Whatever Happened to the S&W Shield?

[Acmemfg]

Not all that long ago the Smith & Wesson Shield (offered in 9mm, .40, and later .45) was the #1 selling self defense/EDC pistol out there. Why not? Light, very concealable, easy to shoot, reliable, affordable...what's not to like?
Then it seemed to just drop off the grid, without even a whimper. S&W came back a tad later with a silly .380 kind of version of the Shield. Didn't fly too well.
So much talk about malfunction riddled SIGs and the mix and match Glocks...frame here-slide there...what's up with the well thought out Shields? Where are they hiding?

 

[Lightcs1776]

They seem to sell well around here. My oldest son is looking at them. They are pretty tough to beat for the money.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Claudel Xerxes]

I've almost bought a Shield a number of times. They're just so darn affordable that I wouldn't mind having one incase something happens to my P365 and I need deeper concealment than my VP9SK is capable of.

I think the Shield got knocked aside by the Sig P365. With the P365 being lighter, shorter, having night sights, and having a higher mag capacity, the only real advantage of the Shield is the price.

 

[poorboy]

Have been seriously considering a Shield. Maybe I need to take another look at the P365...

 

[OkieStubble]

The Shield is an awesome pistol. Where can a person find that kind of top notch quality and reliability which can and does, stack up against any other popular pistol of any other name. And for that incredible price? In my opinion, I think the main reason the Shield is over looked by some/many is because S&W is much more quiet and subdued in it's marketing prowess for the Shield against the other big names we speak of.

I see a Glock ad or Sig brochure, everytime I turn around. The only time I see anything on a S&W, is when I'm at the gun store and see an actual Shield pistol in the glass gun case. One of the most accurate combat pistols I have had the experience to shoot, was a full size M&P .45 ACP. It was a huge, brick of a gun, but I could drive roofing nails into 3/4 inch plywood at 20 yards with it. And I am not kidding.

 

[Ad Astra]

Aesthetics, perhaps.

One of the Smith autos I played with had a complicated takedown, supposedly to get around Glock patents.

AA

 

[FarmerTan]

My friend has one in 9mm. Nice gun. He also has a Canik, I think it's called. Like it even better. Turkish I believe. Not real helpful am I?

If I weren't a revolver guy. I could see me going with the Shield tho. But I'd probably just save up a little longer and go the P365 route. And then my wife would steal it and I'd be back to my revolvers. Sigh. I can't win.

 

[HatMagnet]

The Shield hasn't gone anywhere. They are still hot sellers and probably will be for quite a while.

I bought one for my daughter not long ago and she loves it.

 

[bberg100]

Selling Shields 2:1 for any othe pocket rocket, including P365 (which we have 9 on hand and zero interest now that the XL is available, and have sold zero of the XL)

SW is the only one certifying armorers at the retail level. I'm certified and can fix/replace worn parts at no cost, no hassle for customers.

 

[FarmerTan]

The Shield hasn't gone anywhere. They are still hot sellers and probably will be for quite a while.

I bought one for my daughter not long ago and she loves it.

What do you/she think of racking the slide to chamber a round? My wife is not the best at it with her hands getting a bit arthritic.

 

[shoelessjoe]

What do you/she think of racking the slide to chamber a round? My wife is not the best at it with her hands getting a bit arthritic.

Farmer, my wife carries a S&W Shield & she has become quite proficient with it. Initially, she wrestled with the pistol when it came to racking the slide. After I showed her this video, her struggles ended:

 

[HatMagnet]

What do you/she think of racking the slide to chamber a round? My wife is not the best at it with her hands getting a bit arthritic.

She had to try it a couple of times to get the hang of it but had no problems after that. Her's is the version with a safety so a round is always chambered and ready to go.

I wish the 9mm was available in the EZ slide model or whatever they call the .380, It would be great for a lot of people.

 

[FarmerTan]

Farmer, my wife carries a S&W Shield & she has become quite proficient with it. Initially, she wrestled with the pistol when it came to racking the slide. After I showed her this video, her struggles ended:

Thanks. I will definitely show her this.

She had to try it a couple of times to get the hang of it but had no problems after that. Her's is the version with a safety so a round is always chambered and ready to go.

I wish the 9mm was available in the EZ slide model or whatever they call the .380, It would be great for a lot of people.

Yeah, she's actually a better shot than I am with just about anything I have, so I hate that she doesn't shoot more. My son always laughs at the fact that she is so much better than me with a 22 rifle. But I can still shoot circles around her with a revolver. It's my only chance if she decides to start the war...... There's a reason I call her the War Department!

 

[rotto66]

Selling Shields 2:1 for any othe pocket rocket, including P365.

With the prices some places online are selling the original Shields (not the 2.0) you can just about get 2 of them for the price of 1 P365

 

[catchacoolbreeze]

They shouldn't be hiding because they are awesome in the single stack 9mm category!

 

[Wishoot]

I've seen the Shield 9mm (awesome little pistol BTW...) selling for $250 ish at PSA. They're still out there and still selling.

A Shield in 45 ACP is in my future.