With the instant popularity that the Shield gained it was amazing that I was able to get my hands on one the first time and a miracle when I was able to get another one recently. The easy handling and feel of this pistol along with its slim design has made it an instant hot item, every shop that I had contacted told me that they had waiting lists that were over 30 people long and they were continually getting requests in for the Shield. Trying to get my hands on one at a gun show proved that you had to REALLY want one because you were guaranteed to see prices that were a mark up of $200+ over the MSRP, good ole supply and demand.
My persistence (and a good friend) paid off in my search for a Shield and once again I was a proud owner of a used M&P Shield that didn't require me to give up my first born along with my left arm.
The first thing that you notice when you pick up a Shield is that even though it is slim it feels extremely well built (kinda like a tank) while having a very comfortable balance in your hand. The controls are in a very familiar position and easy to manipulate, and even though the safety is on the very slim side I am still able to get a positive grip on it with my thumb and switch it on or off.
Takedown for field stripping is the same as any other M&P, no takedown pins or bushings to worry about.
The trigger is a large improvement over the original M&P, the gritty feeling that you would get from the older M&P and the spongy reset have been replaced by clean pull and a much more pronounced reset. It is a trigger that I felt very confident with right from the start, it's not too heavy and not too light rather for a CCW handgun it is right where I want it to be.
The only downside I feel though is the magazine capacity for the 9mm is 7 (flush magazine) and 8 (extended magazine), this is the one area that I feel you give up a little bit to have a much slimmer handgun over the majority of the other "Compact" handguns that are out there. However there are magazines available for purchase, they are a bit hard to find right now but when I do run across one I make sure to pick it up as long as I have the money to do so. Since the magazines are so small it really isn't an issue to be able to carry 2 or 3 with you as extras when carrying.
As I said at the beginning of this post, the M&P Shield has to be by far one of my favorite compact pistols that I have ever owned, I have never had an issue with concealing it because it is so slim and because it is so well balanced I have an easier time getting on target and staying on target with each subsequent shot. I highly suggest that if you are in the market for a Shield and you run across one that is at a fair price, pick it up, you won't be sorry. Plus if you decide that it's not for you there is a huge market out there and it would be very easy to sell.
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