S&W Shield .45

[kooz]

Just curious how many S&W Shield .45 users we have here and what do you think of the gun for CCW ?

[firesubie]

I've been carrying one for a couple of years now. Initially, I was a little wary of the short barrel and wanted the 4" version. But Bud's was out of them in the Blue Dot department. So, I got the 3.3" with night sights and have no regrets. It carries very easily, is incredibly accurate for me (and I'm a terrible shot), and I've not had a single malfunction of any kind. I carry it with Hornady Critical Duty 220 grain. It also fits in the same holster as my Shield Plus in 9mm. Couple of things that could be considered as a con: the grip texture is pretty aggressive and ammo capacity is somewhat limited (6+1,7+1). The grip texture is fine for shooting but it wears a hole in my fatback if I don't have a t-shirt between it and my skin. I added a set of Talon grip tapes in Standard grip and solved that problem. I don't carry it daily but I carry something daily. Most of the time it's my LCR 327 or Ruger LCP max. I carry the Shield Plus to church quite a bit because it has the 4" barrel and holds 13+1, because a person could encounter a longer shot, and occasionally I carry 2 weapons.
You never really know what you'll encounter in the crazy world in which we live today.

[kooz]

I have the same gun on the way , 3.3" w/night sights . Have you by chance chrono'd any ammo in the 3.3" ?

[firesubie]

No, not yet. I keep forgetting to take the chronograph with me. I have several loads I need to test of all the calibers I load for. I'll certainly test the Shield 45 vs 5" 1911 and send you the results.

[junebug]

I really like mine and as firesubie said never a hiccup, hang up, or stoppage of any kind. It is a soft shooting gun. I met a lady at the range having trouble staying on the paper man silhouette target with her Tarus 9mm. Asker her if she wanted to try a different gun but did not tell her the caliber. I watch the person shooting not the target, and a big ole smile lit up her face. She shot two mags into a fist sized group, where with hers she couldn't stay on the silhouette. When told it was a 45 instead of a 9mm she was surprised . Her reply was I love that gun.

[kooz]

I will also do some testing when I get it this week and post the results. I would like to see how fast I can get a 200gr SWC moving out of it

[AxeHandle]

Had one on the range for a few years. Tough, reliable, and trouble free.

[lassiter]

I've carried one since, I think, 2018. Small enough to conceal easily enough and heavy enough to be easy to control.
I love it!

[kooz]

Did a little shooting over the chrono today . All of this ammo was easy shooting in the shield, even the 255gr Underwood . The 185gr+P rem g-sabers were the snappiest , but still no big deal . I had some 200gr LEE lead SWC lite target loads that were loaded with a 452AA that were right at 800fps, VERY soft shooting . I believe that the 200gr SWC bullet could be pushed easily at around 1000fps with a different powder , no problem . Will do another session soon with some handloads . Was really surprised how easy shooting the Sheild was with all the ammo I tried, it shot softer than some 1911's I've had and definitely better than anything commander sized .

Nosler ASP 185gr JHP avg -887fps
Hornady crit def 185gr FTX avg -918fps
Rem golden saber 185gr+P avg -1076fps
Atomic 185gr+P avg -1064
Underwood 255gr+P avg -860fps

[x101airborne]

Isn't it interesting how chronograph data can enlighten a person? I am amazed the Underwood 255 +P ran almost as fast as the Nosler 185 load. Then to see the +P versions of the same weight bullet offer around 100 fps faster. I would have thought 50 fps or so but 100 fps is quite an increase. I need to get back to using mine more.

[kooz]

Yup, not the results I was expecting. I really thought that the heavy bullet would slow way down out of that short barrel . I have some 230+p stuff that I am going to test next along with some cast bullet loads that I put together.