I looked through previous posts and see many have commented about this pistol in several threads but did not see one specifically on this one.

I see several models including performance shop models.

Some with safeties and some no.

Some coming with lasers.

I would like to hear some discussion about the models and overall performance. I see there have a been some issues, but mostly positive.

I am missing a 45 carry pistol and this one seems to high on the list of options. Especially for the price.

I found one at a dealer locally that had a laser with a red button on the side of the laser. I do not know if it was ctc or another laser as it looks like there are laser options. This one was new and was $600 otd.

Thoughts. Thanks guys

I had one that came with night sights and 3 mags. Kind of regret selling it, but solid for more used than what I bought it for new. Reliable and it is an easy to carry gun. Recoil impulse is definitely more than a 9mm. It filled the same niche as my Colt Defender and I'm just more comfortable with 1911's than striker fired pistols.

I have one with the manual safety. The safety is not difficult to manipulate. Of course, you don't have to use it at all, but it's nice to have especially when teaching a beginner shooter. Also, IMO, the safety is a nice feature to have on a striker fired handgun, and on the Shield, it's not unsightly or oversized/large.

Haven't shot mine very much but it is a nice compact 45 and has been flawless so far.

I currently own a standard model Shield .45 with manual safety & plain fixed sights. I had owned a similar one just before COVID, & like a fool, sold it to buy something else. The only thing I will change on this Shield is to upgrade the sights to Ameriglos with orange front or Dawson Precision with fiber optic front.

I thought S&W had taken the Shield .45 out of production, but last year, I got lucky & found one at my LGS for a song. I scooped it up, along with about 7 mags, & this one will never be sold. Lesson learned.

Just this morning, I was thinking about what I would carry next week for fall in-service. It'll be the Shield .45. It has everything going for it. Thin, light, reliable, good capacity, and it's lack of recoil always blows me away. To my hands and wrists, it recoils far less than my P220. I don't know how S&W's engineers did it, but it's incredible how little recoil the Shield .45 has. Their accuracy is uncanny, and I think Ayoob shot a sub-2 inch 25 yard group with his. The trigger on my Shield .45 is better than the newly-designed flat trigger on my M&P Metal 2.0. The Shield .45 doesn't have that inch of dead-air slack in the trigger pull takeup like the Metal 2.0 does. Much more predictable. I've got 250-300 rounds of Remington & Speer 230-grain hardball through my Shield with no malfunctions.

I carry mine in a Blade-Tech OWB scabbard holster & Blade Tech magazine pouch, with a 3rd mag in a cargo pocket on my left thigh. I load it with Remington Golden Saber Bonded 185-grain +P. To think that you can have near Government Model & P220 capacity & performance in a pistol so light & small is pretty impressive. For a carry pistol in .45 caliber, I just don't know how you beat it.

https://gunsmagazine.com/guns/...uaintance-to-friend/

Carrying a small frame 45 is one thing but shooting them is another.

I have a Colt Defender which is easy to carry by handling recoil and the shoot-ability is a bit rough compared to larger frame 45's.

I carry an USP Compact 45 on occasions which is heavier and bulkier to carry but shoots much better.

So currently I carry a gen 1 Shield or a USP Compact both in 9.
The Shield carries better but shoots fine, the USP shoots better and not so bad with a good holster and the capacity is greater.

So sorry no direct Shield 45 experience but I would imagine the same applies.

Good Luck.

I had a Shield in .45 and I thought the recoil was a little much. Could have just been the way a Shield fits me but it didn’t last long in my stable. I have a Defender and Kimber ultra and both are much more pleasant to shoot and actually carry. If they came out with a Shield plus in .45 I’d be willing to give that a try. That little bit of extra width on the pluses work better for me.

After firing one, I decided to keep my 9mm version. While it had a very nice trigger pull and felt good in the hand, it has a good amount of felt recoil. Getting older, doesn't help either I guess.

ORC, I sent you an email to the address in your profile.

I recently purchased a 45 Shield with safety and must say it's very easy to shoot for me. I don't know why everyone seems to think the 45acp has harsh recoil. I have a P245 a Stainless Colt Officers ACP and a Combat Commander all of which are easy to shoot and I'm not a big guy with huge hands. It's a gentle push compared to a sharp snap of a 40 or 9mm. Bottom line I love that Shield get one.

