The rumors are true: Smith & Wesson released the new M&P Shield this morning at 0900 Pacific time, and we have a hands on first look at the gun. The Smith & Wesson M&P Shield is a single stack handgun built around the M&P design philosophy and initially chambered in 9mm. A .40 S&W version will be available, however we tested the 9mm version. First, let’s talk about the statistics – cold hard numbers on the gun.
Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 7+1 with flush fitting magazine, 8+1 with extended magazine
Barrel length: 3.1 inches
OAL: less than 6 inches
Widest point: 0.98 inches
Manual safety
Now, those are all the numbers, but the real question is “how does it shoot?” The answer to that is “very well.” I put about 500 rounds through mine over the course of two days, and I was really impressed with how it handled. In the past I’ve not been a big fan of these single-stack 9mm guns, usually because the execution has been off. The M&P Shield nails the execution, getting the details that a sub-compact 9mm should have right.
Speaking of details, let’s talk about the trigger. Everyone complains about the M&P trigger’s lack of a distinct reset point, and while it never bothered me that much with my Pro Series guns, it’s enough of an issue that S&W went ahead and addressed it. The new M&P Shield has a new trigger, which ads a very positive and distinct reset point to the gun making the trigger feel much more like a well tuned Glock trigger. The boffins said that out of the box the trigger would weigh in around 6.5 lbs, and I’d estimate mine felt about like that. The gun does have a manual safety, which I’m not a huge fan of, but for IWB carry you can basically ignore it. I tried my damnedest to make it activate on accident and I couldn’t. S&W recommends that the Shield be carried in a holster and not as a pocket gun, unless you have large pockets. The form factor makes it nice for discreet carry in non-permissive environments.
But enough with that, because you want to know how it shoots. To tell the truth, it shoots awesome. I came in to the T&E process expecting to not like the gun, because I’ve not been impressed with other guns in its class such as the LC9. The M&P Shield was the complete opposite of that. Not only was it relatively easy to shoot, it was very accurate. At 25 yards I was able to hold around 4 inches from a standing two handed hold. It punches way above its weight class in terms of shootability. With the 7 round flush magazine inserted, I was just barely to get an entire hand on it, and with the 8 round extended mag inserted I had plenty of real-estate to hold on to to shoot the gun quickly. We ran the guns through several different drills, including some close range bill drills, longer range accuracy stuff, and even some shooting on the move. My personal gun kept running despite being plucked from the production line and handed to me with no intervening lubrication, or “going over” by S&W. One note: in order to keep the form factor under an inch, S&W had to do away with the interchangable backstraps that are a hallmark of the M&P line. For a small gun like this, it’s really not a big deal.
We’ll actually be shooting the new M&P Shield through a series of tests and challenges in the next few weeks. Now that I’ve had a turn with it, Shelley Rae will get her hands on the gun and give you her thoughts on it next week. Friday we’ll have some video on the new pistol going up.
My final thoughts on the new gun? This is a homerun for S&W. I am not a big fan of small, single-stack 9mm guns, but the new M&P Shield made a believer out of me. I predict that our sample gun is going to be fought over hardcore in the office as to who’s going to be carrying it.
