( 5 out of 5) S&W Shield 45. no thumb saftey

by Ken from St. Jacob, Illinois on October 22, 2016

Pistol arrived at FFL in two days. Basic S&W box, cable lock, Instruction Manual, and pistol wrapped in plastic bag. I cleaned and oiled it before I did some dry fire. With snap caps I cycled a few rounds. The trigger is a lot better than my Taurus striker fired pistol. I think the advertised trigger pull is around five pounds, this one is very crisp and not more than five pounds. Reviews say the grips may be a bit aggressive, I like them and don't think they are aggressive. The slide is not difficult to pull back at all. It will only chamber rounds from the magazine, no cheating by loading one in the chamber with the slide back. I shot a few rounds just to make sure it functions. The recoil was very manageable, even with the six round mag. I have big hands and was only able to get two fingers on the grip. But with proper hand placement it shoots very well. I ran some ball and flat tip reloads thru it. It are everything I have so far. Not real interested in grouping just yet, was more interested in function. The only thing negative I have to say is that the mags are a little hard to load. maybe after a few cycles they will loosen up. Not a lot of gear out there for the 45. Shield. I have plenty of other gear that is universal to use for now. It looks like the 45. Shield my be my new EDC.