I have a Shield on-order right now... the last couple of posts here are a good reminder to me to check on the frame (especially from the pin hole upward, above the trigger) periodically.

I've always had great experiences with S&W customer service, and have read many posts on the S&W forum extolling their customer support. I am sorry to hear that sns3guppy's experience has been otherwise.

There is not a single thread about failure over at the S&W forum in the area about Shields.

quote:

Originally posted by maxwayne:
There is not a single thread about failure over at the S&W forum in the area about Shields.

Search harder. There are threads about the failures; I've participated in several. I just st re-read one a few days ago addressing five such failures.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sns3guppy,

Palmetto State Armory has a deal for the Shield and 3 stripped lowers right now.

$324.99 after rebate for 9mm

$354.99 after rebate for 45acp

I just bought 2 of the Shield 45's from PSA, They are $349 and then the $75 rebate.

So far with American Eagle ammo and 2 mags through one gun its been very easy to shoot and at 10 yards I can easily hit a soda can.

I'm quite pleased.

I came across a Shield 9 2 or 3 years ago for 270 new and couldn't pass. Put around 500 rounds of 115 gr fmj through it in one range trip and it shot pretty good. My lady shot it very well. Thought it would be a good pistol for her or maybe I would carry. She shot my all stainless 229 in 40 and lost all interest in the shield. I couldn't see carrying it over my 239 so I sold it. Didn't conceal any easier for me and never felt good in my hand. It seemed to be a decent pistol for under $300. The cracked frame issue is quite no bueno though. I won't buy one again, but to each his own if it is reliable and you shoot it well.

I should have know better. Argg!! Picked up the shield for an excellent price 2 weeks ago($249 w/ rebate) I wish I would have just stopped there. I've spent more on some mods than what I paid for the gun. But honestly it pretty awesome at this point. Dropped in the apex trigger kit, added some ameriglo idots sights, added the magguts mag springs to add +1, +2 to my 7/8 round mags, and some talon grips. Oh well, as I said, really pleased with it. It will be replacing my 938 as my backup carry gun/deep concealment option. Really a pretty quality shooter and very soft shooting as well for a little gun.

Not a lot of time this morning, but a few threads from the s&w forum which apparently don't exist, found with a quick search. On the last one, some of the posts are mine. Many more posts are out there from various owners, some with pictures, some without.

Often the reports are dismissed outright (that would never happen...people lie on the internet), or the responder claims that s&w will take care of it (they don't). There's nearly always a plethora of responses that say it can't happen because mine has X number of rounds through it and didn't blow up, or s&w uses dupont plastic and that can't fail. It's often blamed on reloads. In nearly every case, it was factory ammunition, and while most were .40, a few were 9mm.


http://smith-wessonforum.com/s...ield-40-blow-up.html

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s...m-frame-cracked.html

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s...0-blow-up-r-i-p.html

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s...d-frames-shield.html

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
I bought one of the Shields on sale recently, got it from Palmetto for 319, and applied for the rebate. I already had a Shield; it's a broken paperweight in my safe, having split the frame with less than 200 factory rounds through the pistol. That one was a .40. I decided for the price, I'd try a 9.

Sorry you had a problem with a previous Shield.

Sorry you were disappointed with S&W's service.

Hope your new Shield works out for you.

This is getting ridiculous. $215 with rebate on a Shield 9mm w/o thumb safety. How low can they go?

quote:

Originally posted by Beanhead:
Just saw S&W is giving $75 rebates on the Shields. Been eyeing the Performance Center Shield. Anyone else tempted?

That barrel is way too short for porting. Definately a bad idea to begin with.

I ordered a Shield from Palmetto State in 45 ACP for $299, which after the rebate comes out to $225. I've been looking at them at the local store but I couldn't pass that deal up.

So are the Apex kits worth the $160 bucks? Seems asinine to drop a $160 trigger in a $200 gun.

quote:

So are the Apex kits worth the $160 bucks?

Worth is relative. If you want a trigger that's many times better than before? Then it's worth it, regardless of the price of the gun itself.

We've had a LOT of these PSA Shield offers transfer in. Seems like S&W is using them as a clearing house for the guns, and PSA is using their fire sale as a clearing house for a shitload of lowers.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Huffman:
I ordered a Shield from Palmetto State in 45 ACP for $299, which after the rebate comes out to $225. I've been looking at them at the local store but I couldn't pass that deal up.

I believe they make a polymer version of that trigger for around $35. I thought the metal one was only around $90 to begin with so I could be off on my prices.

quote:

Originally posted by soggy_spinout:

quote:

So are the Apex kits worth the $160 bucks?

Worth is relative. If you want a trigger that's many times better than before? Then it's worth it, regardless of the price of the gun itself.

We've had a LOT of these PSA Shield offers transfer in. Seems like S&W is using them as a clearing house for the guns, and PSA is using their fire sale as a clearing house for a shitload of lowers.

Ya I was pretty tempted by that offer the other weekend that included two blem lowers. Just dont need them right now.

quote:

Originally posted by soggy_spinout:

quote:

So are the Apex kits worth the $160 bucks?

Worth is relative. If you want a trigger that's many times better than before? Then it's worth it, regardless of the price of the gun itself.

We've had a LOT of these PSA Shield offers transfer in. Seems like S&W is using them as a clearing house for the guns, and PSA is using their fire sale as a clearing house for a shitload of lowers.

Regardless of what I spend on the trigger, it is going to suck compared to the gun I have in my hand the most.. I am assuming that you are not giving up any reliability with the Apex kits?

quote:

Originally posted by OpenRoad:

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Huffman:
I ordered a Shield from Palmetto State in 45 ACP for $299, which after the rebate comes out to $225. I've been looking at them at the local store but I couldn't pass that deal up.

I believe they make a polymer version of that trigger for around $35. I thought the metal one was only around $90 to begin with so I could be off on my prices.

You've got the trigger, which is $40 polymer or $70 aluminum... I do believe there are differences between the two.

Then you have the actual "action enhancement kit" which is another $90: sear, springs, tools, etc...

I believe you can run either one without the other, but need both to recognize the full benefit. You get a modest price savings buying the two together as one kit vs doing one piece now and the other later.

I think I went off the deep end and hope I don't end up regretting it.
I shot a buddies 9mm Shield and I liked it the little I fired it.
I threw the idea around buying one and never did. There's a big difference between need and want. I definitely didn't need one Shield let alone the three I just bought plus a couple of J frames.

In mid February a local dealer had S&W days.
I went, that was the first mistake.
I bought a 45ACP Shield and a M442 w/o the internal lock.
The M 442 is back @ S&W because of a defective extractor rod. It's already been there over a month as I type this.


Unfortunately I bought the 45 Shield before the 75.00 rebate.

Right after S&W offered the mail in rebate another local dealer had their S&W Days. I went down the first day of it and bought a 9MM shield. The next weekend the wife and I went back down and I bought the 40 cal Shield and a M 642 w/o the lock. I couldn't pass the 642 for 309.99. I wasn't expecting to be buying both the 40 cal and the M 642 but the wife said you might as well. She didn't have to repeat that.
I haven't gotten to fire the 9mm or 40 cal Shields yet but the little I fired the 45 I was impressed with it.

I thought maybe I should wait for the 2.0 Shield but I won't fire them much and for my purpose the regular Shield should be plenty good. I'm patiently waiting for my 2 -75.00 rebates to get here.
Here's a couple pictures of the new Shield Family.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ruger Redhawk,

I bought a S&W SD9VE from Palmetto for $259 with free shipping. The S&W rebate brought the price down to $235. Gave $10 for the transfer. $245 total. I wanted an inexpensive point and shoot gun for my car.