Range Review: Smith & Wesson M&P380 Shield EZ

[bblhd672]

https://www.shootingillustrated.com/art ... shield-ez/

Built as a personal-defense pistol that’s easily manageable by almost anyone, the new-for-2018 M&P380 Shield is constructed on the same frame and slide size as the company’s popular M&P22 Compact rimfire handgun.

[SigM4]

When I first saw the announcement about this gun I was a little confused, thinking it was a solution in search of a problem. Then I thought back on all the threads here that have discussed an elderly person, or even small statured wife, that has issues racking a normal slide. In those situations a revolver used to make a lot of sense, but of course you were limited in round count and reload speed. Thinking through it again, I definitely think there is a market for this, albeit somewhat small. The Sig 250 in .380 was a stab in the right direction, but it was neither supported nor marketed well (or at all) so it got no traction. Hopefully this S&W will be more impactful.

[rotor]

I don't want a gun that is "ammo sensitive". In other words, I don't want a gun that is not reliable. People that buy this are unlikely to be handgun sophisticated and not likely to try it out with multiple brands of ammo (some not locally available). My Shield and Bodyguard .380 handle anything I feed it. The concept I guess is good but it has to shoot everything I feed it. Unreliable means a grade F to me. Of course, there is always a Glock.

[bblhd672]

When I first saw the announcement about this gun I was a little confused, thinking it was a solution in search of a problem. Then I thought back on all the threads here that have discussed an elderly person, or even small statured wife, that has issues racking a normal slide. In those situations a revolver used to make a lot of sense, but of course you were limited in round count and reload speed. Thinking through it again, I definitely think there is a market for this, albeit somewhat small. The Sig 250 in .380 was a stab in the right direction, but it was neither supported nor marketed well (or at all) so it got no traction. Hopefully this S&W will be more impactful.

The "solution in search of a problem" was exactly what I thought when I got the email announcement from S&W.

It is worrisome that according to the reviewer the weapon has ammo sensitivities. Perhaps other reviews will not find same thing. I read an article at Guns and Ammo that said their testing is in progress for upcoming print article.