I have a couple of Shield .45's, the basic models, one with and one without a thumb safety. I find the recoil very manageable, and both are reasonably accurate, more than enough for carry purposes. The one without the thumb safety has factory night sights, the one with has standard Trijicon Bright & Tough sights, and both work fine in low light situations. I also have a Hogue Handall Beavertail Grip Sleeve on both, which helps me with my larger hands. One thing I experienced however, the thumb safety model has a small spring on the sear housing that provides tension to the thumb safety which became weak and eventually broke. This initially caused the thumb safety to have no positive engagement/disengagement and after breaking, it would move by just flicking the gun back and forth. It is currently at Smith & Wesson being repaired, so I'm waiting to see how it is once I get it back. This would not deter me however from purchasing one with a thumb safety as I think that situation would be few and far between. I think you'll like the Shield .45, however if you have opportunity to shoot one prior to purchasing, all the better to help with your decision.

I owned a Glock 36 which I carried every day for two years. I vowed I would never trade it. Along came the Shield 45 which is quite similar in size and weight. After shooting both for quite a bit, i decided to part with one; and the one I sold was the Glock.

It seemed that the ergonomics of the Shield was more to my liking, and I liked shooting it more than the Glock. Recoil was about the same as well as accuracy. I’m happy with my choice.

Buy it and shoot it. If you do not like it you can sell it.

I own one an original Shield 45 with manual safety and regular sights, the gun is great I love it. The grip is so aggressive when firing it doesn't move in your hand. I have fired it out to a 100 yards with reasonable accuracy.

One follow up, I use Carbon Powr'ball through it for ammo.

I have two .45 Shields (and two 9mm for comparison). Both of them are the standard shorter barrel with a manual safety. I inherited one and purchased a second one a year or two later.

The one I purchased came in with a slide that felt weird. I don't clearly remember the specifics, but I think it was very difficult to rack the slide. I disassembled it and the recoil spring assembly looked off. I compared it to the original one I inherited and sure enough it was shorter. I contacted S&W, showed them a comparison picture, and they sent me a replacement spring assembly. I didn't have to ship the gun back.

As for reliability and shooting. So far both have been 100% as far as I know (unknown round count on the inherited one and maybe 300-400 rounds on the one I bought). I think they are amazing shooters given their size and the .45 round. I'm not a big guy and have no issue handling the recoil even in one handed shooting. For my hand size the grip is exactly the right length, full grip without anything extra hanging off the bottom. I think the recoil is actually not significantly different than the smaller brother 9mm (mine are Gen 1 if that matters). They also carry really well. I have an APEX trigger kit for the one I bought but have never installed it as the stock trigger was pretty decent from the get go. I may in the future, but it isn't really necessary.

I bought mine when prices were good and there was some amazing rebate. I think I got it for less than $300 (no laser, porting, etc.). I do like it better than the G36 for what it's worth.

I have a standard version that I swapped out the sights for a set of Ameriglos. It's easy to carry and quite accurate for a 3.3" barrel. 25 yard steel hits are easy with it, and I find the recoil surprisingly easy to manage. I don't think there's a better carry .45 available.

I've got a Gen 1 Shield 45 no-safety that I carry a lot, but EDC duty has changed to the Sig 365. Nothing against the Shield, but the Sig is much easier to carry in a pair of shorts.
That said, I don't see me selling the Shield.

quote:

Originally posted by dinooch:

I don't know why everyone seems to think the 45acp has harsh recoil. I have a P245

I have something going on in my wrists, probably onset of arthritis, and I am somewhat sensitive to recoil. I have two pistols in .45 ACP, a P245 and a GI type Colt 1911. I find both of these quite comfortable to shoot, no problems with recoil. I use 230 grain FMJ standard velocity ammunition in both of them, regular old factory stuff.

The nastiest little thing that I have, with respect to recoil, is a SeeCamp .32 -- a well made, high quality pocket pistol, but one magazine through it was more than enough for me.

You wanna compare harsh recoil, I found my .45acp Shield to have less recoil than my Beretta Nano 9mm.

I own Shields in every caliber offered, including 30 Super Carry. For reasons I just can’t explain the felt recoil on the Shields is less than comparable pistols. As for the 45 specifically it is very shootable. The only downside is capacity.

For me the most violent kicking gun I ever shot/owned was my 340sc Scandium titanium 357 with full house loads. I actually got my Shield 45 in exchange for it when I sent it back to Smith and Wesson due to gouges in the frame under the forcing cone. I have an NAA Guardian 32acp that I thought was painful to shoot until I figured out I was shooting it with my finger tip instead of the first joint of my finger. That cured the horrible self induced trigger slap and made the gun a pussy cat to shoot.