for 7 yard self defense purposes.
The PPS had some light primer strikes and the only failures of the day. Walthers aren't known for reliability issues & I don't yet know the cause of the issue. My G34 gave me fits before break-in and custom trigger job, though the G43 has been 100% reliable.
My personal summary? Any one of these would make a great 9mm single-stack CCW. I don't see any particular reason to avoid any of them, unless the lever-type mag release on the Walther bugs you. The M2 fixes that. Mrs. Mountain needs a CCW in this category, and I hope she prefers the Shield or perhaps the PPS M2 once available in the PRM. That way I'll only have to buy one of the other two I don't already have. edit- Glocks are homely, so my money is on the Shield or PPS.
Last edited: