By: Friedrich Seiltgen
The striker fired concealed carry pistol war rages on, with Smith & Wesson introducing its M&P 9 Shield Plus.
The Shield Plus offers a 13+1 capacity with a slim compact frame and comes in a standard model as well as a Performance center model with optics cuts and other options. The Shield has been a hit with shooters since its introduction 10 years ago, with more than 3 million sold. The new Shield Plus offers shooters the highest capacity Shield Smith & Wesson has offered to date!
The standard model is equipped with white dot sights, while the performance center model comes with a red dot rear, green front sight, and a Crimson Trace Reflex Sight already mounted. Smith & Wesson offers the customer a lot of options when building your gun. There are options for trigger pulls, standard or threaded barrels, and a manual safety, as well as no safety.
Both models come equipped with a 10-round flush mount magazine, as well as a 13 round magazine with the pinky finger extension. No matter what type of compact pistol and caliber you shoot, you should always have some magazines with the finger extension. The extension can help keep the pistol more stable and prevent a stovepipe – something you don’t ever want to see, whether its during training or a gunfight.
The redesigned flat face trigger with its new trigger safety blade allows for consistent trigger finger placement and accurate and repeatable shooting. it has a crisp feel, and an audible and tactile reset.
The frame features an 18-degree grip angle for a more natural point of aim. This also helps the shooter with recoil and getting back on target faster. S&W listened to its customers and redesigned the grip stippling for a more balanced feel, while at the same time not irritating the skin during concealed carry.
SPECIFICATIONS
Action Type: Striker Fire
Caliber: 9mm
Magazine capacity: 10 or 13 rounds
Sights: White Dot on Standard Model, 4 MOA red dot on Performance Center Model with Crimson Trace Reflex Optic
Optics Ready: Performance Model Only
Barrel Length: 3.1” Standard Model, 4” Performance Model
Overall Length: 6.1” Standard Model, 7”Performance Model
Weight: 17.9 oz. Standard Model, 22.6 oz. Performance Model
Safety: Manual Thumb Safety on Standard Model
MSRP: $553 for the Standard model, $896 Performance Model
The current competition between gun manufacturers in the concealed carry market is exciting to say the least! I am glad to see the amount of detail and customer feedback being used to improve existing firearms and all the new designs being introduced. The newly tweaked M&P Shield Plus is another outstanding addition to a growing field of concealed carry pistols.
That’s all for now folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s be careful out there.”
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism, Firearms, First Aid, Active Shooter Response, and Law Enforcement Vehicle Operations in Florida. His writing has appeared in The Counter Terrorist Magazine, American Thinker, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International. Contact him at [email protected].
Photo from: https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/mp-shield-plus