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Old December 6, 2017, 11:02 AM   #1
fotojake
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Shield 2.0 in 9, 40 or 45?

Was at the indoor range the other night where I was able to fondle the M&P Compact 2.0 in .45. Felt wonderful in my hand. Also checked out a single stack XDS (I guess the "S" stands for single?). Also nice. When I got home I commenced research and came across the newly released Shield 2.0. Skinny guy here, so the narrower the better.

I had a M642 that I traded for a M10-5 because the snubby was absolutely no fun to shoot. If I'm gonna CC I want to be able to enjoy shooting the weapon, too. The M10-5 is just too long, esp. for summertime carry, but it is fun to shoot.

So, with the Shield 2.0 I hope to kill two birds with one stone. Question is this: if I go with a .45, will that ammo kick, bite and scratch when shooting the lightweight Shield more than .38 ammo out of that M642 did? I know the benefits of the Shield in 9mm allows for more rounds, but I like the stopping power of a .45. Never owned a .45, just rented and shot it out of a "regular sized" M&P, where it was no problem to shoot.

Then, there is the .40...
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Old December 6, 2017, 11:19 AM   #2
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I went with a XDS 4.0 in .45 and never looked back. I carried a 45 for years at work so I too was concerned about recoil. I was very impressed with the recoil on my XDS. I shoot 230gr hp and it has about the same recoil as my sig 220. For the 45 I recommend the longer barrel, I think it makes a difference...imho

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Old December 6, 2017, 11:51 AM   #3
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Come to realize that the Shield M2.0 doesn't exist in .45, at least as far as I can see. Both the 9mm and the .40 have 3.1 inch barrels.

Would the .40 have a good kick in a barrel that short? I would venture to say it would, but have never shot a .40 weapon before.
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Old December 6, 2017, 12:16 PM   #4
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>>Would the .40 have a good kick in a barrel that short?<<

Oh yeah.............
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Old December 6, 2017, 12:34 PM   #5
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The .40’s recoil is very manageable out of the Shield. With that said, unless they had an outstanding deal on the .40 vs. the 9mm, I would go with the 9.
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Old December 6, 2017, 01:03 PM   #6
JMag1
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I know you are leaning Shield, but I wouldn't trade my XD-S 3.3 .45 for one. Love it.


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Old December 6, 2017, 01:07 PM   #7
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Definitely a 9mm in the shield....you will love it.
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Old December 6, 2017, 01:30 PM   #8
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If I was buying a .40 or .45 I would have to justify it on some emotional level. For a concealed carry weapon neither offers, in my mind, enough improvement over current 9MM to justify the additional expense and decrease in round count.

I know I'm wading into the whole caliber debate but if I am looking for more power than a 9MM I'm going for the 10MM (in an auto pistol). For the vast majority of self defense needs the 9MM is fine.
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Old December 6, 2017, 01:48 PM   #9
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Every shooter is different in terms of skill, hand side, age, strength, etc. All of which effect one's perception of recoil. Best advice is to try each for yourself and go from there.
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Old December 6, 2017, 02:41 PM   #10
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If an Airweight j frame was too much for you, I'd recommend sticking with the 9mm Shield until you're more comfortable shooting subcompact firearms.
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Old December 6, 2017, 03:28 PM   #11
fotojake
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It's not that I couldn't handle the M642, it's just that there was zero pleasure in going to the range with it. I musta dry fired that thing 100s of times and broke the trigger in nicely. Got pretty accurate out to 10 yds with it. 15 yds was a crap shoot and 25 a hail mary.

As for carry, it was the cat's meow!

Like I said, wanting a weapon that kills two birds with one stone, and the Shield appears to be the one. After more research and advice - thank you FL forum members - I am leaning towards the 9mm. Cabela's here has 'em in stock and there's a 5% military discount. Plus, up-close parking for vets!
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Old December 6, 2017, 04:10 PM   #12
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I would avoid the .40 in shield if you plan on lots of range practice. I have original in 40 and it isn’t fun for ME to shoot. I’m good with recoil (shoot “baby” Glock 10MM sf one handed wo issue), but I don’t think the shield handles recoil well in .40. Not like baby glock and others like them in .40 do. IMHO, 9mm or 45 all the way if going shield. I, too, have the xds in 45 and think it’s fun to shoot and extremely accurate. Haven’t fired 45 shield but is intriguing. That said, I still carry lc9s pro cause smaller and much lighter.
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Old December 6, 2017, 04:31 PM   #13
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I don't have a Shield in .45, but I've shot an XDs in .45, and was surprised at hos soft the recoil was in that, too. And I have a Shield in 9mm, which has very, very manageable recoil. In any event, I would expect recoil in a .45 Shield to be pretty mild, given that it's a big bullet in a little gun.

