RANGE REPORT: GEN 1 S&W SHIELD 9mm UPDATE: DEAD TRIGGER

[Straight Shooter]

Im in love boys..LOVE! Shes BLACK & BEAUTIFUL!
A couple years ago- my gf got a Shield, and after shooting hers a good bit, I decided Id get one someday. Read & learned all I could about it at the time, but the opportunity never arose until Black Friday. My lgs had Gen 1's for $249.99.
Couldnt pass that up, so I traded in a a recently inherited S&W 3906, which Id never use or carry, and got the Shield on a straight up trade-$0 from me.
So- got it home, stripped it down, cleaned & properly lubed it up, dry fired a hundred plus times, and began getting familiar with my first non-Glock in a long while. Like my gf's..the trigger on this pistol is EXCELLENT. I mean I was/am very shocked by how clean & crisp it is..more on that later.
So, I had a range pass and used it today. Here is the ammo used:
200 rounds of Winchester NATO
100 rounds of Speer 124 +P Gold Dot
100 rounds of Federal 124 +P HST
50 rounds of some kinda remanufactured ammo I bought during Sandy Hook...124 +p jhp's.
Ranges shot were from 5 to 20 yards. The gun ran 100%. Only had the two mags and WOW were my thumbs sore loading them over & over. But, it ran flawlessly, locked back every single time, and no mech errors at all.
Accuracy: The damn gun is a tack driver, period. Shot all loads very very well out to 20 yards tested. Shoots about 2" left, but spot on elevation and groups were ragged holes. To the point the two range guys came over to see what I was shooting. Fast double taps were easy and close. Sights easy to see & pick-up quickly. Ejection very brisk and out of the way. Trigger was a pleasure, no grit at all as Ive heard reports of, got a half inch of takeup, the wall, clean, crisp break Ive now measured 8-10 times on my gauge at deadballs 5lb even. Reset can be felt & heard, but if I could change one thing, Id make it just a tad more robust, but I can sure live with it as is.
I can now pronounce the gun GOOD TO GO for carry & back-up, and is loaded & ready right now for such.
Got to get an OWB holster, many more mags, and decide which night sights to get.
Other than those things and continued practice...Im good. What a pleasure to get a deal on something, and it turn out to be worth every penny and then some!
And additional info welcomed- I need to find a plug so I can remove the safety. I called S&W this morning, was told they do not offer one for the Gen 1 guns. Also- whose running the mag add-ons for extra capacity? Would consider reliable ones for a reload.
In closing, Ive been well aware of the stories of bad triggers, reliability issues, ect. But my sample of two have been 100% reliable and accurate.
Ive seen nothing in a 2.0 that makes me want one over this one.

UPDATE: 4DEC18
Since my first very successful range trip of 425 rnds, I declared to gun GTG & have carried it. Yesterday, went to the range for its second trip. Gun was cleaned and lubed after last outing. A little over 200 rounds into my session, while about halfway thru a mag..NOTHING. No click, no resistance, DEAD TRIGGER. Slide was home. No indention on primer. I dropped the mag, cleared and reloaded. A couple mags later..same thing. Next mag...same thing. Got the two RSO's to come verify the trigger was non-op. Let one fire a couple of mags..no problem. It happened to me a total of about 8-10 times, so I called it quits, cleared the gun, and went into the gunshop where I bought it a few days ago. They took it to the "smith"...about 45 minutes later, he comes out, grabs a box of ammo and heads to the range. He actually asked me.."has this gun been dipped in oil'? I said "dipped in oil?! WHY HELL NO, why do ask something like that"?! "cause it was really dirty and had a lot of petroleum product in it". I said Id just fired over 200 rounds and the gun was clean and LIGHTLY lubed with Tetra when I came in. He asked me if S&W said to use that..I got pisssed and said "How the hell would I know what they do or dont recommend"? He gave me the 50 rnds, I fired then no problem. BTW, he had cleaned the pistol. We go back out on the floor, the main guy comes over, and we proceed to have a civil discussion, mostly about Tetra, how it was probably the problem...blah blah. So he gets a box of ammo, shoots it himself..no problems. He said he could send it back to factory, and I said hell no, they wont do shit to it. Again, we discussed lube, he said "you could run that gun dry & fire 10,000 rounds no problem". I said I disagree, but would now experiment with different options. Came home, cleaned & re-inspected the gun..cant see a damn thing wrong with it. It is now OUT of carry rotation.
So- my questions are many.
1. After researching "dead trigger on S&W Shield"..there were problems with this waaay back in 2011-12. S&W apparently corrected it then.
Have any of yall heard of or experienced this?
2. Thoughts on what the likely problem is or was?
3. Lube. OH Lort...I know...been beat to damn death here, but Id like yalls thoughts on Tetra specifically and lithium grease in general for firearm use.
COULD I have had.."too much" on the gun? I say NO..I had only dabbed a Q-Tip with it and rubbed it on the 7 areas S&W said to lube, it was NOT excessive.
4. Would the +P ammo have had anything to do with it? Gun had fired 650 or more before the malfs occured. The ammo they tested was standard pressure.
5.Should I use standard pressure for practice, and +P for carry only? S&W says gun is good for any SAAMI pressure ammo, except +P+.
I will say this, upon cleaning it for the second time, I removed to striker, which I didnt do initially. After blowing it & rest of the gun out with Ballistol, I ran a Q-Tip into the striker channel and whole mess of silver shavings and junk came out. Could that be a factor?
Sorry for the length here, want to give an accurate account of whats happened. ANY thoughts ,ideas or suggestions welcomed.

