I have put a couple hundred rounds through a buddy's Shield.  Don't own a 19 but am familiar with the Glock 30.  LOVE the size and grip, but it has random FTEs which are worrisome in a CC gun.


Pros: Shield excels at AIWB/IWB carry, and I like the option for a manual safety, trigger isn't bad, and the ergos make Glocks (esp the .45s) feel like a plastic 2x4, decent price point, nice to have flush fit 7+1 with backups that hold 8.  VERY concealable little gun.


Cons: tends to shoot way left out of the box (fixable) and a good chunk of folks report fte issues (may be ammo sensitive although they must really hate wwb from those accounts but folks are reporting them with a wide variety of ammo- I have seen them with Golden Sabers, may be a grip issue, might be poor finishing on some feed ramps/chambers/poor extractor design or a combo of the above).  Like this (not my pic):



fte thread

moar ftes

again ftes

Pros: It's popular, comes in 9mm

Cons: weighs as much as a G26, probably won't be 100% reliable with stock parts, holds less rounds than I have fingers, no interchangeable backstraps, too big for pocket carry.

I'm a 1911 45ACP type guy and all my carry guns for the last 15 years have been 1911s.  But I also have osteoarthritis in my back.  The weight of my 1911s gives my back a fit at times and I wasn't able to carry much of the time. Not something I liked!!  So last Sept. I wandered into a new gun store while on vacation and found a Shield 9mm with a thumb safety.  Handled it, did a couple of dry fires, and the trigger wasn't too horrible. It had about an 8lb pull, later verified with my digital trigger gauge as 8 to 9.25lbs pull.  I liked the weight and size a lot, so I bought it. When I got home I started reading the S&W forums for the M&P pistols.  I wound up ordering a Apex duty/carry kit and installing it which made a huge difference in the trigger pull and smoothness.  After about 300 more rounds of ammo I decided to order the Apex trigger and installed it.  That brought the trigger pull down to 4lbs 4 oz very consistently from shot to shot with a lot less takeup and overtravel.  My 1911s are set for 4lb trigger pulls and that's the way I like my triggers. All my 1911a have thumb safeties so I'm used to them and find the one on the Shield to be very decent and easy to use. I won't have a defensive pistol with out a thumb safety, but that just me.  So now when my back gives me a fit I switch to the Shield.  I also installed some Talon Granulate grips on it, fantastic!  I consistently shoot 3 in groups at 21 to 35 ft, my normal practice ranges. I also put some Ameriglo Orange/Green night sights on it, love them.

Pros: Very accurate, light weight, small and very easy to conceal, 100% reliable with everything I've used in it. and it doesn't hurt my back!!!

Cons: I don't really have any, other than my preference for a much better trigger. But that was my choice and the gun was perfectly useable out of the box. I just do better with less trigger pull weight.

All of my 1911s have had trigger jobs done on them also. I learned about 12 years ago how to do safe and effective 1911 trigger jobs.