I'm in the process of buying my next handgun and I can't decide between the XDs or the Shield 9mm. I love the look of the XD series but also like the feel (and price) of the Shield. Any suggestions?

I have both.   Get the Shield.

I prefer the feel of the XDs. Try them out and decide.

My dad had the same dilemma between the two guns and decided on the XDs.  

Being new to carrying handguns, he preferred the XDs for its grip safety, the extended grip that the longer magazine provides, and liked the fiber optic front sight.


I've shot both, and enjoyed both.  For me, if I was already familiar with the XD style, I would go with the XDs, and same story with M&Ps and the Shield.I'm personally not a huge fan of grip safeties and while I own an M&P, I primarily shoot Glocks so I'm not married to either brand or style.

I'd take the Shield, based on more familiarity with the brand and a lack of grip safety, but either would serve fine.

Had both, get the shield.

The model w/o the safety.

Then fix the horrible trigger with an apex kit.

I have a XDs 45 and love it.

I will be moving on to a Gen 4 G19 this Friday though.

Big fan of the grip safety on the XDS. The new 4.0 XDS gets my vote.

You really can't go wrong with either though. They're both great choices.

+1 for Shield

FIFY

I'd get a Shield, but I have zero interest in XDs.

I've shot both.  Get the Shield.

own an xd have shot a shield,  i like the shield a little better.
if i had to choose one, it would be a CZ

Shield

I love both but I have better groupings with the my xd.

Shield.

XDs are gross

look


You answered your own question OP. Feel > Look in a defensive EDC handgun.

I like my Shield a lot. Mine has a safety but it is very unobtrusive if you would choose not to use it.

Another have both but get the Shield vote here.

I would go with the Smith.

I have a Shield, of which I am fond, but...

I bought a Ruger LC9S, the new striker-fired version of the LC9 pistol, today. $369 from my local gun shop.

The trigger rivals my Shield with the Apex trigger installed, and the gun feels wonderful in the hand. There are no sharp edges anywhere on the gun, and the safety is both unobtrusive and exactly where it should be (if you shoot 1911s).

I suspect the Shield will become a secondary carry gun for me, once I run a few boxes through the Ruger; it's a great package.

I own both (Shield is 9, XDs is 45)
I like both
I carry the Shield, I shoot it better and have had it longer.  I haven't really gotten any quality trigger time with the Springfield yet

Another have both, but get the Shield vote here.

which one do you trust your life to? shield 100 percent

Feel is overrated.

XDs is a sweet shooter. They shoot like a full size gun. Most of the SHIELDs have manual safeties which I do not like on my carry gun.

I shot both a few times at the local range. Ended up with a no-safety Shield with an Apex.



Only way to fly for a compact piece if you're kinda skinny like me.

PPS.

Out of those two?   The shield.  
I would personally go with a glock 26 or 27.

I've shot both. Much preferred the Shield.

Shield

This thread is relevant to my interests.

Compared to look?

shield...

No.  Did I say anything about looks?  

How a gun feels in your hand at the store or as you finger fuck it in front of the TV is overrated.

How it handles recoil, how it feels as you shoot it matters.

95% of the time when people are talking about feel, they're talking about how it felt in the hand at the store.  That's completely irrelevant and overrated.  

Another that owns both, get the shield with talon grips.

I like the shield.

Shield

Bought my XDS right after release, required a trip back for the recall, still would hang up with hollowpoints, which I found unacceptable on a $550 handgun in this era. Sent it back, SA polished and shaped the feed ramp, it has been 100% ever since. I shoot it very well, and picked it over the others because of the grip safety. How people gripe about it on XDs and love it on 1911's is beyond me, other than the number of parts. You don't even feel it on the XDs! Oh well, to each their own.

   I prefer being able to reholster by placing my thumb pad on the rear of the slide, and knowing I'm probably not going to stick a 124gr hollowpoint in my asscheek in the process. They can, however, take that stupid ass trigger lever "Safety" and cram it where the sun don't shine. Glocks too, and I can't personally stand that dumb hinged trigger on the M&Ps either, even though they do shoot well.

 Buy what feels and shoots best, that gives you confidence when you're carrying it. If you don't like it, sell it, take a small hit, and buy a different one. Good luck with whatever you pick!