[Tigereye]

Sounds like a great deal. I have one that I carry with Hyve +2's that function reliably. Several weeks ago, Mark's Outdoors in Birmingham had 3-4 RCS Phantom OWB holsters on their clearance table for less than 1/2 price. I picked one up for a buddy. My Shield is a reliable, good shooter that I carry daily.

[Lincoln7]

I need to find a plug so I can remove the safety. I called S&W this morning, was told they do not offer one for the Gen 1 guns.

I also have not been able to find a safety plug anywhere. I shaped a piece of plastic myself and put it in there. It's been good for around 800 rds so far but I'd still feel more comfortable with company manufactured piece.

[Straight Shooter]

Sounds like a great deal. I have one that I carry with Hyve +2's that function reliably. Several weeks ago, Mark's Outdoors in Birmingham had 3-4 RCS Phantom OWB holsters on their clearance table for less than 1/2 price. I picked one up for a buddy. My Shield is a reliable, good shooter that I carry daily.

I also have not been able to find a safety plug anywhere. I shaped a piece of plastic myself and put it in there. It's been good for around 800 rds so far but I'd still feel more comfortable with company manufactured piece.

Ive looked into the Hyve's...Ive READ..take it for what thats worth...that they start out great, but some, a few, develop problems later on. Have you run them awhile, or hard?

As to Lincoln 7's comment, yeah...Im gonna leave it in until I can find a pro-made part, or it comes on the first time accidentally. Then, Ill take off the safety lever, and on the opposite side is a little nub that can be ground off, and will permanently de-activate it. Good news is, every report from trusted sources like Mrguns&gear & others say it never comes on on accident, and Ive never heard of it coming on in all my research into the gun. MIGHT be much ado about nothing, but I still wish they woulda had a safety less model I could have bought.

[Sam]

Interesting review.

Good price. I bought the original Shield back when it first came out, there was even a wait to find one. I paid a lot more than you did, basically transpose the 2 and 4 !

Since then I've shot probably 1000 rounds through it. It's never had a hickup. It had been my summer belt carry gun. I've even shot it in a portion of a Hackathorn class. I kept the trigger stock, it is gritty and not nearly as nice as the newer model or some other gun, but I'm ok with it. For the sight, I put a set of Ameriglo Hackathorn on it. The bright orange front helps me pick it up faster.

For holsters, I use 3. Two IWB and one OWB.

I'll post pictures later on the holsters.

Blade Tech kydex IWB.



Ritchie Leather IWB.



Milt Sparks IBAK OWB.



I read my fellow moderator's latest love with the Austrian tiny 9mm, and that's fine. I prefer the Shield. I've shot the Austrian itty bitty 9 next to my Shield, to me, the Austrian's recoil is much sharper and the thing doesn't feel comfortable in my hand.

[hotrodder636]

First Gen Shield 9mm is my EDC piece. I have not had any hiccups with any ammo ran through it.

I am experimenting with the Mag-guts +2 spring to see how well it works, if well enough will equip a few more mags with them.

In my 2-plus years of carrying and shooting mine, I have never had an issue with the safety activating. I too wish I could’ve gotten one without the safety but they didn’t have that option when I got mine. Like Sam, mine cost more than the OP’s.

[Straight Shooter]

Thank yall for the comments. Sam, Id love to see those holsters. Hotrodder, let us know about the Mag-guts +2's please...Im looking into those and others.
All my Glocks have Ameriglo CAP sights...im probably putting those onto the Shield soon. Im big on keeping the same sights for all my defense guns..case in point yesterday at the range. Had just spent a pleasurable amount of time shooting 450 or so thru the 3 dot Shield. at the end, drew my Glock out to shoot one mag, and for a split second had to re-adjust to the CAP sights...like I almost forgot they were on there, or something. Screw that-if I have to go to the Shield as a back-up in some kinda life/death scene,,I dont want that feeling again. CAP's for me.

[PD Sgt.]

I have two Gen 1 Shields and will echo the reliability and accuracy claims of everyone else so far. I feel Smith really hit it out of the park with these. I prefer the Gen 1 to the newer examples which to me are too textured and rough on skin/clothing for what is a concealment handgun. I add an Apex striker block as the sole trigger upgrade.

As a side note, I got rid of my first one with thumb safety for a NS version. Never had a problem with it, but did it just in case. I also added magazine disconnects to satisfy the carry requirements for my agency. To my surprise, and that of a rep I talked to, it used the exact same parts as the full size. One hundred percent reliable so far. It also saved me from having to carry the Cali compliant model. Not looking to debate the merits of mag safeties, just putting it out there as an FYI.

[Sam]

Sam, Id love to see those holsters. .

Pics are up.

Why do I use two IWBs? I like to switch them out every now and then. The kydex is faster but not as comfortable nor as stealthy as the leather Ritchie. The leather Ritchie is flatter, a lot more secure and has more cant. The Sparks owb is the most comfortable and I wear it when I'm wearing pants that have tighter waist size. I've worn the Ritchie leather while moving a washer and dryer in 90 degree heat and 90% humidity all day from one house to another location (loading and unloading them onto a trailer). Not once did the gun tried to fall out or I have to secure it.

There are probably other brands out there but I'd stay away from cheap suede/nylon clip on.

[556BlackRifle]

Congrats on the Shield 1.0. It's a great pistol. I have the 2.0 version with the integrated laser. Actually bought it for the wife but she wasn't interested. After I took it to the range to try it out I told her I was glad she wasn't interested. LOL. I'm up to about 750 rounds at this time with Zer0 failures. Mine also shot slightly left. I drifted the front sight and it's spot on now. I also adjusted the laser to the same POI. I'm not really a laser guy but I have to admit that it's kind of cool. The bullets just magically land wherever the laser points. Have a fun time with your new pistol!!