So I just saw a video on this and I have to say...it's kinda right up my ally.

-About the size of a Glock 48
-Decent barrel length
-Decent irons (My preferred blacked out rear/high vis front
-Thin
-Rail
-Optics
-13 rounds flush(Kind of in my sweet spot for capacity YMMV)

Not an itty bitty 9mm to be sure but thin and easy to carry (at least for me) and should be easy to shoot given how easy the regular Shield Plus is.

Downsides for folks already in that ecosystem are that the mags don't seem to be interchangeable with just a baseplate change and holsters will not be compatible so if you have a boat load of mags and holsters it might not make sense. For somebody like me who doesn't I may very well have to dive in to this.

I have no need but I've found this size / thickness in a handgun is about perfect for me.

If you want a comp'ed version, I bet S&W releases a Shield X Carry Comp by next year's SHOT Show in January at the latest.

Price point isn't too bad either. I wonder if the M&P 2.0 3.6" Compact holsters would fit and thinking out loud if the regular M&P magazines will fit. Size, etc. is similar to my FNH FN Compact but a touch lighter.

quote:

Originally posted by rat2306:
I wonder if the M&P 2.0 3.6" Compact holsters would fit

Nope, the Shield X is same slide width as Shield Plus, which is substantially narrower than M&P. Slides among 9mm/.40S&W Shield, Shield Plus, & Shield X are interchangeable.

quote:

and thinking out loud if the regular M&P magazines will fit.

Nope, 13 & greater round X and Plus mags are the same except for their floorplates. Plus' floorplates don't allow the mag to insert all the way into the X.

(sounds of rat2306 snapping his fingers). Dog gone it, was hoping so.

I’m intrigued. A Sig 365 Legion has been my entry into carrying with an optic. It’s getting better but I still find it a little large and heavy for everyday carry. Have been thinking about a 365XL.

I picked one up earlier today. I’ll take it to the range tomorrow and qualify with it. Will follow up after I shoot it. My initial thoughts are positive. I like the bright front sight, grip feels good. It still feels a little oblong like the original shields do but not nearly as bad. The grip texture is kind of rough and I could see that maybe causing wear on clothes. I usually don’t buy the first run of a gun but I have more confidence in S&W than some others. Plus I have others to carry if this one craps out. We shall see.

Cool would love to hear your thoughts.

I love my Shield Plus Performance Center, I'm sure this new Shield X model is a great successor.

I cannot understand why Smith and Wesson used such giant irons on this gun. This is an optics world now and the very long rear sight forces the optic forward closer to the ejection port, limiting room for the cut (not necessarily a problem on a compact) and increasing fouling to the lens.

I got out and shot 84 rounds through it. The first magazine was rough but the following ones settled in. I don’t have a holster for it so, unfortunately, I coudn’t draw and shoot. I was able to ring smaller steel target consistently at 15-20 yards. At 7 yards I was shooting at a quick pace, not rapid fire but sent the next round as soon as the front sight fell back on target. All rounds were within a 6” square.

Overall I’m happy. I was concerned about the grip texture being rough. I didn’t notice that being a problem while shooting. The front sight was nice- it’s large and draws the eyes to it and the target quickly. I’m not a trigger snob so I can’t comment on that. It seemed fine like any other striker fired gun. No issues in those 84 rounds.

Really interested in this. Switched to their 2.0 380. Shot it a bunch and zero issues. Not happy about 380 but in this crazy hot/humid weather, I;m carrying it.
Thought the 365 xl was perfect. But dumped my striker sigs for CC9 from hk.
Only wished it had a longer barrel, 3.7.

This will be my next purchase I think.

I forgot to mention one thing about the gun…..the slide release is very small and hard to manipulate. I’m a Glock shooter and use the slide lock lever/release on reloads. I’m very fast doing this and is second nature at this point (I know, people will say this is a fine motor skill and not to do it but its so much faster than grabbing the slide). With the Smith my thumb would brush over the lever after reloading and I would have to stop and think to slingshot the slide.

I guess I’ll see if anyone makes an extended release.

This is an old thread!!!!