I went with the 9mm, but I think it's pretty much six in one hand, a half a dozen in the other.
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Old December 6, 2017, 05:19 PM   #14
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I carried the xds.45 but have since switched to the .45 shield because I wanted an external safety. I am under 6 feet tall and find the shield .45 recoil very manageable. I think the shield is actually easier on recoil than the xds.
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Old December 6, 2017, 05:34 PM   #15
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Quote:
but I like the stopping power of a .45
Oh boy.... here we go again. Where is the beat a dead horse emoji??
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Old December 6, 2017, 05:35 PM   #16
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Yup, shield 9mm or 45. The 9mm is going to be a better concealer...the shield 45 is a great size for a 45 and feels really good in the hand.

Of course a 45 stops better than a 9mm. Only a fool would argue against that. But as always there are other things to consider like capacity, concealability, frame size, etc and both a 45 and a 9mm will stop someone.

So I currently carry an hk usp 40c and sometimes a 9mm shield.

When I do rarely carry a 10mm I do it right and go full sized with my glock 20.

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Old December 6, 2017, 06:07 PM   #17
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Yeah, geeze what was I thinking? Just got done reading pages of 45 vs 9 vs 357 vs 40 vs 10 vs 22... My fault!
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Old December 6, 2017, 09:21 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fotojake View Post
Come to realize that the Shield M2.0 doesn't exist in .45, at least as far as I can see. Both the 9mm and the .40 have 3.1 inch barrels.

Would the .40 have a good kick in a barrel that short? I would venture to say it would, but have never shot a .40 weapon before.
My understanding is the .45 Shield is more similar to the 2.0 than the 1st gen even though its not a 2.0.
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Old December 6, 2017, 09:37 PM   #19
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I went with the 9mm, but I think it's pretty much six in one hand, a half a dozen in the other.
I thought it was 7+1 in one hand and half a dozen+1 in the other.
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Old December 7, 2017, 06:32 AM   #20
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^^^Touché.
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Old December 7, 2017, 10:59 AM   #21
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A semi auto carry pistol?

9mm...

Always 9mm.


I look at caliber wars like this... You can smash a watermelon with a baseball bat that weighs 4lb, or one weighing 5lb... Sure technically, the 5lb bat can do more damage... But does it really matter if the end result is the same... A smashed watermelon...

9mm is plenty, especially with modern HP ammo, and you get more efficient size to capacity ratio.
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Old December 7, 2017, 11:00 AM   #22
carguychris
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smerks
My understanding is the .45 Shield is more similar to the 2.0 than the 1st gen even though its not a 2.0.
In a way, yes.

The 45 has had the forward slide serrations and the M2.0 grip texture from the get-go, and the gun press has reported it as having an upgraded trigger, although it's unclear how this may compare to the M2.0 trigger.

FWIW I expect that a 45 Shield M2.0 is coming, if only for the sake of consistency with the remainder of the line, although it may amount to a re-badge only. I expect it to appear after the Christmas season to give dealers a chance to draw down their stock of the "M1.0," and so that people who have already bought 45 Shields as gifts won't be irate.
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Old December 8, 2017, 09:06 AM   #23
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I own a M&P 40 Compact and while I find the 40 cartridge to hell of a lot of recoil, the Compact fits my hand so well thatmi find the recoil almost tame. Mist the easiest shooting .40 I've ever fired.
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Old December 8, 2017, 11:00 AM   #24
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Big difference in the compact and the shield grip.

I love 45s. But for a carry gun, I see no practical justification for the 40 or the 45.
Same lethality but more rounds. Make mine a nine!
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