Bought one of the M&P Shield Plus 9MM pistols

[M1A4ME]

13+1, so near a CZ75 Compact of the metal framed models.

Night sights.

Optics ready.

Came with a 10 and a 13 round magazine (I remember when S&W's came with the 3 mags) so I bought a couple more.  Occurred to me later that I have exactly the right combination of rounds (magazines and 1 in the chamber) to completely empty a new 50 round box of ammo.  Yeah, I know, they sell 20 round boxes now.  Used to just be the .44 magnums that came in 20 round boxes.

Darn thing was pretty dirty.  Barrel looked like someone ran some lead bullets through it.  Dark, dark streaks in the grooves.  Lots of Hoppes #9, brushing (with a .40 caliber brush) and patches to get if clean enough to suit me.

Removed the optic cut cover and found the roll pin for the extractor was sticking up above the flat mounting surface.  Small tack hammer took care of that with a couple wacks.

I'd heard you couldn't use a small Holoson without some work and that's true.  The pistol has four pins sticking up and the Holoson has 2 holes in front of the screws and none behind them.  Those rear pins are gone.  Their is some interference between the front holes in the bottom of the sight and the front pins as they sight will not sit flat in the cut.  I'll figure that out later.

Some good news is the Plus is a perfect fit for the IWB holster I use for the regular Shield.  And the fatter magazine still fits in the mag. pouch on the front of the holster.  All that will work just fine.

Rumor on the internet is the Plus models shoot just as good as the regular Shields.  I can live with that.  The regular Shields like the same 115 grain hollow point loads all my CZ9MM pistols shoot so well.  Hopefully the Plus will do well with them, too.

Loaded up the Plus, the SIG 2022 and the M&P 1.0 5" PC 9MM this morning to drive to the range and calm my nerves.  Didn't work out.  Just south of Richmond I95 was stop and go traffic across three lanes.  When I got up to the exit right before the bridge over the James River I got off, turned around and head back to the house.  Maybe I can sight it in/shoot it some this weekend.

You can see the shadow from the end table lamp "below" the tip of the roll pin.



You can see the light under the front of the Holoson.  I'll take another look at it next week and do some pin diameter and hold diameter measuring (and hole depth.)



Lock up between the barrel and slide is non-existent as compared to a good CZ.  But the slide release is really hard to move to the take down position or back to the run position.  I have to use the base of a magazine to push that sucker past the half way point to remove the slide.

Not a CZ, I know.  But it has a thumb safety and if I'm going to carry it, I want a thumb safety.

[Tanners Owner]

Congrats- I considered one, but decided on. a Sig P320c in 45 ACP.

Just did the paperwork today, now the wait begins for the state to confirm I’m a good guy

[M1A4ME]

How long does it usually take?

Down here it's called "instant" background check.  This one took maybe 10 minutes (federal went through first time and I had to do a second state form as the first one got rejected - electronic filing and the store told me they've been having a lot of problems with the VA State Police and that new on line filing system.)

Years ago I had one take 3 days.  Three days for an "instant" background check was a bit long.

[Tanners Owner]

Used to be near instant with a CCW permit.  Recently, they changed the law with no exception for CCW holders.  bleep frustrating, but it is what it is.

The wait varies, depending on how fast the County Sheriff does the check.  Have had it be as fast as 4 days, or as long as 14…… depending on county I buy it in.

[sevt_chevelle]

Chps makes a very thin plate for that.
That way you ain't cutting up a new gun

[Crazy8]

Not to insult the M&P, since I never shot one, but I overheard the owner of the LGS say that shields are for ppl who can’t afford glocks. But I’m in a commie state where glocks go for a premium and M&P’s have 10lb triggers. My friend’s shield had so many problems it went back to S&W 3 times before it functioned right.

[Tanners Owner]

Not to insult the M&P, since I never shot one, but I overheard the owner of the LGS say that shields are for ppl who can’t afford glocks. But I’m in a commie state where glocks go for a premium and M&P’s have 10lb triggers. My friend’s shield had so many problems it went back to S&W 3 times before it functioned right.