I'm resurrecting this thread because I recently discovered the existence of this gun (and the newly released performance center carry comp version). I'm not sure how I missed it, except that after some unremarkable experience with M&Ps I guess I kinda wrote off S&W's entire semi-auto lineup.

I'm looking to acquire a skinny carry gun, and most micro-nines are way too small for my hands. After shooting my brother's Glock 43X I'd pretty much settled on one of those, but then the other day I was cruising the gun stores and trying out the grips on a bunch of little guns. Most of them suck, but then the guy at Sportsman's put one of these in my hand and I didn't hate it. I like the texture, and while it's smaller than the G43X grip, I can still get both hands on it. I wish it was a bit thicker in the backstrap, and not quite so rounded. I was also really unimpressed with the trigger...it was very gritty and inconsistent when I dry-fired it in the shop.

I'm still leaning towards the 43X, but while I'm waiting to see if any interesting updates to the slimline Glocks get announced at SHOT, I figured it wouldn't hurt to do some research on these and make sure I'm not overlooking something great.

Cooger, any more feedback on the gun since you've owned it for a few months now? I appreciate your comments about the slide release, as I don't know if I would have even thought about that, and I know the one on the 43X works for me, so that's a point for the Glock. Anybody else pick one of these up? Or even better, anybody get hands on the new comped version? Anybody have experience with both one of these and a 43x?

I ended up selling it to a coworker. I picked up a 43x shortly after getting the shield x. I went to the range and shot them side by side. I was able to shoot the 43x just a little bit better so I kept it but I would not hesitate to carry the shield. I would love to try a comped shield x to see how that shoots. That might get me to switch back. Basically it just came down to personal preference. Nothing wrong with the shield x.

Thanks. It really does sound like I'm on the right track with the 43x then. I've been comparing a lot of different guns on handgunhero, and it seems like most designs taper near the top of the grip which reduces the length of pull of the trigger. The Glock stays pretty consistent all the way up, which fills my bigger hands better.

I picked one up late last month when FL had no tax sale. Came with a. 13 and 15 and I grabbed A 3 pack of oem 13’s for $99. I like the beavertail and the grip is perfect for me. I like a larger compact if that makes sense. My 365 is too small 365x grip is perfect. Shield x grip for me is even better than 365x

The shield x trigger could be better in my opinion. Only had time to run a few mags through it. So have not really worked it out tho.

Though I have not handled the Shield X yet I have a feeling I will not like it as much as my Shield Plus since they went to a thinner grip on the Shield X. I found that the Shield Plus was a nice upgrade from my Walther PPS as it was almost the only pistol in that category that had a grip suited for my larger hands though the Glock 43X was pretty good too in that regard but the Shield Plus had the edge on capacity as I did not want to use an aftermarket magazine to increase magazine capacity.

I picked up a Shield X and both my holssers for my Gen 1 Glock 19 fit perfectly. Milt Sparks watch 6 and Mitch Rosen Exec Espress line.

As I mentioned in a different thread, I bought my wife a Shield X a few days ago. I’ve been trying to get her back to shooting, and was pushing for the PDP-F, but she really liked the Shield X after shooting the range rental so that’s what we went with.

We only shot 100rds Friday afternoon but the slim little gun ran flawlessly (bone dry out of the box), and she did very well with it.

For a lightweight and thin pistol it shoots considerably softer than my 43X or my Hellcat, which she said were both way to abrupt (snappy).

Now, I bashed my last 2 S&W purchases in a post recently. But I must give Smith credit that this particular pistol is worthy of the old S&W reputation.

The only negative that cleared itself up was the gritty trigger. As soon as you began to pull the trigger there was gritty glitches before you hit the wall. After we shot it and got home I took the slide off and noticed that the gritty feeling was from the firing pin safety plunger movement in the slide. After a drop of oil and working the plunger up & down about 50 times that issue completely cleared up.

The initial trigger pull now is smooth and free from grit. Moving the trigger from the forward rest position back to the wall is smooth, has a nice defined wall and a crisp break. I wish my Glocks had a trigger like this. The trigger shoe is flat with a mild curve and a wide dingus safety lever, and the combination is very comfortable.

More to follow as we shoot this more, but so far this seems like a solid little shooter.
I have a few holsters on order since it doesn’t seem to fit anything I have.