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Senior Member
I'm not surprised. .40 is pretty snappy from a small pistol. A Glock 36 feels on par with a G27 to me. G19's, G26's and G30's are far more pleasant!Originally Posted by Tokarev
The only time I enjoy .40 is when it's coming out a full-size pistol with a light mounted.
No doubt though if I wanted a single stack 9mm or .45 I would buy a Shield. (Feels better in hand, holds an extra round with factory mags/springs/baseplates)
Senior Member
The new Shield is about the same size as an Officer's Model. But it is slightly thinner. If also is probably more reliable with a larger variety of ammo.
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“The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
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Will, being a former competitive powerlifter, I have enjoyed reading your articles for many years. As to the shield 45, yes I see value in owning it. I just picked it up last week and have about 500 rounds (speer 230 GD, AE 230 FMJ, 230 FMJ reloads with 4.8 gr bullseye and 5.3 of w231, 230 grain HST +p). I think the recoil is fairly mild. Probably a little less than a glock 27. The sights are decent, stippling in excellent and it eats any ammo I have put through it. The mags are a little harder to seat that glocks, but I wouldn't say it's likely to be a problem. I always liked the shield 9mm, but didn't feel it offered any advantage to my glock 26. Especially considering the advantage of carrying a 15, 17 or 33 round backup mag. The 45 Shield is lighter than the XDS-45, has less felt recoil, 2 extra rounds and easy to conceal. It is becoming my favorite off duty carry after a week. Also, I like 45's.
Last edited by ICEMAN550; 10-16-16 at 12:41.
Member
Bump: How has function been with everyones guns?
Looking to pick up a thin single stack. Barrel length 4" or less. Weight is not an issue. I am wedded to Glock double stack 9s but see no reason I have to get a 43. all the guns are close in size. 9mm only nets 1 extra round so I am on the 45.
Senior Member
Mine has been running with no complaints. JHP, ball and even 200gr LWSC.
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“The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
Senior Member
I bought a new .45 Shield. and have fired it 200 times with factory 230 grain hardball with no malfunctions. Impact is point of aim. Accuracy seems to be good. I have not yet shot it over a bench but have fired about 50 rounds at gallon jug sized targets "across the river" and achieved hits. Misses were near. I was seated in my truck and was shooting from a rested position. Recoil was surprisingly light for the caliber and weight of the pistol.
My complaints may not be relevant. One is that the underside of the slide which contacts the top round in the magazine had many deep and rough tool marks. But they did not affect function. I smoothed them with a medium stone followed by a fine one. Another complaint is that the bore and rifling have several rough tool marks. They did not affect accuracy. If you remove the floor plate from the extended mag, be prepared for a very long session in trying to reassemble it. Wow!
Compared to 9mm Shield mags, these required much more effort to load.
I bought the pistol out of curiosity. Too, I have a sinful quantity of 45 cases and all the necessary reloading equipment. That and the fact that I like 45 pistols motivated me. If you own a reliable 9mm or 40 cal Shield, either will accomplish the same tasks as the 45 Shield. So do I recommend the 45 version? Yeah if you want one. Will I keep this one forever? For me forever is like 10 years but to give an answer--probably not.
Last edited by williejc; 03-01-17 at 20:03.
Senior Member
Today I talked with a tech at the Smith factory about a question pertaining to the recoil spring. The man was personable. I mentioned the heavy circular tool marks under the slide mentioned in the above post. He said that they were purposely machined there to reduce slide velocity. When seeing them the first time, I wondered whether or not the marks were there for this purpose. But noticing how they scarred brass, I decided that they had no function. On my pistol they have been smoothed somewhat. I'll report here if polishing made a noticeable difference. I'll definitely not run +p ammo in the gun now. In the back of my mind I'm hoping to develop an accurate 200 grain cast bullet load for plinking and carry in woods or along streams. I just now remembered that somewhere in my stash I have 500 rounds of factory 185 jacketed target ammo. I'll did this stuff out and try it. I've figured out how to install a simple trigger stop, and once done, I'll test for accuracy on paper rather than shooting across the river at rocks and kildee birds.
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Tokarev thanks for input.
Williejc Yes like he said every gun has those they aren't tooling marks. I think the 45 may be better for me than the 9 or 40. The 9mm ammo used (depends on the lot) but lets say expands to .49" out of 4" barrel. With 45 shield the bullet starts close to that, I get a slightly longer slide (better for me to carry) and little bigger grip (fits better and still thinner than Glocks doublstack). Only lose 1 round in capacity.
My only worry is the 45 ammo is tested out of a 5" barrel. I have no idea if the 3.3" will get it to enough velocity for reliable expansion.
Glock 43 worry is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLWdpKkzIyM
Last edited by nml; 03-02-17 at 12:54.
Senior Member
Velocity difference between 5 inches and 3 inches would be around 50 fps which should not affect expansion. If you think it might, then you can select a +p round.
Having taken apart 100's of pistols, I've never seen tool marks used to reduce slide velocity. I dispute the logic because after firing a few 100 rounds, the marks will be polished anyway.
Senior Member
I may just be skeptical but it sounds like baloney to me. Would you be able to post any pictures?
Last edited by Redhat; 03-02-17 at 19:12.
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