A few months ago, my brother and I were visiting a local gun show. I do not usually buy firearms at gun shows, as they tend to be a bit overpriced in my opinion. But I have found some good deals on parts and accessories, and I love to “window shop”.
Anyway, while making our way from table to table, my brother came upon a slightly used Smith and Wesson M&P Shield in .40 cal. The owner allowed him to field strip it, and we realized it was in excellent condition, LNIB. (Like New In Box.) After some slight haggling, my brother bought it. And after a trip to the range, I thought I would give it a review as an EDC firearm.
The M&P Shield is a black polymer framed, striker fired pistol. It is slim and light weight. The pistol is a bit over 4.5 inches tall, and weights about 19 oz. The barrel is 3.1 inches long. So for a 40 cal pistol, the Shield is small enough to conceal, but offers significant stopping power.
As I mentioned, this particular pistol is a .40 cal. Smith and Wesson also makes the M&P Shield in 9mm, but because our ammo stores are .40 cal, we went with the .40 cal. The .40 comes with a single stack 6 or 7 round magazine.
For those of you who are interested in the 9mm version, I can happily say that the only difference between the two is that the 9mm magazine holds one more round than the .40 cal version. Otherwise, everything is the same. Same weight, same dimensions, etc.