I have a M&P v1 and had a 1st Gen shield.  Both guns were reliable and accurate.  No longer have the shield as someone wanted it much more than I did at the time.  Still have the M&P.  I prefer the S&W’s ergos to that of the Glock by a wide margin.  No denigrating Glocks by any means, ( owned a few ) just found the grip angle didn’t work for me.

That’s why I mentioned earlier I considered a shield plus.  Also considered a CSX.

That said, my preferred polymer striker guns now a days are the SIg P320 and the CZ P10.  They simply work for me.

[M1A4ME]

I've not had good luck with buying accurate M&Ps.  But that's the full sized guns.  The two regular Shield 9MM pistols we have will shoot better groups than any of my full sized 9MM, .357 SIG or .40 S&W M&Ps.  I keep reading, on the internet, it's a design issue with the barrel set up.

I also agree that the ergos on the M&P pistols are awesome. 

And the accuracy is no worse than an Glock, so with the M&P I get a pistol that shoots less than satisfactory groups but feels great in my hand.  The Glock, on the other had gives me poor groups and feels like a chunk of wood in my hand.

The Apex triggers, for the 2.0 M&Ps are absolutely awesome.  Can't describe it and make you understand.  You'd have to shoot one to understand it.  The one I put in the 2.0 9MM 5" FDE started at 3.0 lbs. with no creep before it releases the striker and on reset, when you hear/feel the click of the sear resetting you stop forward trigger/finger movement and pull to the rear and it goes bang again.  With some pistols, by the time you hear/feel the sear reset the trigger has to be pulled back a good ways to fire the next shot.

An Apex barrel also improved that M&P.

I looked at/considered a Compact M&P 9MM of the OR variety.  Combination of the ergos, the ambidextrous thumb safeties and ready to mount a red dot, but by the time I buy an Apex barrel I'd have another $200 in it.  The Shield Plus has a (so far unproven by me) reputation of being as accurate as the original 9MM Shield pistols, which I'm really hoping for.  I'll find out, soon.

Short barrels are not a detriment to accuracy.  Even with iron sights, let alone the red dot.

I plan to shoot it as is (with the Holoson not level/flat on the slide) since the front pins and screws still anchor the sight for front/rear recoil forces.  I'll work on finding out why it won't sit level next week and take care of that.

I hear there are special plates you can buy to allow the use of other sights.  I also hear, sometimes, you have to wait till they come back in stock and some of them add enough height to the red dot that the iron sights aren't usable.  I didn't really research them.

Also heard, on the internet, that Holoson is modifying the bottom of the 407 to make it fit the 4 post set up on the Shield Plus, but I already had the older one sitting in the box new (bought a couple years back??) for possible mounting on the black P01 Omega, but I never followed through with getting the slide milled for the optic.)

I wore the old Shield to my dentist appt. the other day.  Rarely carry it but there are times when I'm closer to people and feel the need for something smaller than the P07.  The Plus was optics ready and these days I see/feel the need for an improvement over iron sights. 

The groups will tell the story.  I learned (from the 5" FDE 9MM) that while a nice trigger is nice, it didn't do a darn thing for making the gun shoot better groups.  So, if the Plus doesn't shoot well enough to suit me it's either ammo development time or it goes in the safe.

[CZ_FANATIC]

I considered a new Shield Plus, but the trigger was a deal breaker for me. (I'm a trigger snob)

[Raven45]

I recently purchased a NIB S&W M&P 2.0 Shield PLUS.  It is optic ready and came with night sights.  This particular pistol came with two (2) 10-round magazines, and I purchased a 13-round magazine.

I had better experience with my pistol than the OP of this thread sounds like he had with his.

I have several competition CZ's with Trijicon SRO optics on them and a couple carry CZ's with Holosun K Series or Trijicon RMRcc optics on them, so this S&W pistol was purchased with the intent to use it with iron sights, although it will be optic ready if I change my mind.

I field stripped, cleaned, and inspected the pistol and lockup it tight, and there were no issues with the fit or finish or any of the magazines.  The pistol was amply lubed and clean as a whistle when I disassembled it. 

Measuring the trigger pull out of the box, I got an average value of 4 lbs. 15 oz. for ten pulls with my Wheeler trigger pull gauge.  The trigger break was reasonably crisp with a slight bit of creep, and I could have lived with it as is.

But I live less than an hour away from Apex Tactical, so I took the pistol to their place in Peoria, AZ and they provided and installed their Action Enhancement Trigger & Duty/Carry Kit in the pistol while I waited.  It took about 20 minutes.

They measured the trigger before replacing it and got a pull of 4 lbs. 13 oz. on their trigger gauge, which pretty much matched the value I observed with my gauge.  After installing the new parts, the trigger measures 4 lbs. 2 oz.    But more importantly, the trigger break is virtually creep free, has a CRISP break, minimal overtravel, and a short, snappy reset.  Worth every penny spent, in my opinion.

Took the pistol to the range today and ran the following ammo through it:

Magtech 124 gr. FMJ
Blazer Brass 124 gr. FMJ
Federal AE 124 gr. FMJ
Aguila 124 gr. FMJ
Speer Gold Dot 124 gr, JHP
Remington 124 gr. BJHP
Handload of Montana Gold 124 gr. JHP with 4.1 gr. of Titegroup powder

Total ammo expended was 106 rounds.
Zero issues or failures to function, using all three magazines.
Didn't have time to shoot groups, but was shooting standing freestyle at a measured 15 yards at the head box of an IDPA paper target.
Everything shoots to the sights, with minimal variability across the seven different types of ammo.

When I get the time, I will chronograph all the same ammo and shoot some 5-shot groups from a bench.

Based on experience and what I observed today , I feel very, very comfortable in predicting this pistol will shoot any of the ammo I tried today into 2" to 3" groups off a bench at 25 yards.

I have ordered. couple of magazine carriers from KYTEX and a 2.5 AIWB Wing Claw holster from JMCK.  Will also pick up a few more magazines.

Initial impressions of this pistol are very favorable.  Looking forward to more shooting with it.

[DP509]

I have the M&P Shield Plus, with the optic cut and night sights.

I have had zero issues. Love the trigger, very accurate, points well, low recoil.

[DP509]

Raven 45, can you list where you got the magazine pouches? The magazine carriers from KYTEX and a 2.5 AIWB Wing Claw holster from JMCK.  Will also pick up a few more magazines.

Thanks

[M1A4ME]

Thought I posted a small update yesterday.  Guess not.

I have not shot it yet.  Generator troubleshooting/repairs got in the way Saturday.

Yesterday I headed out to the garage to sit on my bench and look things over again.  The issue with the optic not sitting level in the cut was not pin (in the slide cut) vs. the round holes/indentions in the bottom of the sight.  It was the height of the pins vs. the depth of the holes.  Pins/posts were 0.036" tall and holes were 0.022" deep.  Had to remove more metal from the top of the posts to get the sight to sit level in the cut.

So, unless you want to look for, find, buy a possible plate (which may raise the optic up too high to use the back up sights) to get the Holoson 407 to fit slide/post modification appears to be necessary.  I don't mind.  It looks good and the sights are easily visible at the bottom of the window of the red dot modified as I did it.

If it shoots good it'll be worth it.  Pretty small compared to the P07 which is a benefit sometimes.

[Raven45]

Raven 45, can you list where you got the magazine pouches? The magazine carriers from KYTEX and a 2.5 AIWB Wing Claw holster from JMCK.  Will also pick up a few more magazines.

Thanks

Not sure if this is what you are asking, but the Kytex magazine carriers came from . . . . . wait for it. . . . . .Kytex!
https://www.kytexgear.com

And the 2.5 AIWB Wing Claw holster came from JMCK
https://www.jmcustomkydex.com

[Tinker Black]

I considered a new Shield Plus, but the trigger was a deal breaker for me. (I'm a trigger snob)

Do any of the micro-9s on the market have a trigger that meets your standards?