A pistol that is uncomfortable to hold will magically feel good in your hand whilst shooting? Perhaps you meant that an ergonomic grip will somehow interfere with performance.
I can turn screws all day long with an uncomfortable screwdriver, but why would I? You are better off selecting tools that fit your hand.
I don't mean to single you out, but I tire of hearing the same YouTube talking points repeated ad nauseam:

• no manual safeties




• ergonomics don't matter




• extreme thumbs forward grip




• don't modify a carry pistol

 
 
 

Get both

Youtube talking points?  .  I don't mean to single you out either man, but stop projecting what you think of youtube people into my post, read what I wrote and try again.  I'm not saying feel is overrated based on some youtube video I watched, but from my own experiences as a shooter.  

Part of the problem here may be that you seem to be confused about what my point is, so I'll try to elaborate a bit more.  Just because a pistol is COMFORTABLE in the hand in the store doesn't mean you will enjoy the way it shoots.  Where did I tell the OP that a more uncomfortable gun is a better choice?  And no, I wasn't trying to say that an ergonomic grip interferes with performance either, so......  

But just for fun, I'll go ahead and address what you thought I was saying while I'm at it; yes, if you don't like how a gun feels in front of the tv but you shoot it accurately and quickly on the range, it is a better choice for carry than something that feels great in your hand that you can't hit the side of a barn with.  Just a quick example from my life: I'm not a huge fan of how Glocks feel.  It took years of shooting before I got around to buying one, because they didn't feel right in the hand.  To this day, I'd much rather dry fire with a 1911, Sig or M&P than a Glock.  They all feel better in my hand.   But on the range, I have an easier time shooting Glocks accurately and quickly than the other pistols I enjoy the feel of more, so since it's the best gun for me when I'm actually shooting...I carry one most of the time.  

The most critical ergonomics are those that help you shoot accurately, mitigate recoil and allow you to effectively manipulate the pistol controls while shooting (mag release, safety location, etc).  While the second half can be mostly determined at a store, the only way to learn how a gun feels under recoil and how accurate you are with it is to go shoot the damn thing....which brings me back to the point I had in the first place.  How a gun feels in your hand at the store is wildly overrated by a lot of folks.  

I'm not saying how it feels in your hand doesn't matter at all, and if everything else between two guns is equal go with the one that gives you warm fuzzies in your hand...but I don't like the idea of picking one gun over the other based on gun store feel.  

I'll tell OP the same thing I tell everyone.  Shoot everything you think you might want to buy, and figure out what works well for you.  Just like buying a car, the test drive performance is way more important than how you feel behind the wheel in the showroom, which is why feel is overrated.  

Well, that's enough rambling out of me for one night.   I'm off to start a youtube channel.  

Springfield XD op

Shield

If you have a local-ish range that rents guns, try them both out and see which one shoots best for you.

Like another poster said - feels in the hand at the store is one thing; feels in the hand while shooting is something else. I have a G19 that I like to practice with, dryfire, at home...but at the range I can't stand shooting it, it does not fit right. For carry I either carry a BHP or a Sig P320 (or a 1911)...because I shoot them a lot better, they're a lot more comfortable for me to shoot, and frankly after a lot of practice on the G19 they're stupidly easy to shoot well.

If it winds up making you develop a flinch because it's just really uncomfortable for you to shoot no matter how you hold it or what you do to it (like my G19 is)...it's a useless gun for carry. Carry something you can comfortably shoot, always. Don't compromise because it feels good to hold or looks nice...the only compromise you should ever make is "do I want to carry 13+ rounds of 9mm or 8+ rounds of .45"

this FP Nails it.

No perfect gun for every shooter.  Try them both if you can.  However, my vote is for the Shield.

Did not like the feel of the grip safety on the XD series.  Ended up buying a Shield.  The Shield has a very Glock-like trigger which I'm used to.  If you have your heart set on a single stack I'd get the Shield.  A G26 Glock is superior to either but just a touch thicker and holds more boolits.

Springfield just had an event at a local gun shop, shot the XDs, the trigger was unbelievably bad.

The EMP is pretty nice, not worth the coin nice though.

XD.
Quality is excellent.
You get stuff with it.
Customer service if you have a problem is perfect.

I shoot the XDS